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Upgrade advice from Black MacBook

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feelthefire

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 13, 2006
836
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So I have a 2.16 Black MacBook, 1GB RAM, 250gb Hard drive, GMA950. Besides the immense suckage that is the GMA950, it also has a problem in which it fries hard drives pretty regularly (on hard drive #5 currently.)

I did the leopard upgrade, and it runs pretty badly. Beachballs all over the place in Safari and iTunes. I know I need more RAM, but this MB can only take a 3gb maximum, and I'm thinking about just buying a new system anyway.

My business is doing OK this year and I think it's time to make a hardware investment. I am thinking about a 15" MBP 2.53/4gb/250/9400M. Price doesn't really matter, as I am also considering the 17" for the screen size.

So my question is this--given that I have a system that I have been limping along with which has a much worse integrated chipset, would I regret going with the 9400M? I have this feeling of "go big or go home" on this purchase but obviously, money not spent isn't a bad thing.

I mostly surf the web, do a little photo editing for product images, a lot of spreadsheet work, and I would need to run Quickbooks in a windows VM via Fusion. I want something that will NOT be slow in 2 years like this MB turned out to be.

Any suggestions about what to do here? I'd like to stay out of the refurb store as I am still eligible for the student discount since I am also in grad school, and I'd like the free ipod touch for my Mom.

I guess I've been soured by the GMA950 and my currently slow MB and want to know the best way to avoid being in this situation again in 2 years.

Thanks in advance!

ETA: While I haven't totally ruled out the 13" MBP, I think I would like a 15" or larger in part because I could really use a 15" for demo product testing and I already have a 13" I can use for that purpose (the black MB).
 
The 9400M will definitely be a big improvement from that crappy Intel graphics. I think the 9400M will suit you well. Only get a dedicated graphics card if you play games.
 
5DollaFootlong said:
you don't need discrete graphics unless you're a gamer or use final cut studio extensively
Click to expand...


Well, that's what they told me about the GMA950 and this chipset SUCKS for even daily stuff. So...hence my hesitation to go for the 9400M. Two years ago everyone said the GMA would be fine, and 2 years later the computer jams while writing an email.

Is the 9400M REALLY going to be good enough for 2-3 years?
 
feelthefire said:
Well, that's what they told me about the GMA950 and this chipset SUCKS for even daily stuff. So...hence my hesitation to go for the 9400M. Two years ago everyone said the GMA would be fine, and 2 years later the computer jams while writing an email.

Is the 9400M REALLY going to be good enough for 2-3 years?
Click to expand...

The 9400 is awesome for being integrated, you can't compare it to the intel crap. I have a Macbook Pro with both cards, and I use the 9400 almost all the time because it extends battery life. The only time I switch is for Final Cut Pro. I used to switch for iPhoto, but I didn't notice any difference in performance.

I personally recommend the 15" for the best balance of portability and features. If you aren't going to move it around much, or don't care about the weight, spring for the 17."

As far as your computer stuttering, the extra gig of RAM would likely fix most of your issues. If you can wait, I say hold off till the next revision. The Arrandale chips coming from Intel seem very cool, although for what you do, it doesn't really seem to make a difference.
 
15" Rocks

The 9400M is fully supported in Snow Leopard and even includes H.264 acceleration, if I'm not wrong. It'll do just fine for the time to come, although if you really value having a bigger 15" screen I'd say go for it.

Either machine is going to last you a long time, but with 15" is slightly more future-proof thanks to its 9600M GT graphics chip. My vote is for the 15". ;)
 
Now I'm trying to decide between:

The 13" 2.53, which offers me the portability of the current macbook, which is something that I do like, but has a pretty meh screen resolution for the size. Also, everyone and their mother has one of these and I kinda don't want to have the exact same thing that everyone else has.

The 15" 2.53, which is less portable but has more real estate and gets the same battery life of the smaller model.

Or a Refurb 15" 2.53 which has the 512mb card and the expresscard slot, but has the less impressive battery. Also, not eligible for the free iPod touch, which I don't need but would probably give to someone as a gift.

Prices on all these would be within $200 of each other, so it's negligible at that point and more about what would do the best job.
 
you already have a 13 inch machine. I would go for the 15 inch with the dedicated graphics. its worth the investment and holds it value better.

I would just make sure it was one of the newer models with the 9600 graphics since the older model had failure problems.
 
Acorn said:
you already have a 13 inch machine. I would go for the 15 inch with the dedicated graphics. its worth the investment and holds it value better.

I would just make sure it was one of the newer models with the 9600 graphics since the older model had failure problems.
Click to expand...

So is it worth getting the current gen $1999 model, or instead the refurb 2.53 w/ 512mb card for $1449? I can't decide if I want the better battery or not.
 
feelthefire said:
So is it worth getting the current gen $1999 model, or instead the refurb 2.53 w/ 512mb card for $1449? I can't decide if I want the better battery or not.
Click to expand...

I'd look at it this way.

For the extra $550, you're getting :
A Free printer (If you take the rebate offer) (Could sell it for $100 or so)
A Free iTouch (More or less...) (Give it to your mom as a present, or sell it)
More than double the battery life
A brand-new, tamper-free machine
Faster Processor
SD Card Slot (Don't know if you'd prefer it)

Yeh the graphics have half the memory, but if you're not gaming, it's gonna last you. I had a 7600GT sitting in my desktop for more than 4 years, and yet I could still play heavy games as I always could, with no problems.

Hope this helps :)
 
feelthefire said:
So is it worth getting the current gen $1999 model, or instead the refurb 2.53 w/ 512mb card for $1449? I can't decide if I want the better battery or not.
Click to expand...

The battery is probably the BEST feature of the new notebooks. DO NOT let that go:D

I vote for the 15" Honestly there is not a big difference in portability. The only way you will have something noticeably more portable is go get an Air, and right now they are not built correctly and have loads of widespread issues.
 
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