Which would you buy, and why?

[sdsvtdriver]

Hey all,

I may be getting a new Mac, but I still haven't decided 100%. Long story short, I get the use of laptops from work so I don't need a computer, however have been toying with getting a Mac to play with Unix, Mac VM's and generally become more familiar with the platform. This would be a toy.

That said, I haven't decided which one to buy. I have ruled out the new Macbook due to the lack of firewire, so my choices are between a new MBP or a new previous gen MBP.

I can get the MB480LL/A (current gen) for ~1800. The MB133LL/A (previous gen) is $1400. Both are new.

Both of these are showing Core 2 Duo 2.4's, 2GB, DVD+-RL, 15.4" Gigabit and a/b/g/n. The 133 has a slightly smaller HD at 200 vs 250 and has the GF 8600 vs the GF 9600 in the new one.

I am unable to locate what exact processor is in each machine. I wouldn't imagine the same processor would be in the new model, but then again Apple does do strange things.

Is the HD in the 133 easily upgraded to a larger capacity 7200?

Which would you buy, and why?

 

[Cory5412]

I would go ahead and go for the new unibody model, it'll have a faster system bus, the memory will be faster, it can switch between the GF9600 and the GF9400 chips, so you can get longer battery life, and the hard disk is *much* easier to replace in the new unibody model than it was in the old model.

That, and I prefer the keyboard on the new unibody models, there's just something weird about the older MBP keyboard that makes it difficult for me to use when I'm on a friend's machine or when I looked at them in the store.

 

[ChrisN]

I believe that they both have penyrn processors but I'm not sure and I think you should get the new one for $1769 at Amazon before tax.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013FJBX8/ref=s9subs_c1_147_at2-rfc_p_si1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0VPN4G3MQS38XWG966D9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383351&pf_rd_i=507846

ChrisN

 

[sdsvtdriver]

Interesting. Sadly, the Amazon rebate ends today and I don't believe I'll be ordering that soon.

 

[SlasherDuff]

New MBP for sure, it has better features, or so I am told

 

[jamoctopus]

ChrisN is that a good buy the deal you posted?

 

[pointandclick]

You're more than likely not going to notice the performance difference. Both cpu's have 3megs of L2 while the new one has a slightly higher bus speed. The performance gains from DDR3 are negligible. More ram is almost always better than faster ram.
The 9600 is an improvement, but not huge.

It's not hard to replace the hard drive on the old model, just a bunch of screws to get the top cover off. It will void your warranty though.
You can get a 320g 7200rpm drive for $90 or a 500g 5400rpm for $100. Plus 4g of ram for almost nothing http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227251