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New 2GHz MB or refurb 2.16GHz MB?

P

peterm10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2007
17
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My wife's HP laptop is dying so I am going to replace it with a MacBook. She mainly uses it for email, web surfing and word processing so she does not need the best specs, etc. I can get the new 2.0GHz model from Apple for $1033 with my business discount, or a refurb 2.16GHz model for $1050, so the price difference is irrelevant.

The refurb model has a 120GB hard drive versus an 80GB drive for the new one, and also has the SuperDrive so she can burn DVDs, which she couldn't do on the new 2.0GHz model. However, she has never needed to burn DVDs and doesn't need that much hard drive space.

I don't know if the refurbs that Apple sells contain the newer Santa Rosa chipset. I am also not aware of any other differences between these two units.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Peter
 
peterm10 said:
My wife's HP laptop is dying so I am going to replace it with a MacBook. She mainly uses it for email, web surfing and word processing so she does not need the best specs, etc. I can get the new 2.0GHz model from Apple for $1033 with my business discount, or a refurb 2.16GHz model for $1050, so the price difference is irrelevant.

The refurb model has a 120GB hard drive versus an 80GB drive for the new one, and also has the SuperDrive so she can burn DVDs, which she couldn't do on the new 2.0GHz model. However, she has never needed to burn DVDs and doesn't need that much hard drive space.

I don't know if the refurbs that Apple sells contain the newer Santa Rosa chipset. I am also not aware of any other differences between these two units.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Peter
Click to expand...

The refurbs don't contain the new SR chipset. Basically it's down to the DVD burner as the hard drive can easily be replaced.
 
Ron21 said:
The refurbs don't contain the new SR chipset. Basically it's down to the DVD burner as the hard drive can easily be replaced.
Click to expand...

Yeah and the refurbs dont contain the new x3100 graphics chipset.
And they only allow for 3.2gb of ram.

imo get the new one. .16ghz is not noticeable, and the faster fsb and newer chipset probably improve performance more.

Superdrive's can be changed, and it isn't that expensive.
 
If you think that there is even a slight possibility that you or your wife will want to burn DVDs, get the refurb 2.16 -- yes, you can buy an external DVD-RW later - but you might as well just get it now.

Basically the difference is going to be this.

Santa Rosa, which is a platform (NOT A CHIPSET - it's a marketing name just like Centrino), has three things that set it apart from the previous C2D models:

1. The integrated graphics card is upgraded from the GMA-950 to the GMA-X1300. What that means is that the 3-D capabilities, for gaming and the like, still suck - but they don't suck as badly. Apple has also finally allowed OS X to take advantage of more than 64 megs of RAM for video (which Windows can do on the old MBs just fine...whatever).

2. The total amount of memory that can be added is 4 GB, up from 3.3 GB. Whether it's a mobo issue (which I doubt) or a EFI thing (much more likely), the pre-SR MB and MBR can only use up to 3.3 GB or RAM. 4 will be recognized, just not utilized.

3. The front side bus has been increased from 667 to 800 mhtz. The memory bus is the same speed, so it really doesn't matter.

So basically, you get the potential to have more RAM and a better, but still sucky integrated graphics card. Everything else is identical.

I'd get the 2.16, which is faster, has the bigger hard drive and the SuperDrive - unless you can get a similarly spec'ed 2.0 for the same price.
 
For all intents and purposes a refurb is new. Still has the same warranty as a new one. That seems to be the only thing stopping you.

Because otherwise you're saying... "Should I buy a slightly slower machine with no DVD burner and a smaller hard drive or should I get a slightly faster machine with a superdrive and a big hard drive for the same price"

I think the choice is clear.... get her a Nintendo Wii, a vibrator, and $600 Dollars in cash.
 
Almost the same question:

Mid-level Refurbished 2.16ghz or Mid-level NEW 2.2ghz ?

Price difference: 2.2ghz about $ 252 over Refurb. 2.16ghz

For what I do,
- Business Accounting Programs (Windows - Bootcamp & VMWare)
- Web Surfing / light iPhoto & Editing / iTunes

It really won't make any difference to me, but
- Will I be able to get a longer life out of one or the other ?
- If I sell it in 1-2 years will I be able to fetch a higher resale price on the 2.2ghz over the 2.16ghz ?

If you say get the 2.2 - Are the poorer quality monitor, buzzing sound, clicking keyboard, etc. - That big or common of a problem to pass it up for a previous model ?
 
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