Help Purchasing Used (2008+) MBP

I'm beginning to search for an older used Macbook Pro and am new to the whole Mac world, not having owned an Apple computer since my II.

Currently I'm using a Clevo M570U and would like at least those specs in a MBP which, except for VRAM, loosely mirror the 2006 MA611LL.

I'd like a MBP strictly for video edit and performance. I make no money from this, so it is strictly a hobby/luxury. Currently I have no issues with my M570U performance nor OS (W7), so I'm in no hurry. I'm interested in trying my hand at Mac softs and supposed application stability under OSX.

Minimum of what I'd like:
2.4 C2D
4GB RAM
512MB Dedicated GPU
ExpressCard/34 for eSATA external drives
(get ready to laugh) Around $600USD

Dedicated VRAM rules out all 13" models and RAM can be upgraded later to save initial cost. Price and ExpressCard are the main reasons I'm looking for older units. Two of my three external drives are eSATA only (marketed to Apple fanboys, no less). I never thought I'd be facing a hardware choice where eSATA or external cards were not an option. I have one drive that is FW/USB2/eSATA, so theoretically I could transfer all files I hope to use on the MBP to this drive, but what if I like the MBP so much I want it as primary? WTH was Apple thinking? <-Rhetorical

Questions:
I understand Logic Boards and GPU are one, but is it reasonable to pursue MBPs with damaged screens/superdrives/keyboards/etc as a way to save money? Coming from the PC world, it's logical to purchase as-is and repair, but does that hold for Mac?

The market is flooded with MBPs, but it appears as though 90% of them have the 8600 GPU. Am I being a freak for wanting to steer clear of the 8600 GPU? Is it just a matter of time before they all melt under strain? FleaBay has quite a few of them selling for $500-$700 and it's pretty darned difficult to ignore them.

Continuing the question above, the 2008-2009 first gen unibodies (MB471LL / MB604LL) seem to be when the 8600 was replaced. Should I restrict my search to these or newer? If so, is it unreasonable to hope to find a unit for $600-700?

Last, is it completely ridiculous to even think about trying to build out a Hacktop? Would that negate any of the intrinsic stability of Mac/OSX, specific to video?

 

1. I wouldn't buy a broken one and try fixing it, Mac are a PAIN to work on. Unless it just needs a hard drive or some memory, those are easy to replace.

2. Definitely stay far from the Macbook Pro's with 8600m video cards, they a very faulty.

I would go for a $700 Macbook 13 with the 9400m in it. I think its around $700 or so on eBay for a used one.

 

That's what I feared. Those are the cheapest ones out there...

I think pretty much all 13's are out as they don't have discreet graphics.

 

The 9400m is about 2/3 as fast the ATi X1900 in your Clevo.

The 320m in the newer Macbook /Pro 13's is much faster than the ATi X1900.

Here's my gaming/graphics test of the 2010 Macbook Pro 13 320m: http://forum.notebookreview.com/apple-mac-os-x/527864-2010-macbook-pro-13-graphics.html

 

I have an older 2008 MBP that meets that, but for $600? not sure about that, I have some use for it still (in development), but If I was to sell it I wouldn't for $600 right now... and I think its unlikely you'll find one like that with those specs unless something is very wrong with it.

I too would stay away from the 8600s... but the IGP 320m is extremely fast for integrated... don't rule out a machine just because it has an IGP and not a discrete GPU.

What are you using the machine for really?

 

Sorry, should have posted the specs of my current Win setup:
C2D T7600 2.33GHz
4GB PC2-5300 RAM
Nvidia 7950 GTX (512MB GDDR3, DX 9c, Shader 3.0)

While I don't doubt the power behind the 320M, I do underestimate it's ability to swiftly render SD video and perform using SD with realtime compositing effects. I would like somewhat swift video rendering via Premiere and After Effects and I require quick triggering of SD video clips and application of compositing/filtering effects on those SD clips for live performances.

I haven't seen any 2008 MBP with the 9600/9400 combo going for much less than $1200-$1500. Typically they seem to be selling for much more, and I can only assume a sub-$900 offer would offend most. Methinks I'll need to rethinks as it's becoming obvious I can't piece together a cheap MBP as easily as a Win Lap.

 

Ah ok, the 320m is around 300 3dmark06 points slower than the 7950 GTX.

 

I have a 17 inch early 2008 MBP with the 8600/512M of memory.

Have never had a problem with it.

My kids have a 2007 and an early 2008 MBPs. The older one has had two MB replacements and the other has had one. Those are both 15 inch models. The older one had vid chips that died after one year each. The current one is about 1.5 years old so maybe they wound up fixing them. We use the other as a spare as I bought my son a unibody this past summer as he had some problems with the DVD drive.

At any rate, not all of the MPBs with the 8600m have had problems. But you really don't know what you're getting on the used market. My current MBP meets all of my current needs and would meet them for probably the next five years. Anything that I replace it with would only be for "want".

 

I picked up a late 2008 13" aluminum MacBook 2.4ghz. 2gb, 250gb hard drive, illuminated keyboard in avg shape ( the screen and keyboard was perfect though) a few months back for only $550. Haven't used it much, until recently, since I have too many laptops. Upgraded it with 8gb of ram, 640gb hard drive and bootcamp with windows 7 ultimate and now I love my Mac. I found it on craigslist from someone in the military who was deploying so it is possible to find a great deal on macbooks don't give up.

 

Therein lies the problem... Since I plan to use it almost exclusively for VRAM-intensive work, I'm afraid the stress on the 8600 series might cause otherwise trouble free cards to melt. It seems too much of a gamble given the nature of my intended use and the fact that my pockets aren't deep enough to gamble with these odds.

 

My system is mainly used for work stuff during the day and my work stuff doesn't stress the system. I do do some transcoding whee the processor is running around 80% for several hours. My model is a Penryn-based model compared to the older Merom chips and it runs cooler. I think that the 17 inch model may have more space for better airflow. My system never got as hot as the 15 inch older models that my kids have.

I read that some of the MBPs with the 9xxx series GPUs had problems too - this from Charlie at The Inquirer. Basically a sad chapter in the history of laptops. It appears that Apple is going to go with AMD for their computers in the future. I'm going to teach myself CUDA programming (only on nVidia GPUs) and it looks like my options for that will be my old MacBook Pro.

 

I had a Macbook Pro 13 with a 9400m and a Macbook Pro 17 with a 9400m/9600m, and neither had any problems, the 9xxx series is solid. They got hot while gaming, but nothing to bad. I've never heard of any 9xxx GPU's failing in Mac's or PC's.