MBP 15" - 2.53 GHz or 2.8 GHz

[oct0299]

This forum has helped me decide the 15" MBP is the best computer for me - Thanks.
But I am not tech savvy enough to know if there would be a noticeable difference in performance between the 2.53 GHz (w/3 MB L2 cache) and 2.8 GHz (w/ 6 MB L2 cache) MBP. My question is will the extra 3 MB L2 cache on the 2.8 GHz processor make a noticeable difference? My computer is used for "normal" home use: internet, watching movies, iTunes, family photo and video editing, some business applications. I may be adding Aperture and Final Cut Express if iLife is too basic. I also tend to keep computers long term upgrading myself along the way (current HP is 8+ years old...I know it's just a paper weight now!). Any help is appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[Benchmob31]

Hey there, where you will see the speed difference between the 2.53 and the 2.8 would be in apps such as Final Cut Pro and Aperture. It wont be a huge speed increase but it will be a significant. I am in the same boat as you. I have been able to do all the editing in the iLife sweet that I need to do with out one of the bigger programs. The beauty of either computer is its upgrade ability to 8 gigs of Ram. Either come with the standard of 4 gigs.


In my position I would get the 2.53 because of #1 money issue and #2 I will not use the dual video cards. If you can justify the $600 difference then go for it, in my opinion you would do just fine on 2.53.

 

[dacreativeguy]

The extra power will future proof your purchase a bit longer and will be worth more at resale. If you can afford the top of the line, then do it. I bought a 2.2 SR instead of a 2.4 and there was a difference (I have a 2.4 SR at work to compare). So when I replaced that machine I went for the 2.8 Unibody and am very happy. Sounds like Snow Leopard may use the GPU RAM so 512 over 256 may be nice to have in the long run.

 

[Hellhammer]

Difference in CPU is about 15% (10% clock speed, 5% or more cache). 2.8 also has dual GPUs (9400M + 9600M GT) so if I was you, I'd get the 2.8GHz model, because you want to keep it for a long time

 

[oct0299]

Good info all - that is what I was looking for, thank you.
Thanks HH for the CPU / cache differences.

 

[opera57]

You would probably be happy with the 2.53, it is a very capable machine.. But if you can afford the 2.8ghz model you should go for it, especially if you are going to be doing any movie editing. It's more future proof and obviously its going to be faster in most applications!