Upgrade or buy new?

I was on my college's tech support web page just browsing and stumbled upon a recommended/minimum system requirement list. I got to reading and it doesn't look like it would support my laptop (a Dell Latitude D531) because I had ditched the Windows and went to using Ubuntu on it. So I would have to temporarily ditch Ubuntu and go to Windows 7 (prefer the Pro) that would be ~ $275 shipped, upgrade my memory (recommended was 4GB, the stuff I picked out was $75 w/ free shipping), the new battery shipped was just short of $100, and a new hard drive would be ~$75 because the current one is getting too small to store all my files. Started looking at the Apple Store online, I can get a discount on a 13" MBP and get brand new hardware and all, for less than double the cost of me upgrading the stuff I already own or upsize the screen to 15" for just a little extra.

Down to the heart of the question- Do I upgrade, or buy new? If I should buy new, 13" or 15"?

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If you want to go Mac I say you upgrade and sell that Dell.

Sorry about having to move it. Didn't really know where else to go w/ it as I couldn't really find another topic to classify it under.

Selling it hasn't been an option I've thought of yet, however it would be nice to keep a backup just in case.

macguy57366 said:

Sorry about having to move it. Didn't really know where else to go w/ it as I couldn't really find another topic to classify it under.

Selling it hasn't been an option I've thought of yet, however it would be nice to keep a backup just in case.

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That also seems like a reasonable idea. An extra computer is always good. I think that if you did the upgrades to the Dell it would still only be worth about as much as you put into it which for me is a hint that you shouldn't do it.

thurstmw said:

I think that if you did the upgrades to the Dell it would still only be worth about as much as you put into it which for me is a hint that you shouldn't do it.

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I would agree with you on that. Even good computers that are only 2 years old are selling in my area on Craigslist for up to half off their original price. The Macs seem to hold their value better.