MBP confusion

[BaneDark]

Hi,

I have currently mid 2010 15" i5 macbook pro, I use it mainly for light graphic design (for work) by light I mean, packaging design, poster design, magazine design etc, mostly I work with Adobe: Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign, and Photoshop (not that often) sometimes project involves After Effects or flash. I don't work on 3d, or large files. Currently my i5 2.53GhZ seems to be enough for my needs, everything works fine appart from some issues with Nvidia 330m but I can have it professionally fixed (brand new GPU fitted, lead solder) for £169 with 6 months warranty - it won't be just cheap rebelling, and service have had hundreds of happy customers with this issue including 2011 macbook pros). I am going to upgrade ram to 8gb for about £25, then I was thinking about adding 64-120gb SSD for system and adobe software while keeping my HDD 500gb in optibay (don't really use DVD/CD anyway). The thing is, this upgrade (including new GPU) will cost me about £300, here is my question, I could sell my current mac, unfixed (it really barely shows issues with GPU but I would include full info about it in the listing) for about £450 considering the fault, then use additional £300 that was meant to be spend on upgrade and fix towards getting brand new 13" retina 8gb, 256gb ssd from apple (I have 15% discount in apple so this mac will cost me £1060 + 3 years apple care £60) that would mean I would have already £750, and I would need to add £370 to get brand new 13" retina, or wait longer and get 15" retina low spec integrated IRIS only for about £1445 + £60 apple care. The thing is, will I really see the difference in the way I will be using it, is it worth the upgrade? I do like my current 15", I do prefer 15" non retina than 13" retina even tho 13" will have higher resolution than my current mac because of some factors, like better speakers, or even the look of the macbook pro. I have played with both 13 and 15 retinas at apple store yesterday, and as much as I liked the response speed in opening programs etc, won't my current mbp work similar after my upgrade?

Maybe it is better to just get my current one fix and upgrade and save money, I could then use saved towards getting second hand iMac 27" or something. I am not speed freak and I don't need to have everything top of the range. I have been working with quite a few designers and they still use even 2008 mbp, or even 2007 iMacs, truth is, for the graphic design work, it isn't that necessary to have mega top range mac, I have been working on 2007 iMac with only 3gb or ram and HDD and it was alright.

BTW, will there be noticeable performance difference wether I use 64gb ssd for system and apps + HDD for other files, or 120-250gb ssd for system and apps + HDD or full 500gb ssd without hdd? I only use less than 40gb out of my 500gb HDD most of the time as I tend to store rest of files on external drives, cloud, or internet. Also graphic design files I work on are 5mb - 40mb max

Any advice will be appreciated but please give me reasonable advice.

Regards

 

[Altemose]

Hi,

I have currently mid 2010 15" i5 macbook pro, I use it mainly for light graphic design (for work) by light I mean, packaging design, poster design, magazine design etc, mostly I work with Adobe: Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign, and Photoshop (not that often) sometimes project involves After Effects or flash. I don't work on 3d, or large files. Currently my i5 2.53GhZ seems to be enough for my needs, everything works fine appart from some issues with Nvidia 330m but I can have it professionally fixed (brand new GPU fitted, lead solder) for £169 with 6 months warranty - it won't be just cheap rebelling, and service have had hundreds of happy customers with this issue including 2011 macbook pros). I am going to upgrade ram to 8gb for about £25, then I was thinking about adding 64-120gb SSD for system and adobe software while keeping my HDD 500gb in optibay (don't really use DVD/CD anyway). The thing is, this upgrade (including new GPU) will cost me about £300, here is my question, I could sell my current mac, unfixed (it really barely shows issues with GPU but I would include full info about it in the listing) for about £450 considering the fault, then use additional £300 that was meant to be spend on upgrade and fix towards getting brand new 13" retina 8gb, 256gb ssd from apple (I have 15% discount in apple so this mac will cost me £1060 + 3 years apple care £60) that would mean I would have already £750, and I would need to add £370 to get brand new 13" retina, or wait longer and get 15" retina low spec integrated IRIS only for about £1445 + £60 apple care. The thing is, will I really see the difference in the way I will be using it, is it worth the upgrade? I do like my current 15", I do prefer 15" non retina than 13" retina even tho 13" will have higher resolution than my current mac because of some factors, like better speakers, or even the look of the macbook pro. I have played with both 13 and 15 retinas at apple store yesterday, and as much as I liked the response speed in opening programs etc, won't my current mbp work similar after my upgrade?

Maybe it is better to just get my current one fix and upgrade and save money, I could then use saved towards getting second hand iMac 27" or something. I am not speed freak and I don't need to have everything top of the range. I have been working with quite a few designers and they still use even 2008 mbp, or even 2007 iMacs, truth is, for the graphic design work, it isn't that necessary to have mega top range mac, I have been working on 2007 iMac with only 3gb or ram and HDD and it was alright.

BTW, will there be noticeable performance difference wether I use 64gb ssd for system and apps + HDD for other files, or 120-250gb ssd for system and apps + HDD or full 500gb ssd without hdd? I only use less than 40gb out of my 500gb HDD most of the time as I tend to store rest of files on external drives, cloud, or internet. Also graphic design files I work on are 5mb - 40mb max

Any advice will be appreciated but please give me reasonable advice.

Regards

Personally, I would look at the Apple Refurb Store if available in your country. It is a great place to get a more affordable Mac, and there is usually a wide selection to choose from.

 

[BaneDark]

I live in UK, the prices in refurb department are similar to the ones I get for brand new with my discount.

I am currently thinking of repairing this nvidia issue for free by backing my logic board for about 7 mins, it does work, just not permanently, for some people worked permanently tho. If I could fix the issue for free then spending £100 for more ram and 250GB ssd seems like a deal

 

[GoCubsGo]

If you're confident in baking your logic board then do it. I simply would never try it or if I did, it would be because I have a new computer in hand. To me, having someone fix the VPU sounds like a better alternative though. Cheaper than new or refurb but slightly more expensive than baking it, for free.

 

[BaneDark]

yeah, the proper repair costs £169 + two times £11.95 courier shipment charges. It is the best fix available as they put brand new nvidia GPU that nvidia officially released as replacement for their faulty 330m, they also give 6 months warranty and use lead solder instead of apples original lead free solder, I would post a link to this service here, but I don't think that I am aloud to do so (don't want to break the rules). I would just want to save as much money as possible hence considering option with oven, however this option is not permanent, the one for £169 is permanent

 

[Barney63]

Is it the education discount that you are getting ? If so the £60 AppleCare is just to extend the telephone support from 1 year to 3 years. You get 3 years warranty and 1 years telephone automatically with the student discount.


Barney

 

[BaneDark]

yes this would be student discount. Thanks for info Barney I didn't know there are 3 years of apple care for free when buying as a student. Still can't make up my mind which mac should I go with (13 retina, or upgrade my 15 i5 2010 one) guy at the apple store said that if I upgrade my 15 to ssd and 8gb ram it will work as good as retina one, the difference will be the screen, if this is true, I might upgrade mine and save money for holiday or something

 

[Barney63]

When I went to the store on Monday to get mine, the sales rep said that at the store you need to pay £60 for the AppleCare so I just came home and did it online. I am certain that she didn't know the rules though because when you look at it online it does offer "AppleCare Protection Plan Uplift" for £60, but when you click on "Learn More..." it does show that you get 3 years hardware and 1 year phone support, all that the "Uplift" does is extend the phone support to 3 years.

Barney