Which macbook pro to buy?

Hello all,
I am in the market to buy a macbook pro. Doesn't have to be anything spectacular, just something to serve me in the meantime. I want to spend no more than $1,100, therefore i decided to purchase on ebay.
But my main question is - Is it better to buy a early 2008 macbook pro 17" (A1261) or a current 09'-10' macbook pro 13" (A1278). I will be mainly using the macbook pro for editing video in final cut and editing photos in photoshop/aperture. On ebay - both units are in the same price range. I would love to hear your opinions.
Thank you

jp89 wrote:
Hello all,
I am in the market to buy a macbook pro. Doesn't have to be anything spectacular, just something to serve me in the meantime. I want to spend no more than $1,100, therefore i decided to purchase on ebay.
But my main question is - Is it better to buy a early 2008 macbook pro 17" (A1261) or a current 09'-10' macbook pro 13" (A1278). I will be mainly using the macbook pro for editing video in final cut and editing photos in photoshop/aperture. On ebay - both units are in the same price range. I would love to hear your opinions.
Thank you
Hard decision, I'd admit.
1. Processor. I think they're the same, so call it a tie.
2. Video processor. 13" has a better one, but if you can find a 17" with the 512MB memory, then it might be close to a tie.
3. Warranty. Unless the 17" has the extended AppleCare, solid win for the 13". Laptops just start wearing out after a few years, especially the optical drive and HDD.
4. Display. 17" is much easier for photoshopping and video editing.
5. Outputs. The 17" has a FW800, which is important because if you're doing REAL video editing, then you want a FW800 7200RPM external scratch disk. If you're just doing home video, it's not important.
6. Other stuff. Again, if you're doing this professionally or semi-professionally to use Aperture and Photoshop, then you're going to need to upgrade the internal HDD to a 7200 version, and you will want to consider upgrading to 8GB RAM. You can probably do both for around $250.
If I were an up and coming video/photo artist, I would definitely go with the 17", although I'd probably buy a brand new one. If I was in college, learning everything, the 13" is the better choice.

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