13" MBP Retina i5 vs i7 Heat & Power Consumption

[~Achilles~]

I have trawled the internet for info on this and have come up with nothing but contradictory views.

Isnt there ANYTHING significant to tell us whether the i7 draws noticeably more power than the i5? Is the heat more noticeable? Do the fans kick in quicker?

I mean during normal use, obviously when at the limit they're both going to perform differently. But wouldnt it be beneficial to have the extra power if/when you need it, but have it perform identically the rest of the time?


I just dont understand why there is no clear cut info on this. 9/10 of the threads Ive entered asking the same question as mine have more replies telling them to buy a 15" quad core, which is completely unrelated to the original question.

As you can tell its pretty frustrating.






ALSO, while performing the checkerboard test on my 13" rMBP (passed after 10mins), when going to a dark grey screen I notice a faint (very faint) verticle line just off centre. It looks like some sort of burn in, but not from the checkerboard. You can barely see it, and I hadnt noticed it from normal use, but now I know its there its driving me nuts as TOMORROW is the last day of my 14 day return period. Otherwise the dam thing is near perfect. Would you return?

btw I just know if I return it tomorrow Im going to end up spending more upgrading to the i7... PROVIDED they're not NOTICEABLY hotter, louder, and more power hungry.



Thank you for hearing my rant. I await your opinions

 

[throAU]

Real world difference between the two in day to day battery life will be difficult to measure.

If you run both machines flat out, sure the i7 will drain battery faster, but it will also get significantly more processing done. when NOT running flat out, BOTH cpus clock themselves down to save power.

Unless you need the faster machine for some reason, just buy the i5, it is plenty fast enough for most people. spend the money on RAM or a bigger SSD, or a time capsule instead.

 

[~Achilles~]

Real world difference between the two in day to day battery life will be difficult to measure.

If you run both machines flat out, sure the i7 will drain battery faster, but it will also get significantly more processing done. when NOT running flat out, BOTH cpus clock themselves down to save power.

Unless you need the faster machine for some reason, just buy the i5, it is plenty fast enough for most people. spend the money on RAM or a bigger SSD, or a time capsule instead.

Current one is i5/8gb/256. Cant go higher on the ram, SSD is enough for my needs. But this bloody vertical line on the screen is making me want to return it. For the price I paid the screen in particular should be flawless imho.

Thanks for the info on the day to day usage, I will be working with 24mp RAW photo files in various appications (lightroom among others), some video work . Im not worried if it takes a little longer processing/converting really. But I dont want it to choke up and limit work or get laggy.

I travel most of the week so battery power is important, as is heat, and so far the fans have kept quiet on the current one. Ideally dont want one thats going to crank up the fans doing the same tasks

 

[throAU]

Current one is i5/8gb/256. Cant go higher on the ram, SSD is enough for my needs. But this bloody vertical line on the screen is making me want to return it.

Ahh, i missed that you already purchased. If it is defective, return it. Marks/lines on the screen or distortion = defective. It happens.

Thanks for the info on the day to day usage, I will be working with 24mp RAW photo files in various appications (lightroom among others), some video work . Im not worried if it takes a little longer processing/converting really. But I dont want it to choke up and limit work or get laggy.

The i5/i7 isn't a massive difference (either in performance or heat/noise) anyway as they're both dual core. I suspect that for your use, either will do the job quite nicely.

In "normal" use (not being pressed) you won't be able to tell the difference between them.

Hell, in normal use, just doing browsing/web/mail i had a hard time telling the difference between my MBP and ex's 2010 MBA. Very little pushes CPU in "normal" use these days.

 

[~Achilles~]

Ahh, i missed that you already purchased. If it is defective, return it. Marks/lines on the screen or distortion = defective. It happens.



The i5/i7 isn't a massive difference (either in performance or heat/noise) anyway as they're both dual core. I suspect that for your use, either will do the job quite nicely.

In "normal" use (not being pressed) you won't be able to tell the difference between them.

Hell, in normal use, just doing browsing/web/mail i had a hard time telling the difference between my MBP and ex's 2010 MBA. Very little pushes CPU in "normal" use these days.

Many thanks for your replies. I was worried I was being too picky regarding the screen as I couldnt notice it until I looked, but you're right a defect is a defect. Since Im going to be returning it tomorrow morning anyway I guess I'll see how I feel about dropping the extra £150 on the upgrade. Ive been going back and fourth in my mind on the decision the past two weeks! :S

 

[throAU]

The way I look at returns: if it's something that you haven't caused to the machine, and it is something that (as you say) is driving you mad, return it. Or at least try.



I'm generally pretty accepting of the hardware I get (e.g., i'm not one to go checking i got the "faster SSD" or "better screen").

But something like that (something clearly "not right") would drive me mad too.