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Core2Duo vs i5

R

RedJeans

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 27, 2010
93
0
I really want the 13" Macbook Pro because I think the 15" may be too big (I'll be using it for university next year; I'll be living on campus).

Problem is, the 13" Macbook Pro's don't have the new CPUs. Do you think this is a big problem?

Should I just get the 15" one because it comes equipped with the i5 CPUs?
 
RedJeans said:
I really want the 13" Macbook Pro because I think the 15" may be too big (I'll be using it for university next year; I'll be living on campus).

Problem is, the 13" Macbook Pro's don't have the new CPUs. Do you think this is a big problem?

Should I just get the 15" one because it comes equipped with the i5 CPUs?
Click to expand...

99% of all tasks that you use a MacBook for take no time at all with an i5 and no time at all with a Core2Duo.

Encoding half a dozen DVDs with Handbrake runs overnight with an i5 and it runs overnight with a Core2Duo.

There is very little where you would notice a difference.
 
Right now, I do the following:

-watch movies, listen to music
-use photoshop
-MS Office
-browse internet
-MSN
 
No, you would have noticed no difference if Apple would have decided to use i3's. The current available i3's are equivalent to the 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo and 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo respectively. There won't be any i processors in the 13" until Sandy Bridge when Intel releases 25 watt versions of them, that however won't happen until 2011.

Get the 13", it will be plenty fast for your needs.
 
The only thing you listed that needs 'power' is Photoshop. I use Photoshop CS4 all the time and have both a 27" iMac and MB with 4GB ram. The Macbook with 2.26C2D runs Photoshop very smoothly and I would except the new 13" MBP with 2.4 will do the same but 10% faster. Don't worry about the i5, you are good to go with the C2D
 
Vantage Point said:
The only thing you listed that needs 'power' is Photoshop. I use Photoshop CS4 all the time and have both a 27" iMac and MB with 4GB ram. The Macbook with 2.26C2D runs Photoshop very smoothly and I would except the new 13" MBP with 2.4 will do the same but 10% faster. Don't worry about the i5, you are good to go with the C2D
Click to expand...

right, the biggest thing is hyperthreading. When programs start to take advantage of this, you should see an increase in performance
 
The difference between then is around 10-20%, depending on the process. However, for most tasks, such as the ones you're likely to do, where everything you do will take your computer between 0.1 - 5 seconds max, you won't notice a perceptible difference.
 
You'll be fine with the C2D...

I imported all my families videos into iMovie, edited them, and put them on DVD. I imported a bunch of CDs into iTunes. Watched a few movies, played World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings back in the day...

Also, just because a processor is "X%" faster, doesn't mean that the programs will work "X%" faster...

--rob
 
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