Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

13" MBP core 2 duo vs i5 processor

R

rudyjdr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2010
2
0
Looking for opinions...I'm looking to purchase a 13" MBP and was wondering if I'd see a difference in performance / speed between the current 2.53GHz core 2 duo processor vs the new i5 processors (whenever the come out). Assume 4GB of memory on both laptops.

I'd be using the laptop mainly for email, Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint, web surfing and watching videos.
 
rudyjdr said:
Looking for opinions...I'm looking to purchase a 13" MBP and was wondering if I'd see a difference in performance / speed between the current 2.53GHz core 2 duo processor vs the new i5 processors (whenever the come out). Assume 4GB of memory on both laptops.

I'd be using the laptop mainly for email, Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint, web surfing and watching videos.
Click to expand...

For such use I doubt you will see much benefit with the newer processor. Still with i5 supposedly being more efficient your battery might last a bit longer with the new processor.

Are you in a hurry?
 
Not necessarly...if I won't see a difference in processor speed, I'd purchase the current model now. If there will be a significant difference in speed (for what I'm using the laptop for), then I can wait.
 
I'm in the same boat, I almost bought one last week. I was thinking MBP 13 or 15 inch 2.53 Core 2 Duo but will be pissed if Apple drops an i5 MBP in a couple of months if I would have bought it. I've used the i5 on an 'average price' PC notebook with windows7 64bit and it screams (which is saying a lot on windows). I'm leaning on waiting but need a notebook.
 
The I5 is, rough estimate, about 20% faster across the board clock for clock, and due to Turboboost it runs faster too. The performance advantages are real and most certainly noticeable for some tasks, however the tasks you mentioned Im not sure youd really see any benefit. It really comes down to whether or not you can wait. If you NEED to buy now, assuming those tasks, the current model should suffice.
 
oneprouddaddy said:
I'm in the same boat, I almost bought one last week. I was thinking MBP 13 or 15 inch 2.53 Core 2 Duo but will be pissed if Apple drops an i5 MBP in a couple of months if I would have bought it. I've used the i5 on an 'average price' PC notebook with windows7 64bit and it screams (which is saying a lot on windows). I'm leaning on waiting but need a notebook.
Click to expand...

if you have the patience for a couple of months, then you should definitely wait. Its almost a certainty that apple will update by then.
 
If you don't mind me hijacking the thread for a second instead of making a new thread, my current 13" macbook is pretty much dead, and can barely carry out the basic tasks I need it for. For me, the basic tasks are pro tools, logic, finale, iTunes, word, and internet. I'm ready and prepared to take the risk to buy a current core2 now, and my rationale is that apple's currently in a really stable build of MBPs, and with the (rumored) i5, there's the possible compatibility issues with my programs (especially pro tools), and the general problems of 1st generation hardware that I noticed with some apple things. I don't need the best. I need something that works. Opinions? Thanks. (Sorry for hijacking)
 
Benchmarks I've seen show ~20% gains in single threaded applications and up to 40-45% in multithreaded apps.
 
I was looking at the Mac Buyer's guide at this site and noticed that the last few refreshes to the MBP lineup were 8 months apart. I hope the updated ones get released this month. I have never bought a Mac before and am looking forward to getting a MBP.
 
If you want a speed increase, eliminate the biggest bottle neck in the computer and get a SSD.

Otherwise with just browsing the web, email, ect... the speed increase will be negligible.
 
rudyjdr said:
Looking for opinions...I'm looking to purchase a 13" MBP and was wondering if I'd see a difference in performance / speed between the current 2.53GHz core 2 duo processor vs the new i5 processors (whenever the come out). Assume 4GB of memory on both laptops.

I'd be using the laptop mainly for email, Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint, web surfing and watching videos.
Click to expand...

For your uses the regular white macbook is more than sufficient.
 
rudyjdr said:
I'd be using the laptop mainly for email, Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint, web surfing and watching videos.
Click to expand...
Current technology is more then enough for you. If you want the latest and greatest, then yeah wait it out, but the current MBP is more then enough.

I'm using Lightroom, photoshop, rapidweaver (web publishing) and office apps on my 08 MBP and its performance is more then sufficient.
 
For your stated uses OP, the current MacBook (Pro) is more than sufficient. I have a 13" 2.53 GHz MacBook Pro and it is plenty fast. :)
 
As many are saying, if you want the latest wait...but for your uses...the current MBP and even last gen macbook would have sufficed.
 
Dan73 said:
If you want a speed increase, eliminate the biggest bottle neck in the computer and get a SSD.

Otherwise with just browsing the web, email, ect... the speed increase will be negligible.
Click to expand...

really? I have a very old computer that can't even run windows 98, I only run linux command on it. are you suggesting that I can switch out the old hard drive and pop in a new SSD and I can begin to run vista?

seriously, how many times does your computer spend writting or reading data from the hard drive? I can easily write you a program to run several days and write the final data to your drive within mili second. Your post is very misleading.
 
stixcom92 said:
[snip] my current 13" macbook is pretty much dead, and can barely carry out the basic tasks I need it for. For me, the basic tasks are pro tools, logic, finale, iTunes, word, and internet. I'm ready and prepared to take the risk to buy a current core2 now, and my rationale is that apple's currently in a really stable build of MBPs, and with the (rumored) i5, there's the possible compatibility issues with my programs (especially pro tools), and the general problems of 1st generation hardware that I noticed with some apple things. I don't need the best. I need something that works. Opinions? Thanks. (Sorry for hijacking)
Click to expand...
Sounds like you 9answered your own question... Enjoy your new Macbook!
 
Anyone buying a MBP now is throwing their money away. Honestly, if you absolutely need a computer now you can get the i5 processor in several laptop models already on the market from other companies.

If you really don't think you'll need the i5 you can get the same tech in the current MBP in a $600 PC laptop right now--sans the aluminum. If you're lucky you could even get a blu-ray drive. I laugh when I see the specs on the current Apple laptop line--and the prices charged.
 
rudyjdr said:
Looking for opinions...I'm looking to purchase a 13" MBP and was wondering if I'd see a difference in performance / speed between the current 2.53GHz core 2 duo processor vs the new i5 processors (whenever the come out). Assume 4GB of memory on both laptops.

I'd be using the laptop mainly for email, Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint, web surfing and watching videos.
Click to expand...

I would not be sure about battery life increase. i5s has higher energy need than similar C2Ds mainly because of on-chip graphics and memory controller. However, I really hope, that Apple is including at least low end dedicated GPU to 13", whic would mean even higher energy hunger. Well, Apple never goes back, so 7h will stay.

I would wait for the next gen MBPs for several reasons:
1. They might have some other nice bits, like USB 3, Blu Ray, maybe 4gb RAM as standard... Nobody knows. These should improve performance.
2. Current MBPs will loose at least 15% of their retail price at the moment new ones are introduced. If you consider selling yours in 1-2 years, the differene might be around 100-200$.
 
i5 will be faster, but in anything but very CPU heavy use you won't notice any real difference.

People are always looking forward to the next big update but in reality unless Apple comes up with something significant that improves the usability of the devices (like the "buttonless" big trackpad) the performance increases won't be all that noticeable. The current MBPs are fast machines with no real problems regarding the design or manufacturing process. For all we know the new ones might suffer from strange issues at the beginning as there is a totally new architecture.
 
chikhao said:
really? I have a very old computer that can't even run windows 98, I only run linux command on it. are you suggesting that I can switch out the old hard drive and pop in a new SSD and I can begin to run vista?

seriously, how many times does your computer spend writting or reading data from the hard drive? I can easily write you a program to run several days and write the final data to your drive within mili second. Your post is very misleading.
Click to expand...

The key words are very old computer.

Too bad we're talking about current and next gen models.

A car with good tires will be faster around a track then a next generation of the same car that has ****** tires.

Same idea. A current C2D MB will be faster in day-to-day tasks with a SSD than a i5 with a 5200/7200 RPM drive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back