(Current) MacBook vs (old) MacBook Pro

I have a chance to buy a 15' MBP 2 years-old, CoreDuo 2.16 for less than $1000. It is in good shape and has Leopard installed plus some other software. The question is about the performance, is the old MBP going to have an advantage over a curren MB?
Thanks.

mraya said:

is the old MBP going to have an advantage over a curren MB?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yes.
Better resolution.
Dedicated graphics.
etc.

A Pro machine is almost always the better choice performance-wise, even one a generation or so behind.

I was just facing the same decision , I bought a 2.16ghz core2duo MBP 120gb HD 2GB RAM , No leopard tho : ( , for less than the price of the current range lowest macbook, I live in new zealand so i dont know how the prices compare to the states, I got it for the dedicated graphics card so i could do video editing. As long as it is in good condition I would recomend it, Still an awesome computer. Go for it mate you won't regret it!!!!

Didn't the CoreDuo run hot?

--- CHAS

D3v1L80Y said:

Yes.
Better resolution.
Dedicated graphics.
etc.

A Pro machine is almost always the better choice performance-wise, even one a generation or so behind.

Click to expand...

Older machines also almost always have some disadvantages. In this case, a slower CPU and a lower RAM limit.

If you were running applications--even "professional" applications like Photoshop--that don't use 3D graphics, the newer machine would be faster to start with and have more room to grow. The current base (2.1GHz) MB would be a notch faster than this machine, simply because it uses a Core 2 Duo. The upgraded (2.4GHZ) MacBook would be significantly faster. And any of them could hold a gigabyte more memory than the older unit, which could make a bigger difference down the line.

You do have to deal with the lower-res screen, which might hurt your productivity more than the slower CPU, or not depending on how you work (or if you used an external monitor.)

Of course, for anything 3D-related, it would be the other way around.

Thanks for the comments. I won't be doing video editing or similar, but still i would like to get some games. The resolution is also another detail, i need a big resolution/screen for some apps i use and is definitively better for reading and comparing articles. Is a tricky choice that i might not have to do, i recently got an offer for extra work during the summer, enough to get a refurbished MBP.

If I were you I'd get the new MacBook and pass on the old Pro.

Yes, the graphics issue that has already been discussed exists. However, I'd be more concerned about the reliability of your machine.

MacBooks aren't built as well as you might think. I took out a three year warranty on my new one since I had a previous experience with an iBook that ceased to function after two years. (Hardware problems). I've heard the first crop of MacBook Pros wasn't the most reliable in the world and I'd be wary about getting it, especially if you don't know how it was used. Someone who only uses a computer once a week to check e-mail obviously isn't going to abuse it, but if you use a machine every day--especially a laptop--and take it places in particular, you're asking for potential trouble down the line.

The performance difference is going to be unnoticeable. Go for the bigger screen and aluminum

I think the MBP will be better than a Macbook. I have the older Core Duo 2.0 Ghz MBP right now and it still works like a charm! I have 2Gb of ram and the 80Gb hard drive.

The only thing that has failed me on this computer was that the optical drive stopped burning. It read everything just fine, but I got it replaced for free since I had AppleCare.

I believe the only way you will be able to tell the performance gain in the processors is if your exporting or converting a movie file or something that takes a long time to process. And even so, it will only shave off a couple of minutes.

My advice, stick with the MBP unless you could care less about the bigger screen and better graphics.