How much does an i7 reduce the battery life on a 13' rMBP compared to i5?

[mrumor1981]

I was looking to get a 13' rMBP and was thinking of getting an i7 processor to help 'future-proof' it somewhat.

My question is this though :

How much less battery life does an i7 get compared to an i5?

 

[PDFierro]

You'll notice the difference under medium/heavy workloads. Under light usage, it's extremely minimal.

 

[mrumor1981]

You'll notice the difference under medium/heavy workloads. Under light usage, it's extremely minimal.

When you say you'll notice the difference under medium / heavy workloads, how much less than the 9 hours quoted by Apple? 8? 7? 6?

Just trying to see if it's a HUGE difference in battery life as I'm trying to future proof my purchase (with an i7) but not at the expense of too much battery loss.

 

[PDFierro]

When you say you'll notice the difference under medium / heavy workloads, how much less than the 9 hours quoted by Apple? 8? 7? 6?

Just trying to see if it's a HUGE difference in battery life as I'm trying to future proof my purchase (with an i7) but not at the expense of too much battery loss.

What kind of things will you be doing with your Mac?

 

[mrumor1981]

What kind of things will you be doing with your Mac?

Lots of tabs open while surfing the web, iTunes playing music, editing audio recordings, a ton of microsoft word use, and photo editing.

I'm a multitasker of sorts so I have a lot of those things open at the same time.

 

[PDFierro]

Lots of tabs open while surfing the web, iTunes playing music, editing audio recordings, a ton of microsoft word use, and photo editing.

I'm a multitasker of sorts so I have a lot of those things open at the same time.

That does not constitute a medium/heavy workload at all. The most you'll notice is a 30 minutes difference, but you don't even need an i7 for that usage.

 

[mrumor1981]

That does not constitute a medium/heavy workload at all. The most you'll notice is a 30 minutes difference, but you don't even need an i7 for that usage.

Really? Just curious then, what does constitute medium/heavy workload? I always figured it was having a lot of the above programs open at once like I do. I'd like to know what type of program is considered high use.

I want to get the i7 to future proof the device so that it still runs zippy 8 years from now and I don't have to look for a new laptop anytime soon.

 

[iWeekend]

I want to get the i7 to future proof the device so that it still runs zippy 8 years from now.

You're delusional.



Said a nicer way, the CPU i7 in the rMBP 13" isn't that much different than the i5 (check geekbench). They are all dual core. In 8 years the CPU required to run the then-current programs zippily will be a far different beast than the 2013 era i#'s. Many posts here about future proofing and it boils down to RAM and SSD selection, with differing opinions even on that (depending on final use and willingness to have page outs).

 

[Outrigger]

I want to get the i7 to future proof the device so that it still runs zippy 8 years from now and I don't have to look for a new laptop anytime soon.

Run zippy, 8 yrs from now? not gonna happen. I think you're also under the false impression that there's a huge difference between the i7 and i5 for the 13".

 

[Orr]

This thread should be combined with the other one he created regarding which 13" rMBP to get that will last at least 8 years.

 

[simon48]

There's no way adding an i7 is going to keep it zippy for 8 years and RAM is way, way more important for uses if you want it to stay fast for as long as possible.

 

[NT1440]

Lots of tabs open while surfing the web, iTunes playing music, editing audio recordings, a ton of microsoft word use, and photo editing.

I'm a multitasker of sorts so I have a lot of those things open at the same time.

The underlined is probably going to be one of your bigger battery hogs, MS isn't too keen on optimizing the performance of their apps on the Mac (the same applies for apple on the PC).