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talk me into the i7!

MacsBestFriend

MacsBestFriend

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2008
574
0
upstate ny (purgatory)
hey everyone, so i am going to get a new mbp soon for school. i dont feel like i need the i7 and the half hour of battery life lost if bothering me. but if i get it with the hi-res antiglare it should use less power since i can turn the screen down more, right?

i'm going to use the computer for photoshop, final cut, and autocad (through bootcamp) a third of the time, the rest being cod, x-plane, music, and internet. i don't let my computer leave my side.

i'm making the right choice, right? :eek:
i just want to feel confident before forking down $2200 (student discount :D) on a computer, moving up from my moms '09 imac occasionally and a $400 acer i bought three years ago.

i have wanted a mac for years, and now i have enough saved and money isn't a problem, expect a grand for the ssd ;)

thanks!
 
MacsBestFriend said:
hey everyone, so i am going to get a new mbp soon for school. i dont feel like i need the i7 and the half hour of battery life lost if bothering me. but if i get it with the hi-res antiglare it should use less power since i can turn the screen down more, right?

i'm going to use the computer for photoshop, final cut, and autocad (through bootcamp) a third of the time, the rest being cod, x-plane, music, and internet. i don't let my computer leave my side.

i'm making the right choice, right? :eek:
i just want to feel confident before forking down $2200 (student discount :D) on a computer, moving up from my moms '09 imac occasionally and a $400 acer i bought three years ago.

i have wanted a mac for years, and now i have enough saved and money isn't a problem, expect a grand for the ssd ;)

thanks!
Click to expand...

I would love to talk you out of i7 but... I believe you have already answered yourself that question...
 
Regular users who check mails, browse the web, probably some minor photo or video editing - the i5 is plentiful... but if you're into heavy video editing and rendering which I assume you will on Final Cut, plus the fact that you're gonna use AutoCAD on BootCamped Windows, I believe you're gonna utilise a huge external monitor for that...? i7 will shave a few seconds off your work, probably hours in the long run, while a 512MB VRAM will benefit if you use a huge monitor with big-ass resolution. Right now the only MBP that comes with both i7 and 512MB VRAM is a stock 15" high-end or a BTO 17" MBP...
 
talk me into the i7!
Click to expand...

hehehe I have 2 reasons for u.

1 Life is too short (way too short), Buy it and enjoy it.
2 Buy it and show off to your friend (Live your life to the max while u can)

Cheers
 
Don't do it. The only noticeable difference you'll see with the i7 is slightly lower battery life.
 
Eithanius said:
Regular users who check mails, browse the web, probably some minor photo or video editing - the i5 is plentiful... but if you're into heavy video editing and rendering which I assume you will on Final Cut, plus the fact that you're gonna use AutoCAD on BootCamped Windows, I believe you're gonna utilise a huge external monitor for that...? i7 will shave a few seconds off your work, probably hours in the long run, while a 512MB VRAM will benefit if you use a huge monitor with big-ass resolution. Right now the only MBP that comes with both i7 and 512MB VRAM is a stock 15" high-end or a BTO 17" MBP...
Click to expand...

no, haha. at school i work on a 21 and 18's. my mom and i may go halves on a new monitor and xbox depending on my final grades. i actually have a regents exam in under twelve hours. :D

i actually haven't used final cut before :eek: i do a lot of youtube editing though and thought that imovie wasn't enough, and the school gives out free educational copies for my studio in video coarse this fall. :)
 
MacsBestFriend said:
no, haha. at school i work on a 21 and 18's. my mom and i may go halves on a new monitor and xbox depending on my final grades. i actually have a regents exam in under twelve hours. :D

i actually haven't used final cut before :eek: i do a lot of youtube editing though and thought that imovie wasn't enough, and the school gives out free educational copies for my studio in video coarse this fall. :)
Click to expand...

Then you are better off with an i5... Enjoy that until school life's out, when you get into working life, you can fling your money whichever way you like on whatever Apple has to offer in the future... For now the price of an i7 can be saved for something else...
 
Eithanius said:
Then you are better off with an i5... Enjoy that until school life's out, when you get into working life, you can fling your money whichever way you like on whatever Apple has to offer in the future... For now the price of an i7 can be saved for something else...
Click to expand...

money isn't necessarily a problem. i have 2700 to put towards a computer and half an xbox/tv. theres another 800 in the bank, and after next summers work (this years pay go towards my new snowboard) i will have about $3000 towards my dorm room in college. ikea can do the rest :D
 
DesmoPilot said:
Not that we've really had a decent benchmark to test 256MB vs 512MB. Barefeats' test was laughable at best.
Click to expand...

I was referring to the effect of the i7 over the i5. The VRAM would only come into effect if the OP was talking about the 15" MBP, but he didn't state whether he was looking at the 15 or 17. Even if VRAM is a consideration, the 256 vs 512 debate has been beaten to death, and the bottom line is: the 330m isn't powerful enough to play games at a detail level where the extra 256mb would be useful. There are some scenarios to the contrary, but they're rare.
 
7 is a bigger number than 5 therefore better... wait thats right isnt it guys?
 
Reapur said:
7 is a bigger number than 5 therefore better... wait thats right isnt it guys?
Click to expand...

Agreed. :D

Seriously though, whichever you get, you won't notice any difference because you have nothing to compare it to. I only got the i7 because it was in-stock in-store...otherwise I would have been perfectly content with the i5.
 
sadcamper said:
Agreed. :D

Seriously though, whichever you get, you won't notice any difference because you have nothing to compare it to. I only got the i7 because it was in-stock in-store...otherwise I would have been perfectly content with the i5.
Click to expand...

what are you using it for?

for everyone else, i meant the 15 incher, sorry.
 
MacsBestFriend said:
did you by any chance go with a hi-res screen, too?
Click to expand...

I got the 17", so by deafult, yes. If I were to buy the 15", I would have gone hi-res though...the font size doesn't bother me, and the picture looks much more crips (to my eyes). I also went with anti-glare.
 
i5 is more than enough even for Photoshop.. Never used Autocad so no comments! Imo the only visible difference will be Video editing!
And then I do like I do not like's idea..
 
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