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Beware: the Core i7 is probably not worth it this time

you should buy the best if you can. I brought the 2.53 model of the first unibody MB Pro's with the removable battery's.
Now I too was worried about heat and battery life but Bare Feats could not find any difference along with many others on this forum so I wish i got the top end model now.
I am not making the same mistake and will once I have the cash buy the i7 and an SSD.
The Core i5 and i7's are so different to Core Duo it is well worth the upgrade.

But I plan to keep the computer for a long time. If you are going to replace it in two years then get the i5.
 
Also this...

apolloa said:
No offense to the OP but I would say the total opposite to you. One because you should buy the best you can as it will ultimately last longer and two the anandtech review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3659/apples-15inch-core-i5-macbook-pro-the-one-to-get

The conclusion of which reads:

While I'm not sure about the 2.53GHz Core i5, the i7 is definitely worth it if you plan on keeping the machine for a while. I originally stated that I didn't believe the i7 to be worth the upgrade. Since then I managed to get my hands on an i7 system and noted its greater-than-expected performance; my conclusion has been updated to reflect that. The 22% increase in total system cost comes with a 11 - 15% increase in performance in most CPU intensive applications thanks to the extra clock speed and cache.
Click to expand...

Original post is in Windoes. To add this, I don't think this has been posted:
http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/04/15/core.i5.more.than.sufficient/
http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2010/04/macbookpro-benchmarks/

Also, don't know if it has been discussed here, but bigger memory on the video card will not give you more power later in the road if Mac OS start using it for more CPU calculations?
In Amazon the price difference comes down to 8%. I would like to assume that for 8% getting a CPU 8-15% plus more video memory, is not too bad of a deal. Now, if the i7 price is too high for some customers, then that is the end of the story, i5 is a good deal for all.

I still have the questions regarding how much battery difference is between the two i5 and i7, and how much (if any) hotter is the i7 vs. i5.

:)
 
Well I think it is a pretty good deal. This will be my first apple mac purchase, I am a long suffering PC desktop owner, same dell for past 7 years, and yes it does run on steam. After so long with a slower than average machine, and many virus issues I have finally decided to make the plunge after spending the last two years working with macs in college. It has taken me two years to save the money needed so I am going for the highest upgrade I can get, which would be either the 15" i7 glossy high-res or the 17" i7 glossy high-res. Not sure on the size yet, I will be using it mostly at home but will take it to the studio once or twice a week, so maybe the 15" not sure. Anyway i am waiting for the back to school promotion to get the iPod offer hopefully and printer rebate, this will help off set the two grand plus I will have to spend. Sorry if I went a bit off road there but I am pretty excited about my first purchase.
Cheers.
 
GoyoNeuff said:
I still have the questions regarding how much battery difference is between the two i5 and i7, and how much (if any) hotter is the i7 vs. i5.

:)
Click to expand...

I'm interested in these details too.

Also, in researching the difference between 5400 and 7200 RPM drives, I've come across posts from people who say that despite what you might think, there is very little difference in noise and heat in these drives. Can anyone back this up with actual comparisons?

Since I do audio work, I'm also wondering if there is *any* audible difference in sound between the 5400 and 7200 RPM hard drives.
 
costs the same

When I price the 15-inch: 2.66GHz i7 with high resolution screen option, it costs more than 17-inch: 2.53GHz i5 that already has a higher resolution, and both have same 512 MBvideo card.

15-inch: 2.66GHz i7 with 1,680x1,050 high resolution screen option. = $2,354.00 CAD


17-inch: 2.53GHz i5 with 1,920x1,200 high resolution screen. = $2,349.00 CAD

Realistically, 17" is a better buy, what do you think? which you would buy for web design work and photography? I don't think there is a huge difference in performance over the above machines but i7 maybe 5% faster. I might as well pay $50 to upgrade HDD to 7200 rpm.
 
GoyoNeuff said:
Also, don't know if it has been discussed here, but bigger memory on the video card will not give you more power later in the road if Mac OS start using it for more CPU calculations?
Click to expand...

I wonder the same. I don't know how how much OpenCL exploits the graphics card presently and how much VRAM it's able to use, but it plays a part in my i5 vs i7 decision.

I still have the questions regarding how much battery difference is between the two i5 and i7, and how much (if any) hotter is the i7 vs. i5.
Click to expand...

Likewise, heat is a concern for me. Battery life not so much, as whatever hit the i7 may or may not have, the MBP will still have phenomenal runtime.
 
RafMac said:
Realistically, 17" is a better buy, what do you think? which you would buy for web design work and photography? I don't think there is a huge difference in performance over the above machines but i7 maybe 5% faster. I might as well pay $50 to upgrade HDD to 7200 rpm.
Click to expand...

What kind of photography are you planning to do? I would think that if it is hard core photo stuff (tons, big raw to X.format, lots of processing artifacts, etc), the better, faster cpu should help you to get done things faster. I understand i7 speed is even faster than i5 when in Turbo mode, therefore the 15" w/i7 might be a better option in that case for you. On the other hand, bigger screen, better to analyze your pictures? I don't know how good you could calibrate your laptop monitor for color and luminance compared to an external monitor (It just does not make sense, spending sometimes hours post processing a photo on a computer, only to have it show up with different colors on somebody else's screen or printer).

Cheers !
 
DesmoPilot said:
That GPU is slow enough where the extra 256MB won't make any practical difference.
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Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 (both in beta) require 512MB of video RAM to set the graphics above medium. I can't see the 256MB making any difference for the current games that are out (except on a 30" external monitor) but games in the near future will be looking for 512MB to run at the best quality.
 
I got myself a 2.4 i5 machine the other day and my friend is getting an 2.66 i7 in a week or so. I was in a big dilemma at first, but later went firmly with 2.4 while my friend went with the 2.66 for the "playing games" argument. We both ordered 15" Hi-Res Antiglare (and I'm heading to Genius Bar soon for display replacement - yellow tinge :mad:) and after my buddy gets his machine, we'll compare the performance side by side in daily and heavy tasks.

Except for yellow tinge issue, which I was pretty much anticipating, I'm pretty happy with the performance so far. Everything runs nicely, I can play games with medium settings, OS runs smoothly and I can do music with virtual instruments without a stutter.
 
Plutonius said:
I would get the i7 just for the 512mb GPU .
Click to expand...

The exact same reason I got the i7 I wish Apple had offered the i5 with the 512MB GPU. I wonder how much battery life I can expect from my i7/500GB@7200rpm/8GBxRam/HighRes-AG macbook pro coming in a few days.
 
Dragonforce said:
Too bad that the ****** GPU isn't capable of driving games in highest quality, so the 256MB extra won't help much...
Click to expand...

People with 512MB in the starcraft 2 and diablo 3 beta are setting the graphics to max and suposively there is a big difference between medium and max (it looks really nice).

Based on your comments, I'm sure that there things that the GPU doesn't do but, based on other people posting, there is a big difference between medium and max on at least starcraft 2 and diablo 3. Future games should run using 256MB but, they will start requiring 512MB for best graphics.
 
Plutonius said:
People with 512MB in the starcraft 2 and diablo 3 beta are setting the graphics to max and suposively there is a big difference between medium and max (it looks really nice).

Based on your comments, I'm sure that there things that the GPU doesn't do but, based on other people posting, there is a big difference between medium and max on at least starcraft 2 and diablo 3. Future games should run using 256MB but, they will start requiring 512MB for best graphics.
Click to expand...

Soooo; where is this Diablo 3 beta you're talking about?
 
Loving my 17" i7. It's been performing beautifully and hasn't hiccuped at all. It can handle everything I throw at it.
 
I was all caught up in the i7 craze and was agonizing about which 15" config to get. I knew I wanted the higher definition display and good battery life. I read everywhere that the i7 uses more power, so I opted for the i5 15". Oops, the graphic card is only 256MB. I want 512MB. So that left me with the i7 15" or i5/i7 17". Well, both the i5 and i7 17" have 512MB...so my choice came down to do I want the i5 or i7 17", due to the 17" being the better buy. Plus, I am a resolution junkie and you cannot beat the true HD resolution of the 17".

In the end, it just made sense to go with the i5 17" from Amazon.com. $2,176.46 shipped. Cheaper than my corporate discount (which is cheaper than the .edu discount). This was the best alternative out there for better batter life, true HD, mega fast processor, and an expresscard slot.

My two cents, but I'm thrilled with my purchase. It'll be here tomorrow - can't wait.
 
15" i7 (hr ag) because the extra $ was no problem to shell out. (also /w edu discount).
 
Next Tuesday said:
I bought the 17" i5 the other day and I'm having buyers remorse. I really want the 17" i7. What's going to happen if I take it back to an apple store and try to exchange it for the i7? What about if I call apple and do it thru the mail. Will I have to pay a restock fee to upgrade to the i7?
Click to expand...

Hey, wondering what became of your situation. Did you ever swap it out for an i7? Why did you regret it anyway?
 
I've been deliberating between the i5 and the i7 for a couple of weeks now and this thread has been very helpful in helping me decide which model to ultimately buy. If you're a graphic designer like me I really believe the i5 (2.4 GHz) is the best bang for your buck for overall system performance and cost. I detailed some of my reasoning on my website for those in a similar position if anyone is interested, but the 15" i7 does look sweet, I just can't personally justify the cost, because for that I'd just go all out and get the 17" inch MBP i7, which does indeed have a better sound system than the 15" MBP.
 
Impressive research!

I have to say thank you! BUT it is too late for me that I got a Core i7 :/ but in anyhow I like 512MB VRAM for higher resolution monitors.
 
Ive owned both the i7 and the i5 2.4 in the 15 inch line. I took the i7 back. Not for $$ reasons but because I didnt notice "enough" real world speed jump to justify the 400 bucks. The i5 also runs at least 5 degrees cooler. Its in real world use just about as fast, cooler, and more affordable. But hey To each their own.
 
DJ-R said:
Impressive research!

I have to say thank you! BUT it is too late for me that I got a Core i7 :/ but in anyhow I like 512MB VRAM for higher resolution monitors.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Does the 512MB VRAM really make that much of a difference with higher resolution monitors you think? Even for the 1680x1050???
 
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