What macbook pro model to purchase?

[Treeman574]

I am planning to purchase a macbook pro sometime in the near future for university and am unsure what model I should purchase. Note: It is very unlikely that I will make this purchase before the pro lineup is updated.

The main reason I need a good laptop is to run AutoCAD 2011/2012 and AutoCAD 3D software. I currently have this running on an older model iMac, 2.4GHz core 2 duo but it feels sluggish and sometimes freezes.

I would like to use this as my main computer for the next 4 or so years, so the 13" mbp with 320GB hard drive and 4GB of ram would be my first choice. I don't care much for screen size because I have a good 19" monitor at home. However I am looking for the best deal in terms of price, processor speed and portability.

Can anyone help me out with this decision? And does anyone have any rough estimates for the mbp updates? Thanks!

 

[Fubar1977]

13" is still only C2D with no discrete graphics. You would be better served by the base model i5 15" if the size works for you.

 

[newdeal]

...

for cpu\gpu intensive tasks and if you plan to keep it for 4 years you should probobly skip out on the 13". Even if it is refreshed it will be underpowered compared to what they can put into the 15. I would say get the i5 or i7 15" for your purposes.

 

[jtus]

This is what I have. I am running Autocad 2011 for MAC and it works great.
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 8 GB

 

[adnoh]

if it freezes o your old 2.4 C2D then it wont be that much better on the base model MBP with a 2.4 CD.

Buy the 15" core i5 model, you wont regret it.

 

[Treeman574]

Thanks for the info! I will consider this when I get my mbp. Leaning a bit towards the 15" model, but will wait and see how good the 13" update is.