i3 vs i5 on a 13"

[altecXP]

No, what you seem to have a problem with is jealousy. Let people spend their money how they want to if the thing they are spending it on is something they will enjoy. You're telling me you're that one guy that laughs at the rolls royce that drives by while everyone stares in awe? I'm sure you must be one popular guy.

All of this is hilarious coming from a guy who just a couple of weeks ago was going to buy a 13" MBP if all it had was a 1440x900 screen. Now that he found some cheap Acer he's anti-Apple and a spec whore who criticizes what other people purchase.

Actually most car guys laugh at people that pays for RR or Bentleys I'd take a Shelby GT500, Audi RS4 or a Challenger SRT, or a Z06 over them any day. All RR and Bentley says about you is " I have to much money and I don't know anything about cars so I bought this."

So yes I guess Mac's are like a RR, they scream "My owner knows nothing about anything under by hood"

 

[Sudaddy]

Actually most car guys laugh at people that pays for RR or Bentleys I'd take a Shelby GT500, Audi RS4 or a Challenger SRT, or a Z06 over them any day. All RR and Bentley says about you is " I have to much money and I don't know anything about cars so I bought this."

So yes I guess Mac's are like a RR, they scream "My owner knows nothing about anything under by hood"

You know, with Apple's sleek and new design and style, I don't think I would compare Apple products to RR or Bentley... which are unfortunately just big clunky old styled and expensive cars, not something that comes to your mind when you are holding a MacBook Air.

I would say, Macs are more comparable to Porche or Aston Martin - sleek, fast, simple and elegant. You can drive your Challenger, but I will be happy to get the Aston Martin

 

[aiqw9182]

Actually most car guys laugh at people that pays for RR or Bentleys I'd take a Shelby GT500, Audi RS4 or a Challenger SRT, or a Z06 over them any day. All RR and Bentley says about you is " I have to much money and I don't know anything about cars so I bought this."

I'm sorry but maybe you missed my point? The specific car was irrelevant. If someone enjoys what they spent their money on then who are you to tell them what they bought was wrong?

So yes I guess Mac's are like a RR, they scream "My owner knows nothing about anything under by hood"

Coming from someone who just a week ago was going to buy another one? And is sitting in front of one right now?

You're full of so much hypocrisy it's not even funny.

Newsflash: Owning a PC does not mean you know anything about what's under the hood.

 

[lowonthe456]

If this source is right, I believe both version of MBP 13 will have i5. I personally think chances are high that both will have core i5. I am more interested on whether the 13 incher will have a nvidia discreet GPU.

Just fyi.

thats where I am at. I'm fine with i3, but I won't be satisfied with intel GPU unless I can see some real benchmarks against what the 15" is getting. My fear isnt so much performance as it is obsolescence..

 

[parseckadet]

Time to bring out my favorite internet quote:
Arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.

Please, let's return to the original topic.

 

[altecXP]

You know, with Apple's sleek and new design and style, I don't think I would compare Apple products to RR or Bentley... which are unfortunately just big clunky old styled and expensive cars, not something that comes to your mind when you are holding a MacBook Air.

I would say, Macs are more comparable to Porche or Aston Martin - sleek, fast, simple and elegant. You can drive your Challenger, but I will be happy to get the Aston Martin

Ah but the problem there is that the Aston Martin can actually out perform the cheaper Challenger.

You are looking more at a BMW M3. It looks great, but it only performs as well as a 1/2 the cost Mustang GT, and is raped by a 2/3 the cost GT500.

 

[Jiten]

I'm a accountant and work for a lot of rich folk. Believe me, those exotic and expensive cars they buy is just a drop in the bucket for them and of less consequence for their bank account then the regular joe here. Besides, its not just the pure horse power - its partly the status and partly the beauty of the cars. You'll get more attention and women buying a Lamborghini then a souped up Toyota Supra that has a 1000 HP.

I'm not sure if the same argument is applicable to Macs vs PCs however as Macs do have their own palpable advantages against the PC and not just because it is considered a status symbol or a idiot proof computer by some.

 

[Sudaddy]

Time to bring out my favorite internet quote:
Arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.

Please, let's return to the original topic.

Somewhere in Alaska, a former governor is enraged by the "R" word. Oh well.

People who love cars, are not really bent over one car vs the other. They just love the features and look forward to new handling, suspension and drive to come out.

Similarly, people who really love technology, they are not as bent over PC vs Mac game. I use Win 7 at work, have an iMac at home, use a 6 year XP compaq laptop, use Solaris and Linux at college and now want to buy a MBP as my next laptop. I love technology, and right now, my preferences seem to match up with Mac. Can I live without a Mac or XP? Yes, off course, but do I want to be completely isolated to just one OS? Hell no. I have used different flavors of Linux as well, and I think many times that's the best OS in the world - rough and powerful. If you are talking about cars, Linux is the tank. I am also eyeing the Chrome OS as well.

As for the price, Apple makes good laptops - they are reliable (from what I can tell from my experience) and they can price it whatever they want. Just like Aston Martin can price their cars to whatever range they want. You can't argue and shout and claim why Aston Martin doesn't sell their cars at the same price Hyundai does. In many places, Macs are seen as "premier" products, and hence the little extra premier pricing.

 

[Muscle Master]

Okay people.. back to the subject

Okay.. now here's one advantage the i3 have over the i5.. kinda

"Clock speed" I would rather have my cpu running at a constant clock speed

IMHO the low end MBP13 should have one processor!!!! that would be the "i3 2310M" which is 2.1 Ghz with 3MB.. 2cores, 4 threads and the TDP is 35w

Now even though i5 may clock a lil bit higher.. especially with turbo boost I think it would be a bad idea for the 13, the main selling point for the MBP 13 is BATTERY LIFE Instead of making the 13 more powerful.. apple should focus on squeezing more battery life instead

 

[Camps23]

Time to bring out my favorite internet quote:
Arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.

Please, let's return to the original topic.

LOL
So this rumor about both 13" models having i5 is amazing, personally I doubt it but if that is the case I would be one happy camper ! With the rumor mill going these new specs really are starting to look amazing.

 

[Camps23]

Now even though i5 may clock a lil bit higher.. especially with turbo boost I think it would be a bad idea for the 13, the main selling point for the MBP 13 is BATTERY LIFE Instead of making the 13 more powerful.. apple should focus on squeezing more battery life instead

I guess its tough to keep everyone happy because Im the type of user that is fine with 8-9hrs of battery life. I like the middle road approach..sacrifice alittle battery for performance. I guess im used to my old HP laptop that had about 1-2hrs of battery life so Im not used to using a laptop without being plugged in.

 

[rjbruce]

Don't feed the trolls.

I've been considering the same. The SB i3 processor is a 2.1GHz with no turbo. The graphics included has a 650Mhz clock with turbo clock capped at 1100MHz. There is an OEM i5 chip with 2.3GHz base and a mediocre turbo offering of 2.9GHz SC and 2.6GHz DC. It also has the same graphics clock cap. Then there is the low end retail i5 chip with a 2.5GHz base and turbo of 3.2GHz SC and 3.0GHz DC. This chip also has a turbo of 1300MHz on the graphics side with the same base.

This is the chip I hope they offer in the high end 13". I am slightly concerned we could see an Arrandale model but I think the reason they went C2D last year was because of the poor graphics offering on that chip. My thought is they couldn't adopt the newer chips until the graphics wasn't a massive step backwards from the models they replace. So I think those chances are slim, but who really know?

 

[rjbruce]

LOL
So this rumor about both 13" models having i5 is amazing, personally I doubt it but if that is the case I would be one happy camper ! With the rumor mill going these new specs really are starting to look amazing.

If they pull off half the stuff that's rumored, the refresh will be mind blowing, but I can only assume there will be a lot of folks disappointed. Myself included.

 

[Adidas Addict]

You are looking more at a BMW M3. It looks great, but it only performs as well as a 1/2 the cost Mustang GT, and is raped by a 2/3 the cost GT500.

Maybe in a stright line, but everyone knows american cars just don't do corners.

" I got a great idea, get a really old chassis, throw a massive engine in so it goes fast, then just ignore things like brakes, suspension, quality of materials, handling etc etc etc "

 

[ls1dreams]

I'm not sure what Apple is going to do, but I will say this:

If the lowest priced 13" doesn't come with at least an i5, I will be staying with a PC.

An i3 at $1200 for a "pro" machine would be damn insulting.

Unfortunatley, if I was betting, this is my guess at what might come:

13" base model: $1200
i3, integrated intel 3000 graphics
regular hdd

13" upgraded model: $1500
i5, no idea on graphics
small SSD (128gb)

That would be a much tougher call for me....

I really wish they'd just offer a 14" or 15" laptop in the $1200 range.

 

[lewdvig]

Well IMO Apples have never really been "worth it." I honestly don't know why I keep buying them.

How ever my point was that if the i5 version is $1,500 then thats basically a $650 mark up for the Apple name, and even for Apple that WAY to much to justify. When the competition has i5's better GPU's and nearly the same battery life for I have no probably saving over $650 even if it means that I use Windows and don't get as nice of a display. At that price I can buy a 120GB SSD and an external display and 2nd power cable and extended battery. While I can self justify a $250 mark up I can't justify $650.

And if Apple cant even justify the i3 price tag then the i5 price tag 100% can't be justified.

And in case you are wondering what laptop I'm comparing:
Acer 3820TG $833
Core i5
ATi 6550 (better than the 330 in the MBP15)
4GB RAM
500GB 7200RPM HDD
13in 1366x768 LED display
12hrs on extended battery.

I can add:
120GB SSD ($220)
23in display ($190)
external 2TB storage ($100)

And still have only spent $1,343 total. More than enough left for an extended warranty.

Beware that the screen on the TimelineX is terrible. I could only stand to look at it for about two weeks before I sold it. Dark games like Mass Effect 2 were unplayable with 120:1 contrast ratio of the LG screen mine had.

There are no aftermarket upgrades either.

 

[lewdvig]

I'm not sure what Apple is going to do, but I will say this:

If the lowest priced 13" doesn't come with at least an i5, I will be staying with a PC.

An i3 at $1200 for a "pro" machine would be damn insulting.

Unfortunatley, if I was betting, this is my guess at what might come:

13" base model: $1200
i3, integrated intel 3000 graphics
regular hdd

13" upgraded model: $1500
i5, no idea on graphics
small SSD (128gb)

That would be a much tougher call for me....

I really wish they'd just offer a 14" or 15" laptop in the $1200 range.

The Intel 3000 IGP is really good - more than enough for most people. Very similar to the 320m.

The benefit will be a 900p screen, HT and Turbo.

I can't see Apple using any i3 chip. Those are common on $400-500 laptops.

 

[Maven1975]

Look, we now have a speedy laptop thats solid in the MacBook Air. Throwing in an i5 and putting on extra ports doesn't make it a Pro.

Its just not gonna work this time Apple. You have a solid Trendy/Midrange line now with the Air. Its time to put some balls in the 13". Integrated GPU, while efficient, are just not Pro line material. Throttle the hell out of OSX like normal and we wont see battery drains like our PC cousins would under Windows.

Is not anyone here concerned that Apple is not innovating enough with the Mac lines since iOS's massive success? It actually a slap in the face to most of us old timers.

I'm all for effective low powered computing, but there is still a calling for powerful portables.

 

[lewdvig]

Look, we now have a speedy laptop thats solid in the MacBook Air. Throwing in an i5 and putting on extra ports doesn't make it a Pro.

Its just not gonna work this time Apple. You have a solid Trendy/Midrange line now with the Air. Its time to put some balls in the 13". Integrated GPU, while efficient, are just not Pro line material. Throttle the hell out of OSX like normal and we wont see battery drains like our PC cousins would under Windows.

Is not anyone here concerned that Apple is not innovating enough with the Mac lines since iOS's massive success? It actually a slap in the face to most of us old timers.

I'm all for effective low powered computing, but there is still a calling for powerful portables.

Maybe it is time to kill it completely. As well as the 13" sold when it came out, I wonder how it fared after the MBA was released.

Any GPU they put in a 13" will be worse than the 320m. A 6370m or 520m won't add performance versus a 3000 IGP.

A down-clocked 5650 like the Envy 14 will add 20% maybe. But the Envy is sized like a 15" MBP.

The only high performance 13" notebook I can think of is the Acer TimelineX 3820TG (let down by a crap LCD). If you crack open a 3820TG you will understand. That thing is entirely designed around cooling.

Copper HSF for GPU and CPU = heavier
Dual fans = louder
No optical drive
Cool priority = thicker and more vents

I doubt those are the sort of design elements Apple is willing to pursue.

But, I would like to be wrong. I won't complain if Apple has solved these issues.

 

[Maven1975]

Maybe it is time to kill it completely. As well as the 13" sold when it came out, I wonder how it fared after the MBA was released.

Any GPU they put in a 13" will be worse than the 320m. A 6370m or 520m won't add performance versus a 3000 IGP.

A down-clocked 5650 like the Envy 14 will add 20% maybe. But the Envy is sized like a 15" MBP.

The only high performance 13" notebook I can think of is the Acer TimelineX 3820TG (let down by a crap LCD). If you crack open a 3820TG you will understand. That thing is entirely designed around cooling.

Copper HSF for GPU and CPU = heavier
Dual fans = louder
No optical drive
Cool priority = thicker and more vents

I doubt those are the sort of design elements Apple is willing to pursue.

But, I would like to be wrong. I won't complain if Apple has solved these issues.

Can they not add a 330M? That would handily spank the Intel IGP.

I just wish Apple would pay more attention to OSX and their Mac lines. Its plainly obvious, they are all in on iOS.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Arrandale precedes Sandy Bridge so the answer to that is never.

Actually he said "the question is wether" not "the question is when" so the answer to that question would be a choice between the two available processors and not something about a timeline.

 

[Boe11]

Show me where it gives a RAM upgrade, and it only gives a 70GB HDD upgrade, thats nothing. 500GB and 4GB and i5 is standard on even computers under $700 now. The 2.4 to 2.66 CPU upgrade is a worthless upgrade, they are basically charing $300 on top of the $1,200 just to give you performance that's still slower then many budget computers.



A 320GB 5400rpm HDD costs like $45, that's still $255 for 220MHz. Thats a joke. And Apple has a 17% failure rate, how does that relate to massive mark ups? Asus has 15% and is best in the industry and still charges less.



That story is so terrible. Seeing as all of laptops are $1000 then ALL of their sales go to that price range. Places like Asus, Dell, Acer, ect sell the same or more performance for UNDER $999. You have no choice if you want an Apple but to spend over $1000, with PC's you do. That article is useless. The only people spending over $1000 on a Windows PC are gamers, video editors and software developers

Do you have your attention starved musings macroed so you can quickly distribute them to every thread on this forum? If not, you should look into it.