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Early 2008 macbook pro vs Unibody macbook

waloshin

waloshin

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 9, 2008
3,562
394
- Would it be smarter to buy an early 2008 macbook pro, or buy a new unibody macbook pro in reguards to Snow Leopard?

- Wouldn't Snow Leopard run faster on the Early 2008 Macbook Pro because of the dedicated video?

- Is the Macbook's build quality really better then the Early 2008 Macbook Pro?
 
We know that Snow Leopard will take advantage of openCL (open computing language) and allow the gpu to be used a general processor, but we don't know how much this will actually help the variety of tasks you could ask your OS to perform. In terms of processor architecture, they are the same, some MHZ and other factors like RAM speed are the major differences.

In terms of build quality, that is somewhat subjective. What do you determine as having good build quality? Is it simply resistance to damage/strains, or does it have to do with the aesthetics and tolerances of the process?

I don't know that hardcore stress tests exist for a comparison of the bodies. I would advise you to hold each type of computer in your hands to get an idea of what you think build quality means to you for each of them.
 
waloshin said:
- Would it be smarter to buy an early 2008 macbook pro, or buy a new unibody macbook pro in reguards to Snow Leopard?

- Wouldn't Snow Leopard run faster on the Early 2008 Macbook Pro because of the dedicated video?

- Is the Macbook's build quality really better then the Early 2008 Macbook Pro?
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- The early 2008 MacBook Pro has a GPU which is EXTREMELY prone to failure. In fact, it is almost guaranteed that the component will fail after some use.

- Snow Leopard is still a long way off and the details have not yet been revealed. It's pretty much guaranteed though that it won't REVOLUTIONISE the performance of your computer, just give it a little boost. If the opposite were true then Apple would be shouting it from the rooftops now. Either way, both have capable GPUs.

- MacBook's outer and inner case is made from aluminium (except the plastic hinge). The old MacBook Pro was aluminium but the inner case was all plastic.
 
Depends what you want to do with your Mac. Personally I would love the size of the macbook, but I needed the power and flexibility of the classic MacBook pro for my work. The MacBook wouldn't be nearly as efficient as my MacBook pro
 
yoak said:
Depends what you want to do with your Mac. Personally I would love the size of the macbook, but I needed the power and flexibility of the classic MacBook pro for my work. The MacBook wouldn't be nearly as efficient as my MacBook pro
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macbook pro isn't anymore "PRO" than the regular macbook. anything you can do on a macbook pro, you can do on a macbook and have portability.
 
If you get a early 2008 mbp, make danged sure you've got extended applecare on it.

As for which one would be better for you, that's hard to tell since we don't know what you want to do with it. Accordingly, telling you one or the other would be folly, and would only be in fact sharing with you our prejudices for or against those models.
 
clyde2801 said:
I think it would be a fair statement to make that for most users, the gap between the macbook and macbook pro has lessened considerably with the new models.
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Absolutely. They are closer in graphics power (although MBP is still head and shoulders above) and the MBP has firewire and a slightly better screen, backlit keyboard (low-end MB doesn't have that), and an express card slot. The card slot and lack of firewire have alternatives, so you're not missing nearly as much as you used to be missing.
 
...I know a guy who actually dropped his "classic" MBP 4 different times and was able to "fix/bend" the damage back each time on his own...kept his apple care intact for the GPU issue the computer ended up developing...

There's another thread on the board where a guys UMBP went flying across his driveway - he was able to bend most of the damage out but apple care will be able to tell something major happened to it and that would void the apple care policy.
 
chrmjenkins said:
Absolutely. They are closer in graphics power (although MBP is still head and shoulders above) and the MBP has firewire and a slightly better screen, backlit keyboard (low-end MB doesn't have that), and an express card slot. The card slot and lack of firewire have alternatives, so you're not missing nearly as much as you used to be missing.
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Backlit isnt a "pro" future. It just looks cool mainly. The better gpu hardly matters for most professionals/
 
nutritious said:
macbook pro isn't anymore "PRO" than the regular macbook. anything you can do on a macbook pro, you can do on a macbook and have portability.
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I would be happy to know how I can offload my HD footage that my camera records to SxS Express cards directly into the Macbook AND have my FW800 scratch disk. Oh, and how it will run Motion and Color too. If you ar ea Pro, it's still a bigdifference between the two.

Edit: I could use a USB adapter for the express card, but it needs external power. Big problem on location. There is no alternative to FW800
 
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