why go 2.7 with Rmbp

[frozi]

I will soon be purchasing the new macbook pro to edit AVID on. I will be upgrading the RAM, and I am hoping I will be good with 512 since I will be putting all my video on an external. But why spend $270 on upgrading the processor for such a SMALL bump?

Am I mistaken, and it isn't a small bump? Will the extra cache help me do something on the 2.7, that wont let me do it on the 2.6? From what I have read, it will help increase render speed by 8-12 seconds. I know it can add up, but really??...I also understand, "hey already spending over 3k, why not just juice it all" But with the applecare also being added to the price...its really building up.

So...why upgrade to the 2.7, and just use that money towards something you will really get use out of. Like putting it towards applecare or thunderbolt external?

 

[jav6454]

Well, I looked into both CPUs, the only difference is 100MHz and 2MB L3. That isn't going to matter much. Stick to the 2.6 GHz machine.

True you shave off 8 seconds off a huge encoding, but really?

 

[ixodes]

Why? That's simple. Buy the 2.7 because Apple needs the money.



OK, I'll be serious. Stick with the 2.6, it will do what you've outlined and more. That CPU is an excellent choice.

 

[MCAsan]

Because you will have a better resale 3+ years from now. Besides, it is the SSD upgrades where the huge costs are....not the processor or memory upgrades.

 

[Queen6]

Because you will have a better resale 3+ years from now. Besides, it is the SSD upgrades where the huge costs are....not the processor or memory upgrades.

Apple`s upgrades are notoriously overpriced, and returns on them very poor. The only reason to go for the fully specified models is if you can moniterize the speed difference, now more than ever as 3 years form now SSD pricing will be in a very different place.

 

[Gregintosh]

It's going to make 0 difference in resale value 3 years from now, precisely because it is a relatively small upgrade and 3 years from now the stuff will be much better.

Think about it. Would you pay $270 more today for a computer that had a 2.66 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor versus a 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo? Nope.

If you are buying a used computer that's 3 years old you are probably thinking of a range you want to spend and you will just spend that amount and such a small spec difference will not alter the final sales price. Maybe you'll spend $20-$50 more, but you certainly won't spend the difference they paid to get it originally.

You're better off putting the $270 into an interest bearing account. You won't earn much interest these days and inflation will take a small cut, but at least you won't lose 90%-99% of the value of that $270 like you would with this upgrade.

 

[beamer8912]

Personally, I wouldn't really buy more than the base unless you desperately need it. You could easily put the ~$1000 you'll save towards a brand new rMBP next year. Next year's base will probably be just as fast as this years 2.6, check out some of the geekbench results and see how the refreshes fair year-to-year.

Not to mention you could also sell your old rMBP and recoup a good percentage of your initial purchase.

 

[eagandale4114]

I will soon be purchasing the new macbook pro to edit AVID on. I will be upgrading the RAM, and I am hoping I will be good with 512 since I will be putting all my video on an external. But why spend $270 on upgrading the processor for such a SMALL bump?

Am I mistaken, and it isn't a small bump? Will the extra cache help me do something on the 2.7, that wont let me do it on the 2.6? From what I have read, it will help increase render speed by 8-12 seconds. I know it can add up, but really??...I also understand, "hey already spending over 3k, why not just juice it all" But with the applecare also being added to the price...its really building up.

So...why upgrade to the 2.7, and just use that money towards something you will really get use out of. Like putting it towards applecare or thunderbolt external?

Here is the general rule for the high end processor upgrades. If you know that you need it you buy it and don't fret about the price. If you need to think about the scenarios where you need the extra speed you probably don't need the bump.

 

[Southernboyj]

But why spend $270 on upgrading the processor for such a SMALL bump?

Well the quad-core Ivy Bridge mobile processors are one of the best laptop processors out there. Once you get to the top, small increases = dramatic price increases. That being said, I still don't believe the 2.7 is worth it unless you just have money to blow.