macbook pro purchasing suggestions, please.
hello!
i am in desperate need of a new computer. though i would love to wait for completely newly designed macbook pro to come out, i can't wait any longer and ready to purchase a new macbook pro 17" model.
would purchasing 2.6 ghz instead of 2.5 make that much of difference?
also regarding harddrive, 300gb running at 4200rpm will slow down the system by much?
what would you purchase, option-wise if you were purchasing one?
thank you for your input and have a great day!
i am in desperate need of a new computer. though i would love to wait for completely newly designed macbook pro to come out, i can't wait any longer and ready to purchase a new macbook pro 17" model.
would purchasing 2.6 ghz instead of 2.5 make that much of difference?
also regarding harddrive, 300gb running at 4200rpm will slow down the system by much?
what would you purchase, option-wise if you were purchasing one?
thank you for your input and have a great day!
Comments
hello!
i am in desperate need of a new computer. though i would love to wait for completely newly designed macbook pro to come out, i can't wait any longer and ready to purchase a new macbook pro 17" model.
would purchasing 2.6 ghz instead of 2.5 make that much of difference?
also regarding harddrive, 300gb running at 4200rpm will slow down the system by much?
what would you purchase, option-wise if you were purchasing one?
thank you for your input and have a great day!
Well, it certainly seems a shame to put a 4200rpm drive on that system. And upgrading to 2.6GHz seems like it would only be speeding up to wait at the HD bottleneck...
My question is: do you need that much storage on board? If it is going to be your only computer and you are using it as a family computer with movies and photos and music then you might need all 300GB and be willing to put up with the slower HD and processor.
Or is this a work computer that needs the serious processing power. In that case, maybe you could get the 2.6 and a smaller, faster HD and look at a fast external portable drive if you only occasionally need the storage.
In the end, it is really hard to give good advice without knowing what you plan to do with the computer...
In the end, it is really hard to give good advice without knowing what you plan to do with the computer...
well, I'm looking to go for the 2.5 or 2.6 15" MBP specifically for projecting visuals despite apple.com saying this about the 2.6GHz model
"To enjoy the greatest possible performance for processor-intensive tasks such as video rendering, gaming, and more, you can upgrade the processor in your MacBook Pro from the standard 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo to an even faster 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo."
I've been assured that I should be more than adequately served by the 2.5GHz model, here in the UK the upgrade to 2.6GHz is a whopping £160!!
Would be interested to hear other peoples comments on this.
well, I'm looking to go for the 2.5 or 2.6 15" MBP specifically for projecting visuals despite apple.com saying this about the 2.6GHz model
"To enjoy the greatest possible performance for processor-intensive tasks such as video rendering, gaming, and more, you can upgrade the processor in your MacBook Pro from the standard 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo to an even faster 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo."
I've been assured that I should be more than adequately served by the 2.5GHz model, here in the UK the upgrade to 2.6GHz is a whopping £160!!
Would be interested to hear other peoples comments on this.
If all other things are equal (and they seem to be), then it seems unlikely to me that more than a few people would be able to notice the 0.1 GHz difference in processor speed between the 2.5 GHz and 2.6 GHz options. That's an increase of only 4%, and processor speed bumps seldom equate one to one with actual application speed increases due to other factors like the video and hard drive, so it probably wouldn't even be a 4% increase in overall performance. And for that you pay (in Canada anyway) an extra $250 for a 17" MacBook Pro, which means you're paying an additional 8.3% to get a less than 4% speed increase. I'm thinking of buying too and if I do I'll stick with the 2.5 GHz model.
If all other things are equal (and they seem to be), then it seems unlikely to me that more than a few people would be able to notice the 0.1 GHz difference in processor speed between the 2.5 GHz and 2.6 GHz options. That's an increase of only 4%, and processor speed bumps seldom equate one to one with actual application speed increases due to other factors like the video and hard drive, so it probably wouldn't even be a 4% increase in overall performance. And for that you pay (in Canada anyway) an extra $250 for a 17" MacBook Pro, which means you're paying an additional 8.3% to get a less than 4% speed increase. I'm thinking of buying too and if I do I'll stick with the 2.5 GHz model.
I agree. The 2.5 ghz is the better value in my book. But some pros who bill by the job may be able to justify the cost of the additional 4% or so improved performance.
To each his own.
I agree. The 2.5 ghz is the better value in my book. But some pros who bill by the job may be able to justify the cost of the additional 4% or so improved performance.
To each his own.
Yes I think you're right. Also, people who just need as much speed as possible and for whom the extra money isn't an issue might be willing to pay that difference even for such a modest performance increase.