Decision Help

Discussion in 'MacBook Pro' started by Boca, Dec 27, 2016.

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  1. Boca, Dec 27, 2016

    Boca macrumors 6502

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2008
    #1
    Looking to buy for a student that is doing Science Olympiad work. (high school Junior). Will be taking machine to college in 18 months (we HOPE :) )

    Is there significant benefit for calculations in his work, like running computer modeling by increasing from 2.9 to 3.1 or 3.3 mhz or does increasing the RAM help more. It's all getting costly and $ is a consideration for sure.

    Below clipped from Apple sight:
    For both 13-inch MacBook Pro models, the 2.9GHz processor can be upgraded to 3.1GHz for $100 or 3.3GHz (Core i7) for $300. The RAM can be upgraded to 16GB for an additional $200.

    any input for me, newbie, appreciated. Happy Holidays.
     
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  2. dark_mark, Dec 27, 2016

    dark_mark Suspended

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2016
    #2
    Save your money on CPU. It makes only 5% difference in performance at $300. Not worth the money.
    Ram maybe worth it, depending on what you will be doing. But 8gb will also be fine for next 4 years.
     
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  3. Toutou, Dec 27, 2016

    Toutou macrumors 6502a

    Toutou

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2015
    Location:
    Prague, Czech Republic
    #3
    The CPU upgrades aren't worth it unless you absolutely need them.
     
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  4. therealseebs, Dec 27, 2016

    therealseebs macrumors 65816

    therealseebs

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2010
    #4
    Memory's more important than CPU, CPU's probably optional.

    That said, I would also probably recommend a 2015 model, possibly with dGPU, over the 2016.
     
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