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ratboy90

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 15, 2009
321
7
What are the differences and pros and cons? Can you switch out the keyboard on one? Switch harddrive? And just general differences. I'm still on windows but thinking about switching. So a little help would be much appreciated.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
Faster memory, faster FSB, faster GPU are the main differences between the two.

AFAIK, you cannot swap out the keyboard on the current model, but replacing/upgrading the HD, and ram are considered user replaceable so you can easily do it.

Other notable differences are the sealed batter, gorgeous screen and SD card slot.
 

ratboy90

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 15, 2009
321
7
Faster memory, faster FSB, faster GPU are the main differences between the two.

AFAIK, you cannot swap out the keyboard on the current model, but replacing/upgrading the HD, and ram are considered user replaceable so you can easily do it.

Other notable differences are the sealed batter, gorgeous screen and SD card slot.

you can't replace the HDD and ram on the 2006? If I understood everything the 2006 has no SD slot, right?
 

Gabriel GR

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2009
716
1
Athens, Greece
You can upgrade RAM and HDD in them too. It's just not so easy or documented in the manual as in the unibodies. Anyone can do it though.

Check out ifixit.com. They have a guide.
 

ratboy90

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 15, 2009
321
7
ok so they're more or less the same except that the new one looks better and is faster and the old one is just....old
 

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
ok so they're more or less the same except that the new one looks better and is faster and the old one is just....old

The old one also has lesser battery life, and arguably has some heat issues, it's also slower generally.
 

Wotan31

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2008
491
0
They're not that different. Both are intel Core 2 Duo based. The 2009 really isn't much faster. The older one has more reliable ATI graphics while the new one has faulty nvidia graphics that has known defects and is more than a year out of date. The 2009 has a user replacable hard drive while the 2006 requires you to completely disassemble the laptop to get to the hard drive (takes about an hour to do, and several VERY small screwdrivers). New one has LED display which in theory has a longer life span and is less harmful to the environment.
 

VforVelveta

macrumors regular
Nov 16, 2006
240
112
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I have a 2006 MBP (assuming you're referring to the ones that first had the Core 2 Duos in them, as opposed to the Core Duos). If money were no object, I'd take the 2009 MBP over the 2006. First off, the Unibodys have much better build quality, holding one just feels solid. The keyboards are different but not enough that I'd say one is better than the other. The 2009 has an LED lit screen, so lower power consumption and better color. It also has a larger trackpad with more multitouch gestures, whereas the 2006 can only do 2 finger scrolling. The 2006 does have the advantage of having more ports, so take that into consideration.

My biggest concern about buying the 2006 would be the battery. Those things don't last forever, and mine is definitely not getting the life it used to, I think it's somewhere in the 80% for battery health, and that's been me taking pretty good care of it. Who knows what condition a battery would be in at this point for a 3 year old laptop, and new batteries aren't cheap.

Obviously you'll get better hardware, the CPU in the 2009 will run faster and cooler, the chipset can handle more RAM, the GPU is much better than the old ATI cards (though some might debate reliability) as well as being supported by OpenCL in Snow Leopard, the screen is higher resolution, the HDD is easier to replace, and the battery will be in much better shape out of the box.

So, I'd say the question is, are you trying to save money and just need any old Mac, even if it's sorta out dated, or are you looking for a computer that's new and fresh and will last you a long time?
 

hamis92

macrumors 6502
Apr 4, 2007
475
87
Finland
I have a 2006 MBP (assuming you're referring to the ones that first had the Core 2 Duos in them, as opposed to the Core Duos).
--
Obviously you'll get better hardware, the CPU in the 2009 will run faster and cooler, the chipset can handle more RAM, the GPU is much better than the old ATI cards (though some might debate reliability) as well as being supported by OpenCL in Snow Leopard, the screen is higher resolution, the HDD is easier to replace, and the battery will be in much better shape out of the box.
--
If you're talking about 15-inch models then no, the screen resolution is still the same old 1440x900.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
you can't replace the HDD and ram on the 2006? If I understood everything the 2006 has no SD slot, right?

No, I was referencing the new MBP stating that it was faster, it had user replaceable components and that it also had a sealed battery.
 

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,155
3,265
Pennsylvania
what's to think about?

buy whatever you can afford it's still gonna be 100000 times better than cockjockeyin yer way around windows

Vista, yes. Windows 7.... that's a toss up.

As far as 06/09 differences... the most noticeable differences are that the 2006 MacBook Pro has an express card slot which can be used for adding USB 3.0, eSATA, a modem, SD slot, or all sorts of add ons, where as the 2009 Macbook Pro has an SD slot, and no expresscard slot.

Also, the 2009 model has a full size DVI port, where the 2009 model requires an adapter. Not a big deal, but a deal none the less.

However, the 2009 model also has a longer battery life and feels much sturdier.

Some people will talk about the trackpad or keyboard, but they're just different. I don't like the newer ones, other people do. That's personal preference.

Speed wise, unless you are doing some crazy stuff, they're not much different.
 

DoNoHarm

macrumors 65816
Oct 8, 2008
1,138
46
Maine
They're not that different. Both are intel Core 2 Duo based. The 2009 really isn't much faster. The older one has more reliable ATI graphics while the new one has faulty nvidia graphics that has known defects and is more than a year out of date. The 2009 has a user replacable hard drive while the 2006 requires you to completely disassemble the laptop to get to the hard drive (takes about an hour to do, and several VERY small screwdrivers). New one has LED display which in theory has a longer life span and is less harmful to the environment.

The 2009 ones don't have the graphics issues - that ended in late 2008
 

DoNoHarm

macrumors 65816
Oct 8, 2008
1,138
46
Maine
I think one critical advantage of the early 2006 computer is the keyboard. I know people will say they like the chiclet keys. I guess it's up to the user but I like the old one better. It's more satisfying to type in.
 

borcanm

macrumors regular
Nov 4, 2008
177
0
Wait for the Arrandale models to come out and see the benchmarks in areas of interest to you. Generally the golden rule when buying a computer is that, unless you really needed it, you should no buy a new computer unless it is at least twice as powerful as the one being replaced.
 

DoNoHarm

macrumors 65816
Oct 8, 2008
1,138
46
Maine
Are you sure? I thought the 9000 series has the same flaw that the 8000 series did? My MBP has ATI graphics, so I haven't been keeping up with all the nvidia problems...

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1038400/nvidia-g92s-g94-reportedly

i saw that article too, but Apple is not saying that those laptops have the same problem. Also the boards in this forum seem to have a much larger percentage of people with problems with their 8xxx series. If there was the same problem with the 9000 series, we would have been getting a lot of reports by now.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
the golden rule when buying a computer is that, unless you really needed it, you should no buy a new computer unless it is at least twice as powerful as the one being replaced.
I've never heard that golden rule (I've been in the computer business since the IBM XT days) and I can also safely say that the clear majority of people never once practiced that golden rule ;)

I do agree with that if he can wait, then wait. If he needs one now, get one now.
 

monokakata

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,035
582
Ithaca, NY
I've never heard that golden rule (I've been in the computer business since the IBM XT days) and I can also safely say that the clear majority of people never once practiced that golden rule ;)

I do agree with that if he can wait, then wait. If he needs one now, get one now.

Here's a Golden Rule I heard back in the early eighties, and I've followed it ever since:

It's always the wrong time to buy a computer, so just buy it.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
It's always the wrong time to buy a computer, so just buy it.

I've heard that and I seem to live by that ;) Which is why I'm very happy to buy a late 08 unibody MBP. It was the first time I actually bought one at the "right time" :D

The inverse is that there will always be a faster corner coming around the corner so buy one now if you need one now.
 

gusanitoverde

macrumors 6502
Jun 12, 2003
283
0
Northern California
I have been trying to get rid of my MBP

I have a 17" 2.33 Core 2 Duo, and I upgraded my HD to a 320 7200 RPM Seagate. I have been trying to sell my laptop since after a year I had it. For some reason, I haven't. It is a trooper. Has stood my daily use at work and home. it screams. I do not think that getting a new one i will be experiencing "faster" response. Paying $3000 for less than a Gigahertz upgrade and no firewire port?

What do you all think?:rolleyes:
 
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