Help, need advice urgently!

[nph]

Hi

I want to replace my first gen MBP and my main criteria is:
- less heat
- good wifi reception
- nice screen
- good battery life

I would use mainly for:
- Web, safari email etc.
- MS Word
- iphoto
- Some web design potentially
- light games, sim city, Spaceward ho etc nothing heavy
- Watching AVI movies
- Run VMWare with Vista, but only email and Internet Explorer with VPN software to log on to my work

My options:
I have looked at Macbook but screen doesn't look good
MBP, great but glossy
Previous MBP which I am considering is good with great screen but it could be gone any day now but is still runs hot.
Air, with Rev B I am starting to think it might be an option and has a great screen but does it get hot as well?

So with that what would you recommend?

Handbreak will be run on my old imac so no real heavy stuff like that.

Many thanks for advice since I need to decide quickly and order this week!

 

[mgridgaway]

I recommend you stick with your current MBP. You're not going to see a huge difference in ANY of your criteria, especially if you are just doing the stuff you say you are.

My advice? Upgrade to Leopard if you haven't, max out your ram (should be cheap), and maybe get a new hard drive if you need the space. Save your money for when you really need to upgrade

 

[himansk]

Hi

I want to replace my first gen MBP and my main criteria is:
- less heat
- good wifi reception
- nice screen
- good battery life

Unlike as stated by the previous post, in my opinion you will see a big difference in all these departments. I upgraded from the first gen mbp as well, and I can definitely see lot less heat (enough to use it as a "lap"-top), almost twice the battery life, wifi-n means faster home network file transfers, much brighter and better looking screen (i prefer the glossy).

 

[nph]

Hi

What did you upgrade to that provided you these benefits compared to the MBP, same I have? Latest MBP?

Thanks

 

[himansk]

Hi

What did you upgrade to that provided you these benefits compared to the MBP, same I have? Latest MBP?

Thanks

I upgraded from the 2.0GHz Core Duo MBP (base model) to the unibody 2.53GHz C2D MBP (High-end model).

 

[mgridgaway]

Unlike as stated by the previous post, in my opinion you will see a big difference in all these departments. I upgraded from the first gen mbp as well, and I can definitely see lot less heat (enough to use it as a "lap"-top), almost twice the battery life, wifi-n means faster home network file transfers, much brighter and better looking screen (i prefer the glossy).

Twice the battery life? Unlikely. Well, likely if your other battery is past its prime. It's may have slightly better battery life if its configured correctly and using the integrated graphics card, but double is pushing it.

Source: http://www.macworld.com/article/136281/2008/10/macbookbattery.html

Less Heat? Ok, you got me there, but I'll suck it up and not drop almost 2 grand.

Wireless -N. OP, do you have N-Network? If not then it won't matter. If your need is good wifi I would make sure you have a good wifi source.

Brighter/Better Looking Screen? Again, got me there, but I prefer the matte and if you're not comparing you'd be just fine with the Macbook Pro screen you have.


OP, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer here, but do you really need a new MBP or do you just really WANT a new MBP? I know the allure of the new is tempting but I've worked on numerous Mac systems from G3 to the latest Mac Pro's and I know for a fact that you'll want to perceive a difference, but there won't be much of one. Hell, I went from a 2001 Quicksilver with an upgraded 1.47 G4 to a Aluminum iMac and even I was dissapointed with normal use performance gains. Of course you're going to notice a difference when you get to the down and dirty, but like you said you already have an iMac for that.

In the end, it's your decision, but I'm just trying to stop you from being disappointed with your investment when you find out it acts pretty similarly to what you already have. Only about 2 years have passed since you got your last MBP, and not much amazing has happened in the world of computing, nor probably will for at least another year or two.

 

[himansk]

Twice the battery life? Unlikely. Well, likely if your other battery is past its prime. It's may have slightly better battery life if its configured correctly and using the integrated graphics card, but double is pushing it.

The old mbp was using an 9-month old battery, with 90% capacity still remaining, had around 40-50 cycles on it, was calibrated, etc. I would say pretty normal usage, nothing over the top. The battery life was around 2 hours, remember this model was the first intel based mb, had heat issues, and used the less efficient core duo chips. The new one gives me around 4 hours at the very least on integrated graphics (about 45min less on dedicated graphics). I have taken the measurements on the two systems side by side, the new mbp gave me twice the battery life of the old mbp.