Defective 13" MPB replacement advice sought

[ninjamoby]

I recently had my late 2008 MBP 15" (2.8 GHZ) stolen out of my car.

Despite being LoJacked etc it has not been found or recovered (we almost caught the thieves but they escaped!).

Fortunately, it's an insurance claim, and I will be able to purchase a new 15" MBP when the claim processes.

While waiting for it to process, I purchased the basic 13" MBP (2.4 GHZ C2D) for work purposes.

Unfortunately, Apple sent me a defective unit - the DVD drive does not work, and I'm eligible for a full refund. I'm considering replacing the 13" with the current 15" MPB right away.

I love the size and portability of the 13" far better than my old 15" (which was too heavy). I travel frequently, so portability is a plus. Also the big perk of my old 15" was the Expresscard slot that worked well with my Sony Ex-1 video camera. That feature is now removed.

However, I use Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and other applications frequently (as well as enjoying the occasional game on Windows 7 with bootcamp) and the 13" MBP does not have the power to process these applications.

I need some advice based on the following options.

1) Have Apple replace the defective 13" for a replacement and hold off on the insurance purchase till the next iteration of the 15" is announced (next year).

2) Return the 13" and purchase the core i7 15" right now.

3) Have Apple replace the defective 13" and purchase a core i7 iMac for my power needs with the insurance claim.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[seb-opp]

sounds as though you like the 13" so Id say replace it, save the insurance claim for the 15" till the new version comes out

 

[al2o3cr]

However, I use Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and other applications frequently (as well as enjoying the occasional game on Windows 7 with bootcamp) and the 13" MBP does not have the power to process these applications.

I'm curious as to why you think a machine with a *slightly* slower CPU is somehow unable to run these apps (which were presumably running on your 2008 15") - can you provide more detail?

 

[Lyle]

I'm curious as to why you think a machine with a *slightly* slower CPU is somehow unable to run these apps (which were presumably running on your 2008 15") - can you provide more detail?

If we're comparing a 2.4GHz Core2 Duo with a 2.66GHz Core i7, it's more than a "slight" difference. See the AnandTech benchmarks from earlier this year, especially those for CPU-bound processes. The benchmarks for Adobe Photoshop CS4 performance indicated about a 25 percent difference between the two.

Having said that: I'd expect that the OP could run these apps just fine on the 13" MacBook.

 

[ninjamoby]

If we're comparing a 2.4GHz Core2 Duo with a 2.66GHz Core i7, it's more than a "slight" difference. See the AnandTech benchmarks from earlier this year, especially those for CPU-bound processes. The benchmarks for Adobe Photoshop CS4 performance indicated about a 25 percent difference between the two.

I was following the research from the same Anandtech link.

I am rendering graphics in Photoshop to be taken into After Effects, and also using Compressor for HD to DVD conversions (if the DVD burner worked).

What is strange about the Anandtech link is that it rates the current MPB's 320M GPU against the old 15"s GeForce 9400M integrated graphics instead of the GeForce 9600M GT discrete card, for gaming purposes. How does the 320M GPU hold up against the 9600M GT?

 

[ninjamoby]

Just an update on this situation.

I returned the 13" MPB for a refund which I am awaiting.

A friend is lending me his old early 2008 15" with a 2.5 ghz C2D chip that seems to do everything I need thus far.

Hopefully the insurance claim will come through by the time the next iteration of the MPB is introduced.

On a related note, my computer also had Lojack for laptops installed.

They were unable to track the computer - clearly the thieves reformatted the HD after stealing it.