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Macbook PRO 13' 2011 DILEMMA

C

Christopher7

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 28, 2010
38
0
Hey guys...
I'm planning to a MBP 13 but in dilemma choosing between i5 and i7
Is extra $300 worth for i7?

I know mac wasn't supposed to play game at the first place
but i really want to know if to play SC2
i5 and i7 really make huge differences?

Can someone explain to me the real different between 2.3 i5 and 2.7 i7?

Also is it worth to update to 128GB SSD for i5?

thx!
 
Last edited:
Christopher7 said:
Hey guys...
I'm planning to a MBP 13 but in dilemma choosing between i5 and i7
Is extra $300 worth for i7?

I know mac wasn't supposed to play game at the first place
but i really want to know if to play SC2
i5 and i7 really make huge differences?

Can someone explain to me the real different between 2.3 i5 and 2.7 i7?

thx!
Click to expand...

Look around. This has been discussed over and over.
 
You're money is better spent on an SSD unless you do a lot of processor intensive work.
 
NikFinn said:
You're money is better spent on an SSD unless you do a lot of processor intensive work.
Click to expand...

processor intensive work like PS?
Does SSD affect the performance of it besides speed in open up apps and booting time.
SSD will improve game play on SC2?

Also will SSD reduce the heat? compare to HDD
 
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Gpu is the main thing that matters if you're going to play. With that said, i5 & i7 difference is minimal. If you're going to me using MBP 13" as a gaming platform, you will be pretty disappointed.
 
check out some geekbench scores or other ratings between the two stock versions. the 13 inch model was NOT designed to handle games like that. if you do get a 13 in. you will have some heat it will put out. i have the base model 13MBP that just came out. i installed a SSD and can notice an enormous difference in the loading of everything. as far as games, an SSD will not be ur best upgrade option- go to the 15in that has more graphics power.
 
SakBee said:
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Gpu is the main thing that matters if you're going to play. With that said, i5 & i7 difference is minimal. If you're going to me using MBP 13" as a gaming platform, you will be pretty disappointed.
Click to expand...

I think I will go for

MBP 13 + SSD 128GB.

instead of MBP 13 i7.
 
Christopher7 said:
Yeah but I really can't get a real answer :(
Click to expand...

Neither is designed for gaming and there's a 5-10% performance boost on CPU intensive apps.

I know that's been posted a lot. Of course you'll always get folks that couldnt sleep at night without the fancy i7 trying to convince you otherwise.
 
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Christopher7 said:
SakBee said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

Gpu is the main thing that matters if you're going to play. With that said, i5 & i7 difference is minimal. If you're going to me using MBP 13" as a gaming platform, you will be pretty disappointed.
Click to expand...

I think I will go for

MBP 13 + SSD 128GB.

instead of MBP 13 i7.
Click to expand...

I have the i5 and I've been planning on getting an SSD, but the prices are a little too high at the moment for me.

Look into upgrading your ram from 4GB to 8GB. You might benefit from that instead of getting a smaller SSD at the moment, plus, it will cost you less than $100 to maximize your ram.

Don't get me wrong, SSD is nice, but I'm just thinking what is the best bang for your buck right now.
 
Not worth it to go for the i7. The price difference is too big. In my opinion SSD's are still expensive and I would wait more until prices drop. Personally, I can't do without storage so I would choose the 500GB HDD. In 2 years or so upgrade to SSD.
 
as indicated above and on multiple other threads......

go the i5 route and use that extra 200 bucks for a 120+gb ssd. You won't regret it.
 
If you are asking here, you probably don't need i7. And also, it heats up more. I'm developing and running a heavy emulator, photoshop, and other stuff at once, and I'm not even reaching 50% of the i5 at peak. I need more than 4GB, but i7 definitely not.
 
I love my I7 Its easy to find $65.00 8GB of ram sometimes cheaper. You could also throw a 40GB SSD in the optibay, keep the 500gb hdd, and have an extremely fast machine. Upgraded a CPU is a whole other story. Im not trying to pick a fight with I5 owners and I know how sensitive people are about their choice. I am just trying to give another point of view. Right now to get a good high volume SSD is extremely expensive. Just my .2cents
 
falconeight said:
I love my I7 Its easy to find $65.00 8GB of ram sometimes cheaper. You could also throw a 40GB SSD in the optibay, keep the 500gb hdd, and have an extremely fast machine. Upgraded a CPU is a whole other story. Im not trying to pick a fight with I5 owners and I know how sensitive people are about their choice. I am just trying to give another point of view. Right now to get a good high volume SSD is extremely expensive. Just my .2cents
Click to expand...

My issue with the i7 Model is a combination of the price difference + getting very little in return. All you get for an extra $300 is a upgrade cpu + 500 gb slowwww 5400 rpm hdd. Big deal?

the upgraded versions of the 15" and 17" include upgraded GPU's in the higher prices.

Also MC had the i5 for $1000. That means for the price of the edu discounted mbp 13 i7, you could go get the vertex 3 + 8 gb of ram and spend the same amount of $$ as the i7. If you don't get the vertex 3 and get a sata II ssd you would only spend about $1300.

Going with the above combo would kill the base i7 setup. Unless you NEED the i7 (which is highly doubt), i think the i7 model is a total ripoff.
 
s.hasan546 said:
My issue with the i7 Model is a combination of the price difference + getting very little in return. All you get for an extra $300 is a upgrade cpu + 500 gb slowwww 5400 rpm hdd. Big deal?

the upgraded versions of the 15" and 17" include upgraded GPU's in the higher prices.

Also MC had the i5 for $1000. That means for the price of the edu discounted mbp 13 i7, you could go get the vertex 3 + 8 gb of ram and spend the same amount of $$ as the i7. If you don't get the vertex 3 and get a sata II ssd you would only spend about $1300.

Going with the above combo would kill the base i7 setup. Unless you NEED the i7 (which is highly doubt), i think the i7 model is a total ripoff.
Click to expand...

Put a 40gb ssd in the optibay of the I7 add 8gb of ram and your golden. No need to worry if you have the best mac or not. I bought my I7 on an Army base for $1385 without taxes. Its all up to the buyer, I just think its easier to upgrade hdd and ram and not as easy to upgrade the processor. But I can understand if someone would rather have a ssd it is really cool to watch your mac boot up in less than 20 seconds.
 
I too was debating which model to buy. I plan to buy the i5 with a 128gb SSD to go along with it.

Just waiting until the the free iPod Touch promotion.

Does anybody know if it is possible to get both the free iPod touch as well as the printer?
 
falconeight said:
Put a 40gb ssd in the optibay of the I7 add 8gb of ram and your golden. No need to worry if you have the best mac or not. I bought my I7 on an Army base for $1385 without taxes. Its all up to the buyer, I just think its easier to upgrade hdd and ram and not as easy to upgrade the processor. But I can understand if someone would rather have a ssd it is really cool to watch your mac boot up in less than 20 seconds.
Click to expand...

i totally understand where your coming from. I think if they included a better gpu for the i7 model, than i think everyone here wouldn't even have to think twixe.

$1385 + 40 gb ssd ($100?) + optibay. In my price comparo its the same $$ if not cheaper to get a i5 with either the vertex 3 + 8 gb ram or a sata II drive and save some $$
 
Fugue said:
I too was debating which model to buy. I plan to buy the i5 with a 128gb SSD to go along with it.

Just waiting until the the free iPod Touch promotion.

Does anybody know if it is possible to get both the free iPod touch as well as the printer?
Click to expand...

do you have a microcenter near you? They have a promotion for the mbp 13" i5. $1000. Almost the same price as the free ipod promo. 1200- $200 (estimated worth of the touch) = $1000
 
s.hasan546 said:
do you have a microcenter near you? They have a promotion for the mbp 13" i5. $1000. Almost the same price as the free ipod promo. 1200- $200 (estimated worth of the touch) = $1000
Click to expand...

Apple's price is still cheaper.

$1,200 - $100 (student discount) - $200 (iPod Touch) = $900.

Plus I don't think Microcenter offers a MBP with an SSD.

So does anyone know if the printer rebate goes along with the iPod one?
 
s.hasan546 said:
i totally understand where your coming from. I think if they included a better gpu for the i7 model, than i think everyone here wouldn't even have to think twixe.

$1385 + 40 gb ssd ($100?) + optibay. In my price comparo its the same $$ if not cheaper to get a i5 with either the vertex 3 + 8 gb ram or a sata II drive and save some $$
Click to expand...

It would and there is not a thing wrong with the i5 it is by far a great value, but even with a vertex and 8gb you still will not have the better processor. The I5 at $999 is a no brainer. I had best buy match it, and sold it for $1400 to a German. Took that money minus the paypal fees and only paid $50 more for my I7. I ordered 8GB of ram for $65 from newegg.com sold my 4 GB for $40. And my 40gb ssd is on it way also. No I5 will be able to touch its performance.
 
falconeight said:
It would and there is not a thing wrong with the i5 it is by far a great value, but even with a vertex and 8gb you still will not have the better processor. The I5 at $999 is a no brainer. I had best buy match it, and sold it for $1400 to a German. Took that money minus the paypal fees and only paid $50 more for my I7. I ordered 8GB of ram for $65 from newegg.com sold my 4 GB for $40. And my 40gb ssd is on it way also. No I5 will be able to touch its performance.
Click to expand...

i guess we'll just have to compare my i5 vs ur i7 benchmarks once i get my vertex 3 and 8 gb ram in. ;).
 
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