New Macbook vs Old Mac Book Pro leaving out the firewire, and focusing more on reliabilty and performance, Which one would you go with??Thank you for your responses -
791969
I just went with the old (early 08') macbook...not even the macbook pro. It has firewire, plus you can get a faster chip for much less. the 13.3" screen is not as small as you might think. If you want to spend more money then I feel that either of the macbook pro's are excellent choices.
791970
According to the Inq article that broke the news: Only the 9600 Nvida (the one that is inside the Macbook PRO) has the bad material (high lead bumps) that could fail in the future. The 9400 of the Macbook is not affected. So it is safe to say that the Alu Macbook should be fine.Another good and cheaper option is to get the BLACK older Generation Macbook which has firewire, a fast 2.4 GHZ c2D processor and has a Intel integrated graphics chip which means it will not fail like the ones with the Nvida graphics.
791971
I'd go with the old (early '08) Macbook Pro. You can get it for $1443 off Amazon, close to the price of a new Macbook. It has Firewire, and a considerably larger screen (which has made much more of a difference than I thought it would) . Also, a bigger hard drive, more powerful graphics chip, and faster cpu (though the cpu speed advantage might be offset by the Macbook's faster bus). That said, potential reliability problems are something to watch out for. Apparently nVidia has been making some faulty graphics chips, and both the old and the new Macbook Pros are potentially affected. The new Macbook might not be, I'd do some research. I'd go with the old (early '08) Macbook Pro. You can get it for $1443 off Amazon, close to the price of a new Macbook. It has Firewire, and a considerably larger screen (which has made much more of a difference than I thought it would) . Also, a bigger hard drive, more powerful graphics chip, and faster cpu (though the cpu speed advantage might be offset by the Macbook's faster bus). That said, potential reliability problems are something to watch out for. Apparently nVidia has been making some faulty graphics chips, and both the old and the new Macbook Pros are potentially... » Read More I'd go with the old (early '08) Macbook Pro. You can get it for $1443 off Amazon, close to the price of a new Macbook. It has Firewire, and a considerably larger screen (which has made much more of a difference than I thought it would) . Also, a bigger hard drive, more powerful graphics chip, and faster cpu (though the cpu speed advantage might be offset by the Macbook's faster bus). That said, potential reliability problems are something to watch out for. Apparently nVidia has been making some faulty graphics chips, and both the old and the new Macbook Pros are potentially affected. The new Macbook might not be, I'd do some research. « Show Less
1289454
If you haven't discovered yet, you should be looking at the macbooks with a "/b" appended to the model number. These are listed separately at amazon and have the latest software and cpu. An example would be MB061LL/B.
2000194
Good question. I just recently bought a MacBook Pro and honestly it didn't dawn on me to try it. I'll test it out and let you know.
629108
Ivy Bridge processors are coming out in a few days. They will hit Macs in June/July.I was considering an all-in-one but I'll wait for the refresh. Who knows, I might go for a Macbook Pro instead.
2186802
Thanks for your reply... do you know of anything that would work on the macbook pro? Please let me know if you do, and I really appreciate it!
717152
You are giving up having a larger viewing area for your monitor. Also, probably Macbook Pro you have has a faster CPU and maybe a faster HD. You cannot replace those on a Macbook. If your Pro has a 7200 rpm HD then that is much better than the 5400 HD that's available on the Macbook.Combine that with a 2.8 GHz cpu and you have a much faster laptop.If you are talking about weight the Macbook weighs 4.5 lbs and the Pro probably a lb or more than that. Bottom line, unless you are doing a lot of graphics of photoshopping that require a lot of cpu time and HD space I would say that an aluminum Macbook would be just fine for you.
407653
I purchased this product because I have a MacBook with a firewire so I was thinking to use it because firewire is faster than usb but did not work I did a review and said do not buy it
456727
Hi john...depend on how do you want to use it. I had been use it for my old mac, and i don't know the performance in the new mac.
138397
Since you plan on keeping it a long time (more than 5 years), it might be best to get the i7. However the difference between them does not appear to be significant. I too am about to buy a Pro. I was gonna get the i7 but after watching countless Youtube videos and reading reviews about it I decided paying $400 more from the 2.4 ghz i5 was not worth the miniscule bump in power. From what I gather on youtube, the 2.4ghz is capable of playing all current games on high or close to high settings (not extremely high though). I've seen videos of people playing everything from Modern Warfare 2 to Mass Effect 2 to Crysis with relative ease. I've also seen a video of someone testing how capable the i5 was at multitasking by running multiple programs at the same time. He had 3 VMware windows open + itunes + email + Dreamweaver and a few others open and it ran very smoothly. If you are planing on keeping your Pro for at least 10 years (not impossible) then you may as well get the i7. If like me you predict you might upgrade in 5 years or so, then I would get the 2.4 ghz i5. The difference between that and the i7 is rather small and not worth the extra $400. Check out this video for more info: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-l37pgqa0 In case the link isn't working just go to Youtube and type in "2.4 GHz Core i5 or Core i7 2.66 GHz MacBook Pro". Also, according to this review, the 2.4 ghz i5 is faster than the 2.8 ghz mid 2009 macbook pro: www.macworld.com/article/150146/2010/04/15inch_macbookpro_corei5i7.html
1048970
According to the Inq article that broke the news: Only the 9600 Nvida (the one that is inside the Macbook PRO) has the bad material (high lead bumps) that could fail in the future. The 9400 of the Macbook is not affected. So it is safe to say that the Alu Macbook should be fine. Another good and cheaper option is to get the BLACK older Generation Macbook which has firewire, a fast 2.4 GHZ c2D processor and has a Intel integrated graphics chip which means it will not fail like the ones with the Nvida graphics.
1323383
i have a 17 inch Macbook Pro(think its the 2nd most recent generation) & a new 15.4 inch Macbook Pro. (i dont need both so my neice gets the older one for school). I love them both! The main difference (to me at least) is the new one has a much brighter crisper display. A problem tho is a little reflection from the illuminated keyboard on the glossy screen. Not a dealbreak but annoying. Still not sure if i prefer the new b/w design or the old all silver. Well thats personal taste of course. Oh & the keyboard is softer(thats good!) to the touch onthe newer one. I think youll be happy with either&(as Macs are so pricey) maybe go with the older if you get a good deal! hope this helps, jon
1610053
I have been using a macbook pro (17 in.) for about four and a half years. I have had no software problems. With automatic updates, it's required no other attention on that front. One problem with the 17 in. is the batteries. I have replaced battery on mine twice in that time (through the apple store, at no cost). I understand that this problem is more or less confined to the 17 inch model. Am finally about to replace the machine as it has suffered a unreasonable amount of abuse (frequent travel to strange locations for work). There are no problems with function, despite a hard life, but it's getting a little rough. I will most likely replace with a 15 inch, which I believe is a better size if you're going to being moving it around, even if just to the couch. The 17s a little heavy. I anticipate using the 17 at home, as it's still going strong. It's still a really good machine. Also, the Office for Mac programs have worked very well for me (daily use) and are virtually identical to the windows versions. THE ONLY CAUTION: if you use any other software, be aware that a lot of companies don't make versions for mac. I have occasion to use accounting software and some other business applications, and YOU CAN'T GET THEM FOR MAC. If this is a question, check with your software manufacturer. Otherwise, I recommend Apple products wholeheartedly. Good luck!
2009562
In response to your post. The processor difference in terms of ghz won't be major, the ram should compensate for that although it serves a different purpose. Check what cache and front bus speed is for the HP, the apple's is 600+ mhz and 4 mb cache. So check those up. It really depends on ur use. If u require a larger screen then go for the hp. If u want more portability and a better os (my opinion at least), go for the mac. Just remember that if u go for the hp, u can't load mac os on it, whereas with the mac u can load both vista and tiger. Also, I would say the build quality on the apple is much better than Hp's i've seen (the plastic is much higher quality). Be sure check the model out IN PERSON to see the build quality. Check if ur down with that new shiny fimsy plastic Hp's been using.
2241366
Not enough info from you. What kind of cord is needed, firewire, usb or thunderbolt. I bought the thunderbolt for my new iMac which no longer has firewire.
990754
I've been running Lion for a few days now. I don't find it worth even the $30 Apple is charging for it. It seems a determined attempt on behalf of Mr. Jobs to make everything, including Macs, look and function as an iPad. Enough already. If I want an iPad, I'll use an iPad. I'm trying to run a decent laptop here, and Lion's trying to dumb things down to a tablet level. My advice is to stick with Snow Leopard.
1709731
Hi Eva, I have this exact macbook, and having used all kinds of laptops for years, I can tell you that it actually runs just a bit cooler than others. All laptops heat up to the point where it's a good idea to have some kind of lap desk (I got an excellent one at my local Barnes n Noble, should find lots of good ones here too...). I'm sure that it's not a good idea to have that much heat in your legs for extended periods of time, and temperature will depend very much on the type of use you give it, and when they're running on battery power they run cooler (and slower) to save energy. I cannot recommend the MacBook enough, I had an HP laptop for 2 years and then came back to a Mac Laptop, I don't know what I was thinking going to something non-Apple, the quality and attention to details in the MacBook is wonderful, and you can run any Windows application using either virtualization (Parallels or my favorite VMWare Fusion) or install Windows using Bootcamp and boot directly as if this were a Windows laptop. It is very fast and I have had zero problems with performance, battery life is also outstanding. Good luck!
1342682
I would think that the amount of RAM is based on what the slots will handle. I just picked up my late-2011 Mac Book Pro 17-inch and is was loaded with 16 gigs of RAM, divided into 8-gigs in each of the two slots. I believe that was as much as this model will handle, but that keeps expanding with newer models; might be able to load 32 or 64 on the later models, but you cannot get the 17-inch screen and that was one of my major criteria on the purchase. The 8X my previous RAM and about 5X the hard drive have also been quite helpful in making this thing work significantly faster and with less hangups than my now-Vintage 17-inch Mac Book Pro. I never remember the model number, but if it is the same, I know it will handle 16 Gig of memory. Good luck with it. Tom West