A couple questions - VRAM, i7, etc.

[Melodeath]

I've been waiting for six months for the refresh, so now that it's here, I plan to buy. However, I have a few questions before I can decide which MBP to buy.

I already decided that I wanted glossy as opposed to matte (I have a 20" matte LCD I can use in conjunction if I need to), but I read somewhere the matte on the new MBPs is actually an anti-glare film, as opposed to matte? Does anyone know anything about this?

Furthermore, I'm wondering about VRAM. I do occasionally play games (I've never owned a mac or gamed on a laptop - I had a gaming PC for 3 years) and use photoshop, but other than that, most of my computer work is audio related, not video. How much VRAM is enough? Can you play games with high setting on a 330M even with 512 MB VRAM? If not, then I don't see much point to the upgrade from 256 MB.

Do you think the i7 will use more battery life than the i5? I don't necessarily need an i7 over an i5 (though it will definitely help - I need power for large audio production projects), but if the faster CPU uses more power, I might need to factor that in.

Those are my questions for now. Thanks a lot for the help

 

[Melodeath]

No replies? Whether the Video RAM upgrade is worth it or not can help me decide whether. It's only a $150 difference to get twice as much VRAM and the i7 over the i5. But if the i7 causes more heat for little gain, and the VRAM is not worth it, then I'd rather save my $150.

Relatedly (this will help me decide whether I buy the 7200 RPM upgrade or whether I just buy a replacement drive), for an external drive with which you use Time Machine, can you also use that external for other files, or does it have to be 100% dedicated to Time Machine?

Thanks

 

[Melodeath]

Sorry to bump my own thread, but can anyone help me out here? I really need to order tonight or tomorrow.