How much better is a 1.2 rMB than my current Mac?

[renee_yuh]

Current MacBook Pro: mid 2009, 2.26 Core2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 160GB HDD, GeForce 9400

I've been offered a barely used one for $1200. Should I bite? Is it going to be an improvement over my current machine that I've been meaning to upgrade from? It's 6 years old after all. It's the first unibody 13 MBP.

 

[Gav2k]

It'll be night and day looking at those specs. There are a few bottlenecks in your current system that don't exist in the rmb

 

[AirdanMR]

Check this benchmarks, first link are from your actual procesor, second for the macbook core m.

https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?utf8=✓&q=P8400
https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?page=3&q=M-5Y51&utf8=✓

It is clearly superior, but take a look at those 600 / 1200 on the core m. I think that´s when the macbook overheats due to the lack of active cooling, and the cpu performance drops. So for basic task as web browsing, video display, offimatic work it would be fine, but for 3D / Gaming, video editing, etc... expect the same or even worst performance than your actual core 2 duo.

I will recomend waiting at least until Skylake version which should do a better job handling the temperatures and come with thunderbolt 3. But that´s just up to you and your needs.

 

[Max(IT)]

Current MacBook Pro: mid 2009, 2.26 Core2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 160GB HDD, GeForce 9400

I've been offered a barely used one for $1200. Should I bite? Is it going to be an improvement over my current machine that I've been meaning to upgrade from? It's 6 years old after all. It's the first unibody 13 MBP.

It's night and day, but you should explain your usage to have a more precise idea of the improvements

 

[Steve121178]

The solid state storage will be the only significant difference you will notice. The storage alone will make the 'night & day' difference that you will experience.

 

[Nychot]

I have a mid 2010 i5 MBP 15" and a 2014 base MBA 11", and my base RMB is superior in a couple of ways: the retina screen, and the fast SSD. $1200 is no real bargain for a used RMB if its just the base unit. I bought mine for $1149 new, sealed box, full apple warranty, no tax, free shipping. The company is Blutek and they advertise on eBay.

 

[zhenya]

Better screen, way more battery life, SSD which will make everything feel much faster. All in a tiny lightweight package. Everything about the rMB is better than that machine with maybe the exception of a rare sustained CPU load where yours has active (fan cooling) but for most people that's very rare. In any case the Core-M is much faster for the vast majority of what people do with their laptops.

 

[emilioestevez]

I'm pretty sure your graphics card blows the HD 5300 outta the water.

 

[pmouritz]

I'm pretty sure your graphics card blows the HD 5300 outta the water.

I'm a 100% sure that an old GeForce 9400 will NOT blow the HD 5300 outta the water. The technology regarding mobile GPUs has advanced a lot since the GeForce 9400M in 2009. According to notebookcheck, the GeForce 9400M is Class 5 whilst the HD 5300 is Class 3 (while the best mobile GPUs belongs in Class 1).

@renee_yuh
All in all I think that it would be quite an upgrade to buy the rMB when coming from a mid 2009 MBP. As other people has already pointed out the rMB will be faster. I can add that when looking at GeekBench scores the rMB scores almost twice as high in 64-bit multi-core than your old MBP. I suggest you go try it out in store and see how it perform compared to your old