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Early 2008 MBP or Late 2008 MBP??

P

pikapikoo37

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 5, 2008
9
0
Sunny Singapore
Hey Guys,

Just a quick question, I have been eyeing the macbook pro since feb this year but have always delayed buying due to budget constrain. Currently I have finally saved enough money for it, but am torn between the new one 2.53GHz or should I get the older gen one 2.5GHz. I can afford both but over here in Singapore I can get the new one at appr USD$2370 but the older gen one at USD1540 which is a BIG difference. I have checked the benchmarks for both machine and there isnt a great difference for both.
I'm currently a student in business so i'm just gonna use it for some basic word processing and mostly gaming.
I will be getting D2 and SC3 when it comes out but will be play Crysis for now.

This will be my first mac and i dun wanna regret my decision. Please advice on which one to get as I'm in a dilemnia on whether to save money or stay updated.

P.S Between the 2 i prefer the older gen design, looks more classy in my opinion but the new 1 looks cool too.
ROCK ON STEVE~!!
 
Get the new one because the old one had some graphics card issues and you do not want to deal with that if you are going to be gaming and if you are going to spend your money get the new one because I am sure you don't want to regret spending even and extra cent on it because MBP's are expensive!
 
I can just try to close in some gaps to help you on your decision.

The new MacBook Pro offers the glossy screen and some people have problems with the glaring issues. If you find yourself hating the glossy screen, you might want to think about going with the previous MacBook. If you find it a great add on, give one point to the new Pro or if you find it something you don't want, give one point to the previous Pro.

Do you need a lot of hard drive space? The new MBP gives you an extra 50GB of storage (250GB). If you find yourself not needing the extra space, give one point to the previous Pro or add one to the new Pro if you need the space.

The new Pro offers two graphics cards, the 9400M and the 9600M GT. Do you play some graphic intensive games or do you play just simple and casual games? Are you looking into using heavy graphic apps? If you go for the previous Pro, are you going to be lucky enough to not go through the 8600M GT issues? Plus 1 for new Pro if you need those features or old Pro if you can deal with the 8600M GT issues (if any) and don't require the extra graphics.

Keyboard. This is a minor thing, but they are both different. Do you like the 'chiclet' keyboard thats with the new Pro or the previous keyboard. If you don't care, don't add anything, but if you like one of them... add 1 to the one you like.

Ports. Another minor thing. Do you need Firewire 800? If yes, add one to the new Pro or if you don't care... add nothing. Remember, if you want Firewire 800 and 400... you can get an adapter that converts 800 to 400.

The new trackpad. Do you absolutely want the new glass trackpad? I like it a lot and I think it's a wonderful feature. If you think the standard trackpad is good enough... one point to the previous of one point to the new if you absolutely need it. Add nothing if you don't care.

The 'Brick'. Do you want a sturdier notebook? Do you want something made completely out of aluminum? The new Pro offers a much sturdier enclosure, but the previous Pro is also nice, but not as sturdy. Add 1 to the new if you want it or add 1 to the previous if you prefer the old one. Don't add anything if you don't care.

Now compare the two and see which one has the higher score. If you think that the scores are fair and reasonable, go for the one that has the higher score. Again, you don't need to make your decision based on this, I'm just trying to narrow things down. If you think the price is an absolute issue... just for the previous Pro now.

I hope this helps!
 
resale value difference in 2~3 years from now will probably make up for alot of the cost difference now anyway, specially since they're a completely different form factor. The glossy screen shouldn't be toooo much of an issue, specially since you don't need the accuracy of the matte. its bright, so it should overcome alot of glare too. I'd get the new one if I could afford the diff. now.
 
I´m getting the classic 2.5MBP to day.
A couple of reasons.
I need it to day, off to work abroad tomorrow, and the new haven´t shipped to Norway yet.
I prefer the old look (but the new build)
It´s very handy with 2 Firewire ports
It´s close to $600 cheaper and I plan to keep it until it´s too old to be usefull and not sell it.
I prefer the matte screen.
The new MBP is the first Apple update that haven´t made me want to run to the shop and get it straight away.
It might grow on me though
 
arthursiew said:
I can just try to close in some gaps to help you on your decision.

The new MacBook Pro offers the glossy screen and some people have problems with the glaring issues. If you find yourself hating the glossy screen, you might want to think about going with the previous MacBook. If you find it a great add on, give one point to the new Pro or if you find it something you don't want, give one point to the previous Pro.

Do you need a lot of hard drive space? The new MBP gives you an extra 50GB of storage (250GB). If you find yourself not needing the extra space, give one point to the previous Pro or add one to the new Pro if you need the space.

The new Pro offers two graphics cards, the 9400M and the 9600M GT. Do you play some graphic intensive games or do you play just simple and casual games? Are you looking into using heavy graphic apps? If you go for the previous Pro, are you going to be lucky enough to not go through the 8600M GT issues? Plus 1 for new Pro if you need those features or old Pro if you can deal with the 8600M GT issues (if any) and don't require the extra graphics.

Keyboard. This is a minor thing, but they are both different. Do you like the 'chiclet' keyboard thats with the new Pro or the previous keyboard. If you don't care, don't add anything, but if you like one of them... add 1 to the one you like.

Ports. Another minor thing. Do you need Firewire 800? If yes, add one to the new Pro or if you don't care... add nothing. Remember, if you want Firewire 800 and 400... you can get an adapter that converts 800 to 400.

The new trackpad. Do you absolutely want the new glass trackpad? I like it a lot and I think it's a wonderful feature. If you think the standard trackpad is good enough... one point to the previous of one point to the new if you absolutely need it. Add nothing if you don't care.

The 'Brick'. Do you want a sturdier notebook? Do you want something made completely out of aluminum? The new Pro offers a much sturdier enclosure, but the previous Pro is also nice, but not as sturdy. Add 1 to the new if you want it or add 1 to the previous if you prefer the old one. Don't add anything if you don't care.

Now compare the two and see which one has the higher score. If you think that the scores are fair and reasonable, go for the one that has the higher score. Again, you don't need to make your decision based on this, I'm just trying to narrow things down. If you think the price is an absolute issue... just for the previous Pro now.

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Thx arthur, it really helped alot. Honestly i used to work in a company that sells mac to corporate customers and so far i hadnt heard anything bout the faulty graphic cards. I only came to know of it recently when i was doing some research on macrumors.com. But another question, gaming wise, will the 9400M & 9600M GT makes a big difference in fps compared to 8600M GT? From what i know, apple currently do not support Hybrid SLI but when they do will it be a major difference? I consider myself a hardcore gamer albeit with a limited budget. This MBP will be my main machine for school and gaming, so i really need something that can last me for at least 3 years.

Cheers:)
 
arthursiew said:
Ports. Another minor thing. Do you need Firewire 800? If yes, add one to the new Pro or if you don't care... add nothing. Remember, if you want Firewire 800 and 400... you can get an adapter that converts 800 to 400.
Click to expand...

How is needing firewire 800 a plus only to the new MBP? They both have firewire 800, kind of a plus to the older model if you use firewire as it has firewire 400 and 800 built in, no adaptors needed.

That said, Do you need the newest one? Same ram capability, little faster, but is the difference worth it?

My thinking was the older was great, it changed some but for the price difference it wasn't worth the changes.

Good luck!
 
kellen said:
How is needing firewire 800 a plus only to the new MBP? They both have firewire 800, kind of a plus to the older model if you use firewire as it has firewire 400 and 800 built in, no adaptors needed.

That said, Do you need the newest one? Same ram capability, little faster, but is the difference worth it?

My thinking was the older was great, it changed some but for the price difference it wasn't worth the changes.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

To me, the price difference will just be for the newer graphics, faster RAM speed and new design. Im still wondering is it worth the 800 bucks difference.
 
Well I'm sure you'll start seeing the difference with Snow Leopard..aka Grand Central and OpenCL
 
pikapikoo37 said:
Thx arthur, it really helped alot. Honestly i used to work in a company that sells mac to corporate customers and so far i hadnt heard anything bout the faulty graphic cards. I only came to know of it recently when i was doing some research on macrumors.com. But another question, gaming wise, will the 9400M & 9600M GT makes a big difference in fps compared to 8600M GT? From what i know, apple currently do not support Hybrid SLI but when they do will it be a major difference? I consider myself a hardcore gamer albeit with a limited budget. This MBP will be my main machine for school and gaming, so i really need something that can last me for at least 3 years.

Cheers:)
Click to expand...

Compared to the 8600M GT, the 9600M GT is about 10-15% faster. Expect some better performance on the 9600M GT as Apple wouldn't choose something worse than the previous models. Steve said that the 9600M GT is good for some graphic intensive apps and games, so I think there are some noticeable performance.
Apple has focused on some gaming this year, like the new iPod touch and App Store for the iPhone/iPod touch and they have focused on it too on the new portables. Yes, the MacBook does some good gaming, but the 9600M GT on Pro would be faster and better.
If you want something that can last over 3 years, I think the new Pro is for you. Although the previous Pro can last that long... the new brick enclosure is more sturdy. It should be a little more durable than the previous, because they had to use multiple parts for the previous Pro.
WAIT! I got more details about the graphics.
According to Apple, the 9600M GT is 1.5x faster when they play COD4 than the 9400M. It is up to 2.3x faster than the 9400M. I would say that it's quite noticeable then.
 
Also, the 9400M & 9600M supports hardware acceleration of videoplayback, which means your processor will only be loaded about 10-20% while playing even 1080p video.

I've seen some impressive benchmarks of the 9600M in the MBP. Check this out:
http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1871,iid=219440,00.asp

It seems that it might actually be running hybrid under windows, even though apple and nVidia claims it doesn't :rolleyes:
 
kenned said:
Also, the 9400M & 9600M supports hardware acceleration of videoplayback, which means your processor will only be loaded about 10-20% while playing even 1080p video.

I've seen some impressive benchmarks of the 9600M in the MBP. Check this out:
http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1871,iid=219440,00.asp

It seems that it might actually be running hybrid under windows, even though apple and nVidia claims it doesn't :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

that is some impressive benchmarks. Im more tempted to get the new MBP. Although i did wanna get the old one plus the new cinema display for the price difference. Decisions Decision.:apple:
 
pikapikoo37 said:
I'm currently a student in business so i'm just gonna use it for some basic word processing and mostly gaming.
Click to expand...

If you're looking to purchase a gaming machine, you are looking in the wrong place. In my opinion (coming from someone that owns a MBP), the MBP is not meant to be a gaming machine.

The 9600m, quite frankly, is just above a midrange mobile GPU relative to what is available on the market today. For comparison sake, the 3dmark06 score (@ 1024x768) of a 9600m is about 6500. The 3dmark06 score of 9800m GTS (@ 1280x1024) is around 9000. The 9800m GTS @ 1024x768 would easily break 10k.

One thing many people overlook is that the 3dmark06 scores for the MB and MBP are artificially higher because the test were run @ 1024x768 - which is no longer the standard for 3dmark06. The majority (if not all) the 3dmark06 scores you will see (aside from apple products) are scores reflective of tests run @ 1280x1024 - which make a significant difference.

The macbook pro is a fantastic machine, but if you're looking to play the latest and greatest, you can get much better value for you money in a Windows based laptop.
 
six.four said:
If you're looking to purchase a gaming machine, you are looking in the wrong place. In my opinion (coming from someone that owns a MBP), the MBP is not meant to be a gaming machine.

The 9600m, quite frankly, is just above a midrange mobile GPU relative to what is available on the market today. For comparison sake, the 3dmark06 score (@ 1024x768) of a 9600m is about 6500. The 3dmark06 score of 9800m GTS (@ 1280x1024) is around 9000. The 9800m GTS @ 1024x768 would easily break 10k.

One thing many people overlook is that the 3dmark06 scores for the MB and MBP are artificially higher because the test were run @ 1024x768 - which is no longer the standard for 3dmark06. The majority (if not all) the 3dmark06 scores you will see (aside from apple products) are scores reflective of tests run @ 1280x1024 - which make a significant difference.

The macbook pro is a fantastic machine, but if you're looking to play the latest and greatest, you can get much better value for you money in a Windows based laptop.
Click to expand...
Well, I have thought about that option too. I used to work in an IT company so i know that i could get a PC laptop with a far better specs with the money Im going to spend for a mac, but a PC can never give me the pleasure of owning a mac, the beautiful design, the assurance that I will always have a mac with me always by my side always. Call me crazy but after using a mac for a few months, I have totally fallen in love with it.
:apple: FOR THE WIN~!!
 
pikapikoo37 said:
Well, I have thought about that option too. I used to work in an IT company so i know that i could get a PC laptop with a far better specs with the money Im going to spend for a mac, but a PC can never give me the pleasure of owning a mac, the beautiful design, the assurance that I will always have a mac with me always by my side always. Call me crazy but after using a mac for a few months, I have totally fallen in love with it.
:apple: FOR THE WIN~!!
Click to expand...

steve jobs claims another victim

vanity wins again
 
pikapikoo37 said:
Well, I have thought about that option too. I used to work in an IT company so i know that i could get a PC laptop with a far better specs with the money Im going to spend for a mac, but a PC can never give me the pleasure of owning a mac, the beautiful design, the assurance that I will always have a mac with me always by my side always. Call me crazy but after using a mac for a few months, I have totally fallen in love with it.
:apple: FOR THE WIN~!!
Click to expand...

I had the same thing happen to me! I work in IT and one day I was so fed up with Vista-isms I sold my laptop and ordered my first Mac (I used to be of the "Mac's are limited" mindset. Wow was I 100% wrong). I will never go back to windows. Mac kills it.
 
Go for the older one and wait for the next updates (probably issued some time next year); as the current updates are mainly incremental. If the new models then appeal to you, sell your MBP and get the new odel.

Cheers and good luck
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Go for the older one and wait for the next updates (probably issued some time next year); as the current updates are mainly incremental. If the new models then appeal to you, sell your MBP and get the new odel.

Cheers and good luck
Click to expand...

Honestly, the new MBP did not attract me as much as the old one when it was first releaseed. I will prob be going on with this advice. The price difference between the two may go into my budget for my next machine. Hope that the next update will feature a quad-core:apple:
 
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