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Worth upgrading from 2.8GHz i5 dual core to 3.0GHz i7 Dual Core?

U

upgradeboliao

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 2, 2014
3
0
I'm kind of screwed right now because I plan to get an iMac and MacBook Air for my partner but now I find out that Apple will most likely launch their new iMac and MBAir on the 21 October, the very day of my partner birthday! Thus it does not make sense for me to get the current iMac. My questions:-

So I do need to give my partner something on 21 October so I though of getting a MB Pro (rather than air) since it is retina ready and just launch recently. 15" is out of the question because it would be too big and heavy for my partner to carry (partner got 15" before but sold away and got the 13").

The highest model for MB Pro 13" come with 2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz and I have the option to upgrade to 3.0GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz for another $200 or so. I want to know if it is worth upgrading to a i7 even though it is still dual-core? Comparing to the 15" which is quad-core?

Which will be your choice?

1) Upgrade to 3.0Ghz i7 and memory to 16gig without the superdrive?

2) Upgrade memory to 16gig and get the superdrive?

I can't get all 3 upgrades as I need some $$ for my partner new iMac too when it launch. Thanks for answering.
 
upgradeboliao said:
I'm kind of screwed right now because I plan to get an iMac and MacBook Air for my partner but now I find out that Apple will most likely launch their new iMac and MBAir on the 21 October, the very day of my partner birthday! Thus it does not make sense for me to get the current iMac. My questions:-

So I do need to give my partner something on 21 October so I though of getting a MB Pro (rather than air) since it is retina ready and just launch recently. 15" is out of the question because it would be too big and heavy for my partner to carry (partner got 15" before but sold away and got the 13").

The highest model for MB Pro 13" come with 2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz and I have the option to upgrade to 3.0GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz for another $200 or so. I want to know if it is worth upgrading to a i7 even though it is still dual-core? Comparing to the 15" which is quad-core?

Which will be your choice?

1) Upgrade to 3.0Ghz i7 and memory to 16gig without the superdrive?

2) Upgrade memory to 16gig and get the superdrive?

I can't get all 3 upgrades as I need some $$ for my partner new iMac too when it launch. Thanks for answering.
Click to expand...

The difference between a dual core i5 and a dual core i7 is almost nonexistent. Save it for the SuperDrive.
 
In a word No.

As the title says no it's not worth it if you tell us what your oartner uses it for we can give you some more advice. Because to be honest 16GB is not usually worth it either.
 
Thank you for answering everyone.

My partner is a programmer and uses that MacBook to develop Windows programming, like .net, silverlight and etc. The Python and other programming done on iMac.
 
I agree with everyone don't waste your money on the CPU upgrade. If it was an upgrade to a quad core i7 then I would for an extra $200. I know they are only synthetic tests but geekbench results for these 2 are:

MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Mid 2014) 3000 MHz (2 cores) 7218
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Mid 2014) 2800 MHz (2 cores) 6935

That's only a 4% increase.

Too bad she doesn't like the 15 inch MBP because those are the power house's of the mobile line up as they are quad core. I'm not familiar with the programs you mentioned so I'm not sure if she would take advantage of the 15 inch specs. To give you an idea my mid 2012 (non retina) gets 66% higher results then the current 13 inch line up. The retina's make up in speed due to the SSD but my non-retina with the Samsung SSD pretty much the same speed wise.
 
Thanks wytwolf, those numbers does help in me deciding not to upgrade the processor. I know about the power of quad core and I won't think twice about upgrading that if 13" support that.

Maybe I will check the weight different between my partner current 13" and the new 15" to see which is lighter :D. Might be able to use that get the 15" if it is much lighter.

Cheers


wytwolf said:
I agree with everyone don't waste your money on the CPU upgrade. If it was an upgrade to a quad core i7 then I would for an extra $200. I know they are only synthetic tests but geekbench results for these 2 are:

MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Mid 2014) 3000 MHz (2 cores) 7218
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Mid 2014) 2800 MHz (2 cores) 6935

That's only a 4% increase.

Too bad she doesn't like the 15 inch MBP because those are the power house's of the mobile line up as they are quad core. I'm not familiar with the programs you mentioned so I'm not sure if she would take advantage of the 15 inch specs. To give you an idea my mid 2012 (non retina) gets 66% higher results then the current 13 inch line up. The retina's make up in speed due to the SSD but my non-retina with the Samsung SSD pretty much the same speed wise.
Click to expand...
 
upgradeboliao said:
I'm kind of screwed right now because I plan to get an iMac and MacBook Air for my partner but now I find out that Apple will most likely launch their new iMac and MBAir on the 21 October, the very day of my partner birthday! Thus it does not make sense for me to get the current iMac. My questions:-

So I do need to give my partner something on 21 October so I though of getting a MB Pro (rather than air) since it is retina ready and just launch recently. 15" is out of the question because it would be too big and heavy for my partner to carry (partner got 15" before but sold away and got the 13").

The highest model for MB Pro 13" come with 2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz and I have the option to upgrade to 3.0GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz for another $200 or so. I want to know if it is worth upgrading to a i7 even though it is still dual-core? Comparing to the 15" which is quad-core?

Which will be your choice?

1) Upgrade to 3.0Ghz i7 and memory to 16gig without the superdrive?

2) Upgrade memory to 16gig and get the superdrive?

I can't get all 3 upgrades as I need some $$ for my partner new iMac too when it launch. Thanks for answering.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's worth it.

The 15" is obviously more powerful but you pay a price for that power (lesser lasting battery and a lot of added weight which makes it less portable).

I love my fully loaded 13" it is a sexeh beast. :cool: but expensive though :( took me a year of savings to be able to afford it.
 
upgradeboliao said:
Thank you for answering everyone.

My partner is a programmer and uses that MacBook to develop Windows programming, like .net, silverlight and etc. The Python and other programming done on iMac.
Click to expand...


Well if she is using VM's the RAM is useful, so go for that.
 
i7 isn't really noticeably different for the price jump..

upgrade the 16gb and you can always get the super drive later on (or a cheaper version if not used extensively)

Enjoy!
 
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