Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Unibody Macbook v.s prev. gen. macbook pro?

Y

youssefm

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 7, 2008
386
0
Hi, I have a friend willing to trade his macbook pro (200gb hard drive, 256 8600gt, 2 gb ram, 2.4ghz processor and a case) with my 2.0ghz unibody macbook.. do you think its a good deal? Is the 8600gt better at gaming/3D stuff under boot camp than the 9400M? I really love my unibody, so I'm not sure how i'll react to using the prev. gen. macbook pro.. what do you all think?
I primarily use my macbook for gaming under boot camp (the sims 2, eventually the sims 3 under mac or windows, flight simulator x, and then photoshop and video editing on the mac side (not really intensive editing) and then internet and word document stuff..)
 
You probably need to be more specific of your computing needs.
Anyone can recommend anything to you but I guess it all depends what you'll be doing with the computer..
 
If you're intending on using this as a gaming machine I'd say you'd be getting a good deal. The 8600M GT is a beast compared to the 9400M. I can't find a benchmark offhand but even during the keynote, Steve Jobs had a slide saying that the 9400M has half the high-end graphics performance of the 8600M GT. You'd also be getting a far nicer (and larger) display. I hope this helps.
 
yeah, that really does help.. the only things i'm having trouble thinking of getting used to is the non-chicklet keyboard, and the trackpad.. hopefully i can find a deal on a unibody macbook pro.. but so far thanks for the help.. more advice would be nice from others
 
My two cents on this:

The MB is more portable. And I think the unibodies look a lot better when you put them side by side against the older models with the seams and screws.

And having used 2 MBPs with the older keyboard for years, I definitely prefer the keyboard in the MBA and new unibodies.

On the other hand, I think the MBP (even the older ones) had better quality screens (again having put new MBs in our office against new and old MBPs).

The graphics card in the MBPs are better, as someone else said.

And you get a little extra speed bump to 2.4GHz.
 
I don't really need portability as i use my macbook just at home, on my lap, or on a table.. and if anything ever goes wrong with it, im buying applecare before hand anyway.. thanks for the advice, if anyone else has anything to say, feel free to help.. but right now im leaning towards taking the deal
 
I actually have the previous MBP as my main machine and a 2.0 Unibody MB as my secondary machine. Especially if you intend on using it just at home (I don't travel with my MBP either), I would lean towards the MBP.

In terms of the feel of the two machines, I do enjoy the more solid feel and that "newness" factor of the MB being the latest model and all. I wouldn't say one keyboard is better than the other...they're just different. It's worth noting that the MBP keyboard is also backlit as opposed to the 2.0 MB.

Since it's your friend making the offer, I'm sure he'd be fine if you took it for one night to "test drive" and see if you don't mind the differences.
 
I'm really leaning towards the mbp because of the graphics card and screen, but i feel like im losing out on the unibody factor.. anyway i'll get back to you guys with my decision
 
It;s definitely a tough call- I had a hard time deciding whether to go for the Uni 2.4 that I have or a previous gen MBP. I went with the MB for the portability and form factor. I've found it to be plenty powerful and capable of all that I through at it. As far as gaming goes, you will definitely have a better experience with the newest, extremely graphics-intensive games when you have a discrete GPU, but, the MB can handle many games quite well. It depends on what you want to do with it.

Here's a thread from Mac-Forums where a member has been testing a uni MB with several games and posting his results. Link
 
hey everyone, i decided it wasn't worth it because i dont wanna go from the new unibody design back to the old one.. Im gonna wait and see if i can get a unibody mbp.. Thanks for all the help everyone
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back