Buying new uMBP, which CPU?

[ranger0900]

Hi,

I am finally pulling the trigger here and have it narrowed down to 4 options, all unibody MBPs:

Late 2008 Refurb 2.53ghz (t9400) $2000
Late 2008 Refurb 2.8ghz (t9600) $2300
Early 2009 New 2.66ghz (t9550) $2300 (edu store)
Early 2009 New 2.93ghz (t9800) $2570 (edu store)

I looked on Intel's site and there appeared to be no major difference between the three CPUs. Is the only difference between these machines the CPU speed? If so I don't see why I would want the 2.66, from a value point the 2.8 looks like an awesome deal.

Did I miss something?

Thanks for any help or comments

 

[t0mat0]

Hi,

I am finally pulling the trigger here and have it narrowed down to 4 options, all unibody MBPs:

Late 2008 Refurb 2.53ghz (t9600) $2000
Late 2008 Refurb 2.8ghz (t9600) $2300
Early 2009 New 2.66ghz (t9550) $2300 (edu store)
Early 2009 New 2.93ghz (t9800) $2570 (edu store)

I looked on Intel's site and there appeared to be no major difference between the three CPUs. Is the only difference between these machines the CPU speed? If so I don't see why I would want the 2.66, from a value point the 2.8 looks like an awesome deal.

Did I miss something?

Thanks for any help or comments

How much RAM are you intending on getting?

 

[ranger0900]

I'd like to max it to 4gb.

 

[morrisman1]

the new 2.66 and 2.93 will take 8gb ram if you wanted that much.

the ram is damn expensive no matter where you buy it, its DDR3. Prices are coming down though

 

[ranger0900]

So basically if I want 8GB of ram, get a new one, otherwise get a refurb and put 6gb?

 

[zer0tails]

Price point wise the 2.8 is the sweet spot.

Yes, if you want 8GB of RAM get the 2.66. Just keep in mind that 8GB of RAM now will cost you around $700. Even after a year if the price dropped 10% or 20% it's still pretty pricey.

4GB of RAM is sufficient for most people. So i'll advise on the 2.8.

 

[DoNoHarm]

I'd either go for the 2000 one if you don't need the speed or go for the best one. You should max out the "i got such a great deal" side of your brain or the "i have the best computer" side of the brain. if you go for the so called sweet spot, both sides will be unsatisfied.

 

[DoNoHarm]

also, this talk about 8gb is silly, IMHO. By the time you'll be using those 8GB, technology will have moved on to quad core, etc. and your computer will be slow anyways.