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apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Hi Guy's,

I just had to join this forum as it's the only one talking about what I want to know.
My question is:

I have a 2.4 Mac Book Pro from last November with a 160gb HDD. I use it for the normal stuff, browsing the web via WiFi and play around with 3d animation (well I plan to someday) but in no way a professional manner. I also encode the odd film.
Having owned it for a year I hate the keyboard, the heat and the battery life is a bit crap.

SO, I plan on buying the new Mac Book Pro, I have decided on the 2.53, 7200rpm 320GB HDD which I will install Windows XP onto to play games like Crysis, I like FPS games.

I want to know if the 2.53 is the right choice over the 2.8 considering I'm after cooler running and better battery life, looking on this forum there are threads saying the 2.8 will run hotter and use the battery more. I like the idea of that extra oomph but will hate it if the battery dies faster and it heats up more.

Thanks guy's. My first thread :)
 

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
Hi Guy's,

I just had to join this forum as it's the only one talking about what I want to know.
My question is:

I have a 2.4 Mac Book Pro from last November with a 160gb HDD. I use it for the normal stuff, browsing the web via WiFi and play around with 3d animation (well I plan to someday) but in no way a professional manner. I also encode the odd film.
Having owned it for a year I hate the keyboard, the heat and the battery life is a bit crap.

SO, I plan on buying the new Mac Book Pro, I have decided on the 2.53, 7200rpm 320GB HDD which I will install Windows XP onto to play games like Crysis, I like FPS games.

I want to know if the 2.53 is the right choice over the 2.8 considering I'm after cooler running and better battery life, looking on this forum there are threads saying the 2.8 will run hotter and use the battery more. I like the idea of that extra oomph but will hate it if the battery dies faster and it heats up more.

Thanks guy's. My first thread :)

I don't think you should get the MBP at all - it doesn't fit your needs. After all, you just said that you do general computing and are not a 'professional'.

Given your needs, I would recommend a mid-level MB which you can then upgrade in the future (for cheap). This computer better suits your needs - it can handle your normal computing tasks, it's more portable, and the battery will last longer. With the money you will save, you can easily buy a custom desktop PC strictly for gaming (which would blow the MBP out of the water). Besides, if you want to run games on the MBP you will inevitably have to install windows XP/Vista.

Now, to answer your original question, the new MBP is only slightly cooler than the old one, and the battery life is equal or worse (lower capacity). If your question applies to gaming, then the heat will be equal as the previous MBP and battery life will be less than 2 hours (in OSX!).

I really believe you have to buy according to need and not desire... hope that helps!
 

winninganthem

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2008
790
0
A regular MacBook won't run Crysis.

Save yourself some money and spend $500 on building a desktop system for gaming.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Ok let me clear up some things. A Mac Book Pro totally suits my needs as I do not want a desktop but need a laptop and I also want a 15" screen and want a Mac. As I said I already have a mac Book Pro I brought last year.

Looking on You Tube the new Mac Book pro is more then capable of running Crysis at around 40 to 50 FPS. And I will be installing Windows XP to play games.

My question was is the 2.53 a better choice the the 2.8CPU because I want less heat and better battery life. I am not worried about saving money but won't buy a 2.8 if it's hotter and uses the battery quicker.
 

akdj

macrumors 65816
Mar 10, 2008
1,186
86
62.88°N/-151.28°W
You're probably going to have a tough time getting an answer, because, honestly, you are wasting your money;) Sorry to be so candid, but if you want a gaming machine, go Windows. Even the iMacs are pricy compared to what you can get to run Crysis reasonably well on the Windows side, and they are not set up for high end, demanding gaming. These are mobile GPU's inside of laptops (and iMacs). They are restricted for heat and battery life purposes. Unlike their (Full blooded) Desktop rivals.

The Mac Book Pro is not your answer (for gaming)....but if you like it, go for it, just understand the difference in proc speed vs. Frame rate will be negligible at best. Most of the processing for the game will be done in real time with the GPU. Your frame rates may increase by 2 or 3% with the 2.8.

Good Luck
 

EvryDayImShufln

macrumors 65816
Sep 18, 2006
1,094
1
Get the 2.4ghz MBP model. It's essentially slightly lower performance for a much lower price.

Forget the MB, if you want to play games you need the MBP, but the processor has little to do with anything (since they're all so fast at this point anyway).

Also, the VRAM won't change much at all (actually has a very low impact on frame rates). I guess seeing a benchmark where they compare crysis on both these MBPs would be the best way to determine for it in that case, but I'm confident the difference will be tiny.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
So the 2.8 makes no difference in frame rates. So lets ask it from a different angle, if I want a cooler machine with longer battery life I should get the 2.53 because I won't notice the difference with everything else I do that has nothing to do with games.

I am not using it as a main games machine, I have a PS3 with 32" HD telly and surround sound for that :D
I just mentioned it as it is one of the things I will use the laptop for.
 

sjsharks13

macrumors regular
Jul 15, 2008
162
26
Hi Guy's,

I just had to join this forum as it's the only one talking about what I want to know.
My question is:

I have a 2.4 Mac Book Pro from last November with a 160gb HDD. I use it for the normal stuff, browsing the web via WiFi and play around with 3d animation (well I plan to someday) but in no way a professional manner. I also encode the odd film.
Having owned it for a year I hate the keyboard, the heat and the battery life is a bit crap.

SO, I plan on buying the new Mac Book Pro, I have decided on the 2.53, 7200rpm 320GB HDD which I will install Windows XP onto to play games like Crysis, I like FPS games.

I want to know if the 2.53 is the right choice over the 2.8 considering I'm after cooler running and better battery life, looking on this forum there are threads saying the 2.8 will run hotter and use the battery more. I like the idea of that extra oomph but will hate it if the battery dies faster and it heats up more.

Thanks guy's. My first thread :)
unless you REALLY want a mac, i would get a laptop specifically for gaming, even though I despise dell, i would recommend an XPS or an Alienware computer....i hate myself for suggesting these brands.
 

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
Ok let me clear up some things. A Mac Book Pro totally suits my needs as I do not want a desktop but need a laptop and I also want a 15" screen and want a Mac. As I said I already have a mac Book Pro I brought last year.

Looking on You Tube the new Mac Book pro is more then capable of running Crysis at around 40 to 50 FPS. And I will be installing Windows XP to play games.

My question was is the 2.53 a better choice the the 2.8CPU because I want less heat and better battery life. I am not worried about saving money but won't buy a 2.8 if it's hotter and uses the battery quicker.

Given what you just wrote, I'm not exactly sure what you're asking...

Clearly, you have already decided upon the MBP (against your better judgment), and now you're asking if the 2.8 will run hotter and use more battery power than the 2.53.

I think the answer is pretty obvious. If you're going to use the 2.8 to the best of its ability, then it will probably use slightly more battery power. The only way to notice a difference, performance wise, is if you push the computer to its max (e.g. crisis on high). If you push the computer to its max, then it's going to get hot regardless of what processor you have in there. So, the performance improvement of the 2.8 would be negligible and the heat/power consumption would be roughly the same.

Seriously though, you should listen to everyone's suggestion(s). Go with a cheap PC for gaming and a MB for everything else. You get the best of both worlds (Mac + PC) and probably at a cheaper price.
 

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
No I won't be much. I just want a machine that runs cooler as I'm fed up of mine. Just ignore the gaming side, as it will do what I want. Is the 2.8 worth the extra heat and battery usage for general stuff and encoding the odd film.

No. The only way you'll notice a difference is if you're doing really intense graphic work. Even then, I think the improvement would be minimal. I think the 2.8 is for bragging rights, personally.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Please just forget the games side. The MB Pro will do more then I want, I HAVE a 15" Mac Book Pro already from last year which is why I will not get anything else. But as people are confirming the 2.8 will use more battery power I will not get it.

All I m asking is considering what I want do other then games is the 2.8 worth it if I also want a cool running laptop with better battery life. And I would not buy an Alienware 15" laptop cause it's out of date, it doesn't have the series 9 graphics cards and for that much money it should!
 

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
Please just forget the games side. The MB Pro will do more then I want, I HAVE a 15" Mac Book Pro already from last year which is why I will not get anything else. But as people are confirming the 2.8 will use more battery power I will not get it.

All I m asking is considering what I want do other then games is the 2.8 worth it if I also want a cool running laptop with better battery life. And I would not buy an Alienware 15" laptop cause it's out of date, it doesn't have the series 9 graphics cards and for that much money it should!

Here is my final straightforward response...

Gaming aside, there will be no noticeable performance improvement if you choose the 2.8 over the 2.53. Battery performance will be equal to, or less than, your current MBP. The new MBPs have about a 20% lower capacity battery with about 15% greater operating efficiency. As a result, you lose about 5% battery power in comparison to the previous model. In terms of heat, the new MBPs run slightly cooler, but if you push them to the max when gaming, they will get just as hot as your current MBP.

Keep that in mind before you drop $2,500+
 

nope7308

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2008
1,040
537
Ontario, Canada
Thanks mate. Do you find the battery life good in our 2.53 when using WiFi for example and the 9400m?

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive, but I've heard that the battery life is less than spectacular. With WiFi on, Bluetooth Off, dimmed LED, iTunes playing, and generic web surfing, you're looking at about 3.1h.

(Now this is my final response - I have to get back to work haha).
 

apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Here is my final straightforward response...

Gaming aside, there will be no noticeable performance improvement if you choose the 2.8 over the 2.53. Battery performance will be equal to, or less than, your current MBP. The new MBPs have about a 20% lower capacity battery with about 15% greater operating efficiency. As a result, you lose about 5% battery power in comparison to the previous model. In terms of heat, the new MBPs run slightly cooler, but if you push them to the max when gaming, they will get just as hot as your current MBP.

Keep that in mind before you drop $2,500+

Thanks buddy, on what you said then I can't live with the 2.8 as it will use the battery even more, even if it is only slight I want all I can get. How do you find your machine? I have played with the stock 2.53 in store and it's amazing, the thing was so cool compared to my old machine.
 

akdj

macrumors 65816
Mar 10, 2008
1,186
86
62.88°N/-151.28°W
"Please just forget the games side. The MB Pro will do more then I want, I HAVE a 15" Mac Book Pro already from last year which is why I will not get anything else. But as people are confirming the 2.8 will use more battery power I will not get it."

LOL...me too. I have an '07 15" and have no itch for one of the new ones. To me, the "upgrade" needs to be a bit more significant than what they have done. I guess that would be my question, ESPECIALLY if games are out. Why would you upgrade your current laptop? Course, this is coming from the same guy still running OSX 10.4 on his MBP....but seriously, you aren't going to gain much in the way of battery life, it's gonna run just as hot, and you don't care about games? Keep what you have.

The Gateway FX notebook just got a helluva review in Maximum PC for mid-range gaming laptop. I know you are no longer interested in the gaming aspect....just thought I would throw it out there;)
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,936
156
Thanks buddy, on what you said then I can't live with the 2.8 as it will use the battery even more, even if it is only slight I want all I can get. How do you find your machine? I have played with the stock 2.53 in store and it's amazing, the thing was so cool compared to my old machine.

Get the 2.53, it has the same CPU cache and VRAM as the other, so there isn't really any icing on the cake except an ego stroke.

If it would have had double the L2 cache or something else like 1GB VRAM, maybe. But it just offers a nominal speed bump which isn't a noticeable performance gain for the money.

Use the extra money for a bigger HD with a larger cache later for a more noticeable performance boost down the line.
 

beerglass007

macrumors 6502a
May 13, 2008
547
94
changed mine

Hi all

Well I had a early april 2008 MBP 2.4 . I sold it 3 weeks before the 14th Oct for £1K

I brought the new 2.4 MBP standard spec from the Mac store for £1150 ( managed to get student discount from a friend )

So the £150 was a great upgrade.

I do the same things on the MBP as you. I have played crysis on vista and it plays very very well.
Loads better than my old MBP with the 8600GT


Anyway the screen failed today and I returned it. I then swapped it for the 2.53 standard spec.

I paid a few hundred more for the 2.53 because when you price up the RAM and HDD upgrades its nearly the cost of the 2.53.

So I managed to get my 2.53 for £1486

I have loaded vista tonight and played crysis again. It does feel quicker again.

Yes it does get hot, very hot like the old MBP. The battery life is the same between the 2.4 and 2.53
 
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