I currently have a 17inch c2d 2.8, I am thinking about adding a 15 inch i7. I don't need a second laptop but will get one in the next year. One for work and one at home. I was waiting for a redesign. My question is, is the i7 just a speed bump or a game changer? I want to put some difference between the 2 machines, so they don't come up for upgrade at the same time. I wold consider the switch to unibody/sealed battery a design game changer. How about the i5/i7
It's more like a speed bump, if one has read all the other threads and articles about the update on the i5/z CPUs. It's a good speed bump though, but unless you have to do a lot of CPU intensive stuff, it might not be worth it. Or it might. A design change of the outer shell is highly unlikely, as the previous Aluminium design was with use for five and a half years. Btw, when the MBPs get quad core CPUs, that will be a really significant speed bump, but not a so-called game changer. That will be the task for the quantum MBP in twenty years or so.
Its a speed bump, why do you need a laptop for work and home? If you need that could you not get a iMac or Mac mini and keep the laptop for work