I have a 13" MBP summer 2009 (2.26 Ghz processor) and seem to be able to get a pretty good price on it if I sell and would only cost me around 300 to upgrade. Is it worth upgrading if the new one ONLY gets an SSD/i3 SB processor (already has a better battery for 10 hrs instead of 7) without any other changes like a redesign/lightpeak? Just wondering if those 2 features (or 3 including battery) are worth $300 or if I should just stick with mine and wait for a redesign later this year. Thanks!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Worth upgrading to new MBP?
- Thread starter shstiger2009
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'll tell you one thing, its not worth it if your going to pay Apple's prices for an SSD. Are you restricted by the current specs of your MBP?
Light peak is not happening with this update. Even if it is, it is useless without a device that supports it.
Most of manufacturers won't be ready for it until half of 2011 and we just started 2011. Apple never jumps into new technology in day 1.
Second, I cannot wait to see how sandy bridge goes against current 13 MBP with nvidia graphic's card. I would love to see intel graphic card beat the nvidia. Never saw that in last 10 years.
Most of manufacturers won't be ready for it until half of 2011 and we just started 2011. Apple never jumps into new technology in day 1.
Second, I cannot wait to see how sandy bridge goes against current 13 MBP with nvidia graphic's card. I would love to see intel graphic card beat the nvidia. Never saw that in last 10 years.
I'm not "restricted" as I don't do any heavy work on it, but I often have Word, Powerpoint, and other applications like this open and working in them at the same time. I work fast- and getting the spinning rainbow isn't a rarity when running 3-5 applications at once. And what do you mean paying Apple's prices? If it does have an SSD at the $1199 price, this is the $300 I was talking about.
True, true. I just can't see them downgrading the graphics...although I've only been on the Apple scene for about 3 years.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
Nah don't do it I doubt it'll be that much better
Nah don't do it I doubt it'll be that much better
13 inch MBP doesn't have a room for dedicated graphic card. Therefore, apple has to put processor and graphic card as one. But, intel decided to become ignorant and blocked nvidia from sandy bridge. Therefore, you will not see nvidia graphic card in 13 inch unless apple takes out hard drive or optical drive.
Thats more of a RAM issue rather than the processor being taxed. You have 4GB of ram right? If not, its a super cheap upgrade. If you have 4 you can upgrade to 8 for $100.
If the 13" mbp has an SSD at the 1199 price, you can be sure its only 128GB and the prices will skyrocket if you want a larger SSD from Apple.
I have 8GB of RAM, installed it about a month ago.
I should also mention that I have XP installed via Boot Camp and run it with Parallels, not all the time but because of school probably about 30% of the time I'm using my laptop.
And that's exactly what I'm hoping for, as it's all I need. I have the 160GB HDD and still have 105GB of free memory. I try to keep everything clean and don't have a huge movie/music library.
If your getting the beach ball often with 8GB and not taxing the CPU much, id try reinstalling OSX. I know there are probably other things you can do first, but after I did that I realized that my mbp ran so much smoother and my battery life was better.
Well I have everything backed up to an external HDD via Time Machine, and I do have a lot of files/media that I need but I just try to delete old stuff that I don't use anymore which is why I don't have a lot of space used. If I reinstalled OSX and used Time Machine to put everything back in place, would that do anything since I would be returning it to the same exact way it was? Also, if I did reinstall OSX, what would that do to my Boot Camp partition?
You wouldn't do a complete restore from time machine. What you would do is just bring the actual .app file over and leave the trace files behind. It's important to make sure that you have all of your serials because you will have to reenter them the first time you open the app. After all that is done, just bring your home folder over. As far as the Boot Camp partition goes, I suppose that would have to be backed up on a separate drive? Not sure.
Sweet, I may do this...now. As a fairly new Apple user though, I don't quite understand what you were saying by not doing a complete restore from time machine. Steps? Would it be:
1. Backup latest files.
2. Uninstall OSX.
3. Reinstall OSX.
4. Then I'm lost.
Reinstall SL
Basically put in the SL disc.
Boot from disc. (hold C on boot)
go to disc utility and erase the disc. Format Mac OSX extended Journaled
Then install OSX again. it will take about 30 min to reinstall.
Once on your home screen, bring your apps over from migration assistant and your docs over from TM.
Thank you for your help! Definitely will probably do this either now or in a day or two. Thanks again.
No problem. There are tons of other youtube videos on this. The real critical step is making sure you only format the drive in Mac OSX extended journaled
My advice is just to stick with what you have for at least 1-2 more years. If you really wanted to upgrade to the latest MBP's you should of tried selling your Mac earlier. Once the new MBP's are released, your Mac will drop even more in resale value. The main thing is that it will look pretty much exactly the same as your current Mac besides the difference in specs. I think you waiting for a redesign will probably make the upgrade feel more worthwhile. Hope I helped!
Now that I just read what some other people posted, I also recommend upgrading RAM and HDD. Seems as if you already maxed your RAM out, so I'd suggest getting a 7200RPM or SSD inside your Mac. I'd also recommend (as others have) to do a total clean install. It really does speed things up.
I'd say go for it. At the very least, for $300 you'll most likely get:
- twice the CPU speed
- twice the GPU speed
- more battery endurance
- higher resolution display
and, depending on which rumors are correct:
- a lighter notebook
- additional ports
- an SSD flash disk option
If the ODD is retained in the 13" model you can always add your own SSD or second HDD in place of the optical drive if you prefer. I don't expect the Intel HD 3000 IGP to be any faster than the current GeForce 320M, so if gaming is important to you then you may consider buying the current 13" MBP once the new models are launched. If a bump in CPU power is your focus, then the Sandy Bridge i5 will be the way to go.
- twice the CPU speed
- twice the GPU speed
- more battery endurance
- higher resolution display
and, depending on which rumors are correct:
- a lighter notebook
- additional ports
- an SSD flash disk option
If the ODD is retained in the 13" model you can always add your own SSD or second HDD in place of the optical drive if you prefer. I don't expect the Intel HD 3000 IGP to be any faster than the current GeForce 320M, so if gaming is important to you then you may consider buying the current 13" MBP once the new models are launched. If a bump in CPU power is your focus, then the Sandy Bridge i5 will be the way to go.
It's pointless speculating now, wait until something is announced.
Stop making things up.hcho3 said:
Why do people never think about the durability of the hardware and damage that more frequent occurs after time.
I would definitely do it! Only 300$, new warrenty, some improvements, new notebook.
If your mainboard is broken tomorrow, you will pay at least 300$ (working time included)
After the new MacBooks get officially released the resell prices on ebay etc. will drop (even more dramatically, if they do a redesign of MBPs)
So you probably get like 500$ less.
So I would recommend you to refresh now and again in maybe 1-2 years. In about 80%, depending on your durability luck, it's the better option.
You just have the work to replace the System and transmit the datas.
Hope I could help you.
I would definitely do it! Only 300$, new warrenty, some improvements, new notebook.
If your mainboard is broken tomorrow, you will pay at least 300$ (working time included)
After the new MacBooks get officially released the resell prices on ebay etc. will drop (even more dramatically, if they do a redesign of MBPs)
So you probably get like 500$ less.
So I would recommend you to refresh now and again in maybe 1-2 years. In about 80%, depending on your durability luck, it's the better option.
You just have the work to replace the System and transmit the datas.
Hope I could help you.
This is very smart advice. I follow this routine once a year just to eliminate the odd bits of corruption that naturally occur. New models are always attractive but rarely deliver in the first gen, since there are bugs to be worked out. Keep yours & you'll be very glad you did.
But I wouldn't sell my MBP before I had a new one, so that's out of the question. Either way, after the refresh I'll be able to sell it for $800-900 locally.
If I don't sell it and get the refresh, the SSD/SB processor are the main things and we're almost 100% it'll have the processor, then I'm definitely going to do a clean install.
Exactly. And for $300 I think those features are worth it, but it brings me to the question of "Well, do I upgrade every 2 years or wait for every 3-4?"
Exactly. Seems that for $300 it's hard to beat especially with the new processor and some of the other rumored features.
Thanks for all of your help.