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Is the 2.33 ghz mbp still worth getting?

Whackintosh

Whackintosh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 8, 2009
435
14
Montreal, Quebec
I have a chance to get a 2.33ghz cd2 15 inch MBP (with the ATI X1600) for under 1K and I'm quite tempted to go for it. A refurb unibody 15 would cost me nearly twice as much, and a last gen MBP with the 8600 is too much of a ticking time bomb (potentially) for me to consider. Is the 2.33 still a solid machine in 2009 or are the specs getting rusty?
 
I don't know what it's worth now, so I'm going to exclude cost from my analysis. Up until 2 months ago, I was using my 2.33GHz MacBook Pro, which was a fine machine, and very fast and capable. The only component of the system that was holding it back in my opinion was the hard drive, which was the 160GB 5400RPM model. As far as the overall feel of the machine, and it's capability to handle everything I threw at it, I have no complaints whatsoever. With a hard drive upgrade, it would have been very nearly as fast as my current 2.66GHz MacBook Pro with respect to the tasks that I perform on a day-to-day basis. It's not as capable of a gaming machine, nor is it capable of fully addressing 4GB of RAM, but it is a solid, reliable performer.
 
I had no heat-related complaints when I owned the machine. For non-intensive tasks, it was not an issue to place the computer on my lap for long periods of time. To put your mind at ease, it's no worse than any of Apple's more recent laptop offerings.
 
You two have great usernames. :)

If it's for under $1000, I'd say go for it. I had about that much money and was trolling eBay and other places looking for a deal like that but never found one. Consider yourself lucky. :eek:
 
I love mine. I got mine for $1100 last month, and put in a 320 gig 7200 rpm seagate drive and 4 gigs of ram, and it is quite usable. I've got to warn you though, mine is a matte screen, and I've come to prefer it over the glossy uni mbp. I have not noticed any heat issues with my machine, even with the faster hd.

Unless you're a true power user, you'll probably not tell a difference between it one of the new ones in everyday use.

mac2sell.net lists its value at $1170, and their quotes tend to be a bit on the lowball side, so you're getting a hell of a deal.

I also chose the 2.33 because of the ati card, and wanted to avoid buying a $1500 dollar paperweight.

And yes, I know my machine can only use 3 gigs and change, but I wanted to use every last bit of ram I could in dual processor mode, especially with ddr being to cheap.

It's not that bad at all to replace the hard drive. Maybe half an hour. I'd say for it, and enjoy!
 
Not sure if it's a myth or not (haven't had the chance to actually test myself), but a lot of research points to the fact that ATI cards offer better Core performance in OS X, which is a plus.

I'd say go for it, you'll love the machine.
 
I´m still using my 2.33 mbp everyday and as bill gates first stated, the only slowdown factor is the 5400 rpm HD in it. Once applecare is up, I´ll replace it myself with a bigger faster one and keep using this laptop.
Mine was the first 17" 2.33, and I think the 15" 2.33 were part of the next round that were capable of 4g of RAM and included the 7200 rpm HD so I would not hesitate to buy it at that price.
 
Ditto the favorable comments. I am on my 2.33 about 5 hours everyday and have yet to run into any serious limitations. It runs cool and plays back HD video nicely - smooth / no dropped frames.

My general rating on my 2.33 :D :D :D :D :D
 
i'm still using mine i picked up new. i upgraded the hdd to a 7200 rpm (250gb), which went smooth enough (be careful tho when removing the keyboard plate, mine split right below the keyboard, where it's tacked together). it gets hot when i'm gaming, otherwise it doesn't get too bad. i use one of those fans underneath it which manages it fine (only when gaming of course, and really only when i was playing WoW). it's still a solid machine, and for the price it sounds like quite a bargain.
 
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