Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Help Me Choose an MBP: Refurb 17" or LED 15"

S

simp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 30, 2006
18
0
My 17" MBP was stolen recently and the insurance company have given me some spending money...

And now I can't decide... For €2100 I can get either:-

A. MBP 17" C2D 2.33 (Refurb)
B. MBP 15" (LED) C2D 2.2 (Santa Rosa) w/ 7200 160gb HD

A. is what was stolen, which was great. But I did find it a little bulky for trips.
B. has lots of nice little extras, like LED, better battery life, better HD, SR chipset - and the 15" form factor is more portable... But I'm hearing a lot about this yellow tinge problem...

Hmmm...

I really can't decide and I need to order tomorrow - Please help me choose!!!
 
A. You specified one negative.
B. You listed 5 positives.

I think you answered your own question.
 
If you need this anytime soon, I'd get the refurbished 17".
Lots of people complaining about wait time (perhaps fixing the yellow tint?) for their SR 15".
 
Yeah - I need it pretty quickly - which is a major negative for the LED 15".
(And the yellow tinge sounds like a dealbreaker - damned Rev 1 machines!)

Another option (cheapskate that I am!) is to do the following:-
15" C2D 2.16 Refurb (€1350)
+ 1GB Ram (€40)
+ 160GB 7200 HD (€140)
TOTAL=€1530

Which might be an option - how daunting is it to replace the HD in the MBP?
 
simp said:
Yeah - I need it pretty quickly - which is a major negative for the LED 15".
(And the yellow tinge sounds like a dealbreaker - damned Rev 1 machines!)

Another option (cheapskate that I am!) is to do the following:-
15" C2D 2.16 Refurb (€1350)
+ 1GB Ram (€40)
+ 160GB 7200 HD (€140)
TOTAL=€1530

Which might be an option - how daunting is it to replace the HD in the MBP?
Click to expand...

That seems like a good deal too. Personally I don't see the benefit of the LED (other than it's more power efficient), and the Meroms your looking at are just as good as the SR in my opinion.

Check out www.ifixit.com to learn how to replace the HD yourself to see if its daunting -- it does take some time with all the damm screws though. Also, an external might be just as easy/better if you could go that route.
 
I Vote For The Santa Rosa 1920 x 1200 Widescreen 17"

You forgot about the fact the new 17" offers a 1920 x 1200 widescreen for only $100 more and can see and use 4GB of cheap RAM. Spend the few extra bucks to replace your stolen 17" with the all new widescreen model. That's the one I've been waiting for for years.
 
The super-duper resolution on the new 17" doesn't tempt me, as I found the existing resolution just fine - any more and I'd be squinting. Also, I can't get that as a refurb yet.

(Trying to economise as I'm about to buy a new car...)

Had a look at the ifixit instructions and it doesn't look so bad... So I might just go for the cheapskate DIY option!
 
Are you getting AppleCare for either machine?

If so, get the SR 15"

Any problems with the screen just get Apple to look at it.

Rich.
 
If I were you, I would get the bigger one, 17",
but then again, you might be carrying it around allot more than I would be... so actually, go for the 15" but wait for leopard, by then the yellow tint problem will most likely be fixed
 
Okay - I have made my order.

Went for a refurb 2.16ghz 15" which I will pimp out with a Hitachi 200gb 7200 drive and 2gb of RAM - this works out at 75% of the price of the new 2.2ghz 15" with 160gb 7200 & 2gb RAM. Nice.
I can live without Santa Rosa, new video card and yellow screen for now ;)
And the machine arrives Monday rather than August 3rd!

I had the 17" for four months before it was swiped, and I found it just a little bit too large. If I need more screenage I can get an external monitor down the line...

Thanks for your suggestions!
 
killerrobot said:
Sounds like a good deal, enjoy it.:)
You might want to check out some security software as well -- don't know how you feel about that -- but I'm sure an insurance company won't like to pay out a second time.:eek:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, i remember seeing this before i got my MBP, then forgot what it was called when i got it, now i can get it Woohoo! :D
 
Yes Killerrobot - thanks for the link. Must look into that...
 
I have the new 15" SR MBP and i love it. The LEDs are great, and i have no yellow tint. i would go for that.
 
I really like the sound of the LED backlit screens, but the curse of Rev 1 is keeping me away... And I did get a bargain! Refurbs seem to have gone down from 21% to 33% discount in the past week...
 
Undercover Is A Must Have

killerrobot said:
Sounds like a good deal, enjoy it.:)
You might want to check out some security software as well -- don't know how you feel about that -- but I'm sure an insurance company won't like to pay out a second time.:eek:
Click to expand...
Wow!
Steve Jobs=God said:
Thanks for the link, i remember seeing this before i got my MBP, then forgot what it was called when i got it, now i can get it Woohoo! :D
Click to expand...
I also thank you. After reading Undercover Family Pak is only $59 for 5 Macs, how can anyone not have this software in their possession? What an amazing way to keep all your Macs secure for less than $12 each and forever. :eek:
 
lol I always find it funny and chuckle to myself when people say I have the 15" led and I have no yellow tint! lol yes you do probably dont notice it because either you use it in a well lit room most of the time but once your somewhere in the dim yep its there~ its because the way the new led's are made. There is a white led light on the top edge of the bezel and on the bottom edge there are yellow phosphors~ I've been through 5 and seen 7 at the apple store they all have it does not matter if its lg or samsung its just the led technology white led with yellow phosphors. try looking at the color white or grey on any forum maybe this forum in the dark or anywhere its dim and shift your eyes and you will see that the color white shifts to white-yellowish tinge white. and same goes as reading comics with the white bubbles that shows when ppl talk. Also works with grey and any warm color there is a shift.. its probably due to the 15" being rev. a and should wait until they incorporate it into the 17" which I believe will be in january with a silent upgrade and should have the yellow tint fixed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back