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dnttrp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2012
7
0
I own a Macbook pro 15in with these specs: 2.8GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO/ 4GB RAM/ 500GB HARD DRIVE

I'm thinking about selling it and buying a mac mini. I already own a separate monitor.

Think this is worth it? :confused:

I don't know enough about computer to make this decision. I bought the macbook pro used from a friend so... help is much appreciated here. thank you everyone! :D:D:D
 

eawmp1

macrumors 601
Feb 19, 2008
4,158
91
FL
Perhaps it would help if you said why you wanted to trade your current machine. What are you looking to gain and willing to sacrifice with the exchange?

Speed?
Storage?
Portability?
Etc.
 

dnttrp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2012
7
0
Perhaps it would help if you said why you wanted to trade your current machine. What are you looking to gain and willing to sacrifice with the exchange?

Speed?
Storage?
Portability?
Etc.


I'm not as "on the go" as i thought i was, so i'm willing to sacrifice portability for speed/storage/overall experience.

(that's what i'm guessing i'd be getting from the osx lion and specs of the mac mini; so says articles from google... but i'd rather decide after hearing from you guys.)

also i don't mind the absence of the cd/dvd drive in mac mini.
 

Allan Todd

Suspended
Feb 2, 2012
19
0
keep both devices :)

I'm using MacBook Pro 13 at home and MacMini + 24" display at work. Big screen and small size works better for me.
 

willieva

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2010
274
0
It would depend on how much you would get for the mbp, and whether you need extra speed and storage of the mini.
 

dnttrp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2012
7
0
It would depend on how much you would get for the mbp, and whether you need extra speed and storage of the mini.

I'm planning on selling it for 750ish.

I was thinking about getting the very basic one without any "upgrades" from the apple store cause i seems like from what i've read, its pretty simple to upgrade on your own at a cheaper price from a third party vendor.
 

brendu

Cancelled
Apr 23, 2009
2,472
2,703
I am also curious about this topic. I have been considering selling my 13" pro for the new Mac mini. I have an iPad and want to take advantage of the dual hard drive option in the mini. Just wondering if anyone has switched from MacBook to mini and what their thoughts are
 

dnttrp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2012
7
0
so i found a buyer for 900.

turns out i didn't receive the resetting disc? when i bought this.

How can i wipe all my data from here without the disc?!

the buyer wants to meet today! help guys!


and much appreciated for your earlier inputs from everyone. thank you.
 

brendu

Cancelled
Apr 23, 2009
2,472
2,703
If you have an apple store near you they might be able to sell you a lion USB stick you could run disk utility off of that and erase the hard drive that way, I'm not really sure. Without the DVD you are not going to be able to erase and reinstall OSX

Unless... If you have snow leopard installed on it and are up to date with the most current version, you could install lion through the app store and do a fresh installation that way. It will take a couple hours though.
 

Vantage Point

macrumors 65816
Mar 1, 2010
1,169
1
New Jersey
How can i wipe all my data from here without the disc?!

I can't comment on Lion as I am still on SL but the way to wipe is to go to System Preferences - Account. Then create a new account with administrative privileges. Then delete the old account(s). That should erase your accounts with all information - contacts, emails... From there you'll be good to go. It's what I did when I sold my iMac and 13" MBP.

Just be sure you don't need portability if you sell it. I love my 15" and use my external monitor for photography.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
I own a Macbook pro 15in with these specs: 2.8GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO/ 4GB RAM/ 500GB HARD DRIVE

I'm thinking about selling it and buying a mac mini. I already own a separate monitor.

Think this is worth it? :confused:

I don't know enough about computer to make this decision. I bought the macbook pro used from a friend so... help is much appreciated here. thank you everyone! :D:D:D

I would use the money you make on the sale toward a new(er) 15" MacBook Pro, instead of a Mac mini. But that's just me. Apple has great deals on their "Refurbished Mac" section of their online store. You can get a previous generation for eBay prices. If you don't use portability, you might as well get a Mac mini instead.

As for wiping your drive; you need an OS disc in order to do that; if you've bought Lion, you can just redownload the installer, and extract the image, which you can use to boot from (or if you're fine leaving the machine with Lion on there, you can just boot from the recovery HD and wipe the main drive that way). Otherwise, as others have said, deleting your user account is the next best thing you can do, though if you have software that is legally yours that you want to keep for your next machine, I'd say it's better to wipe the drive.
 

dnttrp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2012
7
0
thank you so much for all the replies so far guys! really appreciate it!

so i've sold the macbook pro for 900. (150 more than i expected!)

one last question for you mac professionals.

i'm browsing the apple online store and looked at the mac mini specs

the 2.3ghz i5 goes for $599
the 2.7ghz i7 goes for $899


i'm an average user for now, but in a couple months, i'll be starting some music production.


do you guys think the difference between i5 and i7 will affect production experience?

is $300 worth the i5 vs i7 /// buying the best in line since i'll be keeping this device for years to come?

should i just WAIT since the macrumors buyer guide says hold on?



THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP GUYS! i'd be in the gutters without your help!
 

eawmp1

macrumors 601
Feb 19, 2008
4,158
91
FL
As for the comparison, there are oodles of threads on the subject, such as this one.

As for waiting, if you need a computer now, you buy. If you can wait, wait. That is always the best advice.
 

giannistzn

macrumors newbie
Sep 13, 2012
5
0
I'd like to bring the thread back to the font for a hesitation.

I got a Macbook pro 5,5 (late 2009 model)

Core2duo 2,26, 160gb HDD (5200rpm), 6gb ram (1066, installed by me), Nvidia 9400M

I am thinking of selling it and getting a mac mini (late 2011) and an iPad (waiting if smaller ipad announced and specs, or i'll go for the new ipad).

mac mini specs , i5 2,5, 4gb ram (1333ghz), 500Gb HDD, Ati Radeon 6630 GPU, HDMI, Thunderbolt.

To prevent the same questions, i don't care for portability (as i am going for ipad too), i don't use any hardcore programs, i spend a lot of time watching movies - tv series (got hdtv 1080p, so hdmi connection would be great for mac mini).

My question is, should i? The price is 620 (euros for my mbp) and same price for mac mini (with wireless k/b, mouse, apple remote). I would like less beach balls, less heat, faster response

Sorry for the long post.
 
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