Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Original MBP, what to upgrade to?

N

nph

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 9, 2005
1,054
216
Hi

I have the original MBP. There are some things I like about it:
- Keyboard, love it! Have not gotten used to the new one yet that I tried.
- Backlit keyboard
- The screen, have the matte one but I recently saw the MBP (old one) glossy screen which was ok and the MBA which also has a good screen
- Feeling of the machine, feels solid (not as unibody byt still)
- Track pad and button, dont like the new 'clickable' track pad. (call me old fashioned, but I like an actual button to rest my finger on)

Why am I looking at upgrading?
- Well, it is getting to be 3 years old and I know there is a limit to life of HW. Plus if I want the old keyboard or at least a computer with a trackpad with a button the time is now...
- Wifi is not good, cant be far from my airport station or it starts dropping the connection and becomes unreliable.
- Speed, am running VMWare and it works but is slow.
- Heat, it gets hot even if I am just surfing.
- Battery life, gets a max of 3 hours even with screen set low and just surfing.

At this point I have nailed it down to two options:
- Go with the MBA, like the screen though hesitant about the line issue.
- Pick up the last gen MBP, either glossy or matte while it last.

I dont like the screen on the MB it has bad viewing angle and is washed out while the MBP unibody, even though screen is better it is a little too glossy for my taste and they both have the new trackpad. So it is either an Air or the old MBP while it is available.

Would I see a difference in the areas I feel are important (heat and battery life) if I went with the MBP 2.4 or 2.5 last gen? Would I notice the speed difference?
How would the Air compare to my existing MBP?
I can easily see myself using the Air a lot due to the weight and size.

My uses are:
- Watching video from the internet, CBS HD shows for instance, movie trailers etc.
- iPhoto, email, Safari and the occasional VMWare for VPN clients
- iWeb and some other limited web design
- Simple games like Spaceward Ho, Age of Empires, Civ
- Nikon photo software.

Is the 2Gig Ram in the MBA a serious limitation?

I have an imac, -06 as well, for my heavy lifting and I have come to realize that in the future I will probably continue to use a desktop for the heavy lifting, handbrake etc.

So what is your advice, go with the MBA or pick up the last gen MBP while it is available?

Many thanks
 
I wasn't a fan of the buttonless trackpad either. I bought it and hated it for the first few days. Now, I love it. It is much smoother which makes a difference. And, I now am used to just clicking wherever my finger is. I love it now! Amazingly, you will get used to it much faster than you think. I even use my mouse less now since having the new glass trackpad. Will just take you a few days. Same thing with the keyboard. I go back to an old style now and HATE it. I don't know how we ever lived with the old keyboard and trackpad.

Seriously, don't NOT buy a new Mac because of either, as I think with just a week's use, you would change your mind. Ask some other people that have made the switch.

The unibody Macs are amazing. So much more solid. Good luck whichever route you go. I am using a unibody MB now, but I plan to move to the MBA on its next revision. I love this MB, I am waiting for a MBA with the glass trackpad... specifically buttonless! Waiting on a few other things too. But this trackpad is really nice.
 
How is your MBP compared to my orignal when it coems to heat and battery time then? Also how is your wifi?

However it does have the extremely glossy screen...

Thanks
 
i own a MBP unibody, and so far i haven't had any issues with heat. the only time when it heats up is when i'm running it in bootcamp; but it never gets that hot that i can't touch it.
 
I owned a 2.4GHZ MBP (Late 2007) and I wanted something a little more compact and lighter so I got a unibody macbook 2.4. Overall the CPU performance is about the same or better than my older MBP, however the integrated GPU is about 40% slower for some games.

I was disappointed about the display for a while but eventually it stopped bothering me. It was better in some ways over my MBP but overall the viewing angel was not as good. But with that said, its still just marginally worse than the one used in the 15" pro. So its really not that bad. Calibrate it and it will no longer looked washed out, I was surprised.

In all here are the biggest things I liked about switch:
- Equivalent CPU performance
- Adequate GPU performance
- Runs very cool compared to any mac before it, or those currently in production.
- Quiet, only a single well placed fan
- Speakers are as good as my old MBP
- 4GB (for most users 2GB is fine, but if your doing audio composing or rendering, then the extra ram helps)
- Easy HD upgrade access for an SSD in a year.. or sooner =)
- Trackpad is great.. really it is
- Lighter, better fit/finish and way more sturdy than my MBP
- Hinge system is better with about 10 degrees more tilt.
- Richer color compared to my MBP, well from the right viewing angel.
- uses less power, so less weight, less heat and more battery life.

Things that bug me about the switch:
- keys feel a little softer than I would like
- Display polarization, but if you angel it correctly then its not so bad. but its just something I need to live with.

So there you have it
 
nph said:
Hi

- Track pad and button, dont like the new 'clickable' track pad. (call me old fashioned, but I like an actual button to rest my finger on)
Click to expand...

You can rest your thumb on the bottom of the new track pad like you can with a button and use it normally. I think you can even do 2 finger scrolling while resting your thumb on the 'button area', I had a go on a new macbook at a store.
 
Yeah, the new glass trackpad is pretty awesome.

You can rest your finger there all the time and it won't notice your finger being there. Seems like a good thing that they made it like that so that people who loves separate button, can still rest their thumbs there. :)

The bottom 1cm or so is "inactive" if you approach it from the bottom. I don't know how to describe it better. Just go try it out at your nearest Apple reseller or Apple Store. :)
 
Interesting that no one suggests a Rev B MBA, neither HDD or SSD.

Nobody thinks that is a good alternative?

Thanks
 
nph said:
Interesting that no one suggests a Rev B MBA, neither HDD or SSD.

Nobody thinks that is a good alternative?

Thanks
Click to expand...

well it has that vertical line issue, but other than that it's a good machine.
 
nph said:
Interesting that no one suggests a Rev B MBA, neither HDD or SSD.

Nobody thinks that is a good alternative?

Thanks
Click to expand...

SSD are nice but unless your willing to shell out 500-1k for an Intel SSD then its not worth getting right now. The others on the market aren't that interesting just yet... The 256GB unit from Samsung should be nice but those are not available yet.

If the stuff you want to do fall inline with what a MBA can offer then it's worth considering. It does after all have a nice screen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back