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hmmmmm...new macbook or last gen MBP?

I also am debating this question. I know I should get the pro for the specs bit at the same time I want to get the macbook for the looks and trackpad.

I know I should choose the specs but I don't know...
 
Just my 2 cents having owned a MBP 2.2ghz, a 2.4ghz MacBook (white) and now a 2.4ghz MacBook Al...

This machine is absolutely the most amazingly engineered piece of gear I've ever had the pleasure to put my hands on. No flex, feels amazingly solid, like one chunk of metal. The lid is a precision fit to the body unlike EVERY Mac laptop I've ever owned... my Pro had a noticeable difference in clearance from one edge to the other...

Now I did go for the 2.4 and it's screaming fast, absolutely faster than my old 2.2ghz MBP. I have a 320gb 7200rpm drive on the way that should boost that speed even more...

Anyway, hope that helps. Go to the store if you can and just hold one in your hands and then pick up a 17" MBP (or a 15" old style if they have one)... the difference is amazing.

Now, that said if you want to try to get as much bang for your buck, that MBP is a great deal at that price. Naturally the 15" screen is very nice, and still LED technology, gorgeous display. If you could possibly swing the 2.4ghz AL MB, I would say it at least equals if not outperforms the previous 2.4ghz MBP.

Good luck! :D
 
I was planning on getting a MBP for a while, but the faulty graphics cards in them spooked me off. I was hoping the October update would be a speed bump in the old model + maybe a new, non-busted video card so that I could get the same model without the graphics card problem; of course, the update was totally different.

After thinking about whether or not I wanted a refurb MBP or one of the new machines, I ended up getting a Glassbook (2.4GHz). I figured it was a gamble (who knows what problems might pop up in Glassbooks), but I figured they can't be much worse than a graphics chip guaranteed to fail sometime in the future (at least, I hope so). I'm pretty happy with the buy, though; I was a PB 12" user, and the new 13" MacBooks are pretty much the modern-day equivalent.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
Just my 2 cents having owned a MBP 2.2ghz, a 2.4ghz MacBook (white) and now a 2.4ghz MacBook Al...

This machine is absolutely the most amazingly engineered piece of gear I've ever had the pleasure to put my hands on. No flex, feels amazingly solid, like one chunk of metal. The lid is a precision fit to the body unlike EVERY Mac laptop I've ever owned... my Pro had a noticeable difference in clearance from one edge to the other...

Now I did go for the 2.4 and it's screaming fast, absolutely faster than my old 2.2ghz MBP. I have a 320gb 7200rpm drive on the way that should boost that speed even more...

Anyway, hope that helps. Go to the store if you can and just hold one in your hands and then pick up a 17" MBP (or a 15" old style if they have one)... the difference is amazing.

Now, that said if you want to try to get as much bang for your buck, that MBP is a great deal at that price. Naturally the 15" screen is very nice, and still LED technology, gorgeous display. If you could possibly swing the 2.4ghz AL MB, I would say it at least equals if not outperforms the previous 2.4ghz MBP.

Good luck! :D
Click to expand...

Everything you've said is probably true, IF you don't do anything graphically intense. The 9400M on the new AL MB is certainly an improvement over the old Intel graphics, but it is still an integrated part and it still pales in comparison to a dedicated video card like the 8600M in the early 2008 MBP. For non graphic intensive apps, yeah, the two computers have similar CPUs, so speed should be more or less similar. But for graphics intense things, the early 2008 MBP will blow the new MB out of the water. The new MBP would be even better of course, though not significantly so.

So, to the OP - unless you WANT the small form factor, in my mind its very hard to justify the new MB versus the refurb MBP. It simply offers far superior performance, particularly if you ever care to play a game.
 
jahutch said:
Everything you've said is probably true, IF you don't do anything graphically intense. The 9400M on the new AL MB is certainly an improvement over the old Intel graphics, but it is still an integrated part and it still pales in comparison to a dedicated video card like the 8600M in the early 2008 MBP. For non graphic intensive apps, yeah, the two computers have similar CPUs, so speed should be more or less similar. But for graphics intense things, the early 2008 MBP will blow the new MB out of the water. The new MBP would be even better of course, though not significantly so.

So, to the OP - unless you WANT the small form factor, in my mind its very hard to justify the new MB versus the refurb MBP. It simply offers far superior performance, particularly if you ever care to play a game.
Click to expand...

Excellent point... that would be the deal breaker for the MB if the fastest graphics performance is needed.

For what it's worth, I ran the Graphics only tests in the latest version of XBench on my 2.4ghz iMac (ati 2400 dedicated) and my MacBook 2.4.

The iMac got a 222.39
The MacBook got a 191.18

Definitely the best integrated graphics performance I've seen. Would be really interesting to see how the MBP (old and new models) compare in that area.
 
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