Spec and price comparison between new MB, MBP and referbs/after market add ons

[ofmossandmoose]

With the specs so close between the new MB, and MBP's is the price difference really justified if done as a cost/spec analysis? If you do a cost/spec analysis of the new notebooks to the current referb deals or the cost of their market add ons (more memory, ram etc.) what comes out as the clear winner?

I don't mind doing extra work (installation etc.), and the new touch pad while cool is only of marginal interest... i do mostly music and i need the most speed and memory for the buck... I'll be using a large external drive to dump onto when not traveling so thats a consideration as well.

Also the lower the price the more musical gadgets i can afford which is great, however my priority is to get the highest powered cost effective laptop so it stays current the longest.

PLEASE LIST YOUR CHOICE IN CAPS AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR REPLY, IN ORDER IF THERE IS A TOSS UP OR A CLOSE SECOND... THANK YOU

 

[ofmossandmoose]

sorry

bump

only once i swear

 

[DocSmitty]

Here goes, but I refuse to post IN ANNOYING CAPS.

Refurb models are always going to be your best bang for the buck (unless you have access to student / adc discount)

As for the addons (RAM, HDD) the RAM is still way overpriced - $400 apple price vs $100 (more like $70) from newegg to go from 2gb to 4gb, plus if you buy 3rd party you can sell the 2gb it comes with for ~$30 on ebay.

HDD prices actually look pretty reasonable. $50 to go from a 250gb 5400 to 200gb 7200rpm drive is much less than you would pay to upgrade aftermarket (buy new one, sell old one) so unless you want to have a second HDD to use as an external backup, go with their upgrade.

As always, if you want the latest and greatest, it will cost you. If money is tight, go for a 2.2 or 2.4 refurb, otherwise pick from the 2.4 or 2.5 model. I don't think the 2.6 is worth the upgrade cost.