15" Unibody MBP vs. 17" prev. gen.

I'm finally FINALLY getting a Macbook Pro. I've decided to go refurbished, since I can hardly justify this purchase to begin with.

I placed an order for a 15" unibody, which still has yet to ship.

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
320GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Today, I noticed they've added the following 17" for the same price:

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
17-inch Hi-Resolution LED-backlit glossy display
4GB memory
320GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

I would definitely love to have a 17", but am unsure if I want to sacrifice the new unibody model and its upgrades (mainly the graphics card).

Can anyone advise as to whether the upgrades on the new model are noticeable and worth it? Or should I go with the older model but upgrade to 17"?

 

Another thing to consider is that the 17 inch is high res.

 

Absolutely. I didn't mention that, but it is another thing I'm concerned about. The craptop I have now (HP that came very highly recommended on this board) is 1680x1050, and I'm worried that I'd be unhappy moving to 1440x900. Will it really be that big of a difference?

I'm also unsure of how I'd like the new buttonless trackpad, though this is also something I could have checked out for myself at a retail store. Probably should've....

 

Oh, you're going down in resolution? I would say that's a big no-no. I don't think you'll be happy downgrading in the res area.

 

I kinda think so, too. Honestly, it was something I originally overlooked when I ordered the 15". Unfortunately, I just called was told I couldn't cancel as it had already been "prepared for shipment" (even though it has said this for over 24 hours now...)

I guess I'll just wait for this one to arrive, and in the meantime, go check 'em out in store. If I do decide I'd prefer the 17" model, I'll send the 15" back unopened. Hopefully they'll still have the 17" available!

 

hi resolution gets my vote, so 17"

 

depends on your uses... I love 1440x900... works great for me... I'd rather have the unibody 15" than the 17"er... but I also dislike big laptops. If it was a Unibody 17" well... that would make it tough for me, but the old model? nah....

 

15" unibody FTW. Newer and stronger.

 

I'd go with the 15 inch Unibody, since it's build quality, updated and newer components would be a benefit. If you play games, then the 9600M GT is a pretty decent card, and it's a bit stronger than the 8600M GT in the 17 inch. Here are some pro's and cons of the 15 and 17 inch:

15in Unibody Pro's:

1. Build quality
2. Newer components-GPU, DDR3 RAM, newer processor
3. More portability than a 17incher
4. Easily upgradable RAM and HDD

Con's of 15inch:

1. Smaller screen estate
2. Doesn't have the Hi-res screen: 1920x1200
3. Glossy screen if you don't like glossy

So, you make the call. That's just a rough pros and cons.

 

Don't forget that the 8600m gt is flawed.

 

I think the newer more recent cards aren't.

 

Personally I would get the low end 15" unibody, however, if a high resolution screen is important to you get the 17". Try setting your current notebook to 1440x900 and see how much the less screen real-estate bothers you (ignore the blurry text).

 

The 9 series aren't but the 8 series are.

 

Yep, the 8600M GT is a threat to your computers health, because there have been tons of cases where the card fried/died. I personally wouldn't risk it, because of how old the machine is and the faulty video card. BTW, Apple would normally replace the card for free, but since this computer is out of a specific time period for how old the machines with the 8600M GT are, they won't do it.

 

Yup, it's a 2 year warranty.

 

Well, I received my 15" Refurb Macbook Pro this morning and am incredibly happy so far. Not a scratch on it, not a single dead pixel as far as I could tell. And best of all, I don't really notice the reduction in resolution from my previous laptop. I think the fact that i switched from PC to Mac makes it harder to notice, since everything already looks so different (read: BETTER!).

Now to familiarize myself with Leopard and that crazy new trackpad...

 

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the "dark side"!!!

 

Nice! I've always been impressed with Apple's refurbished product quality. They have an engineer hand-inspect every machine, just to be sure everything is top notch before it goes out.

I'm sure you'll get the hang of Leopard just fine, just takes a bit of work. Nothing big. Some things will appear different, but it doesn't take long at all to comprehend it all. The trackpad on the other hand is quite intuitive if you ask me. I love it, but it's all a personal preference.

 

Congrats with your purchase. Like the others have said, I'm very certain that you'll grow to love your Mac.

 

apple's QA is top notch