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To buy a new laptop for college or wait

G

Galaxius

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 26, 2007
22
0
Hey all!

Currently I have a 2007 15" MBP (Santa Rosa) and it's been good to me for the most part. Have had 3 logic board replacements, and a few crappy batteries, but as a whole it's been a work horse and still is pretty dang fast. Only problem is I'm worried about the power I'll need in the last two years of school for me. I'm going to transfer as an MIS (Management Information Systems) major. The things I'm worried about with my current machine are the hard drives full, and the battery is terrible. That coupled with a bit of gadget envy (hi res display, multitouch trackpad, core i5) makes it a tough decision. I know I could do a fresh reinstall of the OS, have my music and movies on an external, and get a new battery to fix these issues, but the idea of having a 7-8 hour battery life with a much bigger HDD to contain all my media content appeals to me.

What is everyone's opinion? Should I wait a little longer for something better on the horizon? Or should I take the plunge since its midcycle to have something much better for the last few years?
 
If you have the budget, and if you believe the processing power of a newer machine can benefit you then why not? Buy a new MacBook Pro, sell your old one to cover some of the cost and you won't regret it.
 
the general concensus around these parts is to upgrade if you need to/want to. if we always waited for the "next gen" we'd never get anywhere!

as a fellow university student, i totally feel you on the battery update. the first laptop i used for my first 2 years had 2 hours battery. this one has 7 or 8. it makes a big difference. i say upgrade!
 
That computer could still last you a while longer. I'd say keep it and get a SSD and then get an optibay off of ebay for about $30 to put your current hard drive in. (The optibay will replace your Superdrive, so you'll have to get an external one) With a SSD your computer will really start to fly again and you can move the SSD to your next computer, so it is an investment for the future as well :)

As for the battery, I'd get a replacement one and keep the original so you could use both of them.
 
MrCooperS said:
If you have the budget, and if you believe the processing power of a newer machine can benefit you then why not? Buy a new MacBook Pro, sell your old one to cover some of the cost and you won't regret it.
Click to expand...

In terms of selling it, would you go through that recycling thing that Apple's website now has or would a better price be done through Craigslist (Apple's site quoted $504.77 because mine has a crappy battery and although it hasn't been destroyed, it isn't in excellent quality totally (in my opinion))
 
Galaxius said:
In terms of selling it, would you go through that recycling thing that Apple's website now has or would a better price be done through Craigslist (Apple's site quoted $504.77 because mine has a crappy battery and although it hasn't been destroyed, it isn't in excellent quality totally (in my opinion))
Click to expand...

You'll get more money through craigslist or ebay than through Apple.
 
Galaxius said:
In terms of selling it, would you go through that recycling thing that Apple's website now has or would a better price be done through Craigslist (Apple's site quoted $504.77 because mine has a crappy battery and although it hasn't been destroyed, it isn't in excellent quality totally (in my opinion))
Click to expand...

I would throw it up on Craigslist on eBay. You can make a bit more money that way. I would also be honest up front with all the defect it has so the buyer won't come back and haunt you about it. Good luck
 
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