Considering base MacBopk Pro purchase, have questions?

[seniorgeek]

I am considering buying the base MacBook Pro and was wondering what kind of performance I can expect compared to my home build PC with these specs.

I am not unsatisfied with my PC, just looking to buy an upgrade computer and gain the mobility as well as experiencing OSX. I am not a gamer and the only graphic intensive tasks I currently do is with Lightroom 3 editing my photos. Can I expect the same, worse or better performance with the base MacBook Pro considering the lack of discreet graphics?

Thanks for your help.

MacBook Pro
13-inch: 2.3 GHz
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000

vs.

My PC
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53 GHZ
4 GB Ram
Nvidia GeForce 8500GT

 

[ZStation]

My Mid09 MacBook Pro is faster than your PC. The current MacBook Pro is a LEAST twice the speed of mine. Maybe more.

My Mid09 has a P8700 2.53GHz Core2 Duo, 4GB 1066MHz RAM, and 9400M graphics. They all beat your PC by a fair margin.

 

[Mrguidogenio]

My PC
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53 GHZ
4 GB Ram
Nvidia GeForce 8500GT

LOL Intel Core 2 Duo on PC
LOL Windows Vista

You really don't realise which one is better?

 

[seniorgeek]

LOL Intel Core 2 Duo on PC
LOL Windows Vista

You really don't realise which one is better?

Your sarcasm not needed or appreciated, I would like intelligent comparisons in performance if you are capable of that, I have never had a negative issue with Vista but that is not the topic of my post.

 

[blackbinary]

The i5 on the MBP will blow your old laptop out of the water, giving you a very significant speed increase.

The ram in the MBP is no doubt faster than your laptop ram. You didn't list it, but its probably around DDR2 @667Mhz, give the other parts. The MBP is at 1333Mhz DDR3.

Your also going from 32bit windows to 64bit OSX, so you'll be able to access more of the ram as well, and there is a bit of a speed boost going from 32 to 64 given you have enough ram.

The downside would be the integrated intel graphics are probably worse than the 8500gt.

To know for sure, try looking for a benchmark of the 8500gt and the hd3000.
Still, that will matter more for games, and those that rely heavily on the graphics card and not the cpu. Games that rely on the cpu may actually see an increase in speed, even if the hd3000 is weaker.

 

[seniorgeek]

The i5 on the MBP will blow your old laptop out of the water, giving you a very significant speed increase.

The ram in the MBP is no doubt faster than your laptop ram. You didn't list it, but its probably around DDR2 @667Mhz, give the other parts. The MBP is at 1333Mhz DDR3.

Your also going from 32bit windows to 64bit OSX, so you'll be able to access more of the ram as well, and there is a bit of a speed boost going from 32 to 64 given you have enough ram.

The downside would be the integrated intel graphics are probably worse than the 8500gt.

To know for sure, try looking for a benchmark of the 8500gt and the hd3000.
Still, that will matter more for games, and those that rely heavily on the graphics card and not the cpu. Games that rely on the cpu may actually see an increase in speed, even if the hd3000 is weaker.

Thank you for a very thought out intelligent reply to my question, FYI, the PC is a desktop that I built. Maybe the CPU and Ram in the MacBook Pro would overshadow any loss of performance on the graphics side, if there is any, I will research it as you suggested.

 

[Young Spade]

Thank you for a very thought out intelligent reply to my question, FYI, the PC is a desktop that I built. Maybe the CPU and Ram in the MacBook Pro would overshadow any loss of performance on the graphics side, if there is any, I will research it as you suggested.

I would try and sell the PC you have and get the newest MBP. As others have stated, the new pro is going to give you better performance across the board; you should definitely look at benchmarks and THEN look at how that relates to real world use.

I'm planning on getting the new Pro or Air and although they don't have great graphics cards, you can play pretty much any game at lower settings, which is fine by me as gaming comes as an add on for entertainment.

What are you going to be using the computer for?

 

[seniorgeek]

I would try and sell the PC you have and get the newest MBP. As others have stated, the new pro is going to give you better performance across the board; you should definitely look at benchmarks and THEN look at how that relates to real world use.

I'm planning on getting the new Pro or Air and although they don't have great graphics cards, you can play pretty much any game at lower settings, which is fine by me as gaming comes as an add on for entertainment.

What are you going to be using the computer for?

I do not wish to sell my present computer and that has nothing to do with my post question, I use it to do website design work utilizing Blogengine.net and several open source Microsoft applications that I do not wish to install on the Mac. As I stated in my post I will be using the Mac for editing my photos with Adobe Lightroom, I may use it with my present display also. I also am in the market for a notebook for travel and wished to experience OSX as I stated in my original post. I was simply trying to find a comparison of the basic MacBook performance against my present PC. I was concerned about the graphics. I have no desire to play any games.

I haven't been able to find benchmark comparisons of my existing graphics card agains the integrated graphics in the Macbook.

Thanks for your comments though.

 

[MJNBGA]

I do not wish to sell my present computer and that has nothing to do with my post question, I use it to do website design work utilizing Blogengine.net and several open source Microsoft applications that I do not wish to install on the Mac. As I stated in my post I will be using the Mac for editing my photos with Adobe Lightroom, I may use it with my present display also. I also am in the market for a notebook for travel and wished to experience OSX as I stated in my original post. I was simply trying to find a comparison of the basic MacBook performance against my present PC. I was concerned about the graphics. I have no desire to play any games.

I haven't been able to find benchmark comparisons of my existing graphics card agains the integrated graphics in the Macbook.

Thanks for your comments though.

The MacBook Pro will serve you fine. I have the base 13" and I use it to edit videos and photos, watch YouTube videos, and play light games. I have not noticed anything wrong with the integrated graphics so far! I would suggest buying a new MacBook Pro, but it would also be worth looking at the new MacBook Airs that are expected to come out any moment now. I cannot give you a comparison because I have never used a PC with the specs that you posted, but from my experience, the MacBook Pro will be fine.
But whichever MacBook you get I know that you'll be happy because you'll be running OS X! That's just a small preview of the fanboy that's inside of me.

Good luck!

Mordy

 

[randomrazr]

The MacBook Pro will serve you fine. I have the base 13" and I use it to edit videos and photos, watch YouTube videos, and play light games. I have not noticed anything wrong with the integrated graphics so far! I would suggest buying a new MacBook Pro, but it would also be worth looking at the new MacBook Airs that are expected to come out any moment now. I cannot give you a comparison because I have never used a PC with the specs that you posted, but from my experience, the MacBook Pro will be fine.
But whichever MacBook you get I know that you'll be happy because you'll be running OS X! That's just a small preview of the fanboy that's inside of me.

Good luck!

Mordy

wouldnt the 15inch be better?

 

[maclaptop]

I am considering buying the base MacBook Pro and was wondering what kind of performance I can expect compared to my home build PC with these specs.

I am not unsatisfied with my PC, just looking to buy an upgrade computer and gain the mobility as well as experiencing OSX. I am not a gamer and the only graphic intensive tasks I currently do is with Lightroom 3 editing my photos. Can I expect the same, worse or better performance with the base MacBook Pro considering the lack of discreet graphics?

Thanks for your help.

MacBook Pro
13-inch: 2.3 GHz
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000

vs.

My PC
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53 GHZ
4 GB Ram
Nvidia GeForce 8500GT

I use both PC's and Macs.

95% are laptops, which I upgrade at each refresh. Therefore I have experience with the processors and other components you've listed here on both platforms.

The Mac will be about 20% faster than the PC you've listed here. That's in real world performance, doing a wide variety of tasks. Especially those you have listed.

The true performance increase is never as great as the specs, or reviews often suggest. It's important to remember the people in the business of writing and reviewing new computers are always going to make some fairly bold statements upon first review.

The key is when you have an opportunity to read about these very same computers a year or so later after the newer models come out. That's when you learn the real truth about performance and what the reviewers think about the older models in question.

After over 15 years of getting a new Mac and PC each year, and buying what is typically their top of the line fully loaded models, with lots of ram and fast drives or SSD's, one gets a good bit of experience that reveals, they are never quite as fantastic as we all like to think.

The Mac you've chosen is an excellent model.

 

[blackbinary]

Odd you say that the reviews overstate the performance gains, maclaptop.
Since you know, they provide reproduceable benchmarks, and you've provided nothing.

 

[aleni]

i was in your position yesterday, but i decided to go with the 13" core i7. it's worth the money by going to core i7. but it all depend on your use though.

 

[Young Spade]

I do not wish to sell my present computer and that has nothing to do with my post question, I use it to do website design work utilizing Blogengine.net and several open source Microsoft applications that I do not wish to install on the Mac. As I stated in my post I will be using the Mac for editing my photos with Adobe Lightroom, I may use it with my present display also. I also am in the market for a notebook for travel and wished to experience OSX as I stated in my original post. I was simply trying to find a comparison of the basic MacBook performance against my present PC. I was concerned about the graphics. I have no desire to play any games.

I haven't been able to find benchmark comparisons of my existing graphics card agains the integrated graphics in the Macbook.

Thanks for your comments though.

Jeeez, my bad for trying to help you out; I assumed you wouldn't need it anymore since you can run Windows 7 with a Mac.

Good luck with that.