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Buying Advice?

C

c1987macguy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2011
5
0
I bought the higher end Macbook Pro 13" model. I have one day left to exchange it for a different model at Best Buy. The next model "up" is the lower end 15" which has a quad core running at a slower clock speed. As per the advice of friends, I am considering "upgrading" to that 15" unit. I was under the impression that most apps still run on a single core, which would make that 15" unit a tad slower when multi-processing is not utilized. Multiple apps would be the advantage, as well as the slight bump in screen size. Am I correct?

I do my "real" work on a tower, so the Macbook is just for travel, & occasional location photography -otherwise I would have opted for the 17".

Also, I did attempt to exchange the unit yesterday, but the techs at Best Buy said I was missing the DVD's -which I don't recall seeing. Do the current Macbooks ship w/DVD's -or is that all done by download.

Thanks
 
I was having the same thoughts and I dont even have my MBP yet. I originally ordered a 13" MBP but canceled 1 day later and went with a loaded 15".
 
If your MBP shipped with LION preinstalled, then you should not have any DVDs included.

Do you value sheer power or greater portability? Some of us don't have a desire to buy up to the 15" because we do the brunt of our work from desktops, so we value the 13" for its size/weight. Obviously others can't stand working even a few minutes on a 13" screen; no matter the resolution.

If you are not doing heavy gaming or using pro apps like After Effects or Maya, there isn't a need to step up to the 15" if your initial choice was a 13".
 
Thanks ZZ. I agree with you about the portability. I do use pro apps (photoshop, and some 3D apps) but that's not what this unit is for. My regular workstation has a 30" Cinema.

This unit does have OS10.7 -which I believe is Lion -so thanks for the info re: the DVD's.

I might still do the "upgrade", as this is my last opportunity to do so. And If I need to run PShop, the slight extra real estate might be useful.

Anyone care to comment on the processor comparison?
Dual Core 2.7Ghz i7 vs. Quad Core 2.0Ghz i7

ZZ Bottom said:
If your MBP shipped with LION preinstalled, then you should not have any DVDs included.

Do you value sheer power or greater portability? Some of us don't have a desire to buy up to the 15" because we do the brunt of our work from desktops, so we value the 13" for its size/weight. Obviously others can't stand working even a few minutes on a 13" screen; no matter the resolution.

If you are not doing heavy gaming or using pro apps like After Effects or Maya, there isn't a need to step up to the 15" if your initial choice was a 13".
Click to expand...
 
yeah I'm still trying to decide between the two mbps myself.

I prefer the size of the 13" however my biggest complaint about it is apple chose to leave out the line in audio port which I something i use quite often on my current macbook :/

Also somewhat leary of the dual core processor in the 13" as I intend to keep a new mbp a few years(3-5). Knowing Apple I can see a quads becoming a requirement for future versions of OSX just as 64-bit did when they announced lion.
 
Personally, I must also wonder when we will finally see updates?

February 2011 to the present is quite a while?
 
What do you think about upgrading to the Air? Better resolution, better portability, still good enough at what you're going to use it for. Minimal cost for a better version of what you have without having to go bigger and spend a lot more for the 15
 
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