MBP: Is the $500 difference in 15in Worth it?!?!?

[weckart]

The main advantage of the MBPs over the MBs, which rarely gets mentioned, is the PC Express slot. This allows a modicum of upgradability, which the Macbook will never have.

Want eSATA, another FW800 port, slotting in a TV card without losing a precious USB slot? Not a problem. As long as you have the MBP. Heck, I even remember about the time of the Powerbook G3 that some company even came up with a way of upgrading the video capablilities via the PCMCIA slot.

 

[Nugget]

I hate the midness buying.
Buy the entry level or save more money and get the 17´´ version.

The 17" may or may not be a "better" machine for some folks. Personally, I find the 15" MBP to be pushing the limits of comfort for me and I'd never want to lug around a 17" laptop. There are plenty of reasons a person might prefer a 15" and not consider the 17" to be an upgrade.

 

[MacInTO]

That hits home with me. Is it worth $500 (or $425 to be precise) today for the 9% performance increase in CPU performance? For me, coming from my PowerBook, I doubt it. But, looking 2-4 years down the road (yes, I will probably be keeping my system that long), will that 9% allow me to keep the system another 6-12 months? Who the heck knows. But, that is how I will be looking at this question in Dec/Jan when I'm ready to spring for a new machine.

I am tempted to pick up a refurb C2D MPB 2.13 for $1499 and crank up the RAM and the hard drive to a 200/250GB with the money savings.

Exactly what I did! I got a C2D MBP 2.33, updated the RAM to 3GB and then added a 250GB HD it still came out to less than a 2.4 new. Not SR, but still runs very fast! I estimates that it boots up in about 10-12 seconds!

 

[Squonk]

Exactly what I did! I got a C2D MBP 2.33, updated the RAM to 3GB and then added a 250GB HD it still came out to less than a 2.4 new. Not SR, but still runs very fast! I estimates that it boots up in about 10-12 seconds!

Seriously? Booting from the press of the power on button to the usable desktop in 12 seconds? What speed of drive is your 250GB? Surely not the 4200 rpm

 

[MacInTO]

Seriously? Booting from the press of the power on button to the usable desktop in 12 seconds? What speed of drive is your 250GB? Surely not the 4200 rpm

Seriously! It's a 5400, the WD...this guy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136123

I've put all of my daily use data back onto the drive and I've got about 100GB free still.

I've also noticed that my airport connection has not disconnected like it did occasionally before!

 

[FatSweatyBlldog]

I am tempted to pick up a refurb C2D MPB 2.13 for $1499 and crank up the RAM and the hard drive to a 200/250GB with the money savings.

If you don't have the edu discount, definitely consider a refurb. Great value, esp. since you feel comfortable upgrading.

 

[Squonk]

Seriously! It's a 5400, the WD...this guy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136123

I've put all of my daily use data back onto the drive and I've got about 100GB free still.

I've also noticed that my airport connection has not disconnected like it did occasionally before!

That is a nice drive to be sure! Did you buy AppleCare with your machine? I'm concerned that replacing the drive myself will invalidate the warranty. I know this has been discussed to death here on MR, but I'm thinking will will void it. I sure cannot live with a 120 or 160GB drive especially since I'll want Fusion/Vista/Office2003 + .net dev environment installed. The 250GB will make this all just fine.

 

[Squonk]

If you don't have the edu discount, definitely consider a refurb. Great value, esp. since you feel comfortable upgrading.

No edu discount for me. Yeah, I'm a refurb shopper for sure. Upgrades are no worries for me.

 

[MacInTO]

That is a nice drive to be sure! Did you buy AppleCare with your machine? I'm concerned that replacing the drive myself will invalidate the warranty. I know this has been discussed to death here on MR, but I'm thinking will will void it. I sure cannot live with a 120 or 160GB drive especially since I'll want Fusion/Vista/Office2003 + .net dev environment installed. The 250GB will make this all just fine.

Yes, I did buy Applecare with my machine. and yes, I think it will void the warranty. However, I'm going to keep the original drive and swap it back in should I have any problems and have to return it to Apple.

It's a nice and very fast drive. I know I can't live with a 120 because I had a 160GB HD in my 1.67MHz PB and it still wasn't enough. I think 250 is enough - for now!

 

[Squonk]

Yes, I did buy Applecare with my machine. and yes, I think it will void the warranty. However, I'm going to keep the original drive and swap it back in should I have any problems and have to return it to Apple.

It's a nice and very fast drive. I know I can't live with a 120 because I had a 160GB HD in my 1.67MHz PB and it still wasn't enough. I think 250 is enough - for now!

When swapping the drive on the MBP's, I gather it can be done easily without mar-ing the aluminum? I had a devil of a time on my PB getting the clips in the SuperDrive slot to release and scratched the opening.

From what I've seen on the web, it looks like the MBP is a bit easier for a HD swap than the PB. Would you agree? (I'm assuming you did a drive swap on your PB.)

 

[ctsport1234]

yes definately, the mbp is a much much better machine (I used to have a c2d mb) Both are great computers though and you really can't go wrong with either imo