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MacBook vs MacBook Pro (Both New) Upgrade question

J

jfriedman8

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 8, 2008
259
3
Let me preface this by saying I plan on getting a Quad Core iMac or Mac Pro if the former does not get announced at MWSF 2009.

Ok, so I have a new unibody MB and I love everything about it except the screen. I would not say I 'hate' it, but compared to the MBP screen its terrible in my opinion. Basically, my question is for only $350 (for my instance specifically) do you think it is worth it to upgrade to the 2.53, 4GB, 320 (ill add my 500GB HD in)? If i get the MBP, I'm getting the top end for the video card specifically. I can live without the video card in the MB, but the MBP would be nice since I could play FSX on the go. I am leaning towards saying of course it is worth it since it essentially has the same battery life and for a 15" machine is as portable as it gets. Is there anything I am failing to recognize here?
Thanks for the help.
 
jfriedman8 said:
Let me preface this by saying I plan on getting a Quad Core iMac or Mac Pro if the former does not get announced at MWSF 2009.

Ok, so I have a new unibody MB and I love everything about it except the screen. I would not say I 'hate' it, but compared to the MBP screen its terrible in my opinion. Basically, my question is for only $350 (for my instance specifically) do you think it is worth it to upgrade to the 2.53, 4GB, 320 (ill add my 500GB HD in)? If i get the MBP, I'm getting the top end for the video card specifically. I can live without the video card in the MB, but the MBP would be nice since I could play FSX on the go. I am leaning towards saying of course it is worth it since it essentially has the same battery life and for a 15" machine is as portable as it gets. Is there anything I am failing to recognize here?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

I don't think you will be losing anything except for less portability due to the extra 1lb of the MacBook Pro.
 
Neither of them will be announced at MacWorld, but that's beside the point.

Actually, it's quite a bit of the point. If you're going to get one of those, tough out the MacBook for another month and save your money. The Nehalem Mac Pro will be announced soon after MacWorld, so you can get one of those then.

Quad core iMacs won't be around for another update or two.
 
Well regardless if a new MP or iMac are announced/ come out, I will be getting a desktop since I need one. I have no problem using 2 comps so just a MBP is not an option here. If there are good rumors indicating a new MP or QC iMac I may try and wait it out, but I really have no problems with getting a current MP if nothing is announced at MWSF.

As far as the MB vs MBP, I guess the question really is, "Is it worth it to pay only $350 for the upgrade as opposed to the regular 600/700?" I'm leaning towards yes just because the more I look at the screen on the 13" MB, I can't stand it. I have been using a Dell Insp 1420 with 1440x900 screen and it looks leaps and bounds better than the new 13" MB. $350 seems like a reasonable price for a better processor (yes it will be relevant since I do A TON of DVD encoding in Handbrake) and the discrete graphics card is a welcome plus, and most importantly, a better screen, although I would have rather seen a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 res to begin with.
 
You never know what Apple will pull off, since they get alot of favors and custom chips from Intel.

January 2008, the current Mac Pros were actually announced the week before Macworld 2008.

OP, I'm with you on the quad-core iMacs. I really think Apple needs to consider this. At least for the 24" iMac, if they can't get the quad-core laptop chips, they should consider moving to the desktop chips.

Right now I see a Dell quad-core 2.4Ghz with 24" LCD, 4GB Ram, 500GB HD, ATI 256MB Video, TV-tuner and remote...... for $843 with free shipping.

I know it doesn't run OSX, the LCD is TN, and its not nearly as pretty as an iMac.

Since Apple won't give us a cheap headless tower, I hope they beef up their iMacs.
 
spacepower7 said:
Right now I see a Dell quad-core 2.4Ghz with 24" LCD, 4GB Ram, 500GB HD, ATI 256MB Video, TV-tuner and remote...... for $843 with free shipping.
Click to expand...

Why are you comparing a beautiful 2" thin all-in-one to.......... this?
 
Yeah, a Dell box is out of the question. I like having one machine that can run both. Price is not really an issue since once I get what I want/ need thats it. I dont need a MacPro, but I need a machine with more than 2 cores which is why I would prefer a QC iMac. If thats not feasible, then I'll pay the premium on the MP. Already have a Gateway 24" that works great so a QC iMac would end up saving me about $350 to resell it.
 
Not sure what your circumstances are but if it's only $350 to upgrade to the 2.53 MBP, doesn't that mean that you can upgrade to the 2.4 MBP for free? In either case, I wouldn't think twice and just go for it.
 
Yeah, that would be the case. I thought about it, but I've been using a 2.4ghz processor for 3 years now. I'm sick of it, lol. Since I will benefit from the minor boost with DVD encodes, I think it makes sense for me at least.
 
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