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Have a somewhat new Macbook Pro, should I bother with an upgrade?

K

Kyouya

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 9, 2008
77
0
Hello everyone;

I know many of you dislike topics like this but I think I need some opinions on this issue.

I've purchased a Macbook Pro 1.5 years ago, I am a college student and techy-guy. Macbook Pro was very satisfying overall. But I don't enjoy using this machine like I did before for a couple of reasons.

1st, the screen. I've had an excellent matte screen until 3-4 months ago. Cracked the screen and had to replace it. Unofrtunately my new screen is a LOT worse than my old one, its very, VERY grainy and I hate the way it looks.

2nd, it looks worn out. Paint on keys are off and its case has peeled off in many party.

3rd and maybe the most important, the Hard Drive. Macbook Pro is the only computer I use and it MUST have Windows installed in a different partition and said partition has to have over 20-25 gigs of space AT LEAST. Under these conditions my macbook pro rarely sees more than 7 gigs of free space, which is quite annoying since I constantly need to swap files from external drives.

And here is my question, under these conditions should I bother with an upgrade or stick with this until a redesign? New Pro's have 2x more HD space then my current one so that'll surely solve the 3rd problem for good. I love buying new, high end stuff but as much as possible, I like to stick with a computer for at least 2 years.

Thanks in advance.
 
You'll find that you can stick with a Mac longer than in the Windows world.

Just get a 500GB hard drive and install it. It's less expensive than getting a new computer.

CASE has peeled off?! In many party? What do you mean?
 
Under ordinary circumstances I'd be the first one to tell you to keep it, a high-end computer is meant to be kept for at least two years anyway, in my opinion. And even then I'd look for internal upgrades first before considering a new machine alltogether, regardless of how much fun buying one is (and believe me, I know it's fun!)

However what you're describing sounds... yech. Battered and a bad screen... I don't know if I could live with such a computer, also since the performance isn't what you'd like it to be. And you've had it long enough now to justify buying a new one.
If it was only the performance I'd say have the HD and RAM upgraded to something that suits your needs, but together with the bad screen and the tacky exterior I'd say consider a new one within the next couple of months. I suppose you could have the screen exchanged too, but if you're not a DIY guy I'd let it be.

If I had your computer there'd be two options for me: Go all the way and order a relatively cheap new screen, upgrade the HD and the RAM (which means re-installing all the programs you've had on it which may be a bit of a bummer) and get a new keyboard and maybe send it off to colorware to have it spiffed up, or buy a new high-end one. Me personally, I'd go for option number two, since the first option involves a bit too much expenditure / time to be spending on a computer that has served you well for almost 2 years.

Though be warned, there have been plenty of reports about screen glitches on the new MBP, from stripey screens to uneven lighting to scrolling glitches (I had a new MBP that I returned due to the scrolling issue). Also be careful with it because the aluminum isn't as sturdy as Apple likes to make it out to be - plenty of denting issues have been reported.

However, if I were you and needed a MBP (as opposed to maybe a high end configuration MB) I'd go for a new one, upgrade it to a 500GB HD, stick 4GB's of RAM in it and treat it well for the next three years =) My two cents.
 
Yeah, but bigger(around the size of a thumb) at palm rest area, below the space bar and above the F-keys. I don't care much about them at all, my biggest concerns are the hard drive and terrible screen(its by far the most grainy screen I've ever used, had to go with a cheap ebay screen because of budget concerns in mid-semester. My original Matte screen was very good).
 
Thanks for the opinions, I think I'll go with a new pro. If I could, I would've done this before replacing the screen because it looks so bad that it doesnt even feel "mac" or a decent laptop anymore. The replacement screen was a huge downgrade but this is what you get for being careless and dropping a 2000$ laptop :x
 
I'm actually in pretty much the exact same situation...except I haven't replaced my screen yet. I'm leaning more and more towards waiting for the MBP refresh and just buying a new one. I might replace the screen, but seeing your bad results from it makes me second guess that choice.
 
go for it!! :) mine is about nine months old and i am looking at replacing it after some major upgrade comes up. ( but will hold it off till may next year ) :D
 
Went from 2.2 ghz 4gb nvidia to 2.5 4gb rev 3 MBP and I feel much snappier performance on all fronts.

Probably due to the additional cache.
 
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