Well I think I am gonna go with a refurb.

[Bootsie]

After waiting for months for the update, I think that I am going to get the "old" version.

I could get a 2.4 new one for $1899. ($100 more than before)

Or I can get the 2.5 old one for $1499, faster machine and lower price.

I feel like the refurb is a better fit because I want a matte screen, and I feel like the trackpad is more accurate for Photoshop work. Plus the price is right, I will be buying AppleCare, so the gpu problems should be covered.

 

[TwinCities Dan]

Congrats!

 

[Solid Raven]

After waiting for months for the update, I think that I am going to get the "old" version.

I could get a 2.4 new one for $1899. ($100 more than before)

Or I can get the 2.5 old one for $1499, faster machine and lower price.

I feel like the referb is a better fit because I want a matte screen, and I feel like the trackpad is more accurate for Photoshop work. Plus the price is right, I will be buying AppleCare, so the gpu problems should be covered.

I was thinking about a refurb too but the last gen gpu really holds me off, I don't wanna risk buying a faulty machine, even if it is covered.
Does apple's extended warranty for the bad gpu comes on top of applecare? Or is it just 2y after purchase?

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Does apple's extended warranty for the bad gpu comes on top of applecare? Or is it just 2y after purchase?

I think the idea around the forums is that it only covers up to two years for people who DON"T purchase applecare.

I'm not sure what to think. Some were complaining that the people who bought applecare for this very issue got screwed (which I somewhat agree with), however They are not extending it to two years for EVERYTHING, just the card dying under this situation.

So if you have AppleCare, you will not benefit.

 

[stark4]

how is the graphic cards compare to new macbook and old macbook pros?

 

[andiwm2003]

welcome to the refurb club. i bought also the 2.5 GHz matte MBP for 1499 bucks. i will only miss the user replacable HD.

the 8600M GT is probably 10-15% slower than the 9600M GT. somewhere was a graph that said the 8600M GT from the old MBP is 2-3 times as fast as the 9400M GT in the new MacBook if my internet searches are correct.

DDR3 Ram is not much faster than the DDR2 in the old MBP. The Penryn CPU chip is essentially the same. Battery time for the old MBP is according to apple 5hrs, the new one is 4-5hrs. The old MBP has a 60Wh battery, the new one has a 50Wh battery.

the new one looks better IMHO. The glossy screen is probably the same as in the iMac and that is not too bad in terms of reflections. I still prefer matte but for the moment i trust apple in using the right materials. Both screens are LED and i guess essentially the same aside of the glass cover.

 

[bimmer]

I am also considering the refurbished MBP after waiting for 6 months for this update. I don't think anything is wrong with the new MBP, I do like it but it is the price that is keeping me away and maybe the glossy screen.
Anyway, how do I know if a refurbished MBP is glossy or matte? I just visited the refurb. site and looked at a $1499 MBP but it does not indicate matte or glossy.

Thanks.

 

[shoulin333]

After waiting for months for the update, I think that I am going to get the "old" version.

I could get a 2.4 new one for $1899. ($100 more than before)

Or I can get the 2.5 old one for $1499, faster machine and lower price.

I feel like the referb is a better fit because I want a matte screen, and I feel like the trackpad is more accurate for Photoshop work. Plus the price is right, I will be buying AppleCare, so the gpu problems should be covered.

Granted it is 2.5 > 2.4, however it is by no means faster.

The new machine has a 1066mhz bus processor vs the refurb's 800mhz

Not to mention the new MBP has DDR3 vs the refurbs DDR2

 

[thespyglass]

After waiting for months for the update, I think that I am going to get the "old" version.

I could get a 2.4 new one for $1899. ($100 more than before)

Or I can get the 2.5 old one for $1499, faster machine and lower price.

I feel like the referb is a better fit because I want a matte screen, and I feel like the trackpad is more accurate for Photoshop work. Plus the price is right, I will be buying AppleCare, so the gpu problems should be covered.

I'm in a similar position to you and think I might join you.

I just can't seem to find any rev E 15" matte MBPs in the refurb store yet!

 

[Randman]

Is a "referb" anything like a refurb?

 

[bkeezy]

I'm in a similar position to you and think I might join you.

I just can't seem to find any rev E 15" matte MBPs in the refurb store yet!

I just grabbed on of the previous gen myself but I did so from the clearance store. They will allow you to add student discount to the clearance price putting it $100 more than the refurb, something to think about...

As far as the gpu i am rather concerned about that, from what i have heard they are excpected to fail at about 3 yrs from "normal use" so what good does the two year defect warranty do for me then and maybe even applecare...? I guess i will just run the hell out of it nightly

 

[marclapierre13]

CONGRATS!
I agree with your choice...and I might do the same, though maybe not a refurb, just a used previous gen one...these new MBPs have some nice improvements, but the new keyboard and a couple other things make me want to stay far far away from them

 

[monica23]

I think you've made a good decision given that you want a matte screen.

 

[Coldwater]

how is the graphic cards compare to new macbook and old macbook pros?

Barefeets clocked the 9600 as 43% faster vs the 8600 in 3dMark06. How that converts into real world performance is yet to be seen.

 

[Bootsie]

I am also considering the refurbished MBP after waiting for 6 months for this update. I don't think anything is wrong with the new MBP, I do like it but it is the price that is keeping me away and maybe the glossy screen.
Anyway, how do I know if a refurbished MBP is glossy or matte? I just visited the refurb. site and looked at a $1499 MBP but it does not indicate matte or glossy.

Thanks.

That is exactly how I feel, I like the new one, but the price and glossiness is keeping me away ha ha.

The one that doesn't say either way is matte, the one that says glossy, is obviously glossy.

Granted it is 2.5 > 2.4, however it is by no means faster.

The new machine has a 1066mhz bus processor vs the refurb's 800mhz

Not to mention the new MBP has DDR3 vs the refurbs DDR2

Ok, I wasn't really aware of that, so how much faster is the new 2.4 than the old 2.5?

Is a "referb" anything like a refurb?

Yeah ha ha sorry about that, I wrote the whole thing on my iphone, and it takes way too long to go back and fix stuff on it, so I just left it, I will fix it now that I am on a computer.

I just grabbed on of the previous gen myself but I did so from the clearance store. They will allow you to add student discount to the clearance price putting it $100 more than the refurb, something to think about...

As far as the gpu i am rather concerned about that, from what i have heard they are excpected to fail at about 3 yrs from "normal use" so what good does the two year defect warranty do for me then and maybe even applecare...? I guess i will just run the hell out of it nightly

Thanks so much for that! I didn't even think of it, I will definitely consider the new one thanks again.

 

[MusicallySilent]

Question for you guys.

If I was to order a last gen MBP from the clearance store, would I get Matte or Glossy, because I can't find anywhere where it states that the screen is either matte or glossy which concerns me because I don't want to open a box only to find a glossy screen which I was trying to avoid.

Also, aren't the newer previous generation MBPs less likely to have graphics card issues because Nvidia discovered the issues mid july so chips in august may not have the same parts that are dying?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Fogtripper]

I am also considering the refurbished MBP after waiting for 6 months for this update. I don't think anything is wrong with the new MBP, I do like it but it is the price that is keeping me away and maybe the glossy screen.
Anyway, how do I know if a refurbished MBP is glossy or matte? I just visited the refurb. site and looked at a $1499 MBP but it does not indicate matte or glossy.

Thanks.

I ordered the $1499 model today. The glossy version is marked glossy, the matte is not marked as such.

$1499 plus $200 for 6GB RAM from newegg adds up to a nice MBP.

 

[Bootsie]

Barefeets clocked the 9600 as 43% faster vs the 8600 in 3dMark06. How that converts into real world performance is yet to be seen.

I am not a gamer, but I am a photographer, who will probably be using CS4, so is this going to make a big difference in my use?

 

[alphaod]

After waiting for months for the update, I think that I am going to get the "old" version.

I could get a 2.4 new one for $1899. ($100 more than before)

Or I can get the 2.5 old one for $1499, faster machine and lower price.

I feel like the referb is a better fit because I want a matte screen, and I feel like the trackpad is more accurate for Photoshop work. Plus the price is right, I will be buying AppleCare, so the gpu problems should be covered.

Yeah go with the old one. Worth it all.

 

[Lovehater]

I was going to buy the new Macbook until they had no firewire. I have been hard on apple and bashing them so much that I got banned from these forums. I think it is deserved though after this weak update and increase in price for gutted machines. I have waited around 6 months for these updates also. I was only considering buying a mac so I don't have to do twice the work between school/home.

With all that said, even I have to admit the older MBP for $1499 is actually a decent deal even compared to PCs with similar specs. My schooling is important to me, and I'm basically forced into a Mac because my school uses them. Being able to do twice the work at home/school is vital to me. I don't really care about looks much, but IMO the old mbp looks 1000 times better than the new one. 2 Firewire ports, instead of only 1. Plus Matte screen. It is all the computer I would need and only cost a little bit more than a bottom end new macbook. Their GPUs are bad, but I have 2 years to use them under warranty. Enough for me to finish graduating from my audio class.

This price drop on these MBPs is the only good thing to come from this upgrade. I hope it serves me well.

 

[Coldwater]

I am not a gamer, but I am a photographer, who will probably be using CS4, so is this going to make a big difference in my use?

How big a difference remains to be seen; the faster, more optimized card WILL have an impact, I doubt we are talking 40% but I could stand to see a 20% bump.

Real world performance remains to be seen, if you are seriously considering a new MBP (and you should, no laptop screen is good for photography, matte or not) I'd suggest waiting until we get some full benchmarks.

 

[Bootsie]

I ordered the $1499 model today. The glossy version is marked glossy, the matte is not marked as such.

$1499 plus $200 for 6GB RAM from newegg adds up to a nice MBP.

I thought that the max RAM for the old version was 4GB? Has that changed? I will be upgrading to 4GB for sure, but it would be cool if 6MB was an option.

I think that I have decided to go with the $1599 clearance one, my local Apple Store is going to hold one for me for tomorrow.

 

[MusicallySilent]

Yea, I think with the clearance on apples site they are matte, because in refurb section there are two screens

15.4 Inch Widescreen

15.4 Inch Glossy Widescreen

So I guess unless it says glossy it is matte. Might reserve the 1599 one at my store too.

 

[bushbaby]

On the site, it only says 1 year warranty for refurbs... where do we have it in writing that they will extend the warranty another year to cover the faulty gpu?

And if you use your AE card, which doubles the warranty, will that double the warranty on this? Making the two years, four years (for this one issue)?

 

[soLoredd]

I just got my Early 2008 MBP today. 15", 2.5, 4GB RAM, 250GB for $1800. I got mine off eBay - lucked out and got an awesome seller. The thing looks brand new with only a 60 cycle count on the battery. I only hope I can take care of it as well as he did!

Now, I did buy this last week before the new ones came out but I can't say I regret in one bit. I really do not like the black bezel on a notebook. The iMac is great, but for a laptop that already has a small screen, it doesn't do well for me visually. I don't really have qualms about the glossy as both my current MacBook and my HP display are glossy.

I also just bought the AppleCare for it. This thing should last for the duration - if you are wanting to go refurb I say do it. I'm not sure how AppleCare works for refurbs but I would get that as well and be good for a few years.