To Keep my 13inch i7 ?? or return for i5 ?

[jeepstylexx]

Purchased my first mac a 3 weeks ago - a 13 inch macbook pro with i5. I decided after 10 days that I wanted to upgrade to the i7. The few hundred dollars was worth it, even though i specifically didn't need the extra processing power (i just wanted a quicker computer - no gaming needs, adobe etc. - just office, email, iTunes, etc).

I have since upgraded the ram to 8gb and purchased a samsung ssd 470. The main issue i'm running into is the heat. My i5 ran relatively cool, my i7 gets really really hot (i could always keep my i5 on my lap, not my i7). Furthermore, when in class the i7 gets so hot the fans speed up and becomes bothersome to the class... my i5 never did.

With the upgraded ram and ssd, am i wasting my money if i return it for another i5? or should i keep the i7 and deal with the heat issues? Is the difference really that great?

Thanks for the suggestions
T

 

[dlimes13]

IMO, return it. For what you do, the i5 is plenty, especially w/ your upgrades. Save the extra cash.

If it was a $50-$100 difference, that'd be a different story.

 

[SurferMan]

The only time the I7's are good, is extremely heavy/intensive workload like intensive 3D graphics designing etc and even then it's not a big difference, I know plenty of people that have no problem with I5's doing intensive workloads.... many have switched back to I5's b/c of the heat generated by I7's. Not a big issue with other computers like a custom desktop, but on an aluminum Mac the I7's can get hot as hell lol.

I5 is more than enough for what your doing and then some.

Thats kinda funny about the class thing though, for some reason Mac's fan's get loud when running high speeds for heat, sounds like a jet right before take off. My windows laptops were never as loud as my MBP 13 when it's at 6k+ rpm.

 

[pazz]

Nobody can really answer this question for you.

I myself decided to go for the i5 because of the lower heat generated but also for better battery life. These are inter-related.

In comparison to the i5 the i7 cpu has a higher power consumption (look beyond TDP). Also, because the i7 generates more heat, the unit will require more frequent active cooling. This saps power running the fan.

A couple of great comparisons from the same website

i7 2620M 2.7 GHz
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-Early-2011-2-7-GHz-dual-core-glare-type-screen.51631.0.html

i5 2415M 2.3 GHz
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-Early-2011-2-3-GHz-dual-core-glare-type-screen.51409.0.html

 

[AdrianK]

Purchased my first mac a 3 weeks ago - a 13 inch macbook pro with i5. I decided after 10 days that I wanted to upgrade to the i7. The few hundred dollars was worth it, even though i specifically didn't need the extra processing power (i just wanted a quicker computer - no gaming needs, adobe etc. - just office, email, iTunes, etc).

Right It's a placebo. A very expensive placebo.

 

[jeepstylexx]

Thanks everyone. Just the advice i was looking for. Just needed some reassurance before making the decision. The biggest factor for me is the heat issue and the classroom noise. When people start looking around at you... it's a bit embarrassing and I usually put the mac in sleep mode until it cools down.

 

[jeepstylexx]

Returned the 2.7 on Friday and Apple wasn't happy I was returning it. Told me they had never heard of a heat issue with the 2.7. I told them to do a google search for my 2011 MBP gets hot and they'd see plenty.

Needless to say, Happy with the 2.3. No issues in class, temperature isn't an issue now. A night and day difference.

 

[pazz]

Returned the 2.7 on Friday and Apple wasn't happy I was returning it. Told me they had never heard of a heat issue with the 2.7. I told them to do a google search for my 2011 MBP gets hot and they'd see plenty.

Needless to say, Happy with the 2.3. No issues in class, temperature isn't an issue now. A night and day difference.

Naturally they are not going to admit there's an issue with one of their products.

It took me several hours to prove to a genius that there are manufacturing variances present in iPhone 4 screens. Wasn't until he got his own personal handset out that he accepted there was an issue. He then showed the store manager which I found amusing.