mid 2010 Macbook pro 13" vs 2011 13 inch?!

you can get the baseline 2011 mbp at microcenter for 999 fyi

 

The i5 is much faster, there is a lot more to a processor than simply its clock frequency

 

The i5 would be faster in benchmarks, but chances are you wouldn't notice the difference there. I'd probably buy from the friend to save the extra cash.

 

In real world difference you most likely will not notice speed difference. Plus if it has apple care and it is what you want go for it.

 

It depends on the games you play, I know for Civilization 5 it would be noticeable since that is a CPU-intensive game. If you're just playing shooters you won't notice. Neither laptop is going to play games extraordinarily well, my 320m holds its own for the most part and I don't know exactly how the Intel HD 3000 stacks up but based on the previous performance of Intel GPU's, I wouldn't hold my breath.

To sum it up, CPU-intense games, go with the i5 on the 2011 MBP, for graphics-intense go C2D in the 2010 MBP with the apple-care. (not to mention the 3 years of applecare is worth another $100 or so)

 

IIRC, it is an intel chipset for the integrated graphics no?

 

Correct. HD3000.

 

As others have stated, the GPU is intel based in the 13-inch model but you should also know that the CPU can't do everything, especially when it comes to graphics. I could load up a Quad core i7 at 3.4GHz per core with a GeForce2 FX video card and have no hope to play even Counter-Strike: Source on it.

 

that's not a bad deal at all so if a 2.66c2d is good enough for you then there is no sense in spending an extra $200, or possibly even more if you wanted applecare on a new purchase.

 

Go for it. The 2.66Ghz Core 2 is still a good processor. Also you will have a better graphics card with the 2010 MBP. I have a 2010 13" with the 2.4Ghz and can play Bio Shock with the settings maxed out with no issues at all. Plus it does everything else I want it to without an issue. Buy your friends and then buy an SSD drive for it.

 

I run both those games fine on my 2010 with the 2.4Ghz C2D so you'll be fine, save some money and keep the AppleCare

 

If you can get this deal. It's definitely worth the $200

 

If I were you, I would go for the $800 one coz neither of the ones you are looking can play games that require high spec. plus if you buy a new one, you gonna need apple care as well and that will be another extra.

So why not go for the cheaper one for now and save money? Maybe you will like the new ones coming out next year. You normally get good prices for selling a MBP. Since it is a second hand one, you dont have that much to lose.

 

And don't forget to consider the sales tax - could add another $70-100 to the new MBP.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the base 13" MacBook Pro has a 2.3 GHz i5 processor, not 2.4 GHz.
Correct me if I'm wrong!

 

Really? Is there a special edition I dont know of?

Here is mine....



And here are the options on Apples website.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTM3NjU5MzU

 

FYI the 2010 is 2.4ghz not the 2011.

 

Uh, no. The base i5 13" MBP is 2.3 GHz.