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Buying Used Macbook pro 15' (late 2008) or wait for a 13' update?

R

Rowd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2010
4
0
Im new at this forum, however I've been following macrumors for a while now, specialy the "waiting for arrandale" thread :).

I have waited since november for an update for the 13' macbook pro because my actual laptop was dying (a compaq presario v3117la, gpu overheating problems...), now it's completely unusable and i need the laptop since my desktop is shared with my family.

Someone offered me a used 15' 2.4ghz, 2gb ram, 250 gb HD, discrete graphics macbook pro(late 2008) for about $930 dlls (Im from Mexico, so here a new one would cost
about $1900 dlls...)

The cuestion is, is that model good enough?(screen quality, speed, any common problems?), or should i wait and spend a little more for a refreshed 13'?

(sorry if my english is a little bit weird...)
thank you for the advice ;)
 
the new one is always better. but the 15" screen resolution is what you can't get in the 13". do u need a higher resolution? if it's so, the MBP will be nice for you.
 
I took my compaq V2000 apart and removed a dust plug from the heat sink, and it has improved the heating problems, though it still is not working perfectly.

Don't know if yours is even repairable though but thought I might suggest this if it is.
 
About the screen resolution, i will be using it mostly for programming and browsing, so the bigger screen could help.

My old laptop has a common problem in that model and no longer boots because the gpu is not well solded into the board, ive taken it apart several times and surely its not just dust ;), thanks for your replies.
 
the 15" mbp is quite portable enough for doing some programming and web surfing on the go. so if i were you, i'd choose the 15" over the 13".
 
i disagree aleni, i would get the 13... the reason being power, much faster device if you get the 4gb ram etc
signature_BasicSmile.jpg
depends whether 2inches will help you or speed will help you
 
Sounds like you got a decent offer so I would run for that. Those two inches aren't that much especially because the difference in resolution is small as well. You also get dedicated GPU which we won't see in 13" (at least not as good as 9600M GT). By the way, does it have warranty left?
 
Im not sure if it has waranty, i havent seen it personally yet, however its less than a year old. im going to see it tomorrow, if it isnt in good conditions i obviously wont buy it ;)
 
I'd get the battery checked to see how many charges it's had and what kind of health it's in. If it's the unibody (implied by the late 2008) and it's in good shape, I'd stick with that. There's no real reason to wait when the CHEAPEST you'll be able to get the new 13" MacBook Pros is 1199 USD+tax (maybe $1300 or so). All that for comparable performance and maybe 1-2 hrs more battery life for $400+. It's a tough pill to swallow.
 
I would wait for them to be refreshed and then you can decide. The used ones will also be cheaper after the refresh
 
I decided to wait for the 13" update ;) , the used 15" turned out to be an older non-unibody model, they gave me wrong specs, the man didnt know what he had...

@iDisk: how do you know that?, ive heard rummors about an update this week, but there isnt an specific date as what ive heard.
 
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