Should I buy the low-end 15" i5 or get a higher end model?

[QueenFan66]

Hi, I have been waiting for a long time for the new MacBook Pros with the i-series processors to be released and now they are! I will be buying one at the end of the summer when I get enough money to buy it with my Lifeguard money (I'm 15.) I have a gaming desktop at home (E8400, 4GB RAM, ATI 5770, Win7) and so I won't be using the MacBook as a main gaming rig, but I want one where I can play on the go. I will NOT buy a 13", the $1799 MacBook Pro is as low as I will go. I know that the graphics card is weak so I wont get amazing performance in games like crysis (I can get 30fps on my desktop on very high). I wonder if I would notice a huge improvement with going from the low end MBP to a higher end (like the i7), but mainly, if it is worth the money for me to spend the extra cash on it. I would like to buy a really good laptop that would last me until I get to College (3 years). I will be buying 2 256GB ssd in the future (taking out the optical drive) but I wonder if I should spend the extra money or not. Thanks!

 

[Hellhammer]

Get the base 15" as only improvement is clock speed and 1MB more cache in i7. That money is better invested on RAM and SSD

 

[QueenFan66]

That was exactly what I was thinking

 

[Nuak]

The answer is: don't waste your money, you can buy an SSD with those 400$ and get a significant boost in performance and loading times.