MBP 2.33 GHZ Deal- Good or bad?

Hi,
I just saw a brand new MBP on sale for AUD $1,840.

I know it is the old model. It has the following spec:
Apple MacBook Pro - Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 120GB

The price difference of $1,000 is too good to ignore. I am aware of the differences in hardware between the current model and the old as well as the heat stories.

However, before jumping in I would appreciate some feedback in other areas as I am new to Apple.

Specifically I have the following concerns (in comparison with the current model):
1. Can it run Leopard?
2. Can it run Windows XP and Vista as well as the current model?
3. Is there any applications that won't run?
4. Why only 3GB ram max?
5. Other reasons?

thanks.

 

Leopard should be no problem, even the G4s are still able to run Leopard. You will probably feel more heat, especially if you run Windows, but running Vista or XP shouldn't be a problem. Does this unit have the Apple 1 year warranty?

 

There will be absolutely no problem running Leopard. The last PowerPC generation can run Leopard, and the Intel Macs will have no problem at all.

Yes, it will run Windows fine as well.

 

Should be able to run leopard fine

 

Thanks.
Yes it does come with one year warranty.

I am leaning towards buying it and then upgrade the OS and memory myself. Pity it can't use more than 3GB ram. Still make some savings after the upgrade.

 

There's no reason you can only use 3GB of RAM with Leopard. You have a 64 bit processor and Leopard is a 64 bit OS. All 4GB will be able to be used.

You can only use up to 3GB in Tiger because it is a 32 bit OS. 32 bit operating systems can only register about 3.3GB of memory.

 

No, I think he's talking about the Core 2 Duo MBP's 3 GB RAM limit, because only the Santa Rosa MBPs can support up to 4 GB RAM.

 

It doesn't matter now. That unit has been sold. It was a demo unit though and so I didn't miss that much.

Thanks for your advices.