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Thinking of upgrading from a 2.33 to the new 2.8 15" MBP: Big speed difference?
- Thread starter Iso79
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While you will notice an increase of speed and gfx performance, I don't know whether or not the difference will be worth a relatively slight upgrade in processor speed.
IMO you might as well wait for the next generation to get a new one as the performance gap will surely be wider.
IMO you might as well wait for the next generation to get a new one as the performance gap will surely be wider.
I went from a 2.33ghz, 4gig RAM, 320GIG drive, ATI 1600x 256 and went to the uMBP listed in my sig. Honestly, I've noticed a very slight performance in speed. I haven't done any gaming on the new uMBP but general use no huge performance. I mainly went with the new uMBP cause of the new design.
Get a 17" mbp, its the only mbp in the line that uses an SATA-II (future SSD upgrade benefits from this).
All the new 13" and 15" mbp cannot accept a 3.0 Gb/s SATA-II hdd, I've tried numerous different SATA-II hdds in the 2.8GHz 15" mbp and all freezes.
But the stock 500GB hitachi hdd that came with my mbp worked flawlessly but surprise surprise that stock hdd is a SATA-I. And yes I've updated to the 1.7 firmware.
I'd say jump to the 17".
All the new 13" and 15" mbp cannot accept a 3.0 Gb/s SATA-II hdd, I've tried numerous different SATA-II hdds in the 2.8GHz 15" mbp and all freezes.
But the stock 500GB hitachi hdd that came with my mbp worked flawlessly but surprise surprise that stock hdd is a SATA-I. And yes I've updated to the 1.7 firmware.
I'd say jump to the 17".
Where have you been? Their was a firmware update for both the 13 and 15in, although it seems to have some problems giving people long beach balls and I'm avoiding it as I don't have an SSD so there's no point to update. If it's not broke don't fix it.
Though to answer the question you probably won't notice the difference.
Same place as me I guess, just learned that it was upgraded. Glad I didn't care in the first place and still bought my 13" pro
I was asking myself the same question as I have a similar machine as yours (see sig) untill a friend of mine showed me the performance difference a SSD can make.
If you don't care much for graphical performance, because the ATI X1600 is kinda lacking for today's games, then I would recommend you buy a SSD and max out the RAM (2 sticks of 2GB so you get the benefits of dual channel memory bus).
If you really want to go all the way with the "refreshing" of your MBP, I would get the inside cleaned out completely (taking it apart) and reapplying thermal paste. Then install your new components while you put it back together and voila!
If your not comfortable with all this, give the apple store or a certified apple repair center a call (if you care for warranty or simply prefer it) and ask them if they are willing to do this for you and for how much.
Or you could find a handy friend and have him do it for you.
If you don't care much for graphical performance, because the ATI X1600 is kinda lacking for today's games, then I would recommend you buy a SSD and max out the RAM (2 sticks of 2GB so you get the benefits of dual channel memory bus).
If you really want to go all the way with the "refreshing" of your MBP, I would get the inside cleaned out completely (taking it apart) and reapplying thermal paste. Then install your new components while you put it back together and voila!
If your not comfortable with all this, give the apple store or a certified apple repair center a call (if you care for warranty or simply prefer it) and ask them if they are willing to do this for you and for how much.
Or you could find a handy friend and have him do it for you.
I've mulled this over too. (See my sig for my MBP).
For me, the main, and most notable advantage would be the ability to utilize 4GB RAM or more. I run Paralles, and VMWare daily (and even VirtualBox on occasion) and would love to throw more RAM out there.
I doubt there would be significant performance gains for you, but, as mentioned, the video would be snappier and you would have a higher frame buffer if you opted for 512MB VRAM (frankly I wish they would throw a 1GB sku in the mix).
I did as suggested too.. I updated the RAM and the HDD to breathe new life into my MBP and that does help a bunch.
For me, the main, and most notable advantage would be the ability to utilize 4GB RAM or more. I run Paralles, and VMWare daily (and even VirtualBox on occasion) and would love to throw more RAM out there.
I doubt there would be significant performance gains for you, but, as mentioned, the video would be snappier and you would have a higher frame buffer if you opted for 512MB VRAM (frankly I wish they would throw a 1GB sku in the mix).
I did as suggested too.. I updated the RAM and the HDD to breathe new life into my MBP and that does help a bunch.