MacBook Pro Mid 2009 vs MacBook Pro 2010

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Level 1

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MacBook Pro Mid 2009 vs MacBook Pro 2010

Hello,

Over a month ago, I received a MacBook Pro (mid 2009) for my birthday. Obviously, I was thrilled and still really am pleased with it.

However, I was slightly irritated to see that a new version had come out just weeks after I got mine. I did some research, called the Apple store I bought it from and asked them if I could trade it for one of the new ones. They said that I'd have to pay more and would probably see no difference in the speeds between the two unless I was doing high-end stuff e.g. video editing or graphic design work.

I also asked if this was true in another Apple store and they said that indeed, I would not notice any difference.

I would just like to know if anyone on these forums has used or has both versions and if it is in fact true that there is little or no noticeable difference between the speeds etc. I am sure many other MBP 2009 users like me would like to know this too.

Thanks.

Ollie

Message was edited by: olliescrim

 MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core 2 Duo/2.53GHz/4GB RAM/500GB HD  iPod Video 30GB

Posted on Apr 30, 2010 9:46 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,494 points

Apr 30, 2010 10:00 AM in response to olliescrim

Ollie,

The Apple Stores are probably correct unless you are doing graphics intensive work like video editing or graphics work, these are the things that tax the graphics processor which is the major upgrade on the mid 2010 13" MBP's. if you use your machine for surfing the Internet, E-Mail, and basic office work (spreadsheets, word processing etc.) then you will not see any real difference in speed. If you would like to improve some performance then a memory upgrade to 4 GB would probably give you the best improvement for everyday work. However if you have the 2.53 GHZ machine already then you have 4GB but if your MBP is the base 2.26 GHZ model then it came with 2 GB of RAM and can be upgraded for about $125. IMHO I'd wait to upgrade the RAM as it's expensive right now, I'd wait for a few months and if you still have the desire to check and see if the prices have come down.

Just another side note which you may already be aware of. Technology moves so quickly that computers are constantly being upgraded. So keeping up with technology is really a losing battle.

IMHO just enjoy your computer.

Regards,

Roger

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Answer 2

JasonFear

Level 5

4,965 points

Apr 30, 2010 10:47 AM in response to olliescrim

Hi olliescrim,

Your particular 15" MBP is a bit of an "oddball." Not a bad thing, honestly. But rather a new approach by Apple to put only a shared GPU in the 15" model versus the discrete GPU that's always been found in the 15" MBP.

The new 15" MBP has the discrete and the shared GPU with automatic switching. From a day-to-day usage perspective, you're not going to see much of a difference in performance. In gaming or applications that require the extra GPU horsepower, then yes you'd see a difference.

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Answer 3

olliescrim Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 30, 2010 11:00 AM in response to olliescrim

Thank you, Roger and Jason, for the quick and good responses.

I am very pleased with my MBP, as I said. I don't currently and would not imagine that I will use it for any high-end stuff so thanks for clarifying that. I may use it for gaming now and then but probably on games that wouldn't require extremely high graphics.

I appreciate that trying to keep up with technology is more or less impossible, without spending thousands every month so I will enjoy my computer. It is still a great one and it is the 2.53GHz with 4GB memory so fairly good with regards to specs too.

Once again, thanks for the responses.

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,494 points

Apr 30, 2010 11:06 AM in response to olliescrim

Your welcome and thank you for the star.

Roger

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