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15' mbp i5 or i7?

babyt

babyt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 28, 2009
154
0
texas
Hello!
alright so ive been wanting a mbp for a while now, and this summer im picking up a second job to finally be able to get one. Well my question is
"Should i go with the i5 or the i7 [15inch] macbookpro?"
im not going 17 inch because thats just to big to lug around IMO asnd i have a 15 vaio thats just about perfect and ways about the same as the current gen mbp.

a little info
im going into graphic design/photography next semester in college , but i dont really know much about which mbp would be better? if i get the cheaper i5 base macbook pro i can get an external screen and other goodies, but was wondering if the processor on the i7 would totally kill next to the i5? as i said im not entirely sure what will be entailed, but know that i will have to be using things such as photoshop, cs5, aperture. etc. and was just wanting some opinions from people who actually know [raised this question at Best buy and the apple guy there told me the white macbook would suit me fine. i may not know alot, but i dont think that would be correct?]
also i plan on this being my work horse for the next 2-3 years, if that matters any?

sorry if that sounds confuisng and thanks in advance for the answers.
-babyt
 
i5. You really won't notice any difference between the i5 and the i7 in real world performance. Get a SSD for the saved $400 or an external display...
 
working in graphic design using multiple apps like photoshop, cs5, aperture and you're recommending the i5 ? don't listen to this guy, i7 without a doubt
 
rawd said:
working in graphic design using multiple apps like photoshop, cs5, aperture and you're recommending the i5 ? don't listen to this guy, i7 without a doubt
Click to expand...

Have you seen the performance difference between the i5 and i7? Cause it's not as much as you'd expect..
 
Dozerrox said:
Got any examples?
Click to expand...

www.barefeats.com for example.

2. The MBP Core i7 beats the MBP Core i5 by 7% to 9%.
Click to expand...

You gonna save a few seconds during heavy load...
And the 512 MB GPU memory won't help much either...

At least when it comes to 3D accelerated games, unless you are connecting your MacBook Pro to an external 30" Cinema display running at 2560x1600, the model with 256MB of video memory will run GPU intensives apps just as fast as the model with 512MB of video memory.

Other graphics intensive apps we tried included Motion 4, OpenGL Extensions Viewer, and SmallLuxGPU OpenCL Benchmark. None of them indicated an advantage for the 512MB VRAM over the 256MB VRAM.
Click to expand...

IMHO there's absolutely no solid reason to go with the i7 unless you want to have the feeling "I got the latest and greatest MBP until the next refresh"
 
All the cpu reviews I've read suggest that the difference in processing power is not large, so I'd get the i5 and the external display. If you are planning on running all of those apps at once I'd guess you'd benefit more from extra RAM than the i7, but it's cheaper to upgrade the RAM yourself than buy it from Apple, so I'd not do this up front but wait and see if it's needed.
 
Hadron said:
All the cpu reviews I've read suggest that the difference in processing power is not large, so I'd get the i5 and the external display. If you are planning on running all of those apps at once I'd guess you'd benefit more from extra RAM than the i7, but it's cheaper to upgrade the RAM yourself than buy it from Apple, so I'd not do this up front but wait and see if it's needed.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Apple in the UK charge you £320 for 8GB ram upgrade, Crucial charge you £386.56. Apple's prices for it's memory just like it's SSD drives are VERY competitive now. There is no point buying memory from anyone else.
And from all the reviews I've read, they all say the i7 gives you an increase in performance that's not bad for the extra cost you pay.
So I say get the i7 every time, get the best you can.
 
rawd said:
working in graphic design using multiple apps like photoshop, cs5, aperture and you're recommending the i5 ? don't listen to this guy, i7 without a doubt
Click to expand...
He's a student. I seriously doubt that it would make enough of a difference for him to justify the cost.
 
The BestBuy guy is basically right.
As long as you don't do any crazy 3D stuff with Photoshop or plan to render out movies a lot, a MacBook would be enough. More memory and a SSD will probably boost your performance more then a i5/i7 over a fast C2D.

Still, I can understand that it feels much better to have an i5/i7 in your machine than those old C2D. :D
 
FieryFurnace said:
The BestBuy guy is basically right.
As long as you don't do any crazy 3D stuff with Photoshop or plan to render out movies a lot, a MacBook would be enough. More memory and a SSD will probably boost your performance more then a i5/i7 over a fast C2D.

Still, I can understand that it feels much better to have an i5/i7 in your machine than those old C2D. :D
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but performance of the i5 compared to a C2D is far better, I just upgraded form a MacBook 2,2 C2D to 15" i5 base MBP and the difference is huge.

Now, between the i5 and the i7 the difference is barely noticeable, so is better to use that money on a external display, memory or SSD
 
djasterix said:
I'm sorry but performance of the i5 compared to a C2D is far better, I just upgraded form a MacBook 2,2 C2D to 15" i5 base MBP and the difference is huge.

Now, between the i5 and the i7 the difference is barely noticeable, so is better to use that money on a external display, memory or SSD
Click to expand...

I didn't say that the i5/i7 won't perform better. What I said was, that for Photoshop and most CS stuff, you won't feel the difference that much.
 
Just my experience so far. I just purchased a 15" i7 and it is blazing fast. I wasn't sure on whether I should crack for the i7 but so far it has been worth every penny. I did it to help future proof myself as much as possible and I wanted the 512MB of VRAM. Great laptop.
 
thanks for all the replies. :)
first off im a 'She' no he parts here.:p

ok so pretty much i should go with the i5 because the difference in the processor speed wont be that big??
i mean its only a 300$ difference, but i dont want to get something that isnt nessacary...
however theoritically wouldnt getting a bigger better processor be better in the long run..?
im just so confused :confused:
 
apolloa said:
Wrong. Apple in the UK charge you £320 for 8GB ram upgrade, Crucial charge you £386.56. Apple's prices for it's memory just like it's SSD drives are VERY competitive now. There is no point buying memory from anyone else.
And from all the reviews I've read, they all say the i7 gives you an increase in performance that's not bad for the extra cost you pay.
So I say get the i7 every time, get the best you can.
Click to expand...

It's not wrong... You buy memory from Apple -> you get at most 3 year warranty. You buy it from basicly anywhere else -> you get a lifetime warranty and probably also better quality memories. The same applies for the SSDs. Apple uses maybe the most cheapest SSDs, which may seem fast for starters but do have those "getting slower"-issues. So, it is worth buying your memory and SSD from somewhere else. If you are capable of changing them yourself. :p
 
babyt said:
thanks for all the replies. :)
first off im a 'She' no he parts here.:p

ok so pretty much i should go with the i5 because the difference in the processor speed wont be that big??
i mean its only a 300$ difference, but i dont want to get something that isnt nessacary...
however theoritically wouldnt getting a bigger better processor be better in the long run..?
im just so confused :confused:
Click to expand...
The difference is noticeable when doing intensive work, but the i5 is such a powerful chip to begin with that I don't personally think that the $300 is worth it for someone who is having to work a second job just to afford it. I also don't think you will be doing much that really will bring out the difference between the two chips as a student and think you should save your money. I do suggest waiting another month or so though, as around the end of May/beginning of June Apple typically launches their Back-to-School promotion in the USA, which has allowed you to get a rebate for the purchase price of an iPod touch in the past.

Pikkuroope said:
It's not wrong... You buy memory from Apple -> you get at most 3 year warranty. You buy it from basicly anywhere else -> you get a lifetime warranty and probably also better quality memories. The same applies for the SSDs. Apple uses maybe the most cheapest SSDs, which may seem fast for starters but do have those "getting slower"-issues. So, it is worth buying your memory and SSD from somewhere else. If you are capable of changing them yourself. :p
Click to expand...
From my experience, memory is one of the least-likely components to fail in a computer. It's either DOA or it's good. I suggest buying whatever is cheapest from a reputable manufacturer. If Apple happens to have the cheapest offering, I strongly suggest buying from them.
 
Bill Gates said:
From my experience, memory is one of the least-likely components to fail in a computer. It's either DOA or it's good. I suggest buying whatever is cheapest from a reputable manufacturer. If Apple happens to have the cheapest offering, I strongly suggest buying from them.
Click to expand...
Well, then I might inform you that memory surprisingly often really is the reason for a problem that has something to do with hardware. In that case it is good to have a lifetime warranty, and also you can sell them again with warranty. Have you had a look at Apple SSDs' speed numbers? Writing n reading speeds, they're not too fast. If you really want the benefit from an SSD, you should buy an OCZ Vertex. Too bad OS X doesn't support trim, but vertex has garbage collection also.
 
So, with regards to the specific usage that Babyt, (of the fairer gender ;)) and no doubt many more, myself included that will use their mbp's for design/photographic work, would most recommend the i5 2.4 to be fast enough? I'm not asking from a casual perspective, but a semi pro level. ie, it needs to be time efficient.

For me, i use and older mbp, still 2.4, core2duo, with 4 gb ram, but it runs out of memory using Aperture and lightroom, and just gets bogged down. I am trying to figure out also which machine will allow 'fluent' use of Ap/Lr3 etc, i also sometimes have DxO or Nx2 running too, and the usual browsers,mail, finder etc.. Raw files are normally 27 meg each, though there is the possibility that over the next two years this may double if i were to add a Camera body such as a D3x.

I do have the 24" Apple display which is great, so would have the same choices as Babyt but would also include the 13" 2.whatever with ssd.

Thoughts welcome!
 
saniko said:
Watch out! You're going to get slapped around by the i7 fanboys! :D
Click to expand...

this is true. i would rather have longer battery life than a faster chip, for my needs. if i want to do heavy stuff i will use my imac
 
djasterix said:
I'm sorry but performance of the i5 compared to a C2D is far better, I just upgraded form a MacBook 2,2 C2D to 15" i5 base MBP and the difference is huge.

Now, between the i5 and the i7 the difference is barely noticeable, so is better to use that money on a external display, memory or SSD
Click to expand...

Or you have a larger, faster, emptier (thus faster) and less fragmented hard drive; and less junk processes slowing stuff down.

Even Macs slow down as you put more and more crap on them. New computers run faster.
 
wisty said:
Or you have a larger, faster, emptier (thus faster) and less fragmented hard drive; and less junk processes slowing stuff down.

Even Macs slow down as you put more and more crap on them. New computers run faster.
Click to expand...

Also, he would have said the same after buying the i5 :D
 
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