How much faster are the new MBP's, really.

[edlowc]

I just bought a new Core 2 duo 17 inch Macbook Pro 3.06 GHZ. and 7200 rpm HD. Fast as hell, right? (Or is it obsolete technology). It's only been a couple weeks so Apple is going to let me return it so I can get the new i7 model. I know the new one has "Turbo Boost" up to 3.33 GHZ. but is it really that much better or should I keep this one, all the glitches have been worked out at least.
This "turbo boost" seems fishy and it sounds like it only kicks in under ideal conditions. Opinions please.

 

[therealseebs]

In general, the i7 runs rings around the C2D. The "turbo boost" thing isn't very significant most of the time -- what matters is that, at the same clock speed, the i7 is much faster.

 

[mgacam2]

the 2.4 ghz lowest end i5 is supposed to be faster then the 3.06 which from my tests today I would definitely say it is. I went to the apple store today ( i feel like a broken record telling this story) and I ran 3 1080p dark knight youtube flash trailers with about 10 heavy apps open and the isight in photobooth recording me and it ran flawlessly. Nothing even slowed down at all. Expose was smooth as butter while all this happend. It feels like a real desktop computer. Comparing to my old santa rosa 2.2 macbook pro core 2 which could not run 1 1080p youtube video smoothly with nothing running. the i7 gets 5400 geek bench the 3.06 gets 4600 i do believe?and its more like 6400 for the i7 in 64 bit mode.

edit: also in terms of turbo boost, it makes a significant difference. it will instantly transfer speed around the threads/cores to where its needed making it more efficient in terms of getting things done with its avaiable mhz but also adding mhz. the 2.66 turbo boosts all the way up to 3.33 ghz the second its needed. That is significant.

PS: sorry for the poor grammer. Waiting for my i7 macbook pro while typing on a 7 inch netbook.

 

[elpmas]

Also, the i7 is the technology for the future..

 

[Heb1228]

Benchmarks show around 50% improvement in some tests against the 2.8 GHz model. That means in certain tasks there likely will be a noticeable performance increase. That doesn't mean the machine will be 50% faster overall. Processor speed is only one component. Processor-intensive tasks may see a real-world speed boost of 10-20%. Keep in mind that in day to day usage, there will be little difference. Also in disk-intensive applications, the limiting factor will be the same, so very little increase, not even enough to notice.

That said, if its an even trade, I'd probably get the new one, but you shouldn't feel bad about your current machine. Its just as fast as it was before these new ones were released.