Which Macbook Pro for me?

[eyemacg5]

So my graphics class at school is in full swing, our task is to design a prototype handheld product. I have never been good with drawing by hand etc so I think the time has come to computerize all my work, my tutor says its fine if I want to use the school computer or bring in a laptop, this faces me with two problems; the school computers are dire 1ghz AMD with 256mb ram if I'm lucky and the software is very lacking and I do not have a laptop. So I thought I would get a Macbook Pro and pass the iMac on to a family member.

What I will be doing; graphic design, maybe a bit of 3D if I get round to learning to use a freeware 3D app, Photoshop is what I shall do most of my work in, Pages and possibly keynote, general other software like safari and itunes.

The options
I've been looking at the UK refurb store and found a few options.

1
Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display (1440x900 resolution)
1GB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load 6x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Front Row and Apple Remote
Learn More
• Save 15% off the original price
Original price: £1,349.00
Your price: £1,149.00
(£977.87 ex VAT)

Ready to ship:
24hrs
Free Shipping


2
Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display (1440x900 resolution)
1GB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
100GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Front Row and Apple Remote
Learn More
• Save 30% off the original price
Original price: £1,699.00
Your price: £1,199.00
(£1,020.43 ex VAT)

Ready to ship:
24hrs
Free Shipping



3
Refurbished MacBook Pro, 17-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo
17-inch widescreen display (1680x1050 resolution)
1GB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Front Row and Apple Remote
Learn More
• Save 37% off the original price
Original price: £1,899.00
Your price: £1,199.00
(£1,020.43 ex VAT)

Ready to ship:
24hrs
Free Shipping



I really did like the first one and the last one, the 17" would be great but would carrying be a problem? and non 64bit processor?

Which would be best?

 

[nagromme]

I say #1.

246 VRAM is nice, but 128 is fine if you're not a gamer. I'd go for the Core 2 Duo, even though 64-bit doesn't matter much YET. And that machine has a bigger HD and costs less for some reason.

You'll probably want to double the RAM to 2 GB--and that's best done in matched pairs, but to save money (like getting 3rd-party RAM from Other World Computing) it's not necessary. It makes only a small speed difference, I'm told.

I do fine 17" to be too big for me... but then I'd rather carry a subnotebook!

You can always add some cheap but decent Dell/other display to the 15" and have a massive screen when you're at home. And on the go, 1440x900 ain't bad at all.

BUT... what's your time frame? There are rumors of upated 15" MacBooks SOMETIME in the coming months, at which time you might see a brief price drop to clear out the outgoing models (brand new) and/or more refurbs, and/or very new machines on eBay that still have warranty. (The new machines are expected to have the Santa Rosa platform which will get the most out of the Core 2 Duo, plus MAYBE flash-caching, LED backlighting, and updated video boards.)

If you need something now, don't let rumors get to you... there's ALWAYS something new coming.

 

[eyemacg5]

I say #1.

246 VRAM is nice, but 128 is fine if you're not a gamer. I'd go for the Core 2 Duo, even though 64-bit doesn't matter much YET. And that machine has a bigger HD and costs less for some reason.

You'll probably want to double the RAM to 2 GB--and that's best done in matched pairs, but to save money (like getting 3rd-party RAM from Other World Computing) it's not necessary. It makes only a small speed difference, I'm told.

I do fine 17" to be too big for me... but then I'd rather carry a subnotebook!

You can always add some cheap but decent Dell/other display to the 15" and have a massive screen when you're at home. And on the go, 1440x900 ain't bad at all.

BUT... what's your time frame? There are rumors of upated 15" MacBooks SOMETIME in the coming months, at which time you might see a brief price drop to clear out the outgoing models (brand new) and/or more refurbs, and/or very new machines on eBay that still have warranty. (The new machines are expected to have the Santa Rosa platform which will get the most out of the Core 2 Duo, plus MAYBE flash-caching, LED backlighting, and updated video boards.)

If you need something now, don't let rumors get to you... there's ALWAYS something new coming.

I was going to order one in the next week or two but I could probabley wait up untill around june at the latest

 

[nagromme]

I'd be tempted to wait a couple weeks to see if any more-solid rumors appear. It's a tough call.

If you were going to buy new, I'd say wait for sure. But since you'll be buying the current generation no matter what, it's not such a big deal. You won't find deals TOO much better than you see now, and you might not find any if they all get snapped up by others first

(If you're at all thinking of spending more and buying new, then I'd wait if you can.)

 

[netdog]

None of the above?

Unless you don't mind toting around the 17" of course, I would hold out for a 2.33 C2D, 2GB 120GB 256MBvram (all standard config) to show up at the refurb store.

 

[eyemacg5]

None of the above?

Unless you don't mind toting around the 17" of course, I would hold out for a 2.33 C2D, 2GB 120GB 256MBvram (all standard config) to show up at the refurb store.

There is this
Refurbished MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display (1440x900 resolution)
2GB (two SODIMMs) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load 6x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight Camera
Front Row and Apple Remote
Learn More
• Save 16% off the original price
Original price: £1,699.00
Your price: £1,429.00
(£1,216.17 ex VAT)

Ready to ship:
24hrs

At an extra £300 I really doubt I will be able to afford this

 

[Spike099]

Tough decision as the prices are all very similar. For what you plan on doing option number one beats option 2. You just have to decide weather you would like a larger screen. Your doing graphics so a larger screen is always nice to have. I have a backpack right now that holds a 17" laptop no problem. Mine is the 15" C2D like option one. The weight between the 15" and 17" if I remember are very similar so you carrying shouldn't be a problem.

 

[netdog]

Wow, I didn't notice the price on the 17" CD was so low. If you aren't going to be running PRO apps that really hunger for 64-bitness, and you don't mind toting the 17", go for it. Nice machine at a nice price. Put it in your basket now.

 

[nagromme]

That last one is nice, but it sounds like it's not worth the 300 lbs.

If you're toting the thing to school, I think size DOES affect portability enough that the 15" would be BETTER than the 17". And with an external display (that you can add any time later) you get more than 17" anyway.

Best of both worlds = smallest possible on the go, biggest possible at home. That's my view/ My dream machine would be a 10" MacBook Pro ultrathin with no optical drive and a flash boot drive... and at home, a 30" display, external Blu-Ray, a big RAID, and a keyboard/mouse to connect to it

If YOU prefer the 17", that's a perfectly good choice. It's very subjective. The 17" has one more USB port FWIW.

 

[Blubbert]

That last one is nice, but it sounds like it's not worth the 300 lbs.

If you're toting the thing to school, I think size DOES affect portability enough that the 15" would be BETTER than the 17". And with an external display (that you can add any time later) you get more than 17" anyway.

Best of both worlds = smallest possible on the go, biggest possible at home. That's my view/ My dream machine would be a 10" MacBook Pro ultrathin with no optical drive and a flash boot drive... and at home, a 30" display, external Blu-Ray, a big RAID, and a keyboard/mouse to connect to it

If YOU prefer the 17", that's a perfectly good choice. It's very subjective. The 17" has one more USB port FWIW.

The 17'' is so worth it, plus its not 300 pounds, its actually really light. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of five and change pounds. The added screen real eastate is a must for anyone using the computer for graphics work. And as an added bonus there is a bigger battery, a FW 800 port, which is extrememly useful to plug in an external disk.
I have one, and i move it a lot, and to be honest, the weight and everything else is barely noticable.

 

[eyemacg5]

The extra £300 MONEY NOT WEIGHT was for the C2D 2.33ghz 2gb ram 15" not the 17" any way, according to apple the 17" is so light I just weighed my mums 13" toshiba laptop and that weights 5.4lbs so I think I will go for the 17" and the keyboards are so nice to type on

 

[nagromme]

The 17'' is so worth it, plus its not 300 pounds, its actually really light.

I knew I should have spent more a few more seconds and located the £ symbol

Screen size vs. portability is very subejctive. I can get lots of work done in Photoshop, Lightwave, Flash and Dreamweaver at 1280x854. Now, my1920x1200 is much better, but portability matters so much to me that I'd settle for smaller any day--when I'm not at home. It's a personal call--preferring a big screen on the go makes equally good sense. (But the keyboard is identical for the 15" and 17")

You won't regret either size And that 17 does combine the larger HD with larger VRAM.