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dukedevil2323

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 10, 2010
3
0
Is the i5, bigger hard drive, and HD graphics card worth the extra 600 bucks over the 13"?
 
im having trouble deciding between the 13" macbook pro with the core duo and spending the extra 600 bucks for the 15" macbook pro with the i5. I download a lot of music and sometime movies while surfing the web. Is the performance difference on the 15" i5 big enough to be worth 600 bucks more.
 
You can do that with a Pentium 4 or even a Core Duo. You don't need an i5 for downloading and watching video. That is not CPU intensive, and the 600USD you save can be used for buying more songs to download.
 
I am also having trouble deciding between the two. I will be using photoshop (non intensive purposes), some video editing, and some minor gaming now that Steam will be available. Should I get the 15" or should I get the base 13" upgrade the RAM and get an SSD? thanks ahead of time.
 
I am also having trouble deciding between the two. I will be using photoshop (non intensive purposes), some video editing, and some minor gaming now that Steam will be available. Should I get the 15" or should I get the base 13" upgrade the RAM and get an SSD? thanks ahead of time.

That depends on the games and what GPU they require. The 320m might be not good enough for some games you want to play. For the rest of the tasks you listed, the 13" is fine, but the screen might be too small, but you can always get an external display.
 
the only reason I would go to the 15" would be for the i5 and better graphics. I realize what I'm gonna do with the computer the 13" would handle just fine. I was wanting to know if you could tell a big difference in the i5 and core duo.
 
For what you listed, you will see essentially zero difference between core 2 duo and i5. The hindrance to tasks of those nature is the HD. So if you really want a performance boost, get the 13" and spend some of the extra 600 on an SSD. You would see much more benefit from that.
 
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