Please help me decide - i5 or i7 MacBook Pro?!

Forums › Mac OS › Please help me decide - i5 or i7 MacBook Pro?!

corksta

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#71266 7-Nov-2010 13:35

At the end of the month I'm going to Canada and would like to get a new 15" MBP where they are MUCH cheaper than buying in NZ, but I'm a bit torn as to whether to get the base i5 model or the i7 model, so would love some suggestions from you guys based on how I currently use my laptop:

1. I use a 2009 13" MBP connected to a 27" Cinema Display as the primary setup - does having a discrete GPU matter in this respect? If so, is 256MB or 512MB better for powering the display or doesn't it matter?

2. I'd like to keep it for several years before looking to upgrade again.

3. I don't do any intensive work on it. Apart from the usual email, web, documents, etc, I do a bit of work in iPhoto and iMove 11, but no Photoshop or Aperture or any plans to use them. No Handbrake or anything like that either.

4. I have a Seagate Momentus XT HDD which I'd put into the new laptop.

5. Based on my usage would I even notice a difference between an i5 and the i7? Is it worth the C$400 difference?

6. Or, based on my usage would I even notice a difference at all going from my current laptop to the base i5 model?! I'm guessing at least the i5 would be better for the longterm.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

nakedmolerat

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#401373 7-Nov-2010 13:41

3. I don't do any intensive work on it. Apart from the usual email, web, documents, etc, I do a bit of work in iPhoto and iMove 11, but no Photoshop or Aperture or any plans to use them. No Handbrake or anything like that either.

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lotech

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#401374 7-Nov-2010 13:41

i5, unless you're editing HD video or rendering 3D then you'd be just wasting money.

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s.joseph

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#401375 7-Nov-2010 13:42

im in exactlty the same boat, i do a lot of stuff on logic which is quite intensive but if you look at the mimum specs for mac software the i5 model surpasses all of them by a long shot.

Check out these benchmarks, there is a wee difference with the i7, but personally i dont think its worth the money. Ill most likely be going for the i5.

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2010/04/macbookpro-benchmarks/

corksta

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#401377 7-Nov-2010 13:47

nakedmolerat: 3. I don't do any intensive work on it. Apart from the usual email, web, documents, etc, I do a bit of work in iPhoto and iMove 11, but no Photoshop or Aperture or any plans to use them. No Handbrake or anything like that either.

mac air ftw

Wife has the 11" and they are really nice, but the stupid positioning of the MiniDisplay Port and the other ports means it's not ideal to connect it to the Cinema Display.

corksta

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#401378 7-Nov-2010 13:48

s.joseph: im in exactlty the same boat, i do a lot of stuff on logic which is quite intensive but if you look at the mimum specs for mac software the i5 model surpasses all of them by a long shot.

Check out these benchmarks, there is a wee difference with the i7, but personally i dont think its worth the money. Ill most likely be going for the i5.

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2010/04/macbookpro-benchmarks/

Yeah I'd seen those benchmarks before, guess it comes down to whether the increase in performance justifies the difference in cost.

nakedmolerat

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#401379 7-Nov-2010 13:49

is it true i7 will work better on osx lion?

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minofgeek

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#402312 9-Nov-2010 20:03

Definitely i5 given your 'requirements'. There is no indications that Lion will require an i7, in fact, given that the vast majority of Intel Mac owners out there will probably just have dual-core machines, I doubt Apple would make that a prerequisite. Sure, more cores the better, but an i5 would be more than adequate.

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Dreamy

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#402329 9-Nov-2010 20:32

depending where in canada you're off to, don't forget gst + pst, or hst, adds 15% or so onto the price you see online. then exchange...you'll save ~$200-250 from the price here though (depending on province, i used bc).

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timtim

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#402336 9-Nov-2010 20:47

i5 plus solid state drive.

Ragnor

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#403115 10-Nov-2010 21:53

timtim: i5 plus solid state drive.

This, true SSD will give a decent boost over the hybrid Momentus.

corksta

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#403137 10-Nov-2010 22:29

True, but I'm happy with the performance of the Seagate over a stock HDD and can't justify the difference in cost vs. performance over the Seagate to get a similar sized true SSD.

Seems like i5 is the way to go, thanks for all your suggestions.

I'm actually going to be there for Black Friday so hopefully that will make it even cheaper.