Part-upgrades or is it time for a new Macbook?

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Arkangyl

Gawd
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Mar 3, 2005
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I have a 1st gen Macbook Pro, the kind with the Core Duo (note the lack of '2' in there).

I've since upgraded it's (pathetic) 512mb of RAM to 2gb and upped the hard drive to a 160gb 7200rpm disk (don't even remember what it came with, 80gb @ 5400rpm I think?)

Anyways, lately I've needed to use virtual machines more, both to have Ubuntu and Windows running whilst also in OSX (I really prefer OSX for my mobile needs, and VMWare does an excellent job of doing everything I'd want bootcamp to do).

Those virtual machines are used for dev work though, and thus resources are being consumed. So much so that after I hit compile in Linux and switch over to an OSX 'space' I find that Safari lags (I get the pinwheel) when opening a new tab, so much so that text appears on screen a good 20-30 seconds after I enter it.

Now I'm in a quandary, I know I want 4+gb of RAM and a SSD in my laptop. I just don't know if I should:
- upgrade this laptop (DDR2) to 4gb & the SSD
- get a new Macbook (don't really need what the new Pro models offer), add 4gb DDR3 and an Intel or OCZ Vertex SSD myself

If I got the SSD & ram now, I could move the SSD later, the ram's only a $50 cost ATM so it's not as big a deal.
Alternatively, the new Macbook should get about double the battery life (I get ~2 hours when I ONLY use WiFi internet & text entry) and would be faster all around which would be niiiiiice.

So, costs are:
SSD = $320 OCZ Vertex 120gb, $380 Intel X25-M 80gb
RAM = $50ish for 4gb DDR2 or DDR2 SODIMMs (667mhz or 1066mhz)
Macbook = $1250 (or w/e the education discount affords)
re-sell of 2006 Macbook Pro (2gb RAM & 160gb HD) = ????


advice [H]ard-macophiles?
 
You're solution is clear, buy a new more capable machine and upgrade the components for cheap. Your 1st gen MBP won't support 4gig ram. The best it'll do is 2gig, and perhaps unofficially 3gig. It's been a while since I've looked into it, so double check my 'facts'.
 
honestly, I'd skip the SSD and go for the 4gb of memory (or more if it will take it). SSD's, in general, seem like a pretty big waste of $$$ at the moment. The read speeds are nice, but the write speeds blow (at least in my mini) bigtime. I honestly don't think the extra bit of performance is worth the premium, but opinions are like assholes :p

I'd personally go with a quadcore laptop, if anything... especially if you're heavy into using virtual machines (which it sounds like you are).
 
dr.stevil, the Intel and OCZ Vertex SSD's have MUCH better write performance (and small, random write) than the rest of the field, so much so that they do seem to deliver on the promises SSDs have been making.

quadcore would be nice for performance, but I do have a i7 desktop to do that for me :cool:

I need the laptop for classes (still in college) and for work (@ a co-op school, so I'm working full time Jan - June) and when I travel (I NEVER am without a computer!!!!)

Thus, quadcore would kill battery life which is a nono for me. If they made a quad-core that could shut down cores based on battery vs. being plugged in and based on need (they might actually, I'm a bit behind on my tech reading) I'd jump on it.

And yeah, I know I should just get the new one, $$$ has been holding me back a bit but my current lappy is almost 3 years old, and that's ancient....

Any idea what my oldie Macbook Pro will sell for? Can I get north of $600 for it?
 
Arkangyl said:
Any idea what my oldie Macbook Pro will sell for? Can I get north of $600 for it?
Click to expand...

I sold a first gen Macbook about a month ago for $650. Specs:

1.86Ghz Core Duo
2GB RAM
Superdrive (I replaced the Combo drive myself)
80GB HD

Personally, I didn't think it was worth $650 and would have taken $550 but the person didn't even try to haggle so I was cool with that.
 
I think max out the RAM and putting in an SSD will serve you better. From my experience, running mulitple OS's eats up not just the CPU cycles but also the RAM available.

But I'm not sure how many GB of RAM is capable on your laptop. Adding the SSD is also a good idea because it eats less power, hence prolong the usage on the battery.

But if dough allows, new macbook pro is the expensive way to resolve your problems all together. :p
 
also, if your battery is old, it is probably not holding as much of a charge as it once was. Getting a new battery should breath new life into it's battery uptime.
 
Looking at completed auctions on ebay, I would say you might be able to get between 750 and 950 for that laptop pretty easily as long as it is in good condition.
 
hmm, 750-950 sounds pretty good actually.

And the original battery died about 5 months ago so the one in there now is pretty new :) Generally the battery life is on par with reviews like Anand which include the 1st gen Macbook (Pro)s in their reviews with the new stuff
 
You'll definitely want a new Macbook. You'll need a 64 bit capable CPU in order to address the 4 GB of RAM that you want. On top of that, the performance difference with the Penryn core chips is substantial. And if it were me, I'd be happy for the smaller size ;)

Let us know what you end up doing!
 
In the interest of not keeping anyone in suspense:

I've decided that a new Macbook would be the best way to go. However due to jobs disappearing like cheesecake at fat camp, I'm going to be responsible and grin and bear it with my current lappy for a bit longer.

If a few other things work out and my job stays intact for a bit longer, I'll probably start shopping this ol' Macbook Pro around and if I can get a good price, go for a Macbook w/ 4gb RAM & a 120gb OCZ Vertex drive.
 
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