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New MBP vs. Refurb MBP

S

sonia1234321

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 8, 2008
106
0
So, this one's a bit different from the New MB vs. Refurb MBP

The difference in price is about 1000$; Are the new features really worth it? Is the video card really that much better?

How long will the refurbed MBP will be stable for (Snow Leopard, etc.)

What do you guys think?

If I could save the money... I'd most likely buy a DSLR.

Thanks
 
unless you really are into the aesthetics (and not value), the new computers arent really worth the extra money (compared to a refurb)...
 
Ah, thanks for the quick response!

I have decided to get the 2.5 GHz refurb MBP with 512 dedicated VRAM.

Gonna order it tommorow! :D
 
I agree with your decision.

But is the difference really $1000? The old high-end 15" MBP is very similar in specs to the new low-end one. The price difference is less than $1000, though I still don't think it's justified.

Refurbs of discontinued models are typically good deals and this is no exception.
 
dougnewman said:
I agree with your decision.

But is the difference really $1000? The old high-end 15" MBP is very similar in specs to the new low-end one. The price difference is less than $1000, though I still don't think it's justified.

Refurbs of discontinued models are typically good deals and this is no exception.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm Canadian; So the price is a bit higher ;)

BUT WHO CARES I HAVE A TOP OF THE LINE (refurbed) 15" MBP! WEWT! :D
 
Refurbished Apple's in the Uk have terrible prices. The difference betweren the New MB pro and the refurb old MB pro is £270 and you miss out on the new graphics update, 2GB of ram and the 120GB hard drive - the only thing you gain realy is an extra FW port on a shared bus - not worth it!
 
I spoke to an Apple Store in the UK today, and they tell me that their current stock of Macbook Pros have to go back to Apple tomorrow. Does anyone want to hazard a guess, or better relate it to previous product updates, what will happen to those Macbook Pros?

Will they appear on the refurb store over the next few weeks at discounted prices?

I've arranged to go along tomorrow morning first thing before they take them away so I can compare a matte screen with glossy. But I don't want to end up buying a full priced matte model from the store if I can save a decent amount on a refurb.
 
what you need to do is get the refurb 2.4 ghz macbook pro. You're saving a ton of money by going with that one. The new ones are really nice and awesome, but won't be all that much faster than the old mbps. the difference is really in the look...and if you like the easier to replace hard drive
 
They're already on the apple store listed under "Special Deals" under the "Clearance" section, below the refurbs. This is what they show on the pros:

MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (previous generation)
15.4-inch widescreen display
2GB memory
200GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Price: $1,599.00
Estimated Ship:
Within 24 hours
Free Shipping


MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (previous generation)
15.4-inch widescreen display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Price: $1,799.00
Estimated Ship:
Within 24 hours
Free Shipping

If I remember correctly, the $1,799 one was $2,499 two days ago. That's the one I was going to order before the new ones were announced. Now I'm undecided.
 
ladytonya said:
They're already on the apple store listed under "Special Deals" under the "Clearance" section, below the refurbs. This is what they show on the pros:

MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (previous generation)
15.4-inch widescreen display
2GB memory
200GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Price: $1,599.00
Estimated Ship:
Within 24 hours
Free Shipping


MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (previous generation)
15.4-inch widescreen display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Price: $1,799.00
Estimated Ship:
Within 24 hours
Free Shipping

If I remember correctly, the $1,799 one was $2,499 two days ago. That's the one I was going to order before the new ones were announced. Now I'm undecided.
Click to expand...

They are even cheaper if you go with refurb.
 
I recently bought my MBP and am very satisfied with the purchase (in the sig). I was a little anxious about it since the new MBP's were coming out, but after playing with one at the Apple store, my good thoughts about the older model have are only enhanced. I do not think you will be sorry with a refurb. ;)
 
ladytonya said:
They're already on the apple store listed under "Special Deals" under the "Clearance" section, below the refurbs. This is what they show on the pros:

MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (previous generation)
15.4-inch widescreen display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Price: $1,799.00
Estimated Ship:
Within 24 hours
Free Shipping
Click to expand...


The kicker though is that it doesn't specify if you will get a glossy or matte display. Is it a lottery?
 
LeoFio said:
The kicker though is that it doesn't specify if you will get a glossy or matte display. Is it a lottery?
Click to expand...

If the refurb store is any indication, the ones that do not specify the screen type will be matte. The glossy ones have that identified in the specs.
 
Based on the amount of people who are disappointed in the new MBPs, I think there is going to be a run on used and refurbished versions. That's what I'm thinking of doing to hold me over until the next one comes out. Maybe when Apple sees refurbished MBPs flying off the shelf they will release they dropped the ball on this one and do another refresh in January. I'd like to see them at least add an option for matte screen.
 
If they get rid of the black bezel and add a matte screen, I can get past the black chiclet keyboard. I'm not going to get my hopes up on it though; apple still hasn't given us a wireless full-sized keyboard yet.
 
Slovak said:
If the refurb store is any indication, the ones that do not specify the screen type will be matte. The glossy ones have that identified in the specs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I ordered the matte. The other MBP at the same price specified "glossy", so I'm assuming is matte.

1-3 business days; I'M SO EXCITED! (this is my first mac) :D:apple::D
 
I just ordered a refurbished MBP 2.4GHz for $1349. I thought that was a pretty sweet deal. The clearance one (not refurbished) at $1599 is not bad, either, especially if you're unhappy with the new models. I wasn't too thrilled with the glossy-only displays of the new model; that was a deal-breaker for me. The previous generation also has the advantage of having a DVI port and a FW400, both of which I'm going to be using, so I'm glad I won't have to fiddle with adapters all the time.

Though my main machine is still going to be my Mac Pro, this is replacing an old Thinkpad T23. The T23 still rocks, and I'll miss the TrackPoint when I'm on the MBP (I really don't like touchpads), and I'm not completely crazy about some of Apple's design decisions, but having a portable with OS X running on it will be useful for me.

If I was buying a notebook as my main machine, I'd get a 17" MBP with high-resolution display. The display is worth the extra bucks if you're going to be spending a lot of time in front of it (especially if you're not connecting to an external display) and if the work you do can benefit from the higher 1920 x 1200 resolution.

EDIT: Also, maxing out the RAM on the previous generation is very cheap (if you buy from a 3rd party). Only $68 for 4GB of DDR2 from Crucial.

EDIT: Corrected 1.4GHz -> 2.4GHz
 
nilk said:
I just ordered a refurbished MBP 1.4GHz for $1349.
Click to expand...

I hope you meant 2.4GHz :D

nilk said:
Also, maxing out the RAM on the previous generation is very cheap (if you buy from a 3rd party). Only $68 for 4GB of DDR2 from Crucial.
Click to expand...

Some say the OS will only recognize 3GB. Is there a significant improvement in overall speed putting in more than 2GB? I know more is better, but how much better?
 
Slovak said:
Some say the OS will only recognize 3GB. Is there a significant improvement in overall speed putting in more than 2GB? I know more is better, but how much better?
Click to expand...
The MacBooks and MacBook Pros that were just discontinued will recognize 4 GB of RAM.

Older models will only recognize 3.3 GB but this is certainly not the case for them.
 
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