Upgrade MacBook Pro 13"?

[realmike15]

Thinking about upgrading my late-2009 MacBook Pro 13" for a newer model. I have the 13" model with 4GB Ram, 2.26 Core2Duo, 160GB HDD, and 9400m Graphics Chip.

Overall, I love the MacBook Pro design... my only complaints are with performance sometimes. I do a lot of Photo/Audio/Video editing with Lightroom, Photoshop, Logic Pro, and Final Cut Pro... and that's the only time I notice the computer choking. I do have a Desktop PC I put together that's much more powerful, but I'd still like to have a little better mobile computer power.

I'm just wondering if it's worth it to sell this one, to upgrade to a new 13" MBP which is supposedly coming out this week. I'm not sure how much I could get for my current MBP, but it might be worth it if the specs are that much better. Plus, it would last longer being a new laptop. I know there's quite a few people who sell their Macs after a year or two to upgrade to the newest model. I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it? Any thoughts?

 

[Numenorean]

Maybe you should check out one of the new Dell XPS laptops with a quad core chip. It would probably cost less and outperform the Mac.

 

[mfenn]

You should probably wait until we know the specs and prices of the updated models.

 

[Xonipher]

You should probably wait until we know the specs and prices of the updated models.

I agree. But just so you know. I have an early aluminum unibody Macbook. It's basically the a 2009 Macbook pro. With 2.4ghz intel core 2 duo and 4gb 1066 of DDR3 memory and the latest OSX. AND It's very fast. I can run multiple programs, with Windows 7 on parallels, running its own programs with no lag.

 

[Davidh373]

ok, so how much money are you going to spend, and how much do you care about design?

1. You are going to overpay for any Apple product you buy.

2. anything over a 13" MacBook (AKA, any MacBook Pro) is a horrible value. You are going to spend around $2500 on a MacBook Pro that has decent hardware.

3. There are MUCH better options out there. Such as desktop replacements

-Desktop Replacements-

Option 1 - Boxx Technologies Desktop Replacement ($2800)

http://www.boxxtech.com/products/goBOXX/goboxx_2600_overview.asp

Option 2 - Eurocom Desktop Replacement (Panther 2.0 Mobile Workstation) ($2600)

-Standard high performance laptops (equal to around a $2500 MacBook Pro)-

Option 3 - HP

$1600 -> Quad Core i7 @ 1.73Ghz, 6GB RAM, RADEON 5850, 17.3" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157664


$1900 -> Dual Core i5 @ 2.66Ghz, 4GB RAM, Firepro m7820, 17.0" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157487

Option 4 - Dell

$2000 -> Quad Core i7 @ 1.73Ghz, 6GB RAM, RADEON 5870, 17.0" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-049-_-Product


$1330 -> Quad Core i7 @ 1.73Ghz, 6GB RAM, RADEON 5850, 15.6" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-048-_-Product

Option 5 - Acer

$1300 -> Quad Core i7 @ 1.73Ghz, 4GB RAM, RADEON 5850, 18.4" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115869

Option 6 - ASUS

$1500 -> Quad Core i7, 6GB RAM, Geforce 460M, 15.6" screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220861

Any of these have a much better price tag on them. They all save around $500-$700 with exception to the Workstation/ Desktop replacements which are around the same price as a MacBook Pro and easily double the performance. Desktop replacements however, are heavy and big.

 

[mfenn]

I agree. But just so you know. I have an early aluminum unibody Macbook. It's basically the a 2009 Macbook pro. With 2.4ghz intel core 2 duo and 4gb 1066 of DDR3 memory and the latest OSX. AND It's very fast. I can run multiple programs, with Windows 7 on parallels, running its own programs with no lag.

So why are you looking to upgrade?

 

[CurseTheSky]

With Macbook Pros, you're paying extra for the chassis and styling. The screen is superior to most notebooks in that price range, the touch pad is stellar, the keyboard is good, and the aluminum chassis is unparalleled. Buying anything else in that price range - even the Envy 14 which has excellent reviews - is going to be a step down in quality, though you'll most likely get much better internal specs for the same amount or less.

So, you really need to weigh how much you like the MBP fit and finish, and how much you like OSX. If you're willing to give those up for something more powerful, get a PC notebook instead.

 

[Davidh373]

So why are you looking to upgrade?

He isn't looking to upgrade...

 

[droshi]

I would look for an i7 or i5 with Optimus, but overall CurseTheSky has it right. MBP does a good number of things right. If the price is worth it to you, they are still good laptops and you could go with another Mac.

 

[Davidh373]

I would look for an i7 or i5 with Optimus, but overall CurseTheSky has it right. MBP does a good number of things right. If the price is worth it to you, they are still good laptops and you could go with another Mac.

Overall the aesthetics are pleasing, but they are roughly a year behind the curve at all times in terms of the tech inside the computer...

 

[mnewsham]

Overall the aesthetics are pleasing, but they are roughly a year behind the curve at all times in terms of the tech inside the computer...

a year? what cpu does the MB air have again? The highest one you can get in a MB air atm is the SL9600 which came out in Q1 of 2009 TWO years ago.

 

[Xonipher]

So why are you looking to upgrade?

I'm not the one that made this thread to ask. I'm just giving him my personal advice on the macbook with my specs.

 

[Davidh373]

a year? what cpu does the MB air have again? The highest one you can get in a MB air atm is the SL9600 which came out in Q1 of 2009 TWO years ago.

But he's not talking about the MacBook Air, and they are normally a year behind when they release. There, corrected

 

[realmike15]

Thanks for the replies. I like the design and functionality of the Mac as a Laptop... so I'm going to stick with Apple for my laptops and PC for my desktops. I agree Apple hardware tends to be a little behind PC for the price, but the design and functionality (ex: multi-touch trackpad, aluminum enclosure) are not something I'm willing to give up. Also I have an Apogee Recording Interface that is Mac only, so I'm tied to having at least one Apple computer for now.

If I do upgrade, I'm planning on sticking with the $1,200 base model 13" MBP, but I'll upgrades to the RAM and HDD myself. What I am hoping for is a better processor (ex: faster Core2Duo, or i3/i5), and a better graphics chip than the 320m/9400m. For a $1,200 computer, I wouldn't mind seeing them come in line with PC's in that price range.

 

[Numenorean]

My Dell XPS has a multi touch trackpad and the display back and palmrest is aluminum.

I don't know what the big deal with a multi touch trackpad is though, I don't really use any of the multi touch stuff on mine.

 

[realmike15]

My Dell XPS has a multi touch trackpad and the display back and palmrest is aluminum.

I don't know what the big deal with a multi touch trackpad is though, I don't really use any of the multi touch stuff on mine.

From my experience and the reviews on Anandtech it's because the Apple Multi-Touch Pad is far better than the competition. I love the finger gestures personally, I use every single one of them... and I'd guess my work flow is at least 50% faster because of it.

Not trying to sound like an Apple fan boy because I'm not... but the Multi-Touch Trackpad is one thing Apple did exceptionally well.

 

[Davidh373]

I'd say the Dell Multitouch trackpads are on par with the Apple ones. I just got a Dell Inspiron Duo. It's awesome. If all you are going to do is get a new white MacBook, don't bother. You aren't going to see much (if any) improvement on even an i3 and possibly even an i5. They are still dual core after all, and Apple is just gonna slap an onboard graphics chip in there no matter which one you buy. Wait until Apple gets the Sandy Bridge Quad core processors (fingers crossed they finally go over dual core).

 

[TheStu]

I'd say the Dell Multitouch trackpads are on par with the Apple ones. I just got a Dell Inspiron Duo. It's awesome. If all you are going to do is get a new white MacBook, don't bother. You aren't going to see much (if any) improvement on even an i3 and possibly even an i5. They are still dual core after all, and Apple is just gonna slap an onboard graphics chip in there no matter which one you buy. Wait until Apple gets the Sandy Bridge Quad core processors (fingers crossed they finally go over dual core).

Have you used the latest Apple trackpads? No one else can match it, whenever I go to Best Buy or elsewhere I play around with the systems there, and there is nothing in the Windows realm that comes close to it. Part of it is the glass construction which makes it so that it doesn't get glossy or change feel over time. The other part is the just the superior trackpad drivers in OS X, plus if you then install BetterTouchTool, you can do more things with the gestures beyond what Apple gives you.

And although you are right that spec for spec, you are paying more for a Mac, but here is a question for you. If you had the choice between two similar systems, one with XP and one with 7, but the 7 system is a couple of hundred more, would you still buy the 7 system? It is like that with OS X. Those of us that prefer it, are willing to spend more just so we can use OS X. That plus the fact that all of Apple's laptops are insanely solid, as opposed to most PC laptops.

 

[Davidh373]

Have you used the latest Apple trackpads? No one else can match it, whenever I go to Best Buy or elsewhere I play around with the systems there, and there is nothing in the Windows realm that comes close to it. Part of it is the glass construction which makes it so that it doesn't get glossy or change feel over time. The other part is the just the superior trackpad drivers in OS X, plus if you then install BetterTouchTool, you can do more things with the gestures beyond what Apple gives you.

Yessir, I have. I'm actually considering one of the external ones for my desktop... I don't see any reason the trackpads are any better than the new dell ones though. Sure, the gestures for windows are probably different, but they work equally as well.

If he really, REALLY needs an Apple one, he can always buy one of these and still save a tremendous amount and get something worlds better than a Core 2 Duo...

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC...co=MTY3ODQ5OTY

Heck, he could do the whole hackintosh thing and only spend $600 or so on equivalent hardware from Dell or HP or whoever.

And although you are right that spec for spec, you are paying more for a Mac, but here is a question for you. If you had the choice between two similar systems, one with XP and one with 7, but the 7 system is a couple of hundred more, would you still buy the 7 system?

No, I'd buy the XP system and install a $100 Home Premium OEM disk... I'm not a moron... I may not even want the Windows 7. XP may not look pretty, but it "gets the job DONE!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epjAmtOwLZw

It is like that with OS X. Those of us that prefer it, are willing to spend more just so we can use OS X. That plus the fact that all of Apple's laptops are insanely solid, as opposed to most PC laptops.

Again, Hackintosh. I've used both OS' and at this point they are so similar it takes about two minutes to get acclimated to either. I find it foolish to pay an extra $500 to save yourself 5 minutes of work...

As far as the "Mac only" interface, You can get one for PC or Mac and PC and still save $500-$600.

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/...co=MTc4OTEzNDY

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834157456

Ouch... you're paying $700 more between the two.... and notice how all the PC laptops are used or refurbished... because the technology is that ancient...

Lets say you get another $250 interface, and then get get the $75 trackpad I linked above... you're still saving $300-$400 off that price. I'm not telling you you should buy one of those used laptops (who would, they have 4 year old tech in them ), I'm saying you should spend roughly $600-$700, get an Interface, and then get the trackpad. So you are still technically paying the same, BUT you are getting a much newer and better processor, a GPU that isn't gimped, plus a more versatile interface, plus a slightly larger trackpad. It's a pure win... You aren't giving anything up besides OSX, which is just a Linux GUI...

I'm sorry to all the crazy Mac fanboys, but you are just that. There is no justification for your foolish support for a company that is so far behind the curve that people that know what they're talking about, laugh...

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'm sorry to all the crazy Mac fanboys, but you are just that. There is no justification for your foolish support for a company that is so far behind the curve that people that know what they're talking about, laugh...

I'm a dedicated PC enthusiast - I don't own a single Apple computer or piece of equipment (no iPhones, no iPods, etc.), but your statement is silly. As I mentioned previously, you're paying more for superior build quality. The MBP chassis is far superior to any other laptop on the market (save for perhaps something in the $2000+ price range, and even then I'm not so sure), the touch pad is excellent, the keyboard is great, and the screen is pretty good. I absolutely love my Envy 14, I appreciate the superior specs for a similar price, but the build quality isn't near the MBP in overall fit and finish.

Yes, the internal specs are worse, but that's part of the trade-off. If specs vs. cost are all that matters to you, you obviously won't be buying an Apple computer. However, if you value build quality and aesthetics, the MBP does what it does very well. Even a good portion of the legendary Thinkpad line fails is certain categories compared to the MBP, such as screen panel quality (brightness, contrast, viewing angles, etc.)

I personally opted to go for better specs than the MBP 13 and paid roughly $1200 for my Envy 14. When I bought it, there were plenty of people lined up to criticize my purchase, saying that I should have just bought an Acer Timeline X, which had virtually the same specs for just over half the price. Every time I touch the aluminum / magnesium chassis on this thing, or look at the excellent screen and awesome viewing angles (for a TN panel), I know exactly why I bought it as opposed to something cheaper.

The moral of the story is, to each their own. Various laptops offer different pros and cons compared to their competitors. Criticizing one person's purchase is rather pointless when you don't know what their personal priorities are.

 

[mfenn]

I'm not the one that made this thread to ask. I'm just giving him my personal advice on the macbook with my specs.

My bad, I got you confused with the OP.

 

[mfenn]

My Dell XPS has a multi touch trackpad and the display back and palmrest is aluminum.

I don't know what the big deal with a multi touch trackpad is though, I don't really use any of the multi touch stuff on mine.

That's because you have a really terrible multi-touch trackpad. Once you get used to the Apple one, it is very hard to tolerate the crap that they put in PCs.

 

[mfenn]

Even a good portion of the legendary Thinkpad line fails is certain categories compared to the MBP, such as screen panel quality (brightness, contrast, viewing angles, etc.)

To be fair to the Thinkpad legend, anything since the T43 is absolute shit compared to the T43 and earlier. Lenovo is just milking the Thinkpad brand IMHO.

 

[Davidh373]

The moral of the story is, to each their own. Various laptops offer different pros and cons compared to their competitors. Criticizing one person's purchase is rather pointless when you don't know what their personal priorities are.

Considering you can get an alluminum body/ great screen from any company, buying Apple is foolish. As for build quality, My MacBook Pro has been more of a headache than any of my other laptops or custom builds. It was $2000 and the largest one time computer purchase my family has ever taken on. The HDD clicked after a week, the disk drive went out, and the GPU burnt up. Also, my 1TB Time Capsule was slow as dirt after 3 months, and my iPod/ iTunes randomly decides to fragment my audio files... So isn't Apple just great?!... Maybe rather than focusing so much on the outside they should concentrate on making products that last more than 6 months... Apple cuts corners like all the rest, they just charge you more to do it. Also, just to prove this wasn't a 1 time thing, I have 3 friends who have paid the $90 for Apple's 200GB HDD to replace their broken one, I've had 2 other friends have their's replaced by hand, and I've had 2 friends have a problem with their screen not firing, and 1 other friend with Super Drive failure.... Not to mention the countless times friends have had their disks stuck in those damn things... I've given Apple more than their fair go, and I feel like my friends along with most everyone else should realize they are getting scammed.

I mean, look at the OP, he is willing to put down $1000 to get what is probably a 5% performance boost... lol

EDIT: So how 'bout them suicides at the Foxxcon plant in China? Making iPhones and iPads... Oh... I'm sorry... Apple is such a forward thinking and innovative company... They would NEVER let anything like that happen... oh wait... they did...

Oh, and there's something about the company known for some of the world's most crappy motherboards and cheap MP3 players making my $500 phone that I don't like either...

 

[realmike15]

David,

Again, I'm not trying to make Apple out to be the best company ever, but they do make a nice laptop... and Anandtech's own reviews will back me up on this. If you notice, the MacBook Pro is the only Apple product I own. This is for three reasons, the Multi-Touch Trackpad is second to none, the build quality is exceptional, and the design is stellar.

I'm not here to argue about the value, I know they're expensive, I know a $1,200 laptop from anyone else is going to have better specs. I've been building desktops for 15 years, I'm well versed in hardware. I know exactly what I'm getting when I buy a Mac. But unlike you, I don't just weigh Specs into a computer purchase... Build Quality and Design are important to me too. And while there are a few laptop makes who can match Apple in build quality, I think they do Design better than anyone else out there.

My point being, there is no right and wrong. You can't sit here and make statements like buying a MacBook Pro is foolish. What's bad for you, isn't bad for everyone. I have my desktop when I need superior specs. I said I wanted a *faster* MacBook Pro, not the *fastest* Laptop.