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2.4 i5 vs 2.6 i5? Excel processing.

A

AndersOlson

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
64
7
As many other posters are saying, I'm aware that there are a million posts like this but I have a specific use for the computer. I do data processing for an IT firm and it's all on excel. I use the vlookup formula mainly but with with 15,000 rows of data. I have an imac right now that I do a majority of it on but occasionally I need to work outside of the office. I have been using a 2013 MacBook Air 1.3 i5 and it's not working the best. It will take 60-90 seconds for some of the bigger functions and it's killing my productivity. I've decided to upgrade to a MBPr and am trying to decide between models. Currently I have a BTO 2.6 i5 8gb 256gb on order but I'm wondering if I should have saved the $100 and gotten the 2.4 i5 with same specs. Or ultimately would the 15" i7 do better for what I'm using it for. Obviously office 2011 is only 32-bit and I prefer to not bootcamp so I'm staying in Mac OS.

Any input on what processor will suit my needs? Thanks1
 
AndersOlson said:
As many other posters are saying, I'm aware that there are a million posts like this but I have a specific use for the computer. I do data processing for an IT firm and it's all on excel. I use the vlookup formula mainly but with with 15,000 rows of data. I have an imac right now that I do a majority of it on but occasionally I need to work outside of the office. I have been using a 2013 MacBook Air 1.3 i5 and it's not working the best. It will take 60-90 seconds for some of the bigger functions and it's killing my productivity. I've decided to upgrade to a MBPr and am trying to decide between models. Currently I have a BTO 2.6 i5 8gb 256gb on order but I'm wondering if I should have saved the $100 and gotten the 2.4 i5 with same specs. Or ultimately would the 15" i7 do better for what I'm using it for. Obviously office 2011 is only 32-bit and I prefer to not bootcamp so I'm staying in Mac OS.

Any input on what processor will suit my needs? Thanks1
Click to expand...

It's most likely Microsoft's poor implementation of Excel on OS X that's killing your productivity. I don't know if Office for Mac has the ability to use multiple cores so going from the 13" to 15" might not make a difference.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.
 
Do you have that file? Upload in to your email and go try in Apple Store... see how long does each machine take to process.
 
Sounds like you're running up against the performance of Intel's ULV chipset and perhaps a MBP may be a better fit.

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NickPhamUK said:
Do you have that file? Upload in to your email and go try in Apple Store... see how long does each machine take to process.
Click to expand...

He'd be better off putting the file on a thumb drive or a public dropbox folder, so he doesn't have to sign into his private email on a public computer.
 
Maybe not much

Here take a look at the comparison

http://ark.intel.com/compare/75990,75991

Only the clock speed differs, everything else is the same (L1,L2,Bus speed etc). Best case, if you are running only excel on the machine (very unlikely given other programs), you are looking at 5-8% increase in speed. That is the best case. In reality, looks like you need much better performance. So, I wouldn't count on the speed to bail you out.
 
doubleaa said:
It's most likely Microsoft's poor implementation of Excel on OS X that's killing your productivity. I don't know if Office for Mac has the ability to use multiple cores so going from the 13" to 15" might not make a difference.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.
Click to expand...

I had the same issue when I bought my 2011 iMac - I was hoping that it being a quad-core that it would work for my needs (same - vlookup, 20K lines, several worksheets, etc). Took forever to process. I did some research then and was informed that MS Office does not multithread on OSX.....thanks Microsoft...
 
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