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Should I continue upgrading Late 2006 MBP?

joonyaboy

joonyaboy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 27, 2010
336
297
FL
I've searched and read several threads and not quite found the answer I was looking for (plus it's a date-sensitive question).

I have a Late 2006 MBP 17" running latest SL.
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP21.00A5.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.14f5

My battery is okay, but not a huge concern as I am always near a power source. I have a Scorpio 1TB HDD.


My question is...should I continue upgrading this model (assuming I can still upgrade anything on it)....or is my future money better spent on a newer model?

I web browse/watch videos and movies/ stream about 80% of the time. I occasionally iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband.

Thanks
 
You've held on much longer than many. I would skip trying to upgrade what you have, you're pretty done as it is, and buy new.
 
stop upgrading it and save up for a new mbp, its been (well almost) 5 years, and when it comes to tech 5 years is like a millennium.
 
I think it's still very capable computer. It'll edit HD videos in iMovie, without any problems. It'll run photoshop.
It probably won't play the latest games, but most people use xbox/ps3/wii for that.

If it runs, I would just get an SSD. It'll probably be close to the new MBA.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The "I want something shiny/new" itch is on me and I'm trying to fight it off. I think I will hold off till next fall if I can. Maybe if SSD'd will drop a bit, I can always get that and transfer it to the next MBP I get.
 
I'd say go ahead and get an SSD in the interim. You can take it with you to a new machine when you finally do buy a new one. An SSD will breathe some new life into your relic MBP and give it about 6 more months of life, maybe a year. After that, go buy a Sandy Bridge MBP and move the SSD over. And with the exception of the RAM and possibly graphics, I think your machine is about the same speed as my 2.4 13" MBP from earlier this year.

btw, how does the ATI X1600 compare to the GeForce 320M?
 
Don't bother with an SSD, your computer only has SATA 1.5Gbps, so you won't even benefit from SSDs speeds.
 
With those specs I wouldn't bother upgrading, but I wouldn't bother getting a new computer just yet. I'm pretty sure it could last you another year working fine, which should give you plenty of time to save up for a new computer.
 
I have almost the exact same model you do except mine is a version 2,2. I recently maxed out the RAM and upgraded to a 7200RPM, 500GB HDD. I have the same "want a shiny new one" itch, but with these upgrades I feel as though I can get several more years of use out it. I'm on my second battery and will probably get the third one in the next 10-12 months from now.

My use for the MBP is also about identical to yours and I use Garageband several times a week and this MBP just keeps on trucking. It's a well made machine and if properly taken care of will last a long time.

Yours is upgraded as much as it can be, except for the SSD, but like others have said, it would be a waste of money because your logic board's transfer rate is slower than the SSD and would bottleneck it severely.
 
joonyaboy said:
I've searched and read several threads and not quite found the answer I was looking for (plus it's a date-sensitive question).

I have a Late 2006 MBP 17" running latest SL.
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP21.00A5.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.14f5

My battery is okay, but not a huge concern as I am always near a power source. I have a Scorpio 1TB HDD.


My question is...should I continue upgrading this model (assuming I can still upgrade anything on it)....or is my future money better spent on a newer model?

I web browse/watch videos and movies/ stream about 80% of the time. I occasionally iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have the 2007 version MBP myself. I just put 6GB ram and SSD into it, along with doing an optibay+500GB HDD. I USB enclosured(yeah I know) my current HDD and my optical drive. I cannot update my MBP any more now.

I'm going to hold onto it until the new MBP refresh in Q1 2011 and then sell it off (should still get good money with all the upgrades to, I've been offered $650 so far for it)... and buy myself the new MBP when it comes out. When that happens, I WILL BE REMOVING MY SSD and bringing it with me to the new machine (unless they come already with 2.5" SSD's). I understand I won't get the full benefit of my SSD in my 2007 MBP, but it was a future investment as I'll be bringing it with me to a SATA 3.0 machine in 2011.

I'd HIGHLY suggest you do the same. Stop upgrading and hold on to that baby (and treat her well) until the new MBP refresh comes... then sell it off and upgrade. You'll get at least $500 for it I'd guess.

Good luck! And glad to see some other folks are getting the life I am outta my MBP with theirs!
 
joonyaboy said:
Thanks for the replies.

The "I want something shiny/new" itch is on me and I'm trying to fight it off. I think I will hold off till next fall if I can. Maybe if SSD'd will drop a bit, I can always get that and transfer it to the next MBP I get.
Click to expand...

Read above ;) Just did that myself. Hell even if the new macbook pro's come with a SSD... no harm in having two ;)

I'm telling you, you will HATE yourself if you buy a MBP now and in april (or close to) the new ones come out... you'll go nuts! I've done it before, and will NEVER do that again. I only buy apples products within about a 3 month period from refreshes to assure I get the maximum amount of time before I start hating myself haha.
 
Doesn't sound like you need a new MBP, as everything you're doing on the notebook is quite light. But as you've admitted, you're more wanting to get a new MBP. So go ahead and treat yourself to a new one--but wait until the new refresh. You've held out for this long, what's a bit longer? :)
 
alphaod said:
Don't bother with an SSD, your computer only has SATA 1.5Gbps, so you won't even benefit from SSDs speeds.
Click to expand...

That's absolutely untrue. I replaced my MBP's hard drive with an SSD (at 1.5Gbps) and it's orders of magnitudes faster. Sure, an SSD might saturate 1.5Gbps, but a normal laptop hard drive doesn't even come close.
 
All great replies...thanks for the help.

alphaod said:
Don't bother with an SSD, your computer only has SATA 1.5Gbps, so you won't even benefit from SSDs speeds.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Had not heard this one, makes sense tho.

bniu said:
btw, how does the ATI X1600 compare to the GeForce 320M?
Click to expand...

Not sure as it came with it, but the 09 Mac Mini is quite speedy compared to my MBP

SandboxGeneral said:
Yours is upgraded as much as it can be, except for the SSD, but like others have said, it would be a waste of money because your logic board's transfer rate is slower than the SSD and would bottleneck it severely.
Click to expand...

Kenndac said:
That's absolutely untrue. I replaced my MBP's hard drive with an SSD (at 1.5Gbps) and it's orders of magnitudes faster. Sure, an SSD might saturate 1.5Gbps, but a normal laptop hard drive doesn't even come close.
Click to expand...

Hrmmm. Well, I will hold off for now. I just wanted to see a general consensus.
 
Kenndac said:
That's absolutely untrue. I replaced my MBP's hard drive with an SSD (at 1.5Gbps) and it's orders of magnitudes faster. Sure, an SSD might saturate 1.5Gbps, but a normal laptop hard drive doesn't even come close.
Click to expand...

yep have to agree with this one.

there are 2 main benefits of an ssd

high sustained transfer speed - think large file transfers like movie rips etc

and

small file random access - this is where fast boot, 'instant' app launch and general snappiness comes in.

whilst the 1.5G SATA will limit the sustained transfer to an extent, it'll still be fast - iirc 1.5G = 125M max theoretical thro'put. For a laptop mechanical drive i doubt you'd be much above half of that.

With the random access - you'd definitely still get the snappy feel. For example I've read about (but not tried) using an ssd in an external firewire drive as a boot drive. iirc what i read, then you still experience the fast boot and general snappiness, but of course the sustained transfer would be limited to the usual mac 80M/60M for read/write. An SSD on 1.5G SATA would be better still and feel much faster than the mechanical.
 
rtrt said:
whilst the 1.5G SATA will limit the sustained transfer to an extent, it'll still be fast - iirc 1.5G = 125M max theoretical thro'put. For a laptop mechanical drive i doubt you'd be much above half of that.
Click to expand...

I just replaced a WD 320Gb (7200 RPM) with an OCZ Vertex 2 in my early 2008 MBP, and ran a bunch of speed tests before and after .

The SSD is doing about 106 / 125 MB/s (read/ write) vs. a shabby 65/ 76 MB/s for the fairly fast mechanical HDD (AJA test), and is roughly 50% faster in Photoshop tests (boot also used as scratch) .

It boots faster (which really is the least important thing to me) , yet complex programs launch no faster, Photoshop CS4 actually a bit slower (4 vs. 6s).

Accessing large directories with lots of files can be laggy in comparison, same on my MacPro since using SSD boot, but that depends.

Snappier ? Yes, but not night and day, after an hour you don't notice any more; I'm sure the 3GB/s Sata connector of the newer MBPs would benefit more.

Best upgrade I ever did for the MBP was 4GB of Ram to 6GB, that's quite noticable .

The good thing about getting an SSD, though, is you can use it in another computer later on.
 
OP, I think you should hold out. I don't see any of the programs that you are using requires a lot of resource or processing power.

If you do a lot of photo-editing, upgrade to 6GB of RAM, it really makes a lot of difference.

And if you need to splurge, buy an external 24"/27"/30" LCD to connect to your MBP. You can still use it for ur next purchase. :)
 
narofx said:
OP, I think you should hold out. I don't see any of the programs that you are using requires a lot of resource or processing power.

If you do a lot of photo-editing, upgrade to 6GB of RAM, it really makes a lot of difference.

And if you need to splurge, buy an external 24"/27"/30" LCD to connect to your MBP. You can still use it for ur next purchase. :)
Click to expand...

Sounds like great advice. At this point the resale value of such an old model would be a loss. Might as well get the most out of it, and then upgrade to the next generation Macbook pros when they come out.
 
According to SL I had 4MB memory, but alas I found out later on that it is only using ~3MB :(

I guess there is no workaround for this huh?
 
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