Any point in faster processors? And other macbook questions

Hello all,

I will be buying a mac laptop to work alongside my mac pro in the next couple of days, and have been wondering about all the specs etc as you may imagine. However I am more interested in discussing along more general lines the real world usefullness of slightly faster processors.

In particular, I have been wondering what is really the point in slight processor bumps between models, for example, is the difference between a 2.13 and 2.53 really going to be that noticeable for most users? I wonder because with a mac pro for all intensive stuff, my laptop usage is pretty basic...

pages
firefox (5-10 tabs)
macspeech dictate
mail
itunes

I would have all these apps open at once, and may even give photoshop a whirl from time to time if I had to while on the go, however I wouldn't be too bothered waiting a couple extra seconds between adding filters etc, I have a computer that blows all else out the water when time is key.

I am probably coming across as a little convoluted, and so I shall try to be concise!

My point is that when you look at the benchmarks between models that are essentially the same bar processor speeds (that themselves differ only by .13/.27/.13/.14/.26 Ghz as you go up the notebook line), it is clear that unless your work is critical, the differences are particularly uninteresting.

It is obvious that for professionals where time is money, greater specs can = greater profits, however this just isn't the case for the average Joe. I was in the Bluewater apple store the other day and watched a sales clerk oversell to a soon to be uni student (who only wanted to surf, play tunes and write papers), he sold her a 15" macbook pro through telling her that the processor would make everything so much quicker, and was as such essential.

I believe in the case of the apple notebook range that, with special requirements aside, people should look to purchase the lowest specs and upgrade more sooner, rather than bump up to higher processors at inflated prices.

For me, I am almost convinced that the white macbook would suit me best, my dilemma atm is whether to go with 2 or 4 gigs of ram, but this is not what I am getting at.

What I am pondering over is the fact that 2 1/2 years ago my sister bought a macbook 2 Ghz which has worked great for everything so far, and shows no sign of slowing. The macbook I will be getting will be either 2.13, 2.26 or 2.53 Ghz, and im not sure in day to dauy tasks i'd even notice a difference from my sisters 2 year old mac.

Thoughts?