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Would a 17" 2.16 Macbook Pro meet my needs?

J

JMann2380

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2009
22
0
Hello all,

I know a guy selling a pristine 2.16GHz 17" Macbook Pro for ~$1100 with applecare until June. I was all set on getting a 17" unibody, but saving ~$1500 even with the ADC discount sounds good considering this economy lately. But I have a few questions...

1) Is this a good price?

2) Was this model available in a high resolution version or just 1680x1050?

3) This is a Rev A correct? Any known problems with these?

4) Relatively speaking are this fairly quick computers? I will be using photoshop, coda and a few other programs for web design. But all my files are less than 5mb that I work with. Really just light photoshop work.

Thanks,
Josh
 
1. Not sure. I would imagine it's not-bad if the condition is prestine, but it depends on your market / location.
2. Everymac.com for display resolution
3. Not sure.
4. Should be fine. If you upgrade the harddrive and the ram it'll be faster all around.

Core Duo uses more power than Core 2 Duo, therefore runs hotter.
Core Duo takes 3 gb of ram.
 
1) Don't know, but I'd try to get it for less - say, $900.

2) No.

3) No problems.

4) Quick enough.

If you can get a little something off the price, I'd go for it and up the RAM with the savinngs.
 
From the ad...

This is a late 2006 model and comes with a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 2 GB RAM, and NEW 160 GB 7200 rpm Hitachi Deskstar internal Hard Drive.
Click to expand...

so yes it is the core duo
 
I used to own one of those and worked fine for me, even with Photoshop CS3. But I would advise you to upgrade to 2 Gb minimum (which is not much if you buy it online (make sure to get the correct RAM)). Upgrading the HD is only necessary if you need the space and 160Gigs is not bad, even now. My Rev C MBP 17" that I have now has a 5400 Rpm 160 Gig HD and I still have about 30 Gigs free. If I would remove my BootCamp Windows partition, I would have 40 Gigs more, so 160 Gigs for the things you mention should be plenty to work with! And that resolution is the max for that model. I still have that on my current model and it is still more than sharp enough.
 
Personally I think it'd be a false saving. As I found with a Merom machine I unearthed recently, the X1600 is still a respectable GPU for non-demanding 2d apps and even basic 3D apps and shouldn't hold you back much, but the CPU is a first-gen Core Duo and this means you'll be harking back to the Hibachi-like performance from now (Spring) through perhaps autumn.

As first-gen examples of Apple's suspect machines go, the Yonahs are pretty typical. i.e. quite rubbish. I actually had a Yonah 17-incher warp/droop on me which was pretty unexpected, among many other problems.

I'm not sure how or when it was cured, but I also believe - and I didn't bother to check it with the now replaced Merom - the X1600'd 17-inch MBP's had the dithering issue which made gradients appear much rougher than they needed to be.

If you're looking at used, I'd say go for the latest pre-unibody machine and beat them down.
 
Isn't this model over 3 years old?

If so, I'm not sure that $1,100 is such a great price.

The MacBooks have better RAM and processor for that money. Unless the screen size is that important to you (and the 3 years old graphics card), I would tell you to keep looking or ask for a lower price.
 
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