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Do I need a new MBP?

R

rpearlberg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 22, 2010
669
30
I currently have:

MacBook Pro
13-inch, Mid 2010
Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB
512 GB Solid State SATA Drive

If I want to get a newer one, which one would really be an upgrade?
 
Get the 13" MBP with retina. You can probably get away with the base model. Upgrade what you need from there.

rpearlberg said:
So should I get the retina that has been out or the one that was released today? What would the real upgrades be for me?
Click to expand...
 
Which size do you want, what do you use the MacBook for?

There's very little difference other than a couple of hundred megahertz and more RAM in some models. Maybe look at a refurb of the model just replaced. Keep in mind the mid-2014 13" would require you to purchase based on the SSD capacity.
 
pragmatous said:
Get the 13" MBP with retina. You can probably get away with the base model. Upgrade what you need from there.
Click to expand...

The old retina, or the one that came out today? Also, you can't upgrade the RAM on these, right?

----------
MagicBoy said:
There's very little difference other than a couple of hundred megahertz and more RAM in some models.

Which size do you want, what do you use the MacBook for?
Click to expand...
I would get another 13". Mainly for web-surfing, email, photos, videos, etc...
Nothing very complicated.
 
MagicBoy said:
I'd choose using the SSD capacity you require, plus at least 8GB RAM.
Click to expand...

So I should probably get the 8GB, 256GB model...at least.

My main question is what is the difference between my 2010 model and the newer retinas...
 
rpearlberg said:
So I should probably get the 8GB, 256GB model...at least.

My main question is what is the difference between my 2010 model and the newer retinas...
Click to expand...

Faster CPU, lightning fast SSD, longer battery life, thinner, lighter, retina screen, USB 3, HDMI ... I could go on... ;)

On the downside it's missing Ethernet and Firewire ports if you use them.
 
MagicBoy said:
Faster CPU, lightning fast SSD, longer battery life, thinner, lighter, retina screen, USB 3, HDMI ... I could go on... ;)

On the downside it's missing Ethernet and Firewire ports if you use them.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Today I bought yesterday's version of the retina, but it only has 4GB and 128GB...they didn't have the next higher model...
I think I'll return it though.
 
rpearlberg said:
The old retina, or the one that came out today? Also, you can't upgrade the RAM on these, right?

----------


I would get another 13". Mainly for web-surfing, email, photos, videos, etc...
Nothing very complicated.
Click to expand...

Why upgrade at all? Your current computer is more than suited to those tasks. Any added power from the new models would not be put to use with that usage.
 
snaky69 said:
Why upgrade at all? Your current computer is more than suited to those tasks. Any added power from the new models would not be put to use with that usage.
Click to expand...

That was really my main question...do I have any reason to upgrade? I can probably clean up my current MBP to make it better...
 
rpearlberg said:
That was really my main question...do I have any reason to upgrade? I can probably clean up my current MBP to make it better...
Click to expand...

You could always chuck a SSD in your computer to make it feel quite zippy. Much cheaper than switching machines.

EDIT: Nevermind, I suck at reading. You already have one.

Do you feel your current computer is holding you back at all?
 
rpearlberg said:
True. What else could I do to "clean" mine?
Click to expand...

What makes you feel it needs cleaning? OS X is pretty good at taking care of itself.

You could always make a nice Time Machine backup, reinstall a fresh copy of OS X and use migration assistant to get yourself back up and running.

It's time consuming but it may just be the thing.
 
snaky69 said:
What makes you feel it needs cleaning? OS X is pretty good at taking care of itself.

You could always make a nice Time Machine backup, reinstall a fresh copy of OS X and use migration assistant to get yourself back up and running.

It's time consuming but it may just be the thing.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. I think you just saved me some money! What would be an upgrade over the 512GB Solid State SATA Drive?
 
rpearlberg said:
Ok, thanks. I think you just saved me some money! What would be an upgrade over the 512GB Solid State SATA Drive?
Click to expand...

Seeing as your hard drive is already a SSD (Solid State Drive), there isn't much in the way of an upgrade.

Newer SSD's are faster than what Apple supplied back in 2010, but your computer uses the older SATA II standard, whereas new SSDs are SATA III.

Perhaps another user could tell you whether a newer SSD would benefit you, I have been unable to find numbers on the Apple SSD's speed in my brief google search.

EDIT: Googled some more http://www.barefeats.com/ssd6g.html

Seems the Apple supplied SSD is quite a slow one. You could probably benefit from a drive with newer technology.
 
snaky69 said:
Seeing as your hard drive is already a SSD (Solid State Drive), there isn't much in the way of an upgrade.

Newer SSD's are faster than what Apple supplied back in 2010, but your computer uses the older SATA II standard, whereas new SSDs are SATA III.

Perhaps another user could tell you whether a newer SSD would benefit you, I have been unable to find numbers on the Apple SSD's speed in my brief google search.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for your help!!
 
Having a mid 2010 13" mbp I would say its a great upgrade. I know I'm going to be upgrading with the 256GB ssd model.. So I say if you can afford it go for it
 
Thunderchicken said:
Having a mid 2010 13" mbp I would say its a great upgrade. I know I'm going to be upgrading with the 256GB ssd model.. So I say if you can afford it go for it
Click to expand...

Ditto. I upgraded to last year's 256gb model from a mid-2009 MBP. Definitely an improvement. I would at least return the machine you bought. 4gb of unupgradeable RAM is definitely something to reconsider, especially now that Apple has dropped that configuration. You already have an SSD, but it's connected via SATA II instead of PCIe which is much faster. You also get future software upgrades that your 2010 won't get.
 
I just read quickly through this thread.

Am I wrong or has the OP not given any info at all?
 
Meister said:
I just read quickly through this thread.

Am I wrong or has the OP not given any info at all?
Click to expand...

No, he only asked if he should upgrade, he did not state what he's using it for.

If the OP is using for email, Facebook and surfing. The 2010 is still a great machine. If he's computing the mass of the universe, well then something with a little more horse power might be needed :)
 
maflynn said:
No, he only asked if he should upgrade, he did not state what he's using it for.

If the OP is using for email, Facebook and surfing. The 2010 is still a great machine. If he's computing the mass of the universe, well then something with a little more horse power might be needed :)
Click to expand...

I stated earlier that this is just for surfing, email, iPhoto, watching movies, etc...
No heavy computing.

I am returning the 4GB machine today and then I can think about whether to get the new one...
 
Another option is to get this (not the just released retina)

Apple® - MacBook Pro with Retina display - 13.3" Display - 8GB Memory - 256GB Flash Storage

Model: ME865LL/A

$1,276 total
 
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