Refurb vs new...?
Alright, besides the obvious pro of paying less money, what would be the pro/cons of getting a refurbed 15" 2.66ghz MBP vs the latest 15" with a 2.2ghz?
I was thinking this as the refurb: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC666LL/A
Or even this one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC...co=MjEwNTY5MTM
And then shelling out a bit more money for more RAM.
I'm getting a MBP mainly for college (photography), but I'd also like it to replace my desktop pc in terms of media and some gaming (my pc is going on 5 years and is missing a video card).
Thoughts?
I was thinking this as the refurb: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC666LL/A
Or even this one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC...co=MjEwNTY5MTM
And then shelling out a bit more money for more RAM.
I'm getting a MBP mainly for college (photography), but I'd also like it to replace my desktop pc in terms of media and some gaming (my pc is going on 5 years and is missing a video card).
Thoughts?
Comments
Alright, besides the obvious pro of paying less money, what would be the pro/cons of getting a refurbed 15" 2.66ghz MBP vs the latest 15" with a 2.2ghz?
I was thinking this as the refurb: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC666LL/A
Or even this one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC...co=MjEwNTY5MTM
And then shelling out a bit more money for more RAM.
I'm getting a MBP mainly for college (photography), but I'd also like it to replace my desktop pc in terms of media and some gaming (my pc is going on 5 years and is missing a video card).
Thoughts?
I've replied to several topics asking this same question and and my answer's always the same. Refurbs sold by Apple are pretty much always a good deal and a safe bet. You get the same warranty you'd get if buying new (1 year) and can also buy applecare for them if that's something you're inclined to do. I've bought several this way and they've always been cosmetically indistinguishable from new *and* performed excellent for the time I owned them (several years in some cases).
Alright, besides the obvious pro of paying less money, what would be the pro/cons of getting a refurbed 15" 2.66ghz MBP vs the latest 15" with a 2.2ghz?
I was thinking this as the refurb: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC666LL/A
Or even this one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC...co=MjEwNTY5MTM
And then shelling out a bit more money for more RAM.
I'm getting a MBP mainly for college (photography), but I'd also like it to replace my desktop pc in terms of media and some gaming (my pc is going on 5 years and is missing a video card).
Thoughts?
Get this one instead. They are even similar in price.
The new quad core MBPs are very fast. Much faster than the other ones you're looking at. As well the models you are looking at seem to have video card driver issues with Lion.
Get this one instead. They are even similar in price.
Do note that the MBP that backtomac listed has a 1440x900 rez glossy screen vs the 1680x1050 matte screen you selected in your refurbs.
Given that you can get edu pricing I'd get the 2.0Ghz i7 with the 1680x1050 matte off the edu site for $1,834 since there are no refurbs for this model. You then get the $100 Mac App store credit that you don't on the refurbs. Buy Aperture if you don't already own it.
Honestly though, the 15" MBP is kinda annoying to lug around. I'd consider the 11" MBA.
With an $1800 budget I'd get the 11" 1.8Ghz Dual Core i7 MBA for $1284 (edu), the Dell 24" UltraSharp U2410 IPS monitor for $479 (also edu discount) and a keyboard and mouse.
You can use the MBA to preview and cull photos on the go and while not nearly as fast as the MBP for Aperture and Photoshop it probably won't be that horrible except for the 4GB of RAM limit. That might be the deal killer.
Not so good for games either. That might be the other deal killer.
But if you can get edu pricing and you want any new software I'd say buying from the edu store is the better deal than refurb.
Do note that the MBP that backtomac listed has a 1440x900 rez glossy screen vs the 1680x1050 matte screen you selected in your refurbs.
Given that you can get edu pricing I'd get the 2.0Ghz i7 with the 1680x1050 matte off the edu site for $1,834 since there are no refurbs for this model. You then get the $100 Mac App store credit that you don't on the refurbs. Buy Aperture if you don't already own it.
Honestly though, the 15" MBP is kinda annoying to lug around. I'd consider the 11" MBA.
With an $1800 budget I'd get the 11" 1.8Ghz Dual Core i7 MBA for $1284 (edu), the Dell 24" UltraSharp U2410 IPS monitor for $479 (also edu discount) and a keyboard and mouse.
You can use the MBA to preview and cull photos on the go and while not nearly as fast as the MBP for Aperture and Photoshop it probably won't be that horrible except for the 4GB of RAM limit. That might be the deal killer.
Not so good for games either. That might be the other deal killer.
But if you can get edu pricing and you want any new software I'd say buying from the edu store is the better deal than refurb.
I think with how he's suggested he will use his computer, "replace my desktop pc", he'd be better off with a MBP rather than a MBA. Not that I think he Airs are bad machines, far from it. But a MBP will be a better desktop replacement than a MBA.
And the newer quad core MBPs are better than the last gen dual core machines. Didn't catch the part about the screen resolution. I'd still just get a refurbed quad core MBP with 1440 x 900 rez and an external monitor, if necessary.
New Edu Price + $100 credit + free printer > Refurb IF you were going to buy $100 worth of software and wanted a new printer.
Refurb = $1,529 (15" 2.0 Ghz Core i7)
Edu = $1,699 + $100 software + free HP C310a printer (after rebate...supports airprint) and you get to spec additional options if you want, like matte...I'd skip RAM...$180 is a ripoff...buy from newegg or something and install yourself. $90 for a 7200 rpm drive is a ripoff too. The 128GB SSD for $180 isn't too bad price wise. The OWC Mercury Extreme is $197 although it should be much faster than the Toshiba or Samsung SSD Apple uses. Still, not a complete ripoff if you can live with an internal 128GB drive.
For 256 and 512 SSDs I'd buy from OWC or elsewhere.
If you don't want the software or printer then just get the refurb and add the 8GB kit and maybe a SSD.
I guess having a 15" MBP it doesn't feel very mobile to me.
But the OP needs it for photography. And for photography (editing) you can never have enough screen real estate.
So the OP will have to decide for him/herself whether photography or mobility is the most important factor.
An iMac + MBA feels like a better combo if the budget was more around $2200. Depending on workflow an iMac + iPad might be the way to go but the higher end iPads aren't much less than a MBA.
iPads feature almost half the weight and double the battery endurance, though! So for mobility an iPad is much better.
So I would suggest a combo of a stationary (27") desktop Quad iMac at home and a mobile iPad for on the road. Especially since you can use all the iMac's power and storage remotely on the iPad wherever you are with a free remote cross-platform desktop management application.