I think that I got ripped off...

I've not been paying much attention to the evolution of the MacBook, given that my MacBook Pro is supplied by my employer. It's a couple of years old (model 8,2) 15.4", 2.2 Ghz, i7 with 4 cores, 8 GB Ram, 256 kb l2 cache, 6 MB L3 cache, 750 GB 5400 RPM HD.

I'm about to retire and wanted to buy a similar machine, but better. I use Photoshop and Final Cut and the machine supplied by my employer can barely handle the tasks.

I was distressed to discover that the hi-rez non-glare screen was recently discontinued.That screen is very important to me, so I started calling around to see if any of the local independent Mac dealers had any left in stock.

One dealer told me that he had a "refurbished" one... 2.66 Ghz I7. I asked if it was the current model, and was assured that it was. He also assured me that I would see some performance improvement over my 2.2 Ghz machine. He was not able to show it to me, so I bought it sight unseen to be be picked up the next day.

When I picked it up I was in a rush. It was not until the following day (yesterday) that I fired it up, and was shocked to discover that it was a mid-2010 model (older than the one I am using now) and while it has a 2.66 Ghz processor it is dual-core rather than quad-core. I associate "refurbished" with a machine which has been returned barely used, or a display model or some such, but not a discontinued machine which is 3 years old. (I'd call that "used", no?).

When I called the store to complain that I was misled insofar as I had been told that it was the "current model" the salesman countered by arguing that it is identical cosmetically to the current model.

I have not installed any software, given that I plan to return the machine in the hope of getting my money back. I'm assuming though that I will NOT see any improvement in performance given that is not a quad. Also, I'm not sure what L3 cache does for me, but this machine has 4 MB rather than 6 MB on my current machine. On the other hand it has a 7200 RPM HD rather than 5400 RPM of the machine I am using now.

Am I correct to assume that this machine will give me inferior performance to the quad-core 2.2 GHZ that my employer supplied?

In fairness to the store, because the 15.4" non-Retina machines are discontinued I was not sure how much I ought to pay. Having subsequently visited the Apple outlet store I realize that the price was very good, which ought to have been my first clue that it was not a current model. The outlet store has a 2.7 GHz quad which would better suit my needs, but I will need to come up with an additional $800.

 

On the whole, a system with a faster dual-core will feel faster in day-to-day work, but the quad core will reward you when you multitask or the more esoteric/scientific your work. This is of course, a generality, but it generally fits. So it would really come down to your workload, but it's safe to assume the quad core would be faster. Only way to find out is to test it on the programs you use. With that being said, and based on the info you provided, I'd say you were misled. Were it me, I'd return it out of principle.

You could always check out macmall.com and the apple refurb store to get decent prices

 

Thanks for that.

Yes, there is the principal factor involved, although I expect that the problem was that I was dealing with a kid who really didn't know anything about what he was selling, rather than any effort to sell me a machine which would not meet my needs. Having explained that I was not happy with the performance of the machine that I'd been using (my employer's) he ought to have realized that if what he sold me was not going to do the job any better then I would be returning it.

As it happens I use a lot of stills in my videos, so in addition to running Final Cut I invariably have Photoshop open, as well as a cataloging program.

I now see that a refurbished 2.7 quad-core from the Apple store will set me back $2,250. I was wanting a Mac because (a) I already own a copy of Final Cut, (b) I am reasonably familiar with the software and the OS, and (c) I like the aesthetics. Having said that, I have a side business which involves lots of number-crunching and for that I use a 14" Dell Latitude. It's three years old and only has 125 gig drive (SSD) and the screen is a bit small for my graphics work, but otherwise (and the fact that I regard it as butt-ugly) it's fine. So perhaps I ought to abandon Final Cut and get a 15.6" Latitude or maybe a Precision...

Just thinking out loud....

 

That would probably be wise. Macs aren't the video/content creation powerhouses they used to be. I only got mine because I needed it for the Mac version of Adobe CS4 that I was using for my job. I don't work there any more but have gotten used to OS X and the overall Mac aesthetic. I quite enjoy it, and my MBP is more than powerful enough for everything else I do, including light gaming.

 

Agreed with saturnotaku about the workstation laptop probably being the better choice. Of course, you might lose out on FCP (unless you Hackintosh), though CS6 and the like are at least cross-platform.

It's pretty safe to assume that if you don't know what something on a computer is and how it affects you (such as L3), it's probably not all that important. Anyway, as for being ripped off, if you were sold the machine at roughly the market price that those mid-2010 models go for, I wouldn't call that "ripped off".

Hopefully things go well for you and you get a machine that meets your needs.

 

Thanks to all.

Jarhead, I feel that you are correct insofar as I agree that I was not "ripped off" in terms of the price.

I was of course distressed that the computer was not what I was expecting. But after visiting the Apple outlet store online I edited the original post to state that "I realize that the price was very good". Of course, the shocker was that I had not expected a three-year-old computer to retain so much value. (Score a point for Apple)

In any case, I can afford to pay more and if the machine that I'd purchased could not out-perform the machine that I've been using (and been frustrated by) for the past few years then it was of no value to me at all. The good news is that when I visited the retailer this afternoon they accepted the return of the machine without argument and refunded my purchase price in full.

No drama at all.

I now must decide whether to buy a more-recent iteration (such as the 2.7 Ghz quad from the Apple outlet) or cross over to the dark side and buy a Dell which will give me the same performance and build quality (or perhaps better build quality) at the expense of having to buy (and learn) new video-editing software.

 

Many here know my opinion when it comes to video editing, I HAD to go to the " Dark Side " for Performance / Productivity and Feaures in the portable workstations. ( 32GB RAM, K series Quadro GPU, full aRGB gamut 10 bit screen, for example )

if you are willing to look outside the box something like a loaded M6700 or Elitebook 8770W of which I have both happily kick around my last gen Mac Pro desktop in editing work. if you are used to FCP-7, Adobe Premier Pro is a tiny learning curve if you are used to FCP-X then you ould have more of a learning curve but will find it much more flexable. if you want maximum flexability, performance, and features AVID still can not be beat but its a bit of an education.

 

That's not what "current model" means and any salesman in a computer store knows or should know that. Yes, you were ripped off. I'm glad they eventually accepted the return in exchange for full payment (maybe a supervisor got involved?).

As for what to buy instead, I'm not the right person to answer that, but I wanted to weigh in on the "ripped off" issue.

 

Thanks again to all.

Certainly a business-class PC (such as a Precision, Latitude or Elitebook) would meet most of my needs, and if I were starting from scratch and working in a vacuum any of these could have been a good choice.

Nonetheless, Final Cut X is the editing software used by my employer, and even if I retire from the staff or switch to part-time I have lots of friends and colleagues who can offer advice. And I already own a copy personally.

Weight and size were also a consideration, and I feel that the 15" form factor is a compromise that I can live with, and among the 15" machines the MBP is a bit lighter and a bit more compact than most. I do a lot of work outdoors, sometimes shooting stills tethered to the laptop, and I have a very nifty case with a built-in fold-out visor which was specifically designed for photography and designed around the 15" MBP. But it's a very tight fit and the 15" Windows machines seem to be just a bit too big to fit. (Although I must admit that the shiny aluminum case of the MBP can be a detriment when working outdoors, compared to the dull black finish of a Dell or the other business-class machines).

I recognize that the Mac is not very rugged (as I learned a few years ago when someone tripped over a power cord in the studio and the machine... an older version without the magsafe connector... landed on the floor. I was able to slow the fall by catching it with my foot as it neared the concrete, but it did suffer a nasty dent). On the other hand, when someone tripped over the cord on my current MBP the magsafe connector detached and the laptop remained on the table. Perhaps some of the newer PCs use a similar connector, however my 3-year-old Dell does not, and would certainly have ended up on the floor. In any case, a white cord is less of a tripping hazard than a black one. (My Latitude is used for number-crunching in a completely unrelated business and travels between docking stations at my home or my other office, so tripping over cords has not been an issue).

Now, if it were a choice between a Retina and a Windows machine I would be less likely to consider the Mac, however the Apple outlet store is offering a refurbished 2.7 Ghz quad i7. This is the latest generation and as best I can tell is the top-of-the-line model with 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB HDD, and of course the 1680 x 1050 non-glare display. The HDD is only 5400 rpm, but at this time SSDs seem to be a bit pricey (given that I would need 500 GB at a minimum). But as I understand it this chassis allows for upgrading and no doubt SSDs will be coming down in price. I also presume that I can upgrade the RAM to 16 GB.

Be assured that I have carefully considered all of the advice offered, and find myself leaning to the MBP for reasons that are arguably personal and specific to my particular situation, and not because I feel that the MBP is the best machine out there.

So thanks again.

 

RAM and SSD prices have went up this year.

Last year 16 GB of quality 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM was around $50 on sale.

 

On what planet? $90-100 on sale, yes. Never as low as $50.

 

Planet of Canada???? .... I picked up 16GB for my X series Thinkpads at both Memoryexpress and NCIX late last year ( 8GB x 2 ) for between $55-60 CDN

 

The RAM I picked up for my MBP wasn't too far off. I paid $70 U.S. for two 8GB DDR3 1600MHz sticks, I think they were Kingston or Crosair. Newegg had it on sale this past summer when I picked up my 2012 15" MBP. $50 might be stretching it but I don't know, I don't monitor every sale for every PC part.

 

I realize that memory prices can be volatile, but based upon my casual observations (as a computer user, but not an enthusiast or even a hobbyist) the longer-term trend over the past twenty-five years has been down (and dramatically so) and there does not seem to be a bottom, except to the extent that when something gets to be very inexpensive production ceases. I recall splurging for a 16 MB CF card for my first digital camera. (That's mega, not giga... just big enough to store about one-quarter of a 54 MB image file from my Nikon D800). And I don't see many 12" monochrome monitors on the market either.

Indeed, checking prices today I'm seeing prices that are lower than I had expected. 16 Gb of RAM will cost $100 to $200 and a 500 GB SSD is less than $400, so for $500 or $600 I could have both.

The question is whether the upgrades would make a noticeable difference. At present I use a 2.2 Ghz i7 with 8 GB of RAM, so upgrading to a 2.7 Ghz i7 should bring some improvement. The question is whether I will see a noticeable improvement by doubling the RAM or swapping out the drive, but perhaps I might given that I edit stills in Photoshop and video in Final Cut X at the same time.

 

an SSD is probably the single best upgrade you can make. I don't use the type of programs you do, so i cannot speak to any benefits those programs will see, but everything will be just plain faster.

To give an example, my 6 year old gateway laptop has a samsung 256gb 830 series, and it boots from cold shutdown in under 10 seconds. My brand new sager (brand new as of last year) takes about 35 seconds. And when I say 10 seconds, I mean 10 seconds from the time I push the power button until I am actually in the desktop, able to open up files, etc.

I'd wager you'll see a greater improvement from the SSD than you will from the memory or even the processor.

 

Newegg Memory Sale: Laptop: 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill DDR3 Memory $50, 16GB (2x8GB) ADATA Premier Memory $51, Desktop: 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston HyperX XMP Memory $30, 16GB (2x8GB) Kingston - Slickdeals.net

Also don't forget the extra discounts for items that didn't have promo codes.

http://slickdeals.net/f/5595252-16g...-memory-f3-1600c10d-16gsq-49-99-free-shipping

Don't tell me you paid $90 last year for 16 GB of DDR3 RAM....
That's a decent price for this year but that's overpriced by last year's standards.

 

If its not what you want and were mislead you should immediately return. Unneceptable