I've been reading this forum for the past couple weeks because I want to buy a MBP and (like everyone else) was hoping for an upgrade at macworld. Since the dust has settled and no update came, I've decided to go ahead and buy fairly soon - especially because the refurbished prices are so appealing - and I don't want to wait till these new machines are being sold refurbished.
I have been using my current machine for the past 4 years or 5 years - a dual 2.5 G5. I want to start playing PC games again. I def. want a 15" but I have a few questions:
I am trying to decided between the 2.2 and 2.4 - the price difference makes the 2.2 much more appealing - especially given that I want to have some money to spend on upgrades and accessories (new HDD, RAM, etc.). But, I don't know how much different the performance will be, especially in terms of gaming because I haven't had a PC for years. Will the 256MB graphic memory be a significant difference for me? Ideally, I'd want it to run the orange box, bioshock (I really enjoyed system shock 2, so I've felt left out when bioshock was released, having dedicated myself to apple and nintendo), spore, and be able to run new games, at least reasonably well, for a few years. Which of these differences (clock speed vs. video memory) matters more for games and/or general performance.
Also, how upgradable are the MBPs? Could I easily replace the hard drive - or possibly switch them out (switching between a windows and a mac internal drive occasionally)? What about the video card - is there a difference in the motherboard or case design between the 2.2 and 2.4 - could I potentially replace the 8600M 128 w/ the 8600M 256? I imagine it's improbable - and potentially more expensive, but I thought I'd ask.
Finally, should I wait to buy until the potential MBP update? Would the last generation refurbished MBPs drop in price. If so, how significantly would you guys estimate?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
I have been using my current machine for the past 4 years or 5 years - a dual 2.5 G5. I want to start playing PC games again. I def. want a 15" but I have a few questions:
I am trying to decided between the 2.2 and 2.4 - the price difference makes the 2.2 much more appealing - especially given that I want to have some money to spend on upgrades and accessories (new HDD, RAM, etc.). But, I don't know how much different the performance will be, especially in terms of gaming because I haven't had a PC for years. Will the 256MB graphic memory be a significant difference for me? Ideally, I'd want it to run the orange box, bioshock (I really enjoyed system shock 2, so I've felt left out when bioshock was released, having dedicated myself to apple and nintendo), spore, and be able to run new games, at least reasonably well, for a few years. Which of these differences (clock speed vs. video memory) matters more for games and/or general performance.
Also, how upgradable are the MBPs? Could I easily replace the hard drive - or possibly switch them out (switching between a windows and a mac internal drive occasionally)? What about the video card - is there a difference in the motherboard or case design between the 2.2 and 2.4 - could I potentially replace the 8600M 128 w/ the 8600M 256? I imagine it's improbable - and potentially more expensive, but I thought I'd ask.
Finally, should I wait to buy until the potential MBP update? Would the last generation refurbished MBPs drop in price. If so, how significantly would you guys estimate?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
.