A Core Duo vs. Core 2 Duo Perspective

Your post reaffirms the thoughts of many that the next really big upgrade will be Santa Rosa.

Sal - that is a very insightful post.

I think people fail to realize your point #2 - By the time April 2007 approaches, when our new operating system, Leopard, is released the rumors of the new Santa Rosa chip will be surfacing... probably for a release around July or most likely August.

I'm glad that you are one of the few people that understood your purchasing situation and despite having now the 2nd best machine, you are quite proud of your choice.

Thanks for keeping one of the few "core 2 duo" threads appropriate, and not just another person complaining that you got duped or something.

The thing I noticed most about the upgrade is that the price of the refurb units on the online Apple Store dropped $250 down to $1449 from $1699. I was going to get my daughter a new macbook for christmas. Now she's getting a refurbed MBP!

I bought my refurbed mbp about a month ago. My daughter has been salivating over it ever since it arrived. Now she will have her own.

Sal, great points indeed; I purchased mine on 9/12.

Just to be sure I picked the phone and dialed up Apple to inquire if there was any exchange for my 6-week old machine. I found the entire customer care staff very helpful (I had to speak to several to get to the correct person) and understanding of my request. Unfortunately, they are only honoring requests from individuals whose system has yet to be delivered and those who have had their system less than 14-days. However, they did give me a $50 refund back to my charge card as a peace offering.

Now that’s what I consider great customer service!

MacBook Pro 17 2.16 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Yes a very wise post there, however, there are a few things I disagree with.

When Leopard is released in a few months, nearly all apples machines will be running C2D, so they will hardly be obsolete.

For your number 3, I do agree, however, macs deprichate alot slower then general windows PCs, simply because they are not as common. A year old 1book will still go for around $500 or so, where a year old windows laptop would go for significantly less.

I have come to learn that the 1st rule when thinking of buying soming from apple is dont wait for the new Revision or update, as it could come at any time. You could be waiting a week, or you could be waiting 5 months, like alot of people I know who have been waiting for the MBP C2D for ages now.

I agree with this post in general. I have a MBP 1.83 GHz model from work. It is a fine machine (other than a bit of high pitched noise from the CPU when idle... but not sure I can give it up long enough to get fixed).

I would say that the Core 2 Duo really isn't the biggest thing about this new model at all. For me, the ability to add more RAM would be the biggest thing, then the addition of the FW800. If you don't need those two things, then I don't think the Core 2 Duo is anything worth crying over. Sure, its a bit faster (probably not nearly 30%+ that Apple is claiming when you get to real-world tasks... and remember that is with increased GHz too.) The 64-bit in a laptop is going to be irrelevant to 95% of people at this point.

Sure, I always like to have the latest and greatest.... everyone does. But, I'm guessing most people will be hard pressed to tell the difference in the CPU. The ONLY time I really notice the difference... even between my PB 1.33 and my MBP, is when I'm doing something like a 3D rendering, and time it. For most use, they both are pretty fast.... and there is a MUCH wider performance gap there... like several times... not just a few percent.

The ONE big thing I hope they fix in the MBP line before I buy one personally, is the max open angle of the display. The MBP is the only computer with as limited of open angle I have ever used. I'm 6'1", but that is not THAT tall these days, and it causes me to slouch to get at a good viewing angle. I have never had this problem with other Mac laptops I've owned over the years.

But, outside of those things.... I don't think older MBP owners have that much to be jealous over.

-Steve

I agree with a lot of what's been posted.

The only thing (and it still is unconfirmed but my suspicion is it will be true) that C2D offers me over my MBP CD is less heat.

I am one of the few who actually do want to use my laptop, er, notebook, on my lap.

I work a lot in various locations, sometimes there isn't a table, and I don't want to have to lug around my iLap or some other heatsink everywhere I go. That defeats the whole purpose of having a mobile computer, when you have to carry a bunch of peripherals that equal or exceed the weight/size of the laptop.

If it is proven that the C2Ds run cooler and can be used on as a true laptop, and if I can find a buyer that will take my MBP off my hands without incurring too much of a loss on my part, I will seriously look into upgrading.

Sorry, I don't agree with the posts.

1. Same speed? Which part of "Now up to 39% faster" didn't understand?
2. 64-bit will support Leopard 100%
3. More hard disk space makes it better
4. Faster cd drive
5. More video memory

Come on . It couldn't be better!

Your MacBook are still excellent machines that will last for a long time. Our C2D will eventually be old and new hardware will keep coming out. At least we are Mac users, we are not in the dark side.

In the large scheme of things, yeah.. they're not HUGE differences... but you would have gotten more for your money if you waited...

I think that's where the disappointment comes from.

That being said, that will ALWAYS happen when you're on the front lines of technology.

C'est la vie!

I for one am not buying into the 39% faster. Faster than what? Apple advertised the Mac Book Pro as being five times faster than the G4 Powerbooks and I know that is a big myth as I have a G4 Powerbook and it runs circles around my new MBP. And I remember when the power pc chips came out Apple had a Quicktime video on their site showing how superior and faster the power pc with Altivec was over the Intel chip. It's all marketing hype. If you need a new machine, buy it, use it and be pleased with it, but don't whine and pine for the newest "fastest" technology. Remember, in the computer industry something better and faster is always in the pipeline. Even though I don't think the MBP is any improvement over the old Powerbooks in terms of speed and power I do love the glossy screen and so I am pleased with my purchase.

I too am happy with my MBP purchase, granted I ordered it in May, knowing that it would be updated by August (luckily, I had another two months lol). I've been able to use my MBP for just about everything I can think of and have it run perfectly, granted I wished Oblivion ran a wee bit better (more of a GPU limitation I'm thinking).

I'm not saying however that the new MBP with the Core 2 Duo is a bad update, I feel it was the natural step and feel that it's more of a transition laptop until more technology and higher speed mobile C2Ds become available. It's an honorable upgrade, one with some features I wish I had in mine, but nothing that would make me go out and buy a new one when I have a very capable machine already.

I personally am waiting for next year's update on the iMac and Mac Pro, I think a desktop would be a great move for my second computer (and I won't buy anything non-Apple now that I've been freed from Dell and the like). The only thing that would really convince me to buy whatever next year's MBP would be a major upgrade in RAM capacity, much higher speeds, or a better GPU.

I am kinda bummed for the simple reason that I use my mack=hine for audio production and having that extra GB of ram would be sweet, As far as the HD I still would of chose 7200rpm over anything else a little slower with more space. Maybe I should sell mine and get a new one while mine stil has a decent re-sale rate

I agree. The Core Duo machines will be amazing for a long time to come. Heck, I had people ask me if my 4 year old 700 Megahertz G3 iBook was new.

There are advantages with the new Core 2 Duo system, but for those who already invested in one of the Core Duo MBPs, its not that big of a deal.

I waited for a C2D, but thats what I told myself I would do, and oh man, was it a tough four months.

Technology changes rapidly, and unless you have a VERY deep pocket, yours will be outdated eventually. The people frustrated about apple releasing a new MBP 4 months after they bought theirs annoy me; those who bought theirs 15 days ago, I can sympathize with more. But still Apple has to stay competitive, and that means updates.

I, like you Sal, am perfectly happy with my purchase. I made a decision early to purchase having come from the PC world and knowing the speed of hardware updates. I had hopes that moving to Apple would mean less hardware updates but didn't hold my breath and have bene proven right with the quick move for CD to C2D processors.

For me the speed comparisions are useless. If you want to compare apples to apples (no pun intended!) then you can't compare a 2.16GHz/2GB to a 2.33GHz/3GB machine and tell a useful story. For me the comparison is simple - i bought a top of the line model in June for a price that has dropped by only $200 for the current top model. Price therefore is similar for what i bought. I'm glad i've had almost 5 months of use of a great machine and didn't for this. By the time i buy again hardware will be very very different to what it is now!

You would have gotten more for your money if you had recently purchased. If you purchased many months ago though then the price comparison is actually similar. You can't say that you spent a certain amount on a Mac that had 2.16GHz/2GB/17" a few months ago (then the top of the line) and say it was so much more expensive when the top model today, although higher spec'd is a similar price.

Like i said though, if you've recently purchased, then you're out of luck - unless the new machines have issues; then you'd be qutie happy i'd imagine!