MPB 13"-15" 2009-2011 still worth as secondary laptop in 2016?

[L.Ovidiu]

Long story short, i need a secondary cheap laptop, 13-15" in size, for web design (1 browser with 5-15 tabs opened, photoshop and illustrator for ads, banners, logos, image touch-ups, generally medium level usage, dreamweaver for some coding). Right now i'm doing my job from this laptop https://www.asus.com/ROG-Republic-Of-Gamers/ROG-GL552JX/ bought in september 2015, which is very powerful, but i want to try an Apple MBP, and if i'll like it, in the near future, i'll switch from windows to a latest MBP.

Because in fact it's a secondary laptop, i'm gonna spend around 500$, including ram and ssd upgrades.

So my options are:

1] 13" 2009/2010 MBP c2d - max 375$ (including ssd+ram)
2] 13" 2011 MPB i5 max 500$ (including ssd+ram)
3] 15" MBP 2008-2009 max 500$ (including ssd+ram)
4] 15" MBP 2010 max 575$ (including ssd+ram)

I want to know how are they working for the softwares i mentioned earlier, especially from those who own these models.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE THE POLL.
Thank you!

 

[Closingracer]

I would go with the 2011

 

[JTToft]

Those are some pretty unspecific specifications, so to speak. But I'd go with 2011 13", which has the more powerful CPU, the faster SATA interface, and the higher maximum RAM among all the options.

 

[L.Ovidiu]

a] hmm, unspecific specifications? tell me more ...
b] the 13" 2011 is better than 15" 2010 ?

thank you for your time!

 

[JTToft]

a] hmm, unspecific specifications? tell me more ...

- 15" MBP 2008-2009 spans four different models, with huge differences between them. It's also worth mentioning which CPUs are in the 2011 13" and 2010 15".

b] the 13" 2011 is better than 15" 2010 ?

- In every way but screen resolution. The slowest CPU in the 2011 is faster than the fastest in the 2010.
Graphics wise, it's going to be a toss-up, I'd estimate. Perhaps a slight edge to the 330M in the 2010 over the HD 3000 in the 2011.

You should completely ignore options 1 and 3.

 

[L.Ovidiu]

ok, thank you very much for info, but besides this, can anyone tell me how browser multi tabbing, Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver are working on these models?

 

[L.Ovidiu]

up!

 

[JTToft]

ok, thank you very much for info, but besides this, can anyone tell me how browser multi tabbing, Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver are working on these models?

- I don't personally do the things you're asking about, though I have before. It'd be my estimation that the machine in question will do it, but not particularly well, and that you would be better off with a newer Retina model - possibly even in the 15" size. If it's for professional use, I wouldn't spend time experimenting with it.

 

[matt_on_a_mtn]

I would suggest that you get a more current Retina model rather than throwing away money on a computer that's already 5-6 years old.

Spend a little more and get something that's actually usable and decent by today's standards, because it'll be far cheaper in the long run, last longer, and won't need work right off the bat (like a new SSD, new battery, more RAM).

 

[AFEPPL]

$500 gets you a mini or a much better windows laptop like you have, i'd be sticking with that...