Macbook Pro 15" 2.53 or 2.66 GHz?

[Ammo]

I'm not really in the market for a new laptop yet but my current one (PC) will be nearing the 2 year mark come December so I'm already eyeing my next purchase when I have the funds for one (meaning I need to graduate college and find a job).

What has really kept me from actively pursuing a Mac laptop was the fact that the 15 inchers only came in Pro form and started at $2000. Now I see the new ones that cost less but come with a less features than the $2000 version (really, shouldn't they just call it a 15" Regular Macbook?).

What I really want to know is if the difference in speed, hard drive space and graphics card is really worth the extra price? Just so I can file it away in my memory when I go to purchase in the future.

 

[JamesGorman]

The speed difference is not noticeable at all. I believe both come standard with 4GB of memory, so thats no difference, and both machines are upgradeable to 8GB of memory. The 2.66Ghz model comes with a 320GB HDD, versus a 250GB HDD in the 2.53ghz model. So you gain 70 GB's of HDD space. Also the 2.66 version comes with the discrete graphics card, the 9600M GT, which is a great boost over the standard integrated 9400M that the lower end model contains. The 2.66ghz model gives you both graphics cards, and gives you the option to use the less powerful 9400M when just doing basic tasks, which lets you conserve battery power, and using the more powerful 9600M GT when needing some more power for more intensive tasks. For this reason alone I would go for the 2.66 model. If you wont be doing much graphic intense work, or only light gaming, The 2.53 model is better suited to you, as you can later upgrade the HDD to 500GB for just over 100 dollars if you wanted to.