New or old Macbook?

I

ilmickeyli

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 25, 2001
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Hi guys..

Windows IT guy here who is looking to try OSX w/ parallels.. Wanting my first macbook. Looking at the 13.3" screen macbooks..I wont be doing gaming, but mostly browsing.. email.. maybe adobe cs products..

I really don't like the glossy screen on the new ones, but the new touchpad seems attractive, as does the improved bus speeds.. plus its a little lighter, better battery life.. as does the new video cards instead of integrateed..

either way ill be adding more RAM.. are they about the same labor to upgrade?

i wish i could get the backlit keyboard, but dont want to spend that much for the 2.4..

What do you guys think? Anything that may help me sway one way or other? 300-400 difference obviously I need to justify...

Thanks
 
ilmickeyli said:
Hi guys..

Windows IT guy here who is looking to try OSX w/ parallels.. Wanting my first macbook. Looking at the 13.3" screen macbooks..I wont be doing gaming, but mostly browsing.. email.. maybe adobe cs products..

I really don't like the glossy screen on the new ones, but the new touchpad seems attractive, as does the improved bus speeds.. plus its a little lighter, better battery life.. as does the new video cards instead of integrateed..

either way ill be adding more RAM.. are they about the same labor to upgrade?

i wish i could get the backlit keyboard, but dont want to spend that much for the 2.4..

What do you guys think? Anything that may help me sway one way or other? 300-400 difference obviously I need to justify...

Thanks
Click to expand...

My work just bought me a new MacBook and so far I love the thing. I have an older version MBP at home and to be honest I really don't use the backlit keyboard. The screen is very vibrant and you can see the keys just fine. The RAM is very easy to upgrade, but you may note that it is DDR3 so it will be a little more expensive. Other than that, go for it!
 
MacBooks, old and new versions, only have glossy screens. The only way to get a matte screen is to buy a pre-October '08 MacBook Pro. Those MBPs also are the best bang for the buck of all Mac laptops. An MBP like mine (2.5GHz, 8600M 512MB, 250GB, matte) can be had for $1350 from Apple's refurbished store.
 
I am in an almost identical situation, I pulled the trigger this Sunday at the 2.4Ghz model. I was a little nervous as it is my first Mac. So far this thing is amazing, its much better than my Dell 6000D. The glossy screen is a setback for many people but its not as bad as you'd might think. The screen has a vibrant color spectrum and at full brightness is almost blinding. :cool: Its a solid platform and is almost dead silent, except upon startup when the DVD drive posts. The touch pad gesture technology is amazing, why do other touch pads not have this functionality as standard? The back-lit keyboard has a nice feel and is prefect for those times when your feeling like playing in the dark.
I was also thinking about the older MacBook Pro, due to price, but the System Bus speeds are far superior on the new MacBook. With whatever choice you make, Good luck! :)
 
One thing to consider here is that the older MacBook is inappropriately priced in comparison to the new MacBook (in my opinion). Now, you can figure this either way, saying that the new MacBook is priced too high, while the older model is priced "correctly", but I'd definitely say it's the older model that's currently priced too high. If you ask me, the older model should be $899. If that were the case, I'd recommend the older model based on the price difference alone.

Since that's not the case, and the old model is $999, you're in a better position with the new MacBook. It surpasses the older model in every conceivable way, especially in the graphics department (you can run Aperture correctly on the new MacBook, whereas it was unsupported on the old, for instance) so long as you don't need Firewire support.

My suggestion would be to take advantage of whatever Apple has planned for Black Friday. My guess is that they'll reduce the price on the new MacBooks by $75-100.

 
Or... you guys could just go to bestbuy and buy any apple product for 100-150 off. the only two that are 150 off are the 1599 macbook and the 24" imac. Still though, $1199 for the newer macbook isnt bad.
 
I think the newer macbook is a better bet, with the new ram, as well the better grahpics (less integrateD) will be a boost. I want one myself but i have a core duo macbok pro that runs fine and no cash funds/necessary reason to get a new macbook.
 
New! New new new. New.

The aluminum 13-inch MacBook is just that much sturdier and well-built. The screen isn't spectacular but is a definite boost over the earlier plastic model. The 9400M also means volumes for performance in some conditions.

It should run the tasks you're looking at acceptably well with 2GB, but if you're going to go to 4GB, you can do it yourself for the same price or less and have a spare batch of RAM in the process. Just look for DDR3 1066 SODIMM memory from a name brand; a lot of it should be just fine.
 
You should also consider the old MBP. It can be found for not much more than a 2Ghz AluBook.
 
I don't know about you, but for me, the glossy screen is a deal breaker. Using one for any extended periods of time always left me with a lingering headache. I picked up my 2.4GHz 15" MBP in July, and thankfully so, as I had originally intended to wait for the refresh -- needless to say, if I had been stuck with a glossy screen as my only option, I'd probably be writing this post on a Dell. :)
 
Get an old Macbook PRO with a penryn cpu and a matte screen, it's not much more expensive than a new gen. macbook and better than even the new macbook pro.

I have the feeling in one - two year's time these new huge glossy black frame macbook pro's will be worth way less than the last completely silver one, since they offer literally NOTHING (HDSPA, GPS, E-SATA, blu-ray, UWB, card reader, WiMax ... I could go on believe me).

How sad it is that Apple launches a new gen MBP after countless generations on the same chassis, and the only new thing it has is a trackpad. That, and the formidable space saving interface that is the mini displayport, an "industry standard" interface. :)
 
The old pro is a lot larger than the new macbook. The 8600GT and 9400 GT aren't too far apart as far as performance goes. I just got a new MBP and I love it. The glossy screen is fine for me, I think people are making too big of a deal out of no matte. I would prefer matte, but I like the new design. There's no chance these will be worth a penny any time soon, that's a totally baseless remark, every new generation of hardware will continue to hold more value than the previous. I use my friends old 17 inch and that thing gets HOT. The one I have now doesn't ever seem to get hot even when I'm playing fallout 3. The 8600 GT is a big let down as far as I'm concerned. The new MB is better.
 
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