Macbook Pro 13: Upgrade or Downgrade?

[benjaminaho]

A few years ago, the Macbook had a firewire port, then, they took it off because supposedly they wanted it to be simpler (so I heard from an Apple Genius.) Is that what they are doing now with the Macbook Pro 13? I know that the only reason they have Intel graphics is because they wanted to conserve battery power, but is the whole machine, in all, an upgrade? They now have the new Intel core i5, with two cores and 2.3 GHz. I read that the new processor was supposedly much faster, and last time I checked, 2.4 GHz was better than 2.3 GHz. Maybe there is some detail I overlooked, maybe I'm just not smart. I just want to know if it is worth it to "up"grade, and if it is an upgrade.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The dual core i5 and i7 used in the 13" can have two threads per core, thus you get four threads. The dual core C2D CPUs used in the MB and older MBPs can only have one thread per core, thus the current 13" MBPs are faster.

 

[Adidas Addict]

A few years ago, the Macbook had a firewire port, then, they took it off because supposedly they wanted it to be simpler (so I heard from an Apple Genius.) Is that what they are doing now with the Macbook Pro 13? I know that the only reason they have Intel graphics is because they wanted to conserve battery power, but is the whole machine, in all, an upgrade? They now have the new Intel core i5, with two cores and 2.3 GHz. I read that the new processor was supposedly much faster, and last time I checked, 2.4 GHz was better than 2.3 GHz. Maybe there is some detail I overlooked, maybe I'm just not smart. I just want to know if it is worth it to "up"grade, and if it is an upgrade.

Massive upgrade, intel 3000 graphics roughly the same as 320M give or take and the i5 2.3 CPU is twice as fast as last years 2.4Ghz C2D (same performance as last year top of the range Core i7!).

 

[alust2013]

They used intel graphics because there wasn't much else of a choice, and the new architecture and turbo boost as well as hyperthreading make the i5 much faster than the old processor it replaced

 

[phantomspacecop]

I just want to know if it is worth it to "up"grade, and if it is an upgrade.

I would think it'd definitely be an upgrade. Think of it this way -- last year, the 15" had pretty much the same specs as the new 13" and was considered, between the two, the more powerful machine. Now the two machines are basically on the same level.