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2.4GHZ - not so popular?

R

RealEvil

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 5, 2007
334
32
Hi,

Id like to get a new MBP to replace my 2.4 SR MBP which is only 15 months old. I think I am probably crazy for even considering it, but my house doesnt quite look like an Apple store... yet ;-)

So, most people seem to order the 2.53. I cannot find too many benchmarks which include the 2.4 but it seems like a good option to me for the following reasons:

1. Much cheaper. If you spec the 2.4 at the UK store, add on the extra 2GB RAM (4GB in total) and upgrade to the 320GB HD it still works out around £150 less (10% approx). Im not interested in playing games so the video card memory difference doesnt bother me.
2. Apparently it draws less power - so battery life might be better?
3. 2.53 is a small percentage larger than 2.4 (my maths is too bad to figure it out exactly). I think it sadly has less L2 cache though.

the only concern I have is that the 2.4 might not be much/any faster than my current Santa Rosa (SR) setup which curiously enough has 4GB Ram and a 320GB disk I put in.

So, to everyone who bought a 2.53. Why not a 2.4?

Neil
 
I bought the 2.8 so I'm not exactly who you are asking, but for me I would have picked the 2.53 over the 2.4 mostly because of the larger L2 cache. The additional memory and video memory (even if you don't play games, there is a posibility it might matter with snow leopard) were worth the higher cost, to me anyhow.

Also, if you go higher spec now, maybe you won't be tempted as quickly to update. ;)

My final thought is that unless you have money to burn, stay with what you have and wait till something comes out that you "must have". Find the threads with complainers to convince yourself that you are making the wise choice, lol...

(of course, I love my new MBP)
 
I personally bought the 2.4 as well, but reasons for buying a 2.53 would include: being (slightly) more future proof, bigger HDD, more RAM/VRAM. Granted, the RAM and HDD can be upgraded quite easily yourself though, sometimes it's just less painful to have someone else do it for you :p
 
If you have plenty of money to blow then go with the 2.53Ghz model if you really want it. Otherwise the 2.4Ghz is more than enough for most and your not going to notice any difference between the two in speed once you upgrade your RAM. The only difference at all period would be if you are able to make use of the extra graphics memory. But I've yet to see many people actually show they're benefiting. Just lots of people that always buy the 512MB MBP on the assumption that something might benefit.

Personally I think it's only a smart upgrade when you know for sure you will actually notice a difference in speed. The rest of the time you're just giving away free development money to the manufacturer. And with the way our economy is going and depending on who gets elected here at the coming up election you might need that extra $500 to feed yourself in the coming months haha.
 
burningrave101 said:
If you have plenty of money to blow then go with the 2.53Ghz model if you really want it. Otherwise the 2.4Ghz is more than enough for most and your not going to notice any difference between the two in speed once you upgrade your RAM. The only difference at all period would be if you are able to make use of the extra graphics memory. But I've yet to see many people actually show they're benefiting. Just lots of people that always buy the 512MB MBP on the assumption that something might benefit.

Personally I think it's only a smart upgrade when you know for sure you will actually notice a difference in speed. The rest of the time you're just giving away free development money to the manufacturer. And with the way our economy is going and depending on who gets elected here at the coming up election you might need that extra $500 to feed yourself in the coming months haha.
Click to expand...

That L2 cache difference is killer. I'm seeing visible improvements in LightRoom2 over my 3MB L2 cache 2.4Ghz previous-gen MBP.
 
Not to be judgmental, but why are you even considering this purchase? Given your interests, the only foreseeable advantage of the new MBP is the design. Is the design of a computer really worth $2,000+ CAD?

Perhaps you should wait a month or two and see if your desire/want subsides...
 
I've ordered the base 2.4 and got 4GB of Crucial memory and a Samsung 500GB ready to put into it - and even with those upgrades it works out £100 cheaper, more after I've sold on the old components via ebay. So let's say a saving of £150 for a system with 4GB and a 500GB HDD, versus 0.13ghz 3MB cache, a 320GB HDD and 256MB VRAM. No contest for me!
 
I believe they draw he same amount of power. I got it because the student discount was double. Works out to about 100$ more or so just for the processor difference. Worth it to walk out of the store with it rather than have to buy online.
 
WilliamG said:
That L2 cache difference is killer. I'm seeing visible improvements in LightRoom2 over my 3MB L2 cache 2.4Ghz previous-gen MBP.
Click to expand...

Could be any number of things though that you're seeing a difference. The new MBP has a 1066Mhz FSB and DDR3 memory compared to the 800Mhz FSB and DDR2 memory on the previous gen MBP. Also a different nVidia chipset vs Intel chipset. Also different graphics performance even if you're only using 2D. They're also using newer P series processors. The hard drives are different too. You're also on a new clean install. The extra 3MB L2 cache could be making little to no difference in LightRoom2 unless you happen to know for a fact that Adobe LightRoom2 is cache limited.
 
I think alot of people are buying the 2.4 macbook because apple made it so similar to the 2.4 MBP. alot of people are settling for the smaller screen and taking pretty much the same specs for $400 less
 
Piarco said:
I've ordered the base 2.4 and got 4GB of Crucial memory and a Samsung 500GB ready to put into it - and even with those upgrades it works out £100 cheaper, more after I've sold on the old components via ebay. So let's say a saving of £150 for a system with 4GB and a 500GB HDD, versus 0.13ghz 3MB cache, a 320GB HDD and 256MB VRAM. No contest for me!
Click to expand...

hey Piarco!!.. meet again for another product launch :)

which HDD did you get Samsung.. which one? is it a 5400 or 7200rpm?

did your crucial ram cost £95 then (from crucial.com/uk?)..
 
dalvin200 said:
hey Piarco!!.. meet again for another product launch :)

which HDD did you get Samsung.. which one? is it a 5400 or 7200rpm?

did your crucial ram cost £95 then (from crucial.com/uk?)..
Click to expand...

Heh, some things just don't change hey dalvin! :D

I opted for the Samsung - mainly because my last experience in the PC world was with Sammy drives, and they proved to be a little (but not a lot) quieter than the WD's. But it's a great choice to have as they're the best HDD producers in my opinion. It's the 5400rpm version, not sure there is a 7200rpm one yet?

And yep, crucial was £95, but I've since been told Dabs sell them slightly cheaper...
 
I totally agree, every apple store seems to have the 2.4 in, but the 2.53 fly out the door. I am noticing the difference in the L2 cache
 
nope7308 said:
Not to be judgmental, but why are you even considering this purchase? Given your interests, the only foreseeable advantage of the new MBP is the design. Is the design of a computer really worth $2,000+ CAD?

Perhaps you should wait a month or two and see if your desire/want subsides...
Click to expand...

I hear you, but I have been checking MacRumors every day for about 3 months to buy an Air. After I went to a Apple Store and tried the new MBP and thought hard about what i need out of a laptop I have decided that MBP is the way to go. 95% of the time the Air would be perfect but that other 5% will annoy the hell out of me.

I guess to sum up... I dont need a new laptop... but I want one :-(

Plus in the UK I get £95 off of a iPod Nano which I would then sell on Ebay basically recovering that £95 (I get the student discount). This offer runs out October 31st. Apple wont be changing the MBP until at least January and probably next spring so now is a good time to buy.
 
I have ordered a 2.4 as its enough for me. It will play a few games on those rare occasions I cant get to the Mac Pro, otherwise its my perfect laptop :)
 
Speaking of the 2.4, I just ordered the stock model and was wondering how long it took other users to receive theirs (stock configuration)?
 
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