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Humble comparison: Macbook Pro i5 2.4Ghz high res antiglare vs. i7 2.66Ghz glossy

I was comparing reading text from webforums and MS Office 2008 on my 2.4ghz 15" MBP with high res antiglare screen to a new 13" macbook.


The text on the 15" high res antiglare did seem burry when compared with the macbook. The text on the macbook just seemed more clear and easier to read.

I got the anti-glare screen because I have to do A LOT of reading on the computer. I have an older laptop with a glossy screen and the glare bothers me due to overhead lights, my face, etc. reflecting while I'm trying to read.

However, I didn't realize that the text would be fuzzy/blurry on the anti-glare screen. (perhaps it isn't the anti-glare vs glossy so much as the high res vs lower res, but you would think with more pixels the crisper the text, not the more blurry).

Right now I am trying to decide between reading lots of text on a screen with glare that bothers me, or reading text that is fuzzy. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think that the glare may be preferable.
 
Obviously, it is critical to sit in front of the unit to see which screen suit its user best.

As for i5 versus i7, if you are doing any transcoding or video work, the i7 can actually give a 30% speed boost. Folks who have the i7 state that it does feel quicker over all. Is it worth the 400 USD?

I have the 2.4 i5 (1tb drive), but have an itch for the 17" i7.
 
This is a great topic. Thanks a lot. It has been a big debate for me whether or not to get the high-res screen. I do some video editing, but I will also be doing some gaming. I feel like the 1440x900 screen will be better for gaming and help with video memory. (is that a fair assumption?)

For a while, I was insisting that I get nothing but the top of the line 15-incher. But, the price jump for that performance seemed unjustifiable. I am now thinking that I will get the base 2.4ghz and see how that works for me. If I find that i need more, I will bump up to a 7200rpm and 8gigs of ram.

What do you think about my thought process?
 
I'd say going for the base 2.4 is a smart choice. If you need more power you'll boost RAM / HDD, that's alright.

However, choosing the glossy screen is a real mistake.

At the moment I got a 15" glossy (standard res) and the 15" HR AG at home...
Let me show you some pics...They were taken on a cloudy after noon in Paris.

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/5866/imgp7736.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5457/imgp7738.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6015/imgp7740.jpg

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/3315/imgp7743.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8972/imgp7748.jpg

http://img193.imageshack.us/f/imgp7749d.jpg/

:X
 
Thanks for writing this. I'm stuck between the 2.4 i5 and 2.6 i7. I think I want the i7 more than I need it. Hi-res is a must for me though. Even 1680x1050 is a bit too low for me. :eek:
 
Stock i5 15" HR AG here and the OP is pretty correct, its a very fit all round machine. Ive only been working in imovie & garageband so far and its very quick. Coming from a C2D Win 7 desktop its blowing me away how nippy it is. I might look into Final Cut Pro if i need more advanced video work but for now its great. Exporting a 5 min 720p movie i had made took about 3 or 4 mins which i thought was impressive.
 
LP FRET12 said:
This is a great topic. Thanks a lot. It has been a big debate for me whether or not to get the high-res screen. I do some video editing, but I will also be doing some gaming. I feel like the 1440x900 screen will be better for gaming and help with video memory. (is that a fair assumption?)

For a while, I was insisting that I get nothing but the top of the line 15-incher. But, the price jump for that performance seemed unjustifiable. I am now thinking that I will get the base 2.4ghz and see how that works for me. If I find that i need more, I will bump up to a 7200rpm and 8gigs of ram.

What do you think about my thought process?
Click to expand...

I would assume that the 1440x900 would offer higher frame rates than the 1680x1050. For gaming the i5 and the i7 would be similar. For video, the i7 would be desirable. I am not all that sure that spending 300 dollars on 8GB of RAM would make as much of a difference as the faster processor.
 
For anyone that is thinking about purchasing a HR anti-glare i7, just keep in mind that the battery is about 1/2 hour to an hour less than the i5 cousins, despite what Apple claims. At least that's what I've experienced when doing light things.
 
DeusInvictus7 said:
For anyone that is thinking about purchasing a HR anti-glare i7, just keep in mind that the battery is about 1/2 hour to an hour less than the i5 cousins, despite what Apple claims. At least that's what I've experienced when doing light things.
Click to expand...

I would assume driving the extra pixels would matter.

CPU's are rather funny, some require more volts than others, even while operating at the same frequencies.
 
babyt said:
Ok so I've been back and forth with getting the i5 or i7
I'm going into graphic design/ photography and will be using photo shop apps apperture and maybe final cut.
I'm not computer savvy and just want to know IN THE LONG RUN will the i7 be better then the getting an i5 I plan on keeping the MVP for two years then selling and buying the newer model.
Thanks
=]
Click to expand...

Hi babyt,
As I said before, I will adventure to say that by two years, the mid/low range of new Macbook pros will be faster that your potential i7 new today. I am a firm believer that the i5 2.4GHz is an all around good option for your needs.
Cheers !
 
babyt said:
Ok so I've been back and forth with getting the i5 or i7
I'm going into graphic design/ photography and will be using photo shop apps apperture and maybe final cut.
I'm not computer savvy and just want to know IN THE LONG RUN will the i7 be better then the getting an i5 I plan on keeping the MVP for two years then selling and buying the newer model.
Thanks
=]
Click to expand...

Not computer savvy and going into graphic design/photography? And working with aperture and final cut and photoshop?

....:eek:


My advice is consider a different career or get computer savvy! ;)
 
Venturo said:
I'd say going for the base 2.4 is a smart choice. If you need more power you'll boost RAM / HDD, that's alright.

However, choosing the glossy screen is a real mistake.

At the moment I got a 15" glossy (standard res) and the 15" HR AG at home...
Let me show you some pics...They were taken on a cloudy after noon in Paris.

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/5866/imgp7736.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5457/imgp7738.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6015/imgp7740.jpg

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/3315/imgp7743.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8972/imgp7748.jpg

http://img193.imageshack.us/f/imgp7749d.jpg/

:X
Click to expand...


I have the AG screen but your pictures make it seem like video looks worse than it actually is compared to glossy.
 
runebinder said:
The i5 will last you 2 years
Click to expand...

Seems like an arbitrary number. Completely depends on how your needs/wants change.

Difference between the i5 2.4Ghz and the 2.66Ghz is negligible. You can easily overclock your 2.4Ghz to 2.66Ghz if you really wanted to (without even touching the voltage).

For those people who say they "need" the i7, they will only see a real benefit if they are constantly pegging their CPU. Even then, the +10-15% CPU performance (only if you are always pegging your CPU) is not worth the ~25% increase in price for me. Note that the 10-15% is only CPU performance, not whole system performance. Whole system performance should increase even less.

I do encoding and parallel programming so I peg my CPU a good amount, so I could stand to benefit from the i7 upgrade, but again, +$400 is simply not worth it for me for a 10-15% boost SOME of the time.

I ordered a HiRes AG 2.4Ghz last week. I also picked up (slightly used) intel 80GB SSD for ~$130 on eBay. If I want more perceived speedup later, I will grab another SSD in a few months or so and put them in a RAID configuration.

Whatever you guys do, make an educated decision! Then you won't kill yourself over it later :)

Edit: forgot to mention, the 256MB -> 512MB video card upgrade is potentially useful if you do some gaming at 1440x900. I do some CUDA programming and the 512MB boost would be useful, but I still can't justify it price-wise. Except for when I'm debugging some CUDA code, I will be using the built-in intel graphics exclusively for battery longevity.
 
Great thread

So I am looking at the i5 or i7. I mainly use it for documents, a lot of drafting. But I run 12 spaces windows and keep so many applications open. My biggest resource hog is firefox, as I tend to keep 60-90 tabs at any time for audit trails. Any ideas? I'm now leaning towards the lower i5 and upgrading to the 7000rpm and 8gb (probably by myself, and would that void and applecare?)
 
Bigred2 said:
So I am looking at the i5 or i7. I mainly use it for documents, a lot of drafting. But I run 12 spaces windows and keep so many applications open. My biggest resource hog is firefox, as I tend to keep 60-90 tabs at any time for audit trails. Any ideas? I'm now leaning towards the lower i5 and upgrading to the 7000rpm and 8gb (probably by myself, and would that void and applecare?)
Click to expand...

The base i5 should be perfect for you. No, upgrading the HDD and RAM will not void any warranty. If you need service done on the machine, they may give you a little trouble :mad:, but let them know that you followed the instructions in the user's manual of the MBP :).
 
Bigred2 said:
So I am looking at the i5 or i7. I mainly use it for documents, a lot of drafting. But I run 12 spaces windows and keep so many applications open. My biggest resource hog is firefox, as I tend to keep 60-90 tabs at any time for audit trails. Any ideas? I'm now leaning towards the lower i5 and upgrading to the 7000rpm and 8gb (probably by myself, and would that void and applecare?)
Click to expand...

Your biggest concern would be RAM, not the processor. But, the HDD upgrade would be a nice touch :).
 
peapody said:
Not computer savvy and going into graphic design/photography? And working with aperture and final cut and photoshop?

....:eek:


My advice is consider a different career or get computer savvy! ;)
Click to expand...


perhaps i used the wrong words...
but i meant like hardware wise... not software, im more then proficient in using the computer :rolleyes:
im not going into computer sciences.. :p
 
runebinder said:
The i5 will last you 2 years
Click to expand...
And since the difference with the i7 is negligible, so will the i7.

Seriously: by the time the i5 becomes too slow, whether that's in 1, 2 or 5 years, depending on your needs, the i7 will have the exact same problem. Yes, in benchmarks the i7 is faster. But we're talking long renders that'll be a few minutes shorter, nothing that's really noticeable.

It's nice to buy the i7, because 7 > 5, but for most things it's purely psychological. People who "feel" that the i7 is faster overall, and with day to day stuff are lucky, but it's all in their heads. Let them compare an i5 with an i7, but tell them the i5 is the i7 and vice versa. You can guess which one will "win".
 
Bigred2 said:
So I am looking at the i5 or i7. I mainly use it for documents, a lot of drafting. But I run 12 spaces windows and keep so many applications open. My biggest resource hog is firefox, as I tend to keep 60-90 tabs at any time for audit trails. Any ideas? I'm now leaning towards the lower i5 and upgrading to the 7000rpm and 8gb (probably by myself, and would that void and applecare?)
Click to expand...

Get the i5, and with the extra cash, get a faster hdd, maybe a SSD, and RAM. Upgrading these will not void the warranty. :)
 
C64 said:
And since the difference with the i7 is negligible, so will the i7.

Seriously: by the time the i5 becomes too slow, whether that's in 1, 2 or 5 years, depending on your needs, the i7 will have the exact same problem. Yes, in benchmarks the i7 is faster. But we're talking long renders that'll be a few minutes shorter, nothing that's really noticeable.

It's nice to buy the i7, because 7 > 5, but for most things it's purely psychological. People who "feel" that the i7 is faster overall, and with day to day stuff are lucky, but it's all in their heads. Let them compare an i5 with an i7, but tell them the i5 is the i7 and vice versa. You can guess which one will "win".
Click to expand...

+1:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
GoyoNeuff said:
I can say that by looking at both machines at home, the glossy colors look more vivid, and that the viewing angles are better than the antiglare which looks a little bit like washed off to me. But still, prefer not to have reflections and the crispier pictures.
Click to expand...

And this is why I am returning the 15" anti glare I bought yesterday and re-ordering the hi-rez glossy macbook I originally wanted. I feel this screen is not as bright and hard to read. Never had that problem with my older 15" or my macbook airs. I just wish they sold it in store but really all the 15" macbook pros should have 1680x1050 screens.
 
BJonson said:
And this is why I am returning the 15" anti glare I bought yesterday and re-ordering the hi-rez glossy macbook I originally wanted. I feel this screen is not as bright and hard to read. Never had that problem with my older 15" or my macbook airs. I just wish they sold it in store but really all the 15" macbook pros should have 1680x1050 screens.
Click to expand...

Agreed with the resolution for all macbook pros.
Re: glossy or not, it comes down to personal choice. In my particular case, I almost never have to bump the brightness level higher that middle setting. At that point, it seems more than enough for our eyes. And I still love the fact that I do not get reflections !!!:p

Cheers !

Goyo.
 
I5 and I7 refurbished units

I am also debating between between the high res anti glare mbp's. I dont edit high res videos or do magazine ready photo editing or graphic design.

the difference defininately isnt worth 400. But...

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.53GHz Intel Core i5

Originally released April 2010
15.4-inch LED-backlit antiglare Hi-Res widescreen display (1680 x 1050 pixel)
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
$1,569.00

vs.

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.66GHz Intel Core i7

Originally released April 2010
15.4-inch LED-backlit antiglare Hi-Res widescreen display (1680 x 1050 pixel)
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
$1,729.00

Is the difference worth 160?

I'm not a gamer but I play some WOW with my son. would the extra 256 ov vram improve performance on a 23" widescreen dell monitor.


Also, can someone explain why everyone is comparing performance of the mac running windows in bootcamp and not native mac. Am I wrong in assuming the games from the big manufacturers don't run as well under mac as under bootcamp? I will be buying my first mac soon and I want to make the best informed decision.
 
Hi adavis,

I do not believe the difference is worth it. This is the previous generation you are talking about. If we were talking about the latest release where you could have either a Radeon HD 6490M with the entry 15.4" or a Radeon HD 6750M with the upgraded 15.4" or the 17", then yes, a difference between these two could be worth it, specially if you are playing in big screens (at around 27", you mentioned 23", which in my opinion is not too big).
I would probably save that money, or if it is to spend, then maybe I would do it in more RAM, or a better HDD (sell the one in the machine and get a 7200rpm version, or even better a SDD if you have more cash).

About the resolution, definitively I would recommend you to get the hi resolution, either glossy or not. It feels better, and it can come handy if you decide to play games in the notebook not attached to the external screen. I understand that the screens used in the latest models are the same and from the same vendor as the previous ones, so if it is possible for you, go to an Apple store and check the hi res antiglare and glossy side by side, and see which one do you like better. As previously said by many, colors in the glossy appear more vivid than in the antiglare, but then you do not have the bad reflections in the antiglare.

I do not quite get your question about the bootcamp and gaming. Well, to be honest, got a 21 months old lad, and my gaming times are long past...:D

Cheers,

Goyo.
 
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