What Should I Do..?

[Jcnear]

I am currently looking at the refurbished page on Apple and there are two MacBooks that catch my eye.

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm


Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.3GHz dual-core Intel i5
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
320GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm

I am enlisted in the Marines and leave September 6th, so I do not plan on going to college for at least two to four years (Depending on whether I get into a certain program, MECEP). So for now it would just be used for a few games (Portal 2, gotta love that game) and mostly internet and apps. I do not plan on doing much video editing or anything like that. I realize there is only about a 100 dollar difference, but money is tight at the moment. Is there really that much difference between the Intel Core 2 Duo and the Intel i5?

Thanks for the help!

Jake

 

[Yumunum]

I am currently looking at the refurbished page on Apple and there are two MacBooks that catch my eye.

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm


Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.3GHz dual-core Intel i5
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
320GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm

I am enlisted in the Marines and leave September 6th, so I do not plan on going to college for at least two to four years (Depending on whether I get into a certain program, MECEP). So for now it would just be used for a few games (Portal 2, gotta love that game) and mostly internet and apps. I do not plan on doing much video editing or anything like that. I realize there is only about a 100 dollar difference, but money is tight at the moment. Is there really that much difference between the Intel Core 2 Duo and the Intel i5?

Thanks for the help!

Jake

If you can, I'd get the second. The extra 70GB could be handy if you want to make a smaller Windows partition down the road (very helpful for compatibility) and IF Thunderbolt ever becomes useful, you'll wish you had it. The processor will also, obviously, be faster, if you're really going to be keeping the computer for up to 4 years, I highly recommend staying one generation ahead and paying the $100

 

[spam0000]

I would recommend you to not join the Marines.

Furthermore, maybe get a pc if you're main purpose is gaming?

If youre definite on getting a mac then there's a big performance boost to the i5, it might be worth the money. On the other hand, the new macbook pros get a lot hotter and noisier than the core 2 duo ones. I just went with a second hand core 2 duo for that reason.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

No question, the i5. There's a significant performance boost to the CPU and a moderate boost to the GPU. There's more than $100 difference in performance between the two.

Unlike what Yumunum said, the 2nd MBP does NOT have Thunderbolt, only the latest generation MBPs have it, and all the 15" models have quad-core procs.

If you want to game on it, then the 2nd one is going to be an even more obvious choice.

Also, is one a 13" and one a 15"? If so, then specs are not the only thing you're looking at, you're looking at form factor as well. Keep in mind that no 13" model has a discrete GPU, and most, but not all, 15" models do. For games, you absolutely need a discrete GPU.