Macbook Pro Buying advice

[Rajeev Siddhan]

I am contemplating a new laptop for pwersonal and work purposes. Given the $500 price difference for 100 Ghz increase in processing power and a 512 MB Graphics card, is the performance worth the premium?

I searched the net for performance benchmarks opf the two models but I dint find any.

It would be nice if someone could throw some light on the situation.

Quick replies please.

Thanks,

 

Rajeev

[Synaesthesia]

In my opinion, the 0.1ghz and VRAM differences do not warrant spending an extra $500 on the higher-end model, and the baseline model is definitely the best value. I know it has a larger HDD too, it's still not worth it. Definitely worth it to spend $100 on 4 gigs RAM from a 3rd party supplier though.

 

http://lowendmac.com/musings/08mm/macbook-...e-equation.html

[Rajeev Siddhan]

In my opinion, the 0.1ghz and VRAM differences do not warrant spending an extra $500 on the higher-end model, and the baseline model is definitely the best value. I know it has a larger HDD too, it's still not worth it. Definitely worth it to spend $100 on 4 gigs RAM from a 3rd party supplier though.

 

http://lowendmac.com/musings/08mm/macbook-...e-equation.html

 

Thanks for the quick reply. My value oriented instinct tells me to go with the 2.4 one as well.. BUT..

I read about the 4% average difference in performance on some other sites too. Thing is.. I read about a 12% increase in performance too.. I personally have no clue as to which would be the true value. Hence the question..

Also I dont know if 6MB cache 2.5 Ghz really boosts performnce on the 3MB cache 2.4 Ghz processor.????

[Synaesthesia]

The extra cache and clockspeed makes it 5-10% faster. But it costs $500 more, which is 25% more money. I would struggle to notice the extra speed, I mean a Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz is really fast already...

 

It also depends, if you're going to be doing a lot of CPU intensive tasks, like 3D rendering and Video work, and don't mind paying for the extra speed, go for it. If you're going to be doing Web Surfing, Office usage, Programming...it's not really worth it...

 

Anyway, here's a good review with some speed comparisons.

Macworld Review: MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo/2.4GHz and 2.5GHz

[Rajeev Siddhan]

Now to add to to my previous confusion. .heres a link sent by my friend.. Is this possible??

 

http://review.zdnet.com/laptops/apple-macb...6-32868774.html

 

Thanks for your replies.. Makes this a good discussion.. I really and truly feel like I'm being helped with my decision

thanks :-)

[Synaesthesia]

There's something wrong with that test if the 2.2 ghz Macbook with 2 gb RAM beat the 2.4ghz Macbook Pro with 2 gb as well. That's not possible.

 

Also I see it clocked a lower battery life score, must have been a bad unit or test...maybe it was running WOW in the background or something...

 

Anyway, found some more info for you, read this page, good advice there.

What Drives Mac Speed? Hard Disks!

[Synaesthesia]

Here's what he says, good stuff:

I had the opportunity last week to work with a new MacBook Pro, one that's about year newer than mine. Performance on the new model was much faster. Why? Because of the hard drive's speed. That's one place where you should choose carefully.

 

I've been writing on this topic since last September, but have become more convince than ever that drive speed is a killer feature. Think about the areas where modern desktops get their performance boosts from. The ones that get talked about the most like processor speed, aren't the most important in the real world.

 

• Processor - CPUs already so fast it doesn't make much difference

 

• Processor cache - Hard for most people to know. Bigger is generally better, but the 3MB cache in the latest Core 2 Duo chips is more efficient and effective than the 4MB cache in the previous generation.

 

• Memory - as long as you have enough (2GB minimum for a modern Mac), memory speed isn't much of a determining faster.

 

• Front-side bus - this makes a difference, yes, potentially even more than CPU speed. However, these speeds only increase slowly, and are tied to processor chipsets.

 

• Graphics chip speed and memory - important for game playing and high-end graphics, doesn't affect business and general productivity applications.

 

• WiFi speed - faster WiFi (like 802.11n) will help you load and save files faster across the LAN, but won't affect your Internet experience.

 

• Hard disk speed - will affect every aspect of your computer, from booting to loading apps to loading/saving data to working with virtual memory.

 

The older MacBook Pro (2.2GHz processor, 4MB cache, 3GB memory) had a 200GB hard drive that spun at 4500 RPM. The new one (2.4GHz processor, 3MB cache, 2GB memory) also had a 200GB drive, but it rotated at 7200 RPM. It blew the old notebook away on every aspect of working with it.

 

My advice: For both iMacs and MacBook/MacBook Pro notebooks, get the fastest hard drives you can. Pick rotation speed first, and then get the largest caapcity. If you need to save money, save money by getting a slightly slower processor.

 

Thus, here's what I'd recommend on today's offerings from Apple:

 

• 15-inch MacBook Pro: 2.4GHz processor, 200GB 7200 RPM drive.

 

• 17-inch MacBook Pro: 2.5GHz processor, 200GB 7200 RPM drive. (If you get the 300GB 4500 RPM, you'll be sad about the performance.)