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15 inch purchasing question

D

davidjacobs21

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2010
261
9
So what would be more worth it for the money

1. base 15 inch model with i5 with maybe some upgrades on the hard drive and screen

or

2. high end 15 inch model with i7
 
davidjacobs21 said:
So what would be more worth it for the money

1. base 15 inch model with i5 with maybe some upgrades on the hard drive and screen

or

2. high end 15 inch model with i7
Click to expand...

depends totally on what you'll be doing with the machine??? I have found that the more info you give, the better response you'll get around here. Everybody is very helpful
 
It depends on what you want more, the screen or the faster comp. You can always upgrade ram and hard drive space latter, but changing the processor is another story. You could also change the display latter on but only if you know what you are doing... I went with the i5 and anti glare display is something I really wanted.
 
well i want a fast computer I have a 4 year old macbook that is crawling now. We use it for web browsing, emails, word, lots of photos, movies and some games. Does uping the ram or the better processor make it faster?

Is there a big difference in the high res screen over the standard one?
 
davidjacobs21 said:
well i want a fast computer I have a 4 year old macbook that is crawling now. We use it for web browsing, emails, word, lots of photos, movies and some games. Does uping the ram or the better processor make it faster?

Is there a big difference in the high res screen over the standard one?
Click to expand...

For those uses you don't even need a base 15 inch a refurb or a 13 inch will do nicely. You won't need high resolution unless you're doing photo/video editing or have 2 documents side by side. If you need antiglare (use computer in varying light conditions) then you have to get high res.
 
well clearly your question was not what computer should you buy its what 15" Mac book pro should you buy, for what you listed i am recommending the base 15" macbook, if you want the screen estate the base model will do you fine
 
TopHatPlus said:
well clearly your question was not what computer should you buy its what 15" Mac book pro should you buy, for what you listed i am recommending the base 15" macbook, if you want the screen estate the base model will do you fine
Click to expand...

I was just saying a base 15 inch seems like overkill for the stated uses depending on the games.
 
I dont know if i really care about screen real estate, I just want a fast computer and I thought I would benefit greatly from at least the i5 processor.

Right now i have a 4 year old 13inch macbook, and its pretty slow now, and freezes up more then normal. For what im using it for, do you think the 13 inch mackbook pro would be a good enough for me. And if i up the ram, will that make it even faster, or close to the i5. Sorry i dont know much about computer chips and such
 
davidjacobs21 said:
well i want a fast computer I have a 4 year old macbook that is crawling now. We use it for web browsing, emails, word, lots of photos, movies and some games. Does uping the ram or the better processor make it faster?

Is there a big difference in the high res screen over the standard one?
Click to expand...

REMEMBER DOING UPGRADES YOURSELF AND USING NON-APPLE HARDWARE WILL CUT COSTS IN HALF. THEY ARE ALSO USUALLY HIGHER GRADE.

For gaming, I would have a 500GB HDD with 7200RPM, 8GB RAM, and a i7 Processor. I would consider buying a 250GB+ SSD for fast load times.
 
davidjacobs21 said:
I dont know if i really care about screen real estate, I just want a fast computer and I thought I would benefit greatly from at least the i5 processor.

Right now i have a 4 year old 13inch macbook, and its pretty slow now, and freezes up more then normal. For what im using it for, do you think the 13 inch mackbook pro would be a good enough for me. And if i up the ram, will that make it even faster, or close to the i5. Sorry i dont know much about computer chips and such
Click to expand...


4gb ram is very fast for day to day use. You will notice a big difference if you go for the 2.66ghz 13 inch if you really want speed you could get a SSD. this will be ultra fast.
 
ccashman92 said:
REMEMBER DOING UPGRADES YOURSELF AND USING NON-APPLE HARDWARE WILL CUT COSTS IN HALF. THEY ARE ALSO USUALLY HIGHER GRADE.

For gaming, I would have a 500GB HDD with 7200RPM, 8GB RAM, and a i7 Processor. I would consider buying a 250GB+ SSD for fast load times.
Click to expand...

That seems like a lot to me... Im definately not a hard core gamer on the computer
 
kxfrog said:
4gb ram is very fast for day to day use. You will notice a big difference if you go for the 2.66ghz 13 inch if you really want speed you could get a SSD. this will be ultra fast.
Click to expand...

What exactly is a SSD and what does it do?
 
A SSD is a solid state drive, its basically a really fast hard drive, they are also really expensive unless you buy a really small one. I personally don't think they are worth the price tag, but others will disagree.

Also I don't feel the high res screen is really necessary on a 15" screen, 1440x900 is fine, if I want more screen real estate I would much rather just plug in a bigger monitor with higher res. Again, some people might not agree with me on this.
 
I wish I understood a bit more then i do about computers. Home theater electronics, I'm a wiz at but not this. Im starting to consider maybe 13 inch would be enough, maybe I'll go with the higher Ghz one. Im going to the apple store today to check them out and ask more questions
 
davidjacobs21 said:
I wish I understood a bit more then i do about computers. Home theater electronics, I'm a wiz at but not this. Im starting to consider maybe 13 inch would be enough, maybe I'll go with the higher Ghz one. Im going to the apple store today to check them out and ask more questions
Click to expand...

please dont even consider the high end 13". the .26ghz is *so* not worth $300. you will never ever notice the difference, they even cost the same when bought from intel and it's just profit for apple.
 
davidjacobs21 said:
I wish I understood a bit more then i do about computers. Home theater electronics, I'm a wiz at but not this. Im starting to consider maybe 13 inch would be enough, maybe I'll go with the higher Ghz one. Im going to the apple store today to check them out and ask more questions
Click to expand...

GOOD idea the 13" is a pretty wicked machine
 
so i went to both apple and best buy. i wanted to see if best buy would match the apple education discount since my wife is a teacher. they said they would match the 100 off the computer but i forgot to ask about the free ipod.

Anyway, i told both places what i would use the comp for and the apple guy said all you need is the base 13 inch, unless im doing video editing and design and stuff, i shouldnt need the power in the 15. the best buy guy tried to sell me hard on the 15, saying if im doing multiple programs, ill see a huge difference and much better graphics, even though i told him i dont play hardcore computer games. either way i couldnt get the discount since my wife wasnt there, so i just have to figure out if we want the bigger screen and if its worth it with the money. bestbuy has a good financing program going on now though
 
davidjacobs21 said:
So what would be more worth it for the money

1. base 15 inch model with i5 with maybe some upgrades on the hard drive and screen

or

2. high end 15 inch model with i7
Click to expand...

The Anti glare is a far greater upgrade than a minor speed improvement.

But if you really can't stand the Silver bezel and willing to sacrifice a superior screen, then the i7 is better.
 
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