MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4 vs new i7 worth it?

[dreamsandart]

Hi and I need some advice...

At present I have a going on 3 year old pre unibody 17" 2.4ghz 4 GB Ram and 160 7600 Macbook. Its been sent into Apple a few times over the past year+, replaced the logic board, screen, battery, etc... so its 'almost' new, and still 5 months on the Apple care. Have been bumping on the HD space for some time, so an upgrade is needed there (if I keep it).

Is the new MacBook Pro that much faster? Thinking of the 17" again and the 500 7600 is a no brainer with the thought of an SDD at some time and moving the 500GB to the optical bay. The option of 8GB of RAM sounds useful - see next paragraph.

I'm doing the usual work that the older does fine, but am getting into using Aperture and larger (30MB) RAW photo files.

Advice, thoughts, and thanks for them.

 

[M1K3YY]

its hard to tell, it all depends on what you use it for.

igot student discount so i was weighing between the 1100 bottom end 13inch MBP or 2100 15inch i7 with HighRes MBP... so you got to ask yourself is the extra 1000 bucks worth it and/or necessary. this was my first mac computer and my 13inch macbook pro much faster than im used to and it completely fit my everyday computing needs..

if u have the money to spare..go for it..if not..the 13inch will suit u fine...

 

[alphaod]

i

if u have the money to spare..go for it..if not..the 13inch will suit u fine...

From a 17" to a 13" is quite big jump.

 

[jmdMac]

I think the OP is asking whether to buy a new 17" i7 or just keep his old 2.4ghz 17" c2d. If I am not mistaken.

 

[dreamsandart]

Yes, I now have a 17" HR matte screen which I like, and its either keep it and upgrade the HD to something bigger, or get the bigger HD and more in a new package.

Was at the Apple Store today comparing the screens and just getting a feel (glossy was nice black outside bevel and all, but matte is very close and no reflections). In some ways maybe I can just do the HD switch and be happy with saving the money till something really significant changes with the processor and video card. Just don't know if that significant change has all ready happened and its time for a change now.

Thanks

 

[Kingcodez]

If you are comfortable, then keep your old 17". Just add some more ram and get a SSD or another bigger HDD. If you can swing the new price, then by all means do it.

I mean would you rather spend the money on a new computer or blow it on some other fun stuff? (Go sky diving)

 

[Kingcodez]

Whoops double post, internet took a dump on me.

 

[cluthz]

The machine you have is one of the MBPs with the nvidia 8600M. To be honest, having one outside warranty is a gamble. Mine died for the third time last week, just two months before the warranty is out, so luckily apple is replacing it with a i5.

As for the significant changes, the i5/i7 is the hugest change since Intel was introduced in Macs. The graphics changes is minor, but I guess that is what we have to settle for with Apple's focus on battery life and looks.

The new i7 should be roughly twice as fast as your old machine.

According to Geekbench:

MacBook Pro (Mid 2007)
Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4 GHz (2 cores) Score:~3100

MacBook Pro6,2 (2010)
Intel Core i5 M 520 @ 2.40 GHz (1 processor, 2 cores, 4 threads Score:~5600

MacBook Pro6,2 (2010)
Intel Core i7 M 620 @ 2.66 GHz (1 processor, 2 cores, 4 threads Score:~6300

 

[stevespa]

I was in almost the same boat as you. My 2.16 C2D, 2GB (!) ram, 120GB hard drive was starting to become a limitation for my job. I was on my second battery, and I'm only getting about 40 minutes on a charge, hard drive is FULL, ram is maxed out, etc. I figured I would be smarter saving the $500-$1000 I would spend fixing up this unit and get a new one. I decided to make the switch to the 15" i7, hi-res, glossy. Should get to me next week.

 

[dreamsandart]

thank you CLUTHZ for the bench mark scores. Yes, that is quite the difference. Opening and working with 30mb photo files in Aperture is my main concern. With 4gb of RAM already in my MP 2.4 the only upgrade option I have is a SSD drive to speed things up, or go for size with a HD. Can't really see the point of an SSD in this computer with its 3 year old Core 2 Duo, but the larger HD isn't a big investment.

And then there is the 8600 to [mentioned] worry about... which has been replaced once a year ago, and only 5 months left on the Apple Care. My sister wants the old one, should I, and would I, feel good about selling it to her at a good price (any price)?

It would be nice just to have a new computer, faster, bigger HD, and maybe really fast with a SSD in a few months or more when prices come down and sizes go up, and worth it to spend the extra for this newest MacBook Pro.