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MacBackpacker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 1, 2010
3
0
I'm in a situation here, and I need a bit of advice.

I currently have a 2.16GHz Macbook Pro C2D (15"). It's not a unibody, and I've had it for roughly 2 years. It's a good machine, but I'm getting itchy for an upgrade.

I got offered a last-gen MacBook Pro 15", the one with a removable battery, for $1300. It is a friends computer, in wonderful shape, has built-in video cards, fully loaded, etc. The only problem...no warranty.

Now, should I try and sell my MBP and upgrade to this? Or maybe sell mine, and get a new, 13" MacBook Pro?

I am in school, and I do pretty basic stuff. I use the iApps, a few Omni programs, and VMWare occasionally.

Advice is appreciated.
 
Honestly, for the basics your current machine would suit your needs just fine. However, if you're really looking to upgrade, I'd say go for the 13" MBP. It's more portable than the 15" you have now and with the current gen you're likely to notice a speed boost as well. I have the 13" MBP and I love it! I take it everywhere and have it connected to a 24" Apple cinema display for use at home if I want a "desktop" experience (so screen size really isn't that important to me and I'd rather have the portability). I say put your 15" on both ebay and craigslist and see if you can get $800-$900 then shop the refurb store and pick up a refurbished 13" uMBP for $999.
 
I would wait for the update and see what comes out. After the update there will be lots of refurbs available for great price and they also have the same warranty as new ones. Moreover, you can ask your friend to drop the price as you could get a brand new MBP for same price he is offering with full warranty. You also have fully working computer so I wouldn't hurry too much because you might regret it afterwards
 
I would wait for the update and see what comes out. After the update there will be lots of refurbs available for great price and they also have the same warranty as new ones. Moreover, you can ask your friend to drop the price as you could get a brand new MBP for same price he is offering with full warranty. You also have fully working computer so I wouldn't hurry too much because you might regret it afterwards

I'd snag the 13" MBP NOW. It's $999 and highly unlikely it'll be any cheaper even with an across the board refresh.
 
I'm in a situation here, and I need a bit of advice.

I currently have a 2.16GHz Macbook Pro C2D (15"). It's not a unibody, and I've had it for roughly 2 years. It's a good machine, but I'm getting itchy for an upgrade.

I got offered a last-gen MacBook Pro 15", the one with a removable battery, for $1300. It is a friends computer, in wonderful shape, has built-in video cards, fully loaded, etc. The only problem...no warranty.

Now, should I try and sell my MBP and upgrade to this? Or maybe sell mine, and get a new, 13" MacBook Pro?

I am in school, and I do pretty basic stuff. I use the iApps, a few Omni programs, and VMWare occasionally.

Advice is appreciated.

If your needs don't warrant the computer, why buy? Sounds like your good with what you have.

Habitus :apple:
 
If your needs don't warrant the computer, why buy? Sounds like your good with what you have.

Bite your tongue! That's very un-American of you, bringing practicality in before an itch for new stuff :p.

OP, do you really need the warranty? It's a nice price and you know the seller, so you know it's not abused (half the battle with used computers). There's nothing wrong with stepping up in technology and this sounds like a good opportunity you may regret having passed up later.
 
I would wait till you have the funds to buy a laptop without risking yourself not having one for school.
but i would go with the new laptop.
 
I think $1300 is too much for what you describe. I would go for a refurb just after the next refresh. Your C2D sounds enviable- I am still on G4 tech!
 
I have the same MBP, and with 3 gigs of RAM I see no reason to upgrade. Maybe once SSD prices drop, I'll upgrade the HDD but really there's no reason to upgrade for your uses.
 
I have the same MBP, and with 3 gigs of RAM I see no reason to upgrade. Maybe once SSD prices drop, I'll upgrade the HDD but really there's no reason to upgrade for your uses.

+1 for that. I have a 2.4GHz MBP. It does all I need and is just portable enough.

The next 1 or 2 upgrades are more like to be worth the money for you because a new CPU comes in. I would wait (in fact I do) till those MBP's appear in the refurb store and revisit the issue then. You don't want to upgrade for a 20% speed increase. Wait till you get a 50% or more speed increase and a SSD for $1500 refurb/edu.
 
If its the 2.4 MBP, they are offered as a refurb in the apple store for 1299. I would rather have that one, as it comes with a one year warranty and can be stretched out to 3 with apple care.
 
It's all up to you.
In the end it all comes down to what YOU will be happiest with - regardless of the price.

As others have suggested, wait until the MBP refresh. Current MBP's will drop in price and they will be more affordable :)
 
+1 for that. I have a 2.4GHz MBP. It does all I need and is just portable enough.

The next 1 or 2 upgrades are more like to be worth the money for you because a new CPU comes in. I would wait (in fact I do) till those MBP's appear in the refurb store and revisit the issue then. You don't want to upgrade for a 20% speed increase. Wait till you get a 50% or more speed increase and a SSD for $1500 refurb/edu.

But then again, why not to wait till Sandy Bridge which will be released in early 2011 and will have +2.8GHz clock speed and 4 cores as default. Waiting game is endless but if you have a working computer already, then wait of course but if you really need one, you're better off buying one.
 
I'd personally wait, my even ancienter than yours MBP (core duo 2GHz from 2006) is showing signs that I should replace it. (occasional 30 second pause and spinning beach-ball of death for unknown reasons)
As it's my meetings/conferences laptop I'll probably retire it for an iPad in April.
4 years of hard-use is probably the start of the reliability 'bathtub' failure curve exponential problems increase for an MBP? Yours might have 2 years of left!
 
I think you should stick with what you have. I have the same model, and it works just fine and dandy for heftier apps than you use. I'm on my 3rd mac laptop. The first 2 were productive for 4-5 years. I plan on sticking with this one for 4. The upgrade you're looking at won't get you much for what will probably be a $500 net expense.
 
Bite your tongue! That's very un-American of you, bringing practicality in before an itch for new stuff :p.

OP, do you really need the warranty? It's a nice price and you know the seller, so you know it's not abused (half the battle with used computers). There's nothing wrong with stepping up in technology and this sounds like a good opportunity you may regret having passed up later.

I know, I know. My apologies. Facilitate commerce by purchasing a new Mac, now!

Habitus :apple:
 
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