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Wanting to upgrade my MBP, but not sure if now is the time

C

Cadmir

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
7
0
Tuscaloosa, AL
Thanks for any advice.

I have one of the original Macbook Pros, which sports a 2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor and 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. My laptop is not under apple care and for the last several months seems to have some video card corruption as well as randomly locks up (alot). The screen freezes and I can not relate it to any one specific action. I have been putting off investing in a new MBP because I thinking they may go away from the current Intel Core 2 Duo chips to something that is considered a giant leap. I have tried to read threads about predictions etc, but I honestly do not speak computers as well as most of you.

So, should I try and deal with my crappy computer till a new update? Is the current MBP going to be wise investment? Are we expecting a new update in the next month/2 or in the spring? Finally how much of a performance difference would the potential upgrade be if I tried to wait it out?

Thank You
 
Same old story. There's always another update around the corner (in this case I guess the next MBP revision will be in Q1/2010).

It looks like you need a new computer so you should buy one. Now.
 
i have a CoreDuo machine like you, i dont have the freezes etc but it is SLOOOOOOOWW!!!!

i would upgrade if i were you, the difference is amazing!

your call in the end though, tbh i dont see that much of a difference in power from the current model and the new model.
 
While its true newer laptops are on the horizon, thanks to the impending clarksfield/arrandale release in late 09/early 10 it sounds like you're computer is on its last legs and so I'd recommend getting one now. Apple recently updated the line,and so the next refresh isn't coming through until 2010 at some point (who knows when exactly).

The jump in performance between what you have and what's out there is significant enough, and given the hardware issues, it makes it a no brainer. You don't want to be working on a document with a deadline looming and it crap out on you, losing your work.
 
Before going with a new computer I'd at least have your current one looked at either at a genius bar or an authorized repair center. It would be a shame if you spent all that money if you're current machine only required a simple repair or tune up.

If it costs over $500 to repair your computer its probably time to upgrade. I have the same model mbp that you have and recently spend $300 to upgrade the hard drive and ram and I'm very satisfied. I can crank another year out of this one at least. I now have the luxury of waiting until a more significant update than what is available now.
 
I would try to get six more months out of it. First, chances are that Snow Leopard will speed your MBP up a bit. For $29, you can see if the upgrade helps it. Also, for about $35 you can possibly upgrade it to 4 GB RAM??? You would have to check on that. Also, it may be possible to find a logic board/graphics off eBay or on Craig's List for cheap. Also consider an HD upgrade. If you could spend $100 or $150 to speed it up and make it usable for another six months it could really be worth your time and money to wait...

1. Arrandale - The CPU upgrade expected which could speed up your MBP by upwards of 30% given same clock speeds.

2. Graphics - The Nvidia 9600 isn't great. It's highly likely that you would get better graphics on the dedicated side. The integrated graphics may get worse if Nvidia cannot supply GPU for Intel CPU then (currently a licensing dispute).

3. RAM - It's possible the RAM could be upgraded to 1333 MHz

4. Blu-Ray - It's possible that Blu-Ray could be used in the next MBP. But I would assume Apple would want to promote digital downloads it may need to upgrade to Blu-Ray to keep buyers happy.

5. USB 3.0 - Very speedy and worth the wait if you plan to keep you MBP for many years.

6. OLED Display - Unlikely but possible.

I think the MBP really has a lot of great features now, but the next update may be the most advanced MBP for its time. I would wait for any of these reasons if they're important to you.

Good luck.
 
shambo said:
3 years??? I heard next year. But what do my contacts know. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

hahaha i dont have any contacts or anything, but i am just going off the availability of parts and my gut feeling.

BR will not be adopted into laptops because
1. slot loading 9.5mm drives are not available
2. SL doesnt have support for it
3. if they did exists it would be too expensive

it might be implemented into the MP/iMac, but still you wont be able to play the movies back...

i dont see it being implemented until 10.7..
 
DoFoT9 said:
hahaha i dont have any contacts or anything, but i am just going off the availability of parts and my gut feeling.

BR will not be adopted into laptops because
1. slot loading 9.5mm drives are not available
2. SL doesnt have support for it
3. if they did exists it would be too expensive

it might be implemented into the MP/iMac, but still you wont be able to play the movies back...

i dont see it being implemented until 10.7..
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother arguing with that guy. He's been posting about how great bluray is in every 'buy or wait' thread.

Some people want bluray, others don't. Can't imagine it's a deal-breaker for the majority at this point.
 
My advice: Upgrade now, as mentioned before the next update will probably be in 2010 since they just did an upgrade. I have a few reasons below that could help you decide to upgrade now:

1. The Arrandale cpu's are nothing "revolutionary", they are just like the penryns we have now: 2 cores. The real wait would be for quad core or octa core which I think we will see within the next 2 or 3 years. These arrandale chips are no more an improvement than upgrading from a 2.53 to a 3.06ghz penryn are. (they are actually more of an improvement than that, but you get the idea that its really not that much)

2. The new battery in the mbp is amazing (I don't have it, but I know how good it is). 7 hours of battery life, some get even more than that.

3. The unibody and screen is quite simply put: Beautiful. You really need to try one and/or own one to see just how good they look and feel.

4. If there is a new graphics card update at best it would provide 4x the performance of the 9600m GT we have right now. By the "best" I mean if they give a GTX 280M which they more than likely won't, it would probably be either a 250 GTS or a GTX 260 which are around 2x to 3x better than the 9600M GT in terms of most benchmarking statistics.


EDIT:

If you do decide to upgrade now and purchase a new mbp, try not to do so before this friday (28th) as doing so will save you from the cost of getting snow leopard ($9.95 USD). On friday all ordered mbp's will come with snow leopard on them IF ordered from apple.com (or apple.ca).
 
kenobe23 said:
I wouldn't bother arguing with that guy. He's been posting about how great bluray is in every 'buy or wait' thread.

Some people want bluray, others don't. Can't imagine it's a deal-breaker for the majority at this point.
Click to expand...

Shambo has been posting about it?? thats his/her call if he wants to, i was just trying to make him/her aware that there are many other factors that he/she must consider - its not just as simple as it sounds :rolleyes:

dont get me wrong, i would love to be able to play/rip BR movies on my computer!! but atm its just not feasible.
 
Great advice

Thank you for yalls advice on both sides. Is there going to be an upgrade between today's MBP and Arrandale MBP? Something that may be an upgrade in 1-3 months rather than 4-6 months? Or is the June release recent enough that nothing will happen till the first month or so of 2010?
 
kenobe23 said:
I wouldn't bother arguing with that guy. He's been posting about how great bluray is in every 'buy or wait' thread.

Some people want bluray, others don't. Can't imagine it's a deal-breaker for the majority at this point.
Click to expand...

Get over yourself. I will always post my opinions beliefs and rumours no matter what you think. :rolleyes:
 
Ram upgrade

It seems that my computer can only have 2gb of ram max 1gb in each slot. Is that true? All I can find is a 2gb kit, which is the current amount of ram I have.

Thanks.
 
Week old thread, so most likely the OP already made his choice, but I thought I'd chime in here.
As we all know, Intels Core i7 mobile chips are what we're all waiting for, and the ones that are most likely to be used in the 15"/17" MBPs are codenamed Clarksfield. For some reason, Wikipedia has these chips as being released 23/9, but I can't find any sources on that specific date.
What we do know, is that this will be a huge jump from Penryn, and an ENORMOUS jump from the 32bit core duos from 2006 that both TS and myself are currently stuck with ;)
So IMO, if you can stand using your current laptop for at least three months (might be less, but make a decision based on three months) you'll get a much better processor. I've decided to wait, but then I don't have your graphics issues, and I also have a PC workstation that I can do image processing and gaming on.
 
i havnt read all the replies besides some of the first ones.

but since i am almost in the same boat as you i can tell you what i am going to do :)

My laptop i currently only use for school is an almost 3 year old hp that have been having some serious issues like screen had dead pixel lines all across the screen and keyboard works only when it feels like it (both issues have happened twice but this was taken care of with the 2 year warranty. However after the warranty was out the wireless stopped working so i have gotten a wireless usb i have to plug in it to solve this. Next the battery recently stopped chargin (wont get pass 9% power) so i have to plug it in the wall whenever i use it. Lastly the hard drive have started to make alot of noise when in use so im guessing it wont last for long either so i do backup each time i get home from school.

So i started looking into getting a mac as my new laptop :)

I have a stationary pc i use at home i i can live with my laptop not being that fast but i am planning on getting rid of it (giving/selling it to my parents) when i get a new laptop but to do this i would like a laptop that is more or less up to par with my stationary. I know this would take at least 2 or more years for laptops to get faster than my stationary but as long it does not lack totally behind it i am glad :)

So what i am thinking on doing is waiting for this new arrandale chip intel should release some time around q1 2010. But if my current laptop where my only computer i don't think i would be able to wait up to 6 month for a new one. This is granted that nothing critical goes wrong with my current laptop as the dead pixels or keyboard failures return which i guess they eventually will as it have already happened twice.


Sorry for the long post :p
 
tofagerl said:
Week old thread, so most likely the OP already made his choice, but I thought I'd chime in here.
As we all know, Intels Core i7 mobile chips are what we're all waiting for, and the ones that are most likely to be used in the 15"/17" MBPs are codenamed Clarksfield. For some reason, Wikipedia has these chips as being released 23/9, but I can't find any sources on that specific date.
What we do know, is that this will be a huge jump from Penryn, and an ENORMOUS jump from the 32bit core duos from 2006 that both TS and myself are currently stuck with ;)
So IMO, if you can stand using your current laptop for at least three months (might be less, but make a decision based on three months) you'll get a much better processor. I've decided to wait, but then I don't have your graphics issues, and I also have a PC workstation that I can do image processing and gaming on.
Click to expand...

It's doubtful that we'll ever see Clarksfield on a Mac. If we do, I bet it'll be only on the 17" model. The clock speeds are low, they put out more heat and most people have no use for quad core processors. Thus the Arrandale chips will be more likely candidates for the next generation Macbook Pros. Even then they're not a huge jump from the current generation. Even the desktop Core i7s when compared to the current Core2Duos and Quads only perform noticeably better in tasks that truly benefit from more cores and most people rarely do any of those tasks.

If you need a machine now, buy one. The current generation is in a phase where it's rather well refined, most of the manufacturing problems have been sorted out etc. The next generation will most likely have some snags at first just like the unibodies did.
 
I disagree. The low clockspeed needn't be an issue, and indeed shouldn't be an issue on the 13" and 15" considering it's quad-core. The Arrandale is supposedly slower than the Clarksfield (in pro apps), and will be positioned as core i3 and i5. The i3 one might be great on a Macbook Air, and the i5 on the non-pro, but on the pro line Apple will definitely want the i7s, and those will be Clarksfield.
The heat is an issue, but considering the ovens some of the G4's were, this is hardly a new proposition ;)

Oh, and the Arrandale will be dualcore, and if I'm Apple, I'm not releasing a dual-core laptop as my main "workhorse" (that's the 15") half a year after promoting GCD as the return of the Messiah ;)
 
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