Which would you choose?

[pete88]

Hi, due to an insurance claim i have the following computers to choose from.

Which would you go for?

New 2.66 13" 4gb 320gb hdd Macbook Pro
Refurb 2.53 13" 8gb 128gb ssd Macbook Pro

What are the pro's and con's of both? Am i correct in thinking the new MBP has a slightly better battery.

 

[Hellhammer]

Depends what you do. New one has better GPU and battery but otherwise it's pretty much the same. I would go with the refurb unless you do gaming

 

[pete88]

I dont do any gaming at all on my mac, i have a PS3 ! I just think it maybe a bit of an overkill with 8gb ram when i only use it for word processing, music, films, internet browsing and photo editing......

hmm

 

[Hellhammer]

I dont do any gaming at all on my mac, i have a PS3 ! I just think it maybe a bit of an overkill with 8gb ram when i only use it for word processing, music, films, internet browsing and photo editing......

hmm

If the price is the same, then it isn't an overkill. You just get more for your $. Apps will also use more RAM if there is more of it available

 

[pete88]

Cool, thanks for the input. The refurb will involve me buying and upgrading the RAM and SSD myself but overall it will be £30 cheaper than the newer 2.66 macbook.

Will opening and upgrading the ram and hdd in the MBP void any warranties and is it difficult? I am fairly technically minded and have opened my old water-damaged MBP to save the harddrive so i doubt this will be an issue......

Thanks mate

 

[spork183]

you can always upgrade the ram and the harddrive. You can't upgrade the GPU. Go with the new.

 

[filfortugno]

Def. the refurb, not a doubt in my mind.

 

[Hellhammer]

Cool, thanks for the input. The refurb will involve me buying and upgrading the RAM and SSD myself but overall it will be £30 cheaper than the newer 2.66 macbook.

Will opening and upgrading the ram and hdd in the MBP void any warranties and is it difficult? I am fairly technically minded and have opened my old water-damaged MBP to save the harddrive so i doubt this will be an issue......

Thanks mate

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody/

It doesn't void warranty unless you break something while doing it.

 

[Apple OC]

I would go for the New and wait for the SSDs to come down in price ... you do not need more Ram right now.

Ram is coming down in price also

Plus it is an Insurance claim ... go for the New and upgrade yourself when and if you need to.

 

[wordoflife]

I would go with the new because I value the battery (unless they also put that in the refurb) and the better graphics.

 

[shyam09]

you want: "New 2.66 13" 4gb 320gb hdd Macbook Pro"
but two questions come to mind after reading your other posts here:
1. you are planning to upgrade the drive (HDD-> SSD), right, so why would you want the 320, wouldnt the base be fine?
2. why do you need a 2.66 Ghz Processor?

word processing, music, films, internet browsing and photo editing......

imho it doesnt seem necessary (if you know what i mean)

think about it this way, in terms of performance:
SSD > RAM > Processor

the base 13" model is £999.00...... and you would save £249
than for the SSD you could perhaps buy this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CTF...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1291487919&sr=1-1 (this is an example, so dont follow it unless others think its a good model too..)
£391.49

and well you may have a better computer than waste that much money (for the RAM)

its ur choice, but yeah.. think it through..

for your uses, i dont suggest the 2.66 GHz. personally speaking
.

 

[pete88]

Yeah i do totally get what you are saying. Only thing is i have a £1250 voucher as my previous 2.53 was water damaged. Therefore i want spend all value of the voucher on a replacement.

The refurb 2.53 im looking at is £899 and a genuine mac refurb, if i upgrade it to 8gb and a 128gb ssd it brings it up close to the magic £1250.

Hmmmmmm still no futher forward

 

[shyam09]

Yeah i do totally get what you are saying. Only thing is i have a £1250 voucher as my previous 2.53 was water damaged. Therefore i want spend all value of the voucher on a replacement.

The refurb 2.53 im looking at is £899 and a genuine mac refurb, if i upgrade it to 8gb and a 128gb ssd it brings it up close to the magic £1250.

Hmmmmmm still no futher forward

you can buy software with the remaining "left over" pounds.. or a case or something...
but you can get the base 13" with 128 GB SSD for 1279 pounds..
then when the deals come out, you can buy a cheap 8GB RAM and self install?

 

[pete88]

Think i have decided what im going to do..... what you reckon.

Get a brand new 2.4 13" macbook pro so i benefit from the increased battery life and GPU.

Then with the extra £'s self upgrade to a 128 ssd and 8gb ram. I then have the 250 hdd to use in a caddy to back the thing up.

In total it comes to £1262 so will only have to put in an extra £12.

To be honest i doubt ill feel a drop from my 2.53 and im sure the extra 4gb of ram and ssd will make up for it.

 

[miata]

Think i have decided what im going to do..... what you reckon.

Get a brand new 2.4 13" macbook pro so i benefit from the increased battery life and GPU.

Then with the extra £'s self upgrade to a 128 ssd and 8gb ram. I then have the 250 hdd to use in a caddy to back the thing up.

In total it comes to £1262 so will only have to put in an extra £12.

To be honest i doubt ill feel a drop from my 2.53 and im sure the extra 4gb of ram and ssd will make up for it.

Sounds good. I would seriously consider the 2.4 13" Macbook Pro refurb unit. I know that in the US they are really inexpensive.

 

[pete88]

Sounds good. I would seriously consider the 2.4 13" Macbook Pro refurb unit. I know that in the US they are really inexpensive.

Ill have a look into it thanks

 

[rnelan7]

I would go for the refurb with the ssd. I've purchased refurbed before and the only difference you can notice is the box.