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Macbook pro 2010 15 inch versus 2011 13 inch

S

shaun319

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2010
72
0
New York City
I currently have a macbook pro spring 2010 15 inch entry level (2.4 Ghz i5, 4 gb ram, 320 hdd). I am thinking about selling it and getting a 2011 macbook pro 13 inch mainly for improved portability. Would I really be sacrificing a lot in terms of performance?

I mainly use the copy for web surfing, word processing, powerpoint, and basic photo editing. I usually have multiple programs open at once.
 
The only aspect you would be compromising is with the GPU. The baseline i5 13" is as fast as the high-end 2010 15" as far as CPU goes. For your use, the base 13" seems perfect.
 
You would gain performance, especially if you get a SSD which is pretty decently priced from Apple if you get the 128GB one.

If you want more mobility then yes, you should sell it as it makes a big difference. Another thing to keep in mind is that your existing computer actually has a resale value that is far higher than you probably think. Because of this, it would not be as big of a financial loss as you may think to sell it and get a 13. If you want more mobility, I say go for it! :D


No but really...the resale value on the Unibody MacBook Pro is literally stupid. It defies the laws of used electronics. It stumps me...
 
Yeah.... he's right, they really do have great resale. You'll get 1400-1600 on ebay for that machine with good photos, good ebay history and original boxes etc NO problem.

For what you do as well, yeah, you'll be more than fine. Since you don't really do anything GPU intensive you may see no drop, and if you do get an ssd, you may even see an improvement.

Enjoy!
 
If you're ready to sacrifice your 330M GPU for a HD3000(comparable to the 320M which is a huge difference), go for it.
 
kobyh15 said:
The baseline i5 13" is as fast as the high-end 2010 15" as far as CPU goes.
Click to expand...

notreally.png

Not really..

The high end 15 has two more cores then the 13..

That being said, OP, the 13 looks good for you!
 
Manacit said:
Image
Not really..

The high end 15 has two more cores then the 13..

That being said, OP, the 13 looks good for you!
Click to expand...

Uh, the base 13" 2011 is comparable to the high end 2010--the comparison you made is to the high end 2011.
 
I think that you won't be giving up anything CPU wise, you will be giving up GPU and screen resolution though
 
shaun319 said:
I currently have a macbook pro spring 2010 15 inch entry level (2.4 Ghz i5, 4 gb ram, 320 hdd). I am thinking about selling it and getting a 2011 macbook pro 13 inch mainly for improved portability. Would I really be sacrificing a lot in terms of performance?

I mainly use the copy for web surfing, word processing, powerpoint, and basic photo editing. I usually have multiple programs open at once.
Click to expand...

If you would have done a bit of research you would have quickly found that the new 2011 mbps are significantly faster than the 2010 models. So to be clear you lose nothing.

If you need portability, then for your uses the air is more suited but the technology is older (or wait for the refresh).
 
ls1dreams said:
Ugh. The 2011 MBP 13" is my first mac ever. I absolutely hate this aspect of it. What happened to making quiet machines?
Click to expand...

All hard drives 'chatter'. Some chatter more than others and people hear differently...people with better hearing will obviously complain about this more as they constantly hear it. The only way to eliminate this is with a SSD. If you have a SSD and it is doing it, then that is not normal.
 
NickZac said:
All hard drives 'chatter'. Some chatter more than others and people hear differently...people with better hearing will obviously complain about this more as they constantly hear it. The only way to eliminate this is with a SSD. If you have a SSD and it is doing it, then that is not normal.
Click to expand...

hair dryer ≠ Hard Drive

hair dryer = 6200 rpm fan.
 
ls1dreams said:
Ugh. The 2011 MBP 13" is my first mac ever. I absolutely hate this aspect of it. What happened to making quiet machines?
Click to expand...

W T F???

MacBooks are one of the most quiet line of laptops. Last night, i put my MBP next to a normal Intel Centrino Solo(Its not even an iX processor laptop nor SB while the new 2011 is!) processor laptop that is just on the net surfing and its fans are like a jet engine. And i couldnt even hear my computer's fans!

And of course the fan will go up to 6200rpm when you are doing CPU intensive task. Its a Sandy Bridge Processor thats just very powerful.

But if thats the fan speed when the computer is left idle, thats not good.
 
I was concerned about this too

I read all the "loud fan" posts and was concerned about this before buying my 2011 MBP 13". In practice, the machine is quiet in my experience except when it is ripping DVDs (the most demanding application I've used so far).

ls1dreams said:
Ugh. The 2011 MBP 13" is my first mac ever. I absolutely hate this aspect of it. What happened to making quiet machines?
Click to expand...
 
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