New MBP for college, i5 or i7 and resolution question!

[CollegeStudent]

Hello,

I am going to college this fall and am going to be getting my first mac, I'm excited! I am trying to decide between the MBP core i7 and the 2.53 gHz core i5. I am also wondering about the high resolution screen, and whether the extra 256 Mb of video memory on the i7's card would benefit me. I will be using this computer for internet, youtube watching, movie watching, some recording and creating music with garage band, and games. I was at the Apple store today, and was advised that the 2.53 gHz core i5 would probably be enough for me, but I would like to get a second and possibly more thorough answer.

As for gaming, the games I will most likely play on it would be similar to WoW in terms of GPU demand, but I am also considering getting Crysis to play, because it looks awesome.

Also, I loved the new 1680x1050 anti glare display. I am wondering if it will perform well for gaming if I decide to go with the core i5.

I have read that the core i5 is a better deal. It runs cooler and doesn't drain as much battery and is even better than the i7 in some aspects, could anyone detail this any more as to how the performance would differ in terms of my use?


So, any thoughts on this would be appreciated

Thanks!

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Get the i5, you'll be fine.

 

[riotgear]

Get as much computer as you can afford and hold onto it until you graduate.

 

[millertime021]

Finishing up my freshman year here. I had the same questions, but I'm not a huge gamer, at least not yet, never had a decent computer.

I figure the i7 will last me longer as it is the more powerful one. Four years down the road, it would be nice to use it still.
Screen wise, I went with Hi Res Glossy.


Plus, go big or go home.

 

[paintballswimgu]

go with the baseline i5 with the hi res screen. The difference in the i5s isn't really noticiable, unless your doing something intenese, like HyperChem or Video encoding, or other cpu intensive tasks. The harddrive upgrade is nice, but you can do that yourself significantly cheaper. Don't forget applecare as well

 

[CollegeStudent]

I wanted to get the 2.53 i5 for the 500 GB hard drive. you think it would be better for me to go 2.4 and get maybe like a WD scorpio black or something?

How much would I be able to get on like ebay or craigs list for the hard drive that would come in the MBP if i replaced it?

 

[mobilehaathi]

With the computer in my sig, I get 25-55 fps with "Ultra" settings at native resolution in WoW. Not that WoW is particularly graphics heavy....I hope that can give you some idea with respect to games.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Im going off to college in the fall as well I bought a MBP on the 14 and it is currently sitting in Alaska here are the specs

15' 2.66 GHz i7
500 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
High res glossy screen

I went with the i7 not because of the processor, but for the more powerful GPU. The 330M is a "good" graphics card. Not excellent, but it will certainly get the job done. I figured the extra GPU power made it worth getting an i7.

To be honest, I am a bit worried about the high res glossy screen. I am sure I will love the Mac, but I hope the font and windows will not be too condensed because of the extra pixles. Has anyone seen it? Do I have anything to worry about?

 

[mobilehaathi]

To be honest, I am a bit worried about the high res glossy screen. I am sure I will love the Mac, but I hope the font and windows will not be too condensed because of the extra pixles. Has anyone seen it? Do I have anything to worry about?

Its personal preference really, but I don't find it too small at all. I absolutely LOVE the extra real estate. I want to say the fonts are about as big as on the 1920x1080 resolution on the 17 incher.

 

[CollegeStudent]

Im going off to college in the fall as well I bought a MBP on the 14 and it is currently sitting in Alaska here are the specs

15' 2.66 GHz i7
500 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
High res glossy screen

I went with the i7 not because of the processor, but for the more powerful GPU. The 330M is a "good" graphics card. Not excellent, but it will certainly get the job done. I figured the extra GPU power made it worth getting an i7.

To be honest, I am a bit worried about the high res glossy screen. I am sure I will love the Mac, but I hope the font and windows will not be too condensed because of the extra pixles. Has anyone seen it? Do I have anything to worry about?

at the apple store today I compared a high res screen right next to standard, and I loved the difference. I don't think you have anything to worry about

 

[CollegeStudent]

By the way, I'm coming from a 2002 windows xp with a 2.8 ghz pentium processor and 512 mb of ram. I'm not sure about a gpu, but it has trouble handling facebook chat and YouTube at the same time.

I'm pretty sure I'll be satisfied with any of the new mbp's, but I just realized if I'm already spending 1700 for a computer why not spend 150 more for increased HD space and specs.

Thanks guys