Macbook Pro Dilemma

Ok, 2 Macbook Pros and only 1 can stay because I really have no need for 2 and my wife doesn't want to move from Windows. It will be my main editing machine using Lightroom, CS5, and the Nik Suite. I will be using it mainly by itself, but will hook it up to an external monitor for critical work.

MBP1

2010 model purchased in September of 2010
2.66 GHz dual core i7
8 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
512 MB VRAM
Matte Display
1680x1050 Resolution

MBP2

2011 model acquired (won - thanks Lexar!) August 2011
2 GHz quad core i7
8GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6490M
256MB VRAM
Glossy Display
1440x900 Resolution

I'm not tech savvy enough to know how much difference there is between the processors.

I'm torn because I really like the matte display, but don't need 1680x1050 res. In fact, my eyes (like myself) are getting old and tired so I actually prefer the 1440x900. I also like the idea of the Thunderbolt interface and would think about adding the new 27" display with Thunderbolt at some point for a decent "docking" solution if I keep MBP2.

Which one would you keep and why?

That's tough. Second one is faster but the first has a better screen. I'd go with #2. I'd also keep the other and set it up as a windows machine (you can set it to always boot to windows).

Why not see if you can swap the screen between the two if the cases are the same build? Swapping a laptop display is not hard and any good local computer shop should be able to do it.

That might be an option to explore if I was planning on keeping both, but it would void both warranties.

Would you want to trade for a Macbook?

#2 I would think is your best option.

MaxxuM wrote in post #12961141
I'd also keep the other and set it up as a windows machine (you can set it to always boot to windows).

I thought about that, but discarded it for the same reasons I switched to Mac for my personal machine. I don't want to deal with MS's seemingly daily updates. Between my wife's laptop, my camera club's 3 laptops, and my desktop I have enough updating to do!

Gizmo1137 wrote in post #12963110
#2 I would think is your best option.

I'm certainly leaning that way at present. Of course, that could also have something to do with the fact that it has a 512GB SSD drive. I left that out of the initial discussion because I can easily move that to the other one.

rfreschner wrote in post #12963494
I thought about that, but discarded it for the same reasons I switched to Mac for my personal machine. I don't want to deal with MS's seemingly daily updates. Between my wife's laptop, my camera club's 3 laptops, and my desktop I have enough updating to do!

I meant for your wife, but I guess she already has a laptop.

MaxxuM wrote in post #12964251
I meant for your wife, but I guess she already has a laptop.

Yes, I figured that. I gave her my Lenovo when I switched to the Mac. All she uses it for is email and the Internet so she wouldn't use it to it's potential anyway. A good suggestion anyway.

As someone who has owned both of those and is currently using the 2011 keep it. The quad i7 is considerably faster, is expandable to 16GB of ram and though that is really expensive now it will get a lot cheaper. I know the screen is nicer on the older one but neither of them are IPS screens and you will really want an external for serious editing. I would not suggest trying to swap the displays first the glass is a **** to get off and second Apple uses displays from various venders and sometimes the LVDS connectors vary, and you are dealing with 2 different logic boards so your cable routing may be different so the cable from one may not work on the other.

Thanks for the feedback Damian75. I've been playing with getting the new one up and running under Lion and have been pretty happy so far, except for the glossy display. The lower resolution I can live with on the laptop. I also agree that mucking around with the display is not something I'd want to pursue.

Now, I've got to investigate what I can unload the old one for.