Processor Speed Comparison

[ManhattanPrjct]

In thinking about the possibility of a new MacBook I was comparing my prior generation MacBook to what is currently on offer today, and I was stymied when comparing processors:

Today's basic processor:

Intel Core 2 Duo
2.0GHz
1066MHz frontside bus
3MB shared L2 cache

Mine:

Intel Core 2 Duo
2.16GHz
667MHz frontside bus
4MB shared L2 cache

I've already tricked it out last year (as opposed to buying a new system) by maxing the RAM at 2GB and putting in a 500GB hard drive for photo editing/storage and media storage.

Is there some trial out there that compares these two processors?

[xraydoc]

The speeds will be very comparable - the new one will likely have the edge over the old, but not by much. Certainly not enough to justify the cost of upgrading just to gain a 5% speed boost.

If your current machine is doing what you want and doing it well, no need to replace it.

And, if you have the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo with the Intel GMA 950 graphics unit, your machine can be upgraded to 3GB of RAM (unsupported by Apple officially, but it works).

[ManhattanPrjct]

And, if you have the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo with the Intel GMA 950 graphics unit, your machine can be upgraded to 3GB of RAM (unsupported by Apple officially, but it works).

I do have that graphics unit - what configuration of memory would get it to 3GB, my 1GB DIMM with a 2GB in the other slot? Are there any complications from doing this?

[NewMacbookPlz]

I do have that graphics unit - what configuration of memory would get it to 3GB, my 1GB DIMM with a 2GB in the other slot? Are there any complications from doing this?

That would be the setup. The "complication" would be the loss of dual-channel support, but generally more RAM overcomes the performance hit that the loss of dual-channel memory support comes with.