mb 2.4ghz vs mbp 2.26ghz both refurb?

hey guys,

Refurbished MacBook 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Aluminum
13.3-inch 1280-by-800 pixel LED-backlit display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Illuminated keyboard

vs

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD card slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
Illuminated keyboard

if both go for the same price what would you choose?

any other points i need to consider? the 2.26 is current generation and the 2.4 is previous gen.

i know the 2.26 max ram is 8 while the 2.4 max ram is around 4 (6 unofficially)

will just be using it for LR, PS and for my photos, and the usual email and stuff.

With that slow a processor, you won't be using more than 4gb ram anyway, why care about max ram? (which is about $400, compared to $100 for 4gb). Get the faster processor, it'll be worth it. And if it's a non-unibody MB, you can get a second battery later on.

I know nothing about macs, but I know about PC hardware in general. I'd get the current generation mac pro, even if the processor is 5% slower than the other one. Often they put a slightly newer processor or other technologies in newer gen machines.

johnj2803 wrote in post #9289407
hey guys,

Refurbished MacBook 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Aluminum
13.3-inch 1280-by-800 pixel LED-backlit display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Illuminated keyboard

vs

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD card slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
Illuminated keyboard

if both go for the same price what would you choose?

any other points i need to consider? the 2.26 is current generation and the 2.4 is previous gen.

i know the 2.26 max ram is 8 while the 2.4 max ram is around 4 (6 unofficially)

will just be using it for LR, PS and for my photos, and the usual email and stuff.

That's a hard choice... but I would pick the first (2.4GHz). The second has a faster bus which 'might' bring it closer to the performance of the 2.4GHz but not quite. I'm assuming that the 2.4GHz is the early 2008 model - which means you have replaceable batteries which may be a bonus or a drawback.

I really don't see how RAM limit can be an issue. 2 GB of RAM is plenty for PP. Put 4 GB and you'll be comfortable. Almost nobody really needs 8 GB.

The Hard Drive doesn't matter. It's awfully small in both cases so you'll be using an external anyhow, I,m quite sure... Well, if you worry about 4mb vs. 8mb in RAM limit, you're the kind of user who'll worry about HDD space and 5400 vs 7200-10000 as well And you're right to do so.


The first seems to be a MacBook, not a MacBook Pro.
Hence, unlike you stated, it does not have a LED display.
LED is much better for PP.

I vote #2 here. The aluminium MBPros are overall much better than the white or black MBs.

elContrarian wrote in post #9292360
I really don't see how RAM limit can be an issue. 2 GB of RAM is plenty for PP. Put 4 GB and you'll be comfortable. Almost nobody really needs 8 GB.

If you use Photoshop then any ram over 4 gb is used as the scratch disk. That can dramatically improve performance, especially with larger 16-bit images.

I wouldn't want less than 4GB with Photoshop. The OS takes maybe a gig, photoshop half a gig then the image.

I'd get the second (MBP). You won't notice the slightly slower processor, and you'll get much longer battery life out of it. Make sure to upgrade the RAM to 4GB regardless of which one you get.