13" MBP /w External Display?

[RiCEADDiCTBOY]

i think this review really changed my perspective on the 15" MBP...

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-15-inch-2009.aspx?page=1

i might just buy the one from aafes:
Apple® MacBook Pro (MB986LL/A) 15.4" Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.8GHz 500GB Notebook
Price...$2,265.00 (for some reason...cheaper...and no tax)


another question (yes...another )...how much of a difference will i notice between 6MB shared L2 cache vs 3MB? this is one area of cpus i still don't quite grasp the way it works for you...

 

[elfxmilhouse]

for what its worth
im using my 13" 2.4ghz (october release) macbook with a 23 inch display that has a resolution of 2048 x 1152 (higher resolution than the 1920 monitor). this is using the mini display port to DVI adapter. its the regular one, NOT the dual link adapter that costs $100

1080p video playback can get choppy at times but only if im running stuff in the background. if the only thing im doing is watching video it looks fine.

 

[jedijoe]

another question (yes...another )...how much of a difference will i notice between 6MB shared L2 cache vs 3MB? this is one area of cpus i still don't quite grasp the way it works for you...

ppl will probably argue both ways on this.

I am a computer science PhD student in parallel computing, and in my experience, 6MB is most certainly better than 3MB, especially in things like photoshop and multi-threaded apps. I mean, there is a breaking point where more cache won't make any difference, but 6MB is NOT that limit.