I currently live in Thailand and the price difference between the two base models (15") here can be converted into around 465USD. Can someone tell me if that difference is worth it? Also, how big is the difference between the old graphic card and the new one?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Old MBP VS New MBP? Is it worth 465 USD?
- Thread starter thisvoid
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not worth it.
I don't think the new ones are worth 465USD. And this is coming from someone who just bought a Penryn MacBook Pro.
Barefeats ran some tests and determined that for 99% of the usage their isn't a speed difference between 128 VRAM and 256 VRAM. Sure the processor is a tad faster - 2.2 v 2.4 - but I am unconvinced of the real world benefits of 200 mhz. What may show up in benchmark tests is much less likely to show up in the real world, IMHO.
So is 465USD worth multitouch? My thoughts are no. The base harddrive is bigger, yes, but you could buy a Western Digital Passport and have a 320 GB hard drive for 169 USD. Throw in 4GB of ram for 99 USD and you have a faster, better machine (minus multitouch) for about 100 USD less.
I don't think the new ones are worth 465USD. And this is coming from someone who just bought a Penryn MacBook Pro.
Barefeats ran some tests and determined that for 99% of the usage their isn't a speed difference between 128 VRAM and 256 VRAM. Sure the processor is a tad faster - 2.2 v 2.4 - but I am unconvinced of the real world benefits of 200 mhz. What may show up in benchmark tests is much less likely to show up in the real world, IMHO.
So is 465USD worth multitouch? My thoughts are no. The base harddrive is bigger, yes, but you could buy a Western Digital Passport and have a 320 GB hard drive for 169 USD. Throw in 4GB of ram for 99 USD and you have a faster, better machine (minus multitouch) for about 100 USD less.
Yes you are right. For 99% of uses, 128MB vs 256MB vs 512MB video ram makes no difference. It doesn't make a difference for using Safari, Mail, Office, and most other applications. But for things like graphic modeling (Maya, CAD, etc.), and even gaming, it makes a big difference that you have twice the video ram to store textures.
Penryn brings support for SSE4. Although there probably aren't any programs which take advantage of this now, programs which will will be much faster on Penryn systems then equivalent Merom systems.
Penryn has a 45nm core, which means less heat. Also has a 6MB L2 cache (Merom has 4MB L2 Cache).
Base hard drive is larger.
Multitouch.
New vs Refurb.
If you can nab the MBP with the edu discount, you can get the base model for $1800. The difference is then only $350.
Penryn brings support for SSE4. Although there probably aren't any programs which take advantage of this now, programs which will will be much faster on Penryn systems then equivalent Merom systems.
Penryn has a 45nm core, which means less heat. Also has a 6MB L2 cache (Merom has 4MB L2 Cache).
Base hard drive is larger.
Multitouch.
New vs Refurb.
If you can nab the MBP with the edu discount, you can get the base model for $1800. The difference is then only $350.
The new MacBook Pros also have the revamped keyboard layout. The lack of media keys on other Pros really bothers me. It also seems from the pictures on Apple.com that the keyboard backlight is now slightly bluish (like the MacBook Air?).
would the 128mb vs 256mb vs 512mb graphics card make any difference in driving multiple external monitors? say for example (2) 30" ACDs?