Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Regret not getting 2.66Ghz after owning 2.4Ghz MBP!(Advice Needed)

D

DocDoom

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 18, 2009
114
0
Well, I have had my 13" 2.4ghz Macbook Pro for about a week now, and after using it extensively, im thinking perhaps maybe i should return it and purchase the 2.66ghz version.
One reason why, is that programs and applications seem to take a long time to open. When i click on a program on the (Firefox for example), it bounces on the dashboard for about 5 seconds then finally opens. On my desktop running Windows Xp and a 2.66ghz processor, everything just opens almost instantly (although it does have a 7200rpm hdd), and on the Macbook i clearly notice that it just isn't as fast as what im used to. Im thinking that upgrading to the 2.66Ghz Macbook Pro will give me speeds that im used to.

Anyone Think I will notice a speed increase with the 2.66ghz model? Will it make opening and closing programs faster? Will it increase speeds in burning dvds, and music production software?
 
How much RAM do you have? The faster processor won't make much of a difference for what you're talking about.
DocDoom said:
Will it make opening and closing programs faster? Will it increase speeds in burning dvds, and music production software?
Click to expand...
Opening and closing apps and burning DVDs are limited by drive speed, not CPU.
 
Put a SSD in your MacBook Pro and it will completely solve all of the problems that you're talking about. A faster processor won't help much for them.
 
Instead of returning it, paying the restocking fee, and then purchasing a more expensive Macbook Pro... why not purchase an SSD?
 
You can never really know or feel the difference between 2.4 and 2.66. The fact that you believe you regret this buying decision tells me you're far from someone who needs the 2.66.

Buy the SSD and max out the ram, that's where the value will be.
 
Since your desktop has a 7200 rpm drive and your MacBook a 5400 it's gonna be slower and it's gonna be the same situation no matter which macbook because all come with 5400 rpm drives
 
the 2.66 is a joke. That money is much better spent on more ram or a 7200rpm hdd, or even an ssd.
 
maril1111 said:
Since your desktop has a 7200 rpm drive and your MacBook a 5400 it's gonna be slower and it's gonna be the same situation no matter which macbook because all come with 5400 rpm drives
Click to expand...

Not all 5400 rpm drives are slower than 7200s. Some higher-density 5400s are faster than some lower-density 7200s.
 
jessica. said:
You can never really know or feel the difference between 2.4 and 2.66. The fact that you believe you regret this buying decision tells me you're far from someone who needs the 2.66.

Buy the SSD and max out the ram, that's where the value will be.
Click to expand...

+1

in this forum its either you are fluent in tech, or you're just totally oblivious to specs and how they behave on said person's rig.
 
I wish I sprung for a 2.66ghz Mac even though all I do is browse the web, iWork, chatting.

I would have needed some more money (which I didn't have) and I figured iWork + Apple Care would be better for the same price of $1500.
 
GGJstudios said:
Not all 5400 rpm drives are slower than 7200s. Some higher-density 5400s are faster than some lower-density 7200s.
Click to expand...

true but the ones used in the MacBooks are and you do benefit using a 7200rpm drive.

Actually what would happen if someone build in a 10000 rpm drive? Would the MacBook blow up?
 
I ran into the same issue except I have had my 13" for 16 days. I agree with what others are saying...the small bump wouldn't do much. Unless you are jumping to the i5, I don't see a difference. If you get a faster hard drive, I am interested to see if it speeds things up. I have a 2.66 GHz iMac and it definitely is faster, but I don't expect a laptop to work with the same speed as a desktop considering I am buying the entry level units.

I do consider how slow every other laptop I have used and owned has been and feel lucky to have such a worthwhile laptop. I say this even as I have seen Windows units that have the same or better specs for half the price. I feel great about my purchase and would do the same thing if I had the opportunity once again.:apple:
 
The 2.66 13MBP is the biggest waste of money on the market. You get nothing for your extra money. Tiny bump in clock speed that makes no difference that you would notice and a small increase in HDD. I really can't see how anyone chooses that model.
 
Adidas Addict said:
The 2.66 13MBP is the biggest waste of money on the market. You get nothing for your extra money. Tiny bump in clock speed that makes no difference that you would notice and a small increase in HDD. I really can't see how anyone chooses that model.
Click to expand...

only the suckers do :)
 
jessica. said:
You can never really know or feel the difference between 2.4 and 2.66. The fact that you believe you regret this buying decision tells me you're far from someone who needs the 2.66.

Buy the SSD and max out the ram, that's where the value will be.
Click to expand...

Just wondering if the 2.66ghz Macbook pro would have any noticeable increase, since i notice the 2.4ghz model i have is slower then my other computer. But, i guess perhaps a faster hard drive will give me what im looking for.
 
The new hybrid drives are a good option that offer a real world upgrade in speed for not much outlay (about 1/3 the cost of full SSD) and you still get decent storage of 250-500GB.

Do a search for Seagate Momentus XT
 
People get too fixated on the bouncing dock icon (myself included) and it makes it seem like certain apps take longer to open. The OP will not receive any benefit from going from a 2.4 to a 2.66. I have a Quad Core i7 iMac and it's only SLIGHTLY quicker at launching apps over my 15" Core i5 MBP, both have a 7200rpm drive.
Once I turn off the animated bouncing dock and then do launch time tests it's barely a difference. The OP should restart both his PC and MBP, turn off the dock animation, then do launch testing with FF against his MBP 2.4. His Windows machine won't seem that fast anymore.
 
I just bought a new 13" 2.4 for my wife the other day. I own the 2.66, but that's because I got it for a killer deal a couple months ago.

I left the original 5400rpm drive in there and the brand new MBP seemed like it was slower than snot. In fact, it seemed on par with the 2008 MacBook it replaced. I took the 5400rpm out and replaced it with a WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200rpm drive. That alone transformed the computer. i.e. Google Earth is less than half a second slower to load than my SSD.

Bottom line: Faster HDD or SSD is what you are after.
 
The jump from 2.4 to 2.66 is about a 10% increase in clock rate - that is, when the processor is operating at max, you might see up to a 10% speed increase. But what you described (opening programs and such) usually depends much more on the hard drive than the CPU.

I agree with the people above - get a SSD. A friend of mine did just that, and there is a HUGE difference. Programs start in a second or two instead of 10 seconds - the computer starts a lot faster and so on. It just makes it feel many times faster no matter what you do (which is a lot better than 10% only when the CPU is maxed)
 
Hisdem said:
Not when the price for you to buy your upgraded one is only ~$200 and you live in a place where a 60GB SSD will cost you $500 :p
Click to expand...

its actually a $300 dollar price difference in the Apple Store to go from 2.4ghz to 2.66ghz + a little extra HDD space for a mediocre 5400rpm drive :)

and SSD drives are not meant for storage, but rather for performance. One can easily get SSD cards shipped to wherever you live. SSD prices are dropping rather quickly as the competition is growing larger.
 
aohus said:
its actually a $300 dollar price difference in the Apple Store to go from 2.4ghz to 2.66ghz + a little extra HDD space for a mediocre 5400rpm drive :)

and SSD drives are not meant for storage, but rather for performance. One can easily get SSD cards shipped to wherever you live. SSD prices are dropping rather quickly as the competition is growing larger.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I got mine from a third party reseller I know, hence that :)

And yes, I can get an SSD shipped to me, paying ridiculous tax (over $150). But still, I do agree, for a $300 upgrade, it is NOT worth it. It's just that a 2.4GHz MBP here costs around $1500, and the 2.66 for around $2500, so $1700 for the high end one wasn't a bad deal for me, although it may be for people all over the world. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back