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Decisions and doubts

L

lionmanpt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2011
115
1
Hi !

I just received my Early 2015 MBPr 13'', 3.1Ghz, 16 GB RAM ad 512GB SSD.

Since there was a campaign of 10% discount on all Macbooks here in Portugal , I decided to reserve a MPBr 15'' , 2.5Ghz , 16GB RAM ad 512 GB SSD.

What I need:

- A MBP that can last 5 years

- To process all my family movies

- Run the usual tasks (Office, Mail, Web browsing, etc) and some games

- I already know (from my previous MBPr 15'') that 256GB is not enough for me

- My eyesight is "not the same" it was 2 years ago (still have to check why but I think I may need to have something to read closer)

The issue I have here is : should I keep my 13'' or change to the 15'' (please note that I also bought the 13'' with 10% discount).

I would kindly appreciate your comments and suggestions (I have to make a decision tomorrow).
 
You can do all that on...

lionmanpt said:
Hi !

I just received my Early 2015 MBPr 13'', 3.1Ghz, 16 GB RAM ad 512GB SSD.

Since there was a campaign of 10% discount on all Macbooks here in Portugal , I decided to reserve a MPBr 15'' , 2.5Ghz , 16GB RAM ad 512 GB SSD.

What I need:

- A MBP that can last 5 years

- To process all my family movies

- Run the usual tasks (Office, Mail, Web browsing, etc) and some games

- I already know (from my previous MBPr 15'') that 256GB is not enough for me

- My eyesight is "not the same" it was 2 years ago (still have to check why but I think I may need to have something to read closer)

The issue I have here is : should I keep my 13'' or change to the 15'' (please note that I also bought the 13'' with 10% discount).

I would kindly appreciate your comments and suggestions (I have to make a decision tomorrow).
Click to expand...

....any computer.

How long they last is down to a little luck what your changing needs are over time and changes in the way software works that no one can predict. No one can guarantee it'll last 5 years and only you can judge what your needs are (get apple care and at least the hardware will last 3 years...).

Bigger screen will be better if your eyesight is not so good other than that they will both do what you want at this time, without breaking sweat.
 
OP wrote above:
[[ I already know (from my previous MBPr 15'') that 256GB is not enough for me ]]

Perhaps it's time to start "off-loading" some files onto an external drive. Things like movies, etc., which take up a lot of space...
 
lionmanpt said:
Hi !

I just received my Early 2015 MBPr 13'', 3.1Ghz, 16 GB RAM ad 512GB SSD.

Since there was a campaign of 10% discount on all Macbooks here in Portugal , I decided to reserve a MPBr 15'' , 2.5Ghz , 16GB RAM ad 512 GB SSD.

What I need:

- A MBP that can last 5 years

- To process all my family movies

- Run the usual tasks (Office, Mail, Web browsing, etc) and some games

- I already know (from my previous MBPr 15'') that 256GB is not enough for me

- My eyesight is "not the same" it was 2 years ago (still have to check why but I think I may need to have something to read closer)

The issue I have here is : should I keep my 13'' or change to the 15'' (please note that I also bought the 13'' with 10% discount).

I would kindly appreciate your comments and suggestions (I have to make a decision tomorrow).
Click to expand...
Any computer made in the last few years or so can do all that with ease.

You should not be keeping all your files on your computer. If it crashes, they are lost forever. I suggest investing in a backup/storage strategy to prevent that.
 
Thanks

Thanks very much for your answers. I am still not sure what do....:confused:
 
If your eyesight is good enough for the 13, it is good enough for the 15, all the bigger screen does is let you have more things visible at the same time. Power wise they are going to be the same for you.
 
yjchua95 said:
These games shouldn't tax the system too much.
Click to expand...

That means in your opinion that the 13'' can handle all these games with no problems ?

Also another thing I didn't mentioned that also keeps me thinking of exchanging to the 15'' is the fact that it is expect an upgrade still this year (new processors, force feedback pad, etc).
 
lionmanpt said:
That means in your opinion that the 13'' can handle all these games with no problems ?

Also another thing I didn't mentioned that also keeps me thinking of exchanging to the 15'' is the fact that it is expect an upgrade still this year (new processors, force feedback pad, etc).
Click to expand...

It should be able those games smoothly enough, as long as you don't play it at high resolutions. Just keep them at 1440x900 or lower and you should be good to go.
 
yjchua95 said:
It should be able those games smoothly enough, as long as you don't play it at high resolutions. Just keep them at 1440x900 or lower and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...

Ok. Thanks !! Still haven't open the box :):):)
 
I have open the box yesterday and although it is a very nice product I really noticed the difference in terms of processing speed even from my previous 2012 MPBr 15''............This litte guy is so slow..... :confused::confused:
 
lionmanpt said:
This litte guy is so slow..... :confused::confused:
Click to expand...

That's what I said when I compared my new Porshe to my Ferrari!

Really dude, either you are psyching yourself out or you have a faulty unit. The 13" may not be a quad-core, but it isn't anywhere 'so slow'.
 
lionmanpt said:
I have open the box yesterday and although it is a very nice product I really noticed the difference in terms of processing speed even from my previous 2012 MPBr 15''............This litte guy is so slow..... :confused::confused:
Click to expand...

You're comparing a quad core to a dual core CPU. The 15" computer has more processing power, but the 13" is by no means slow.
 
Phyco126 said:
That's what I said when I compared my new Porshe to my Ferrari!

Really dude, either you are psyching yourself out or you have a faulty unit. The 13" may not be a quad-core, but it isn't anywhere 'so slow'.
Click to expand...

T5BRICK said:
You're comparing a quad core to a dual core CPU. The 15" computer has more processing power, but the 13" is by no means slow.
Click to expand...

I guess you are both right. I guess I am really psyching myself out.

Besides that I am in mood too give 360 Euros to get a 15'' model which is going to get improvement this year.

Thank you all for your advises and suggestions !
 
Performance wise, I'm confused as to how you're expecting the 15-inch machine to feel faster at a base speed of 2.5 Ghz, compared to the 13-inch that you state is a 3.1 Ghz machine.

Even if we're talking quad core versus dual core, for most basic tasks the base speed is going to be where your perceived performance is.

Not sure why you feel that the 3.1 Ghz machine feels slow. The 2.5 would feel slower.
 
flyinmac said:
Performance wise, I'm confused as to how you're expecting the 15-inch machine to feel faster at a base speed of 2.5 Ghz, compared to the 13-inch that you state is a 3.1 Ghz machine.

Even if we're talking quad core versus dual core, for most basic tasks the base speed is going to be where your perceived performance is.

Not sure why you feel that the 3.1 Ghz machine feels slow. The 2.5 would feel slower.
Click to expand...

It is more in the case were I have several aplications opened ( Ex: two games, safari , Pixelmator).
 
flyinmac said:
Performance wise, I'm confused as to how you're expecting the 15-inch machine to feel faster at a base speed of 2.5 Ghz, compared to the 13-inch that you state is a 3.1 Ghz machine.

Even if we're talking quad core versus dual core, for most basic tasks the base speed is going to be where your perceived performance is.

Not sure why you feel that the 3.1 Ghz machine feels slow. The 2.5 would feel slower.
Click to expand...

Actually, no. With Intel TurboBoost, the processor will always TurboBoost to its max speed.

Most basic tasks will actually run at the max TurboBoost speed first, and the speed will only drop to the base speed when all cores are used and when the thermal capacity is reached.

The 3.1GHz i7-5557U will run at 3.4GHz when doing basic tasks (i.e. single core), and the 2.5GHz i7-4870HQ will run at 3.7GHz when doing basic tasks (single core too).

You can look at the single core performance of these two on Geekbench 3 to see things for yourself.
 
yjchua95 said:
Actually, no. With Intel TurboBoost, the processor will always TurboBoost to its max speed.

Most basic tasks will actually run at the max TurboBoost speed first, and the speed will only drop to the base speed when all cores are used and when the thermal capacity is reached.

The 3.1GHz i7-5557U will run at 3.4GHz when doing basic tasks (i.e. single core), and the 2.5GHz i7-4870HQ will run at 3.7GHz when doing basic tasks (single core too).

You can look at the single core performance of these two on Geekbench 3 to see things for yourself.
Click to expand...

Geekbench shows single core performance of the 5557U as being barely below the 4870HQ.

5557U score - http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/2477272
4870HQ score - http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/2477455

Multicore is where the real difference is, but two things. Dual-core is still plenty fast and I'm still saying he was psyching himself out on it. My quad-core laptop doesn't seem any faster than my wife's 11" MBA. Only when I get into really intensive stuff is there a difference, but as he said, he isn't doing anything really intensive (unless he is rendering his family videos in 4K).

Besides, he was comparing it to the 2012 quad-core, which is the 3820QM that has a top speed of 3.7 GHz. Clocked faster, it is slower on single core stuff. http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/2426307 . Multicore is still faster but not as much as a gap.

We've all been there. I scrutinize my SSDs like no tomorrow and the smallest delay catches my attention. I just have to remind myself that opening a program in 0.05 seconds isn't that big a difference as 0.02 seconds. Still fast as hell.
 
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