This seems like the right group to consult.

During a recent visit to the genius bar, I learned that the 80G hard drive on my 4-year old macbook no longer has sufficient space to store my ever increasing collection of music and photos (not to mention I will soon be adding movies as well).

I realize there several potential solutions including external hard drive and cloud storage, but I've eliminated those options because I don't want to store photos of my children on someone else's server and I don't want to have to physically link (or even network to) an external drive. And I'm going to stick with Apple, having been abused by Windows for many years. I've considered getting an iPad but the lack of multitasking and a keyboard render it unsatisfactory for the intended usage.

So I've narrowed the choices to:

(1) upgrading current macbook with 500G hard drive = $225 installed incl. files (plus another $100 for a new battery soon), or
(2) purchasing a new macbook air or pro @ $1500-1800 which will free up the current unit for use by my kindergartner.

What would you do?

I would and just did purchase a new Macbook Pro. Depending on your usage the Air may be a better option for you, particularly if you don't need a disk drive while on the move.

The MacBook Pro has been updated today. You might want to check them out and do some research. Reviews are so-so.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20034143-1.html

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...?taxonomyId=66

http://www.pcworld.com/article/22058...whats_new.html

I have a mid 2007 15" MBP and I was considering upgrading after today's announcement. However I really just can't justify it. Nothing I do in particular would be terribly more beneficial if I had a faster computer. I have plenty of external storage if I ever run out. I think the only thing that would really make me want to upgrade would be if, like the OP, my computer needed repairs. My warranty expired at the end of the summer last year and it was one of the better purchases I have made, replacing the battery several times and a new logic board when my graphics card failed about 15 months ago. Seeing as I could probably get $300-400 for the computer I don't see any reason to put any more money in it to fix it at this point.

To the OP have you looked at a site like iFixIt for a DIY guide to replacing the HDD on your own? Might be another option is would cost significantly less if you are comfortable.

My training is not in technology, so I'm happy to pay an expert rather than DIY. $225 is relatively cheap compared with spending $1500+tax, but only if I can extend the life for another couple of years. However, the cheapo plastic shell is starting to peel away, which makes me wonder about the components inside. My old Dell lasted 8 years (and still works) so I guess you could say I'm not an early adopter.

I guess I am curious as to how often everyone replaces their home laptops here. I realize that may become less frequent as people gravitate towards iPads for certain tasks like web surfing and travel use.

If you're accumulating a big collection of photos, which is easy to do if you are saving RAW files from a new or recent DSLR, then you will want to back these photos up to an external drive.

So however distasteful it is to hook up an external drive, you have to do it from time to time. And professionals back their photos up several times and put a copy up offsite in case of fire.

You don't have to be that paranoid but the chance of a hard disk failure is very real so even if you back it up once a week, you need to have an external drive in addition to the internal drive.

Good advice. I use the "time machine" to back everything up to a portable hard drive, and then periodically exchange it with another portable that I keep at my inlaws (what are the chances of an earthquake that devastates both SF and LA?)

I never thought I'd fill up 80G, but those raw files and CDs take up a lot of space!

I think the fact that the shell is starting to give is a good indication to buy a new model. By the sounds of it you would be fine with a Macbook Air, although I would recommend a 256GB model which is quite more expensive but at least you won't have capacity problems any time soon.

I have a 17" MBP from 2007, and am seriously considering replacing it now the latest models have come out. The jumping point for me has been a substantial change in hardware. I.e. only now can you get a Quad-core laptop from Apple. Since it's their first quad-core I won't jump just yet, will wait for 6-12 months for the first few batches of overheated quadbook pros to melt and designers forced to fix the issue.

WOW that Apple tax is outrageous
For $120 you can get either a 750gb or 1 tb drive(newegg or other online retailer) and ask (your favorite apple store) if they will install/move the data. Most shops will do a data x-fer for like $50-$75.
Depending on the childs age, the laptop will last about 3 minutes, spilled sippy cup or food will win against most laptops any day.

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You might check the refurb/closeout section of the online Apple store. Big savings on whatever the latest technology was this time last year, or more recently than that. They have an April 2010 model 15" MacBook Pro, 4GB RAM, 500GB disk, and 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor for $1,439. Since it doesn't sound like you need the latest, fastest cpu, this might be a way to get more computer for less money. (Everything comes with current, not April 2010, software, and a full new-computer warranty.)

Given that the value of a new 500gb drive is less than $75, that's $150 for labor. Doing it yourself takes an hour or so. The machine is out of warranty. How valuable is your time?

The new MacBook Pro 13" and 15" models announces yesterday are going to be very, very fast compared to a MacBook of yours' age. Ditto the 15" from last year; the 13" MBP from last year may not feel that much faster. The MBA 13" (new or old) is likely to be about the same speed as your current
one, and the MBA 11" much slower.

I would just grab one of the new mac book pros...thats what I am doing to replace my wife's aging and dying dell laptops....

Given this initial set of conditions and the information that your shell is starting to show signs of wear I would recommend the following:

A MacBook Pro you buy now, especially the just-released models, would offer a significant increase in power over your 4-year old model.

Probably more RAM in addition to more storage, more recent software (newest iLife, if you were using iPhoto for your photos).

You can even run Aperture, a more advanced photo program than iPhoto, on a new machine, which you probably couldn't on the older one.

Probably a newer OS too, which might have features which you like.