I currently have an old Macbook (13", 1.83 Core Duo, 2GB, 150GB, Bluetooth, no 802.11n, running 10.6)

I've been considering selling it since it's my first mac and, while I like it, there's some things about it that I don't care about (the fact that I can cook dinner with it if my stove dies for example). I LOVE the build quality. I love that it feels so solid.

I've been offered an HP dv3-1075us for trade that's a little less than a year old (13", 2.1ghz AMD dual core, 4gb, 320gb, bt, 802.11n, Vista Home Prem. 64bit (prob. switch out to 7 since that's what I've been running for a few months), etc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147925&Tpk=dv3-1075us

Does anyone have any experience with this? I can't find any decent reviews online and the ones that I do find tend to either be about the wrong one or counter each other. Build quality decent?

How is the Turion X-2 compared to the old Core Duo (notice that it's not the Core 2 Duo)? Everything else I own is AMD pre-Turion, Centrino Duo, etc.

From a financial standpoint, I'd be crazy not to do it but I'm just worried about the quality issue more than anything else. Before I waste his time or mine, I thought I'd get some opinions.

Oh yeah, my uses: basic Internet & media primarily, occasional work from home (proprietary crappy-ass CAD program which this will run), minor graphics work, logmein to take care of idiots using computers when I'm out of the office, etc. Nothing hardcore whatsoever).

9/30/2009 7:31:13 PM

I would stick with the macbook and upgrade that to a newer gen macbook. You really can't beat the quality of the macbook especially with an HP. (and i've had my fair share of HP notebooks )

Also stick with intel.

9/30/2009 7:34:52 PM

What an unexpected point of view

9/30/2009 8:33:50 PM

^^ Or if you're just tired of the Mac OS and looking to buy then wait a few weeks for HP's Envy 13 to come out.

It's a Macbook Pro 13-inch with Vista and a some mildly better graphics power.

But if you're just looking at whether or not to switch it? Seems like kind of a fishy deal. Why does your friend want your Macbook so badly?

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 10:23 PM. Reason : /]

9/30/2009 10:23:17 PM

^^What an unexpected contribution to a tech talk thread

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 10:25 PM. Reason : .]

9/30/2009 10:23:52 PM

I would stay away from AMD for mobile processors. Keep your Macbook and upgrade to a MBP (or one of the new core i7 proc'd laptops) when you can afford to.

9/30/2009 11:49:14 PM

Quote :

"stay away from AMD"

10/1/2009 10:06:54 AM

^^^^ He's a mac guy and didn't pay for the HP. Since it's AMD he can't hackintosh it & there's pretty much no used macs available where I'm at.

I've considered upgrading to one of the new MBPs but I have a really hard time spending $1200+ on a laptop for personal use. I really like the idea of the 7 hour battery & the al. unibody but it's still a bunch of money for surfing with real work once a month or so. What's the deal with the refurbs? Are they like Dell where any return is sold as a refurb or is it pretty much trashed mbp's that got through QC?

What's the deal with AMD? If I was buying new, I'd definitely go c2d but I'm looking at a faster core than my Core Duo Macbook. It's that much worse?

10/1/2009 7:32:21 PM

Quote :

"Are they like Dell where any return is sold as a refurb"

Yes.

Quote :

"What's the deal with AMD? If I was buying new, I'd definitely go c2d but I'm looking at a faster core than my Core Duo Macbook. It's that much worse?"

Yes.



Honestly, you'd be getting the raw end of the trade, IMO.


If the guy is so hard up for a mac, tell him to hit up ebay. Don't fuck yourself over by going for a trade.

10/1/2009 8:19:56 PM

AMD's been lagging behind in the mobile processor category. If this was when C2D first came out versus a Turion X2 and you factored in the cheaper Turion then it'd be a relatively even match.

But now? Intel's been pushing more and more with their mobile line and AMD has kinda stagnated.

Plus that performance difference is only excusable if you're paying less money for it, but if you're just swapping one for the other then the difference in performance isn't quite as justified.

[Edited on October 1, 2009 at 8:22 PM. Reason : /]

10/1/2009 8:21:51 PM

Gotcha. I haven't bought a laptop since 2005 so I didn't realize that the AMD options were so far behind c2d. I think I'll just keep an eye out for a good deal on a new 13" mbp and then sell this one outright. Appreciate the help everyone.

10/1/2009 9:40:25 PM