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i have a spending limit and was wondering, which macbook pro should i get?

M

mikereal

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 5, 2010
30
0
Houston, Texas
ok guys, so...

I have USD2400(i could get up to 2600 in the last case scenario) and i'm looking forward on buying a new macbook pro at the apple website, a magic mouse and also one of the remotes.

which macbook pro would you build to make the best one having only that amount of money?
What would you choose?

i have only two things decided:
15-inch
HD size doesn't matter

thanks:)

FYI: my signature is old. i'm done waiting for arrandale.
 
mikereal said:
ok guys, so...

I have USD2400(i could get up to 2600 in the last case scenario) and i'm looking forward on buying a new macbook pro at the apple website, a magic mouse and also one of the remotes.

which macbook pro would you build to make the best one having only that amount of money?
What would you choose?

i have only two things decided:
15-inch
HD size doesn't matter

thanks:)

FYI: my signature is old. i'm done waiting for arrandale.
Click to expand...


Refurbished MacBook Pro 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

15.4-inch LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD Card Slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
Illuminated keyboard

http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GH9LL/A?mco=MTM1MTkzMjI

$2,249.00 + tax
 
It might help if you tell us a little about what you would be using the computer for. That would decide which features would be needed or not as useful.
 
sharkzfanz said:
Refurbished MacBook Pro 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

15.4-inch LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD Card Slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
Illuminated keyboard

http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GH9LL/A?mco=MTM1MTkzMjI

$2,249.00 + tax
Click to expand...

+1

Within your budget and has the 9600M graphics card, plus the antiglare screen.
 
mikereal said:
ok guys, so...

I have USD2400(i could get up to 2600 in the last case scenario) and i'm looking forward on buying a new macbook pro at the apple website, a magic mouse and also one of the remotes.

which macbook pro would you build to make the best one having only that amount of money?
What would you choose?

i have only two things decided:
15-inch
HD size doesn't matter

thanks:)

FYI: my signature is old. i'm done waiting for arrandale.
Click to expand...

Wait till Tuesday dude....
 
Pachang said:
Wait till Tuesday dude....
Click to expand...

That's what they all say.....anyway, you don't need to buy refurbed. Go to eBay and check out the MBP's there. I bought my 2.8 15" for $250 below Apple retail with no taxes paid. That will leave you plenty to get the accessories you want.
 
phrint said:
That's what they all say.....anyway, you don't need to buy refurbed. Go to eBay and check out the MBP's there. I bought my 2.8 15" for $250 below Apple retail with no taxes paid. That will leave you plenty to get the accessories you want.
Click to expand...

"they" being people who are intelligent?
 
Sounds like you need more processing power than graphics, on that thought i suggest you wait, an arrandale processor will give you a 20% boost in processing power and a updated graphics card. Chances are the 15" mid ends will probably get a Corei5 cpu and a discrete graphics card.

If you cant wait then go for what sharkzfanz suggested. You won't be disappointed.
 
emiljan said:
Sounds like you need more processing power than graphics, on that thought i suggest you wait, an arrandale processor will give you a 20% boost in processing power and a updated graphics card. Chances are the 15" mid ends will probably get a Corei5 cpu and a discrete graphics card.

If you cant wait then go for what sharkzfanz suggested. You won't be disappointed.
Click to expand...

so you think i should go for processing power instead of maybe trying to upgrade the ram to 8gb?
 
mikereal said:
ok guys, so...

I have USD2400(i could get up to 2600 in the last case scenario) and i'm looking forward on buying a new macbook pro at the apple website, a magic mouse and also one of the remotes.

which macbook pro would you build to make the best one having only that amount of money?
What would you choose?

i have only two things decided:
15-inch
HD size doesn't matter

thanks:)

FYI: my signature is old. i'm done waiting for arrandale.
Click to expand...

sharkzfanz said:
Refurbished MacBook Pro 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

15.4-inch LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD Card Slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
Illuminated keyboard

http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GH9LL/A?mco=MTM1MTkzMjI

$2,249.00 + tax
Click to expand...
The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems to be the right choice to me, too. Ignore those who are telling you to wait. I have seen similar debates to this one over the course of several years and thousands of posts on home theater related forums. If you find a computer, or any other electronic component, that you think you need and can afford, buy it. Those who put off buying a device under those circumstances because a later model that is, pick one, bigger, better, faster, or sexier, have the perfect excuse never to buy what they need. In short, I think that sharkzfan is right. The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems like a powerful computer for the right price.
 
gwsat said:
The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems to be the right choice to me, too. Ignore those who are telling you to wait. I have seen similar debates to this one over the course of several years and thousands of posts on home theater related forums. If you find a computer, or any other electronic component, that you think you need and can afford, buy it. Those who put off buying a device under those circumstances because a later model that is, pick one, bigger, better, faster, or sexier, have the perfect excuse never to buy what they need. In short, I think that sharkzfan is right. The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems like a powerful computer for the right price.
Click to expand...


wait for the update, and get the minimum amount of RAM possible for the configuration you want. You can upgrade it yourself for half price—easy as putting Lego pieces together.
 
mikereal said:
so you think i should go for processing power instead of maybe trying to upgrade the ram to 8gb?
Click to expand...

Well, it suggests that you might want to pay for the faster processor but that you don't need the better graphics card. That simplifies your options a little.

Always upgrade RAM, and you probably know that you save a lot of money doing it with a third party vendor.
 
6-0 Prolene said:
Or at least imminent.
Click to expand...

I guess I should pipe up and give the other side of the story, which is the friendly reminder that none of us know when the next update will be. There's an entire thread dedicated to this ambiguity, so feel free to decide on your own if you think it's worth waiting or not.
 
Thiol said:
I guess I should pipe up and give the other side of the story, which is the friendly reminder that none of us know when the next update will be. There's an entire thread dedicated to this ambiguity, so feel free to decide on your own if you think it's worth waiting or not.
Click to expand...

The post I quoted mentioned an "eminent" update. That's just a teensy bit different from "imminent." That was my only point. I'm not sure what the "other side of the story" has to do with anything.
 
mikereal said:
so you think i should go for processing power instead of maybe trying to upgrade the ram to 8gb?
Click to expand...

I would go for the processing power. An Arrandale chip is going to give you a significant boost in overall performance, 8 GB of ram is just going to let you run a lot of programs simultaniously
 
15" 2.66 with 9600GT and Antiglare display.

The extra for the 3.06 much less the 2.8 is laughable.

Then you could upgrade your ram to 8 GB and it would be barely more than a used aka refurbished 15" with the 3.06.

Otherwise wait.
 
gwsat said:
The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems to be the right choice to me, too. Ignore those who are telling you to wait. I have seen similar debates to this one over the course of several years and thousands of posts on home theater related forums. If you find a computer, or any other electronic component, that you think you need and can afford, buy it. Those who put off buying a device under those circumstances because a later model that is, pick one, bigger, better, faster, or sexier, have the perfect excuse never to buy what they need. In short, I think that sharkzfan is right. The refurbished MBP from the Apple Store seems like a powerful computer for the right price.
Click to expand...

I agree, FWIW.
 
plaxico44 said:
I would go for the processing power. An Arrandale chip is going to give you a significant boost in overall performance, 8 GB of ram is just going to let you run a lot of programs simultaniously
Click to expand...

And the 3.06GHz Penryn benchmarks awfully close to the Core i5 mobile... in fact on some benchmarks the C2D is faster.
 
6-0 Prolene said:
I agree, FWIW.
Click to expand...

$2300 for a used computer???

You can say it is refurbished or whatever you want, but the fact is it is a used computer! No different than buying a used 2010 car. It is probably in great shape and whatever else, and the dealership probably checked everything out. But it is USED!
 
what about this?

thank you very much for the replies, i really appreciate it.

what would you guys say about something like this

which one would you go for? knowing that i need it mostly for music stuff... i really want to get the best out of apple:

Configuration
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
iWork preinstalled
Logic Express preinstalled
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

or

Configuration
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (Local) & User's Guide (Local)
iWork preinstalled
Logic Express preinstalled
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

thanks again!:)
 
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