Will this MBP be a big improvement over my SR MacBook?

[maclover001]

Hey,

I have a Santa Rosa MacBook. When I bought it, I thought it was perfect for my needs.

Now here I am, using Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, etc, running the poor thing up to 98° C (according to SMC FC).

I am beginning to think I should upgrade to something more pro, just because I am using the pro apps more and more. It's also cheesed me off that playing NFS Carbon revs the fans right up to 6300RMP.

Now I ask, with my budget, what would be a better deal?

This last-gen MBP: http://store.apple.com/ca_edu_262968/product/FB133LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
(I'm a student in Canada, hence the edu discount, and the CA store)

Or, a new base-model unibody non-pro MacBook?

And, a few questions on the side:
~ Which has better speakers, out of the two notebooks I listed a few lines up?
~ I read somewhere that the Penryn MBP's keyboard backlight is BLUE, instead of white. In my opinion, that sounds utterly disgusting:

By the way, I don’t like the keyboard’s new blue glow, so I think my MacBook Pro’s white glow is superior.

~ Is buying a refurb a good idea?

Thanks

 

[kastenbrust]

You may as well stick with your current Macbook, everyone knows the last gen Macbook Pro had a broken 8600 graphics card, and they all break, its just a matter of time, and since you would use it a lot, it would break for you sooner rather than later, although refurbished is definitely the way to go. I would recommend getting the base model Macbook but it wouldn't give you a massive speed boost over what you already have.

If i were you i'd just wait until i could afford a base model 15" Unibody (Late 2008) Macbook Pro from the refurb store.

 

[alanlindsay]

Is mobility crucial? Also, perhaps get some compressed air and clean the dust off the fans...will help keep it slightly cooler.

For notebooks, if you can hold out till end of this year there will be big updates coming. Intel will be basically going straight to 32nm.

Penryn MBP wouldn't be a huge upgrade but refurbs in general are fine.