MacBook Pro 13" i5 vs i7

dancooper93 said:

I have currently ordered the i5 with upgraded 8GB of RAM and 750GB hard drive.

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You're supposed to settle these inner disputes before you buy something.

You'll be fine and most likely won't notice any difference.

The only one of those tasks which it would effect is gaming, probably not by a noticeable amount.

Doesn't the i5 come a little too close to the 13" MBA i7 in performance?

If you're going to shell out the money, you might as well differentiate yourself as much as possible from an MBA, or else you might just be looking at a pretty screen that moves at 20fps.

stick to i5.
You will not notice any difference between even i3 vs i5 as well as i7 for your purposes.
HDD/SDD read speed is main bottleneck for your use.

Save that 80 and spend it on an applecare.

to add I have a desktop with e5200 (pentium dual core) that is 4 years old and it does not show any slow down for what you've mentioned. I'm almost certain that i5 would last at least 5 years without showing aging.

If for no other reason, I'd choose the i5 because it runs cooler.

Macs have enough problems running hot without choosing the fastest CPU.

Apples so obsessed with style & appearance, that they sacrifice good thermal management. Yet that said, they also focus on an obscelence plan that keeps people buying new ones.

So lifespan is no longer a focal point. Profits at Apple are.

ixodes said:

If for no other reason, I'd choose the i5 because it runs cooler.

Macs have enough problems running hot without choosing the fastest CPU.

Apples so obsessed with style & appearance, that they sacrifice good thermal management. Yet that said, they also focus on an obscelence plan that keeps people buying new ones.

So lifespan is no longer a focal point. Profits at Apple are.

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college is all about style and appearance
.


you are correct that mbp's run a little hot but it is also because it is made from aluminum. it conducts heat better than plastic built laptops.

have both here (i7 mine, i5 wife's), I'd say the difference is not that much, and the i5 runs cooler and the fan run slower (2000 rpm min vs 3400 rpm min).

if you don't care/need a faster CPU, go for the i5. I got the i7 because I run a lot of VMs and do some DPP, so it helps a little.

cheers

Given the small price difference, I'd go for the i7. It finally represents a step up that is worth considering and doing, since it comes with 8 GB RAM and the 750 GB HD.

Alternatively, get the i5 and upgrade the RAM and HD yourself - it's cheaper that way.

Processing-wise, you're not likely to notice the difference from the i5 to the i7.

dancooper93 said:

What exactly would the better CPU help with?

I am just trying to work out what's best for me

Thankyou!

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video/audio/photo processing.

ie. converting video to different format. exporting edited photo.

toothache said:

college is all about style and appearance
.


you are correct that mbp's run a little hot but it is also because it is made from aluminum. it conducts heat better than plastic built laptops.

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You've learned Apples excuse perfectly.

Yet the reality is the "premier" laptop in the Windows environment is Lenovo's ThinkPad. They are cooled via the proven methods. Allow space for air to circulate, equip with one or two high flow, high efficiency, low noise fans. Vent the case in multiple locations, and you have one very fast, cool & quite laptop.

I know, I've been using both brands at work & home for years. Under the high load resource intense work I do, the superior thermal management deployed by Lenovo is truly appreciated.

That's not a knock on Apple, it's just a fact of life.

I'll take my MBP as my main laptop of choice anyday. I've proven my preference for Apple in 20 years of using them. I just wish Apple wasn't quite so obsessed with making their devices so thin.

Perhaps once they're so thin they bend easily, Apple will be happy.

dancooper93 said:

Are you suggesting to move to an i7?

I forgot to mention I will be using Visual Studio in Parallel as I am using C#

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I am getting AppleCare already as they are doing it for £40 as I am buying through the education store.

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I am suggesting that you move to an i7. If your needs are that professional, you might as well spend the extra money, or you'll really just have an MBA with a nice screen on it.

That's just my opinion, of course. I own a 13" MBA i7.

Guys, will the i7 helps with screen lags or other possible problems or they can be seen even with it?
I mean, will it help the integrated graphic chip or not?

dancooper93 said:

I am unsure whether to get the i5 or i7.

I have currently ordered the i5 with upgraded 8GB of RAM and 750GB hard drive.

Will the i7 prolong the life of my MBP?

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Is go with the i7 and you won't have to upgrade the RAM and HDD. The computer will be usable for a little bit longer.

Plastikuss said:

Guys, will the i7 helps with screen lags or other possible problems or they can be seen even with it?
I mean, will it help the integrated graphic chip or not?

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The integrated graphics may be built into the processor, but they operate independently. The faster CPU won't help with most GPU dependent tasks.

Plastikuss said:

Guys, will the i7 helps with screen lags or other possible problems or they can be seen even with it?
I mean, will it help the integrated graphic chip or not?

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No. The i5 will do just fine for your purposes. However, I would recommend that you alter the order anyway:

Get your upgrades after-market, Apple overcharges for them and they're easy to put in yourself. You'll save a LOT of money and get better upgrades. 8GB Ram should cost about $40 equivalent +VAT, and for $150 equivalent +VAT you can get either a 256GB SSD, or a 750GB hybrid, both of which will be MUCH faster than the Apple 750GB HDD "upgrade." If 256GB is plenty for you get the SSD for ultimate speed, if you need more space the hybrid (Seagate Momentus XT) will give you 75% of the SSD performance upgrade without having to lose any capacity.

Go with the i7. All the current reviews except for one (link below), compare the i5 to other models. The i7 shows significant improvements in both CPU and GPU usage.

i5: 6507
i7: 8238

i5: 14.81 fps
i7: 19.69 fps

Link:
http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro-13-inch-retina-review-27254241/

bizack said:

Go with the i7. All the current reviews except for one (link below), compare the i5 to other models. The i7 shows significant improvements in both CPU and GPU usage.

i5: 6507
i7: 8238

i5: 14.81 fps
i7: 19.69 fps

Link:
http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro-13-inch-retina-review-27254241/

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Yes, my doubt is the effect in battery life and fan noise, but couldn't find any numbers yet. And there no reviews about the effect in screen lags. What do you think?

Plastikuss said:

Yes, my doubt is the effect in battery life and fan noise, but couldn't find any numbers yet. And there no reviews about the effect in screen lags. What do you think?

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I'll let you know as soon as mine arrives (Wednesday). Using it primarily for software development and I have a 2012 MBA 11" (256 SSD, 8GB RAM, i7) to compare it against.

bizack said:

Go with the i7. All the current reviews except for one (link below), compare the i5 to other models. The i7 shows significant improvements in both CPU and GPU usage.

i5: 6507
i7: 8238

i5: 14.81 fps
i7: 19.69 fps

Link:
http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro-13-inch-retina-review-27254241/

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Their benchmarks look way off compared to other reviews and the geekbench browser.

Their i5 was much slower than other reviews have shown, and according to the geekbench browser. laptopmag tested the i5 and got 2.82 CPU in cinebench for the i5, and 16.79fps on the openGL part.


*edit* - it seems SlashGear used the 32-bit GeekBench score for the i5, and the 64-bit Geekbench score for the i7! WTF!

Verify here: http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

You can't compare the two because 64-bit will always score higher on the same machine.
Crappy reporting!!

b0fh666 said:

have both here (i7 mine, i5 wife's), I'd say the difference is not that much, and the i5 runs cooler and the fan run slower (2000 rpm min vs 3400 rpm min).

if you don't care/need a faster CPU, go for the i5. I got the i7 because I run a lot of VMs and do some DPP, so it helps a little.

cheers

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And did you noticed any difference in noise (is it more audible?). Can you see any difference in web pages lags or even in osx windows animations?