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Core i5 or i7 MBP? For any unsure, I put together this Benchmark/Comparison Video :)
- Thread starter MacHead04
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thanks for that.
I went with the i7 mainly for the faster encoding/compression abilities and a little less for the 512 mb GPU for Starcraft 2. I would have been happy to pay less for an i7/256 mb VRAM model.
a drawback I read about the i7 on anandtech today is that you take about a 10% battery life hit with it relative to the i5, but the CPU performance is more than a 10% increase so it makes it worth it for me.
Great review, thanks!
I think I'll stick to the i5 2.4GHz. No intense graphic stuff needed for work, no serious gaming. I think more RAM and an SSD in the future will serve me more than a few minutes off stuff I'll probably do a few times a day, week or never at all.
I think I'll stick to the i5 2.4GHz. No intense graphic stuff needed for work, no serious gaming. I think more RAM and an SSD in the future will serve me more than a few minutes off stuff I'll probably do a few times a day, week or never at all.
If I were to buy one now, I would take the core i7 cuz I need it for an all in one comp. I rarely use desktops nowadays.
Wow, you're frickin' awesome, thanks so much! That's quite a difference for some apps. Hmm.
By the way, do you still have both computers in your possession?
If so, could you consider running some battery tests? That's what I'm waiting out on.
PC people insist the i7 620M gets worse battery life over the 540 and 520Ms, but Intel says i7 and i5 SHOULD have the same battery draw at idle and load. Intel also claims the i7 may even get better better life to due to their new HUGI (Hurry Up and Get Idle) strategy... i.e., since the i7 chomps through processing faster, it can also go into battery sipping idle mode quicker, too (the only problem then being if it takes up a lot more juice @ idle). So it's a tad confusing to say the least!
And who knows how this all plays out with hyper efficient OS X?
Thus a good i5 vs. i7 battery test, perfect ones at idle and another at some sort of load or typical usage pattern, may be in order. If you're up to it, I think you'd do a killer job!
Ohyeah, and if your computers are in too much use to do a proper battery test, you can use something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q
What you do is fully charge both computers, so they aren't recharging (or simply pull the batteries)... then you see how watts they use during idle and at load. That's a good, quick test to see how efficient each machine is.
Heck, I'll even buy you the watt meter if you're up to it! Just shoot me along an address, I"ll prime it over for you for Tuesday.
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q
What you do is fully charge both computers, so they aren't recharging (or simply pull the batteries)... then you see how watts they use during idle and at load. That's a good, quick test to see how efficient each machine is.
Heck, I'll even buy you the watt meter if you're up to it! Just shoot me along an address, I"ll prime it over for you for Tuesday.
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Thanks!Glad you liked it! The i7 is mine and the i5 is my GF's so i'll have em
Well, super!
I tried to remove anything that would be unique to my browising session, but in the process, I guess I killed the actual link. Oops! Sorry about that.
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q
Hopefully that one works.
These little meters are quite cool. Actually, all testing equipment is quite cool. It's all coming down in price recently, which democratizes scientific testing a great deal.
If you ever get into such tools... I can say IR thermometers are quite a cheaper these days, too, and those give objective readings of how hot one computer is vs. another. I used one in the Apple store when I bought a machine one time. Heh. Didn't want to get a machine that would eventually burn my legs off. (of course, that doesn't seem to be a problem with the newer generations -- and you actually may WANT a warmer machine if you get one of those dead cold SSDs!)
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Intel is the way to go!
Hey bro,
thanks for the review! Definitely going to buy the 2.4 i5 and buy an intel SSD(think tere is more value in that)
BUT
one thing you forgot to mention is that the i7 comes with 4MB L3 cache whereas the i5 has only 3MB L2 cache
I'm happy with my "little" i5 17" MBP. It's such a little fella compared to it's goliath brother the i7. One day I hope my i5 will be a man one day.
Very good video, thanks.
I'm planning to order the i7 but would want to keep the 5400rpm drive as i'll be probably upgrading to ssd next year or so (when its price will be decent).
Can you tell if it's nonsense to get the i7 (+8GB RAM) together with the slowest drive ? (i know it's just +50$ for the 7200)
I'm planning to order the i7 but would want to keep the 5400rpm drive as i'll be probably upgrading to ssd next year or so (when its price will be decent).
Can you tell if it's nonsense to get the i7 (+8GB RAM) together with the slowest drive ? (i know it's just +50$ for the 7200)
MacHead,
Is there any more info you can give about the video (title, username) that might help me search for it and watch it on my iPhone YouTube app?
I'm blocked from accessing YouTube here at work but would like to watch the video now.
Thanks.