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What to buy 2018 13 inch i5 or i7

jeroenvip

jeroenvip

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2017
142
186
Hello,

At the moment I am working on a:
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
2,7 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB

What to buy ?

2.3GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
512GB SSD storage

or

2.7GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
512GB SSD storage

Usage
Phpstorm (programming software with multiple instances open)
Gaming in spare time (medium settings in games is enough for me)
Webbrowsing
OBS streaming (https://obsproject.com)

The 15 inch is not an option for me, cause I am in love with the portability of the 13 inch.

Thanks for the help
 
Either way it's going to be a huge upgrade. You don't mention the price difference, but assuming regular western world pricing differential, I'd probably not take it.

In Canada it's a $360 upgrade, that's pretty damn steep IMO. For that money I'd probably do without. Having said that, I don't do ANY gaming on my MacBook and have the same one you do currently. That $360 alone buys a PS4 (which I do have). I guess I'm just not sure that I'd spend $360 on that and it'll still not be great on games, I'd rather just get something that is decent for gaming.
 
I agree with others that recommend the i5. However, I am biased toward he low end processor for each generation based on past experiences I suppose. Not sure if it makes a difference on these processors (in my head it does) but battery life and low heat production are a priority for me.

I actually tried out the 2018 13" i5 for a few weeks as I was smitten with the small form factor and it was quite a bit faster than my 2017 15". In the end, I couldn't deal with the smaller screen though (old eyes) so am back to a 2018 15"
 
They're both good options, but personally, this is what I would do.

I would choose the i5, save $300 on the chip. Thermal limitations exist, and quite frankly, you aren't going to see a major difference in performance between those two chips. The i7 is going to throttle faster than the i5, and in practice, the i5 may actually perform better if it isn't throttling where the i7 would.

I would then upgrade the SSD from 512GB to 1TB for $400.

It's worth it to double the storage in my books.
 
If you are going for best bang for buck, get the i5, if you are going for best performance, get the i7. Keep in mind that the performance increase is very small compared to the premium you are paying for it and unless those 2-5% faster task completion times really matter for you, its probably not worth it.
 
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