Upgrade from 13" mid-2007 MacBook?

[phantom5251]

Hi everyone,

Currently running a mid-2007 MacBook with 2.16 ghz Intel Core Duo processor and 1 GB RAM. After today's announcement have been wondering if I should upgrade to the new MBP, a MB Air from last year, or wait it out to see what else Apple may have in store? Would just like to be able to upgrade at some point, while current MB has some monetary value. Runs okay for the most part, but starting to show signs. Price point wise, would prefer to keep it under/around $2K. The 15" is intriguing, but was just wondering if I should forgo screen size to have option to add SSD? Thank you everyone!

 

[Tutankhamark]

I am almost in the exact same boat. I have a 2.4ghz 2008 Macbook and looking for something new. I like the new 15" MBPs but I don't really want to spend almost £2000 and find a brand new re-design next year.

 

[clivesmithy]

I had the Black 2007 Macbook 2.16 GHZ and to be honest the 2010 MBP 13 is a world away from that older laptop... Much faster, great graphics card, more memory, runs cooler, bigger HDD and loads more battery life.
Technically perhaps it doesn't sound alot... but even last years MBP is so much better. This one is even faster! Perhaps you can now get last years model at a discount with an SSD.
The 1.4 MBA is similar to your older macbook in performance. The SSD and Graphics, make it seem faster than it is. 4-5 hours battery life. I find the MBA is a great ultra portable for travelling

 

[clivesmithy]

I am almost in the exact same boat. I have a 2.4ghz 2008 Macbook and looking for something new. I like the new 15" MBPs but I don't really want to spend almost £2000 and find a brand new re-design next year.

The 2.4 unibody Macbook from 2008 isn't that much different from last years version.... ok the later duo cores have a larger battery, better graphics and screen.

Here in the UK the 2.4 original unibody is still worth £650 (from £1150) second hand

 

[gnasher729]

I had the Black 2007 Macbook 2.16 GHZ and to be honest the 2010 MBP 13 is a world away from that older laptop... Much faster, great graphics card, more memory, runs cooler, bigger HDD and loads more battery life.

Same here. 2006 MB vs 2010 MBP: The MBP is just nicer in every respect. Lots of things that are not in the "specs", but it all adds up when you use it. And the 2011 MBP is better again.

I wouldn't buy a MacBook today, because that hasn't been upgraded yet, and the MBP had the VAT increase removed from the price. If £999 is too much, you'd need to wait probably two or three months until the MacBook is updated as well.

 

[phantom5251]

Sounds like it would be worth the upgrade then no? I guess now I'm just waivering between 13 and 15 inch? What's everyone's take on that? And then is it worth the SSD? I know physical media is going by the wayside, but would I still get to play CD's etc if it had a SSD? Wasn't sure if that was something separate? Also, what's been the best bet for reselling Macs? I know Apple will give you a gift card, eBay has Instant Sale, etc.?

 

[vincenz]

Just go with the high end 13 with SSD. Best of both worlds without the price tag of the 15.

 

[r0k]

Sounds like it would be worth the upgrade then no? I guess now I'm just waivering between 13 and 15 inch? What's everyone's take on that? And then is it worth the SSD? I know physical media is going by the wayside, but would I still get to play CD's etc if it had a SSD? Wasn't sure if that was something separate? Also, what's been the best bet for reselling Macs? I know Apple will give you a gift card, eBay has Instant Sale, etc.?

I'm using a 2008 white Penryn Macbook. I went to Apple and configured a 13 in MBP. I also configured a 15 in MBP. One goal was to do away with rotating media so I selected the 256 GB SSD for each one. I decided SSD was tempting but not worth it.

One difference with 13 in vs 15 in is a single audio i/o jack versus separate in and out jacks on the 15 in MBP. If you do music mixing, it's important to have separate input and output. A usb microphone solves that problem but that's another thing to go out and buy.

Another important difference is screen real estate. More is better. Way more is way better. I really want 1080p or better but I'm certainly not up for lugging around (or paying for) a 17in MBP to get it. If you want a significant bump in CPU performance and you don't mind looking at a glossy display that is so "last year", then either the 13 or the 15 in MBP should do nicely.

For now, I'm on the sidelines watching. After I get a chance to play with the new MBP models at an Apple store I might change my mind but for now I'm considering popping in a new HDD in my aging whitebook and waiting another year before I buy a new MBP.

 

[phantom5251]

But with SSD, do you still have access to play discs, or is that totally forgone like on the MacBook Air? Or is the high res on the 15 worth it?

 

[briansolomon]

I am almost in the exact same boat. I have a 2.4ghz 2008 Macbook and looking for something new. I like the new 15" MBPs but I don't really want to spend almost £2000 and find a brand new re-design next year.

Hey, I'm with this guy! I haven't really been overly impressed with the upgrades since I got my 2008 2.4 MacBook so I really haven't been to pushed to upgrade. Before the MacBook I had an iBook G4. The number of upgrades were just phenomenal- case, proc speed, widescreen glossy, webcam, ability to run Windows. I know you are upgrading to the MacBook Pro, but I think I'm going to stick a Macbook and that situation is even worse- the MacBooks are still Core2 Duos at 2.4 GHz with 2 GB of Ram. It's basically the same computer I bought 3 years ago without firewire! The machine still runs great and I'm thinking about bumping it up to 4GB of Ram to give me a few more years.

All this to say- wait it out, unless you are really hoping to save some money by selling used, but since the MB's have gotten so cheap the white MacBook has really taken a hit on the used market you won't be getting what its worth anyway.

 

[phantom5251]

For those who have used MBs with it, is an SSD worth the price tag? I like that the 15 inch has the high res screen, but to get an SSD with it would shoot the price through the roof. Has anyone noticed a difference with the high res screen? Or would it be better to just get a high end 13 inch with an SSD as a previous posted mentioned?