Penryn Vs. Santa Rosa

So by now everyone knows about the updated MB and MBPs. So here's the question that's been bothering me:

Should I go for the base 2.4ghz MBP for $1999, considering it has 3mb L2 Cache

or

A refurbed 2.6ghz Santa Rosa MBP for $1849, with 4mb L2 Cache?

I know the Penryns have SSE4 instruction sets and lots other stuff, and a bigger HDD. But for a little less, is the Santa Rosa worth it considering that everything else (minus the multitouch and slightly smaller hdd) is the same?

Everyone knows about the updated MBP and MB? Was it just released today???
I would go with the new model. You'd probably not be able to tell a difference in processor speeds but the larger HD and multitouch trackpad would be nice.

I would too, for the 150 the bigger hard drive and touch pad would be worth it in my book. It's all about what you really need tho.

Pros of the difference

80gig more HD space
Mutli Touch Pad
Faster CPU
Better battery life and less heat in CPU
twice the video memory


Cons of the difference
1meg less CPU cache
no remote

Cost is the same

Benefits seem clear to me.

The more I've been researching this, the more it become obvious that despite having less l2 cache, the Penryn is much faster due to its new instruction sets (SSE4). I think I've made up my mind with this.

Besides, all the 2.6ghz Santa Rosa's are gone from the refurb store!

Thanks for everyone's input.

Much faster? I seriously doubt that. Real world apps won't see much difference. You will really only see it in benchmark scores.
I bet you will lots of returned MBP in the near so the refurb store will be flooded soon enough. The refurb store had half a dozen Mac Pro 2.66GHz models after the new release in January. And the price dropped from $2250 to $1999. There might be a price drop now that they're discontinued.

bryphotoguy said:

Much faster? I seriously doubt that. Real world apps won't see much difference. You will really only see it in benchmark scores.
I bet you will lots of returned MBP in the near so the refurb store will be flooded soon enough. The refurb store had half a dozen Mac Pro 2.66GHz models after the new release in January.

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Thats a good point, plus I forgot about my student discount.

Regardless of which model I'm going with, it'll be a huge jump from my powerbook G4!

wow...... i get teh new MBP for like 1700 at my school...lol....1999....wow...hahah that sucks

sl33pyriceboi said:

wow...... i get teh new MBP for like 1700 at my school...lol....1999....wow...hahah that sucks

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Same here, forgot about the discount. Its nice to get an upgraded model for less then normal retail. I'm going to miss that student discount!