Somebody settle the score: MBP 2.4 vs 2.53 vs 2.8 with 4GB RAM and 7,200RPM HD
I'm I regular old mac junkie who is DYING for a new MBP to replace my 12'' PowerBook g4, but I'm a little unsure of which processor speed to go with. Value vs performance is the name of the game. I'm planning on getting 4GB RAM and a 320GB 7,200RPM HD regardless of which processor speed I choose. The prices are as follows:
2.4ghz: $2,299
2.53ghz: $2,549 (+$250)
2.8ghz: $2,849 (+$550)
Can anyone give me a sense of how much faster the computer will be with each bump in processor speed? I mean, is it really worth shelling out an extra $250 bucks to get another 0.13ghz (if I were to choose the 2.53ghz processor over the 2.4ghz)?? Is the 2.8ghz model that much faster?? Though I won't be using the computer for hardcore video/photo editing work, I will be using the it with ProTools to record fairly massive musical compilations (50+ tracks) and will be using a good amount of real time compression. As such I am not necessarily gunning for the cheaper option. If there is real value in getting a faster processor I will seriously consider it (I'm just a tad bit skeptical).
Please help me on this one guys. I've been looking all around for some real insight into this matter and haven't found anything definitive.
2.4ghz: $2,299
2.53ghz: $2,549 (+$250)
2.8ghz: $2,849 (+$550)
Can anyone give me a sense of how much faster the computer will be with each bump in processor speed? I mean, is it really worth shelling out an extra $250 bucks to get another 0.13ghz (if I were to choose the 2.53ghz processor over the 2.4ghz)?? Is the 2.8ghz model that much faster?? Though I won't be using the computer for hardcore video/photo editing work, I will be using the it with ProTools to record fairly massive musical compilations (50+ tracks) and will be using a good amount of real time compression. As such I am not necessarily gunning for the cheaper option. If there is real value in getting a faster processor I will seriously consider it (I'm just a tad bit skeptical).
Please help me on this one guys. I've been looking all around for some real insight into this matter and haven't found anything definitive.
Comments
As you mention, you are doing music.
It depends how efficient you are. If you think your bussing technique and all that is fairly good, then go for the 2.4ghz.
As for me sometimes, I am pretty useless at managing my tracks, with Reason 2+ I used to be able to bring a PowerMac G4 to its knees even with just 10 tracks because of my indiscriminate loading of effects, etc. etc. without properly bussing stuff like you normally do properly in Logic.
If you are planning on hanging on to this MacBook Pro for about at least 2 years, using more in a studio situation, go for the 2.8ghz. Sounds like you are going to peg the CPU pretty hard.
I'm I regular old mac junkie who is DYING for a new MBP to replace my 12'' PowerBook g4, but I'm a little unsure of which processor speed to go with. Value vs performance is the name of the game. I'm planning on getting 4GB RAM and a 320GB 7,200RPM HD regardless of which processor speed I choose. The prices are as follows:
2.4ghz: $2,299
2.53ghz: $2,549 (+$250)
2.8ghz: $2,849 (+$550)
Can anyone give me a sense of how much faster the computer will be with each bump in processor speed? I mean, is it really worth shelling out an extra $250 bucks to get another 0.13ghz (if I were to choose the 2.53ghz processor over the 2.4ghz)?? Is the 2.8ghz model that much faster?? Though I won't be using the computer for hardcore video/photo editing work, I will be using the it with ProTools to record fairly massive musical compilations (50+ tracks) and will be using a good amount of real time compression. As such I am not necessarily gunning for the cheaper option. If there is real value in getting a faster processor I will seriously consider it (I'm just a tad bit skeptical).
Please help me on this one guys. I've been looking all around for some real insight into this matter and haven't found anything definitive.
2.8ghz. 2.5 and 2.4 is not a big difference but a 2.8ghz dual core will really kick some butt. 4GB RAM, 7200rpm drive.
As you mention, you are doing music.
It depends how efficient you are. If you think your bussing technique and all that is fairly good, then go for the 2.4ghz.
As for me sometimes, I am pretty useless at managing my tracks, with Reason 2+ I used to be able to bring a PowerMac G4 to its knees even with just 10 tracks because of my indiscriminate loading of effects, etc. etc. without properly bussing stuff like you normally do properly in Logic.
If you are planning on hanging on to this MacBook Pro for about at least 2 years, using more in a studio situation, go for the 2.8ghz. Sounds like you are going to peg the CPU pretty hard.
You make some great points here. The majority of the work I've done with protools has been on an iMac G5 (2.0ghz single core powerpc/2gb ram/7,200rpm HD) and track management has played a fairly significant role.
That said, I'm curious to know how much faster protools runs on a dual core intel setup of any speed in comparison to a single core powerpc. Are we talking double the processors = double the speed? I ask because even though I have found myself getting frustrated at times when working on the iMac, it has never brought me to the brink of insanity. If the upgrade to a dual-core architecture alone will make things run significantly faster, I may be perfectly content with the 2.4ghz MBP. Can you give me some feedback on this?
Another important factor is that, regardless of which processor speed I choose, the MBP will have 4gb DDR3 ram as opposed to the 2gb DDR ram in my current setup. How significant of a role will this play? FuturePastNow, could you maybe expand a bit on the significance of ram in this discussion?
At the end of the day, if I go with the 2.4ghz model, will I be astonished by how much faster it is than my iMac? And if I were to throw affordability out the window, Would the 2.8ghz model blow my freaking mind??? And finally, where does the 2.53ghz model sit within the context of these questions? From my uneducated opinion it seems to me like the decision is between going with the 2.4ghz model or shelling out the extra $550 bucks for the 2.8ghz model. I may be wrong here, but I just can't imagine noticing a difference between 2.4ghz and 2.53ghz. I mean, how much of a difference can a 5.5% speed boost really make?
You make some great points here. The majority of the work I've done with protools has been on an iMac G5 (2.0ghz single core powerpc/2gb ram/7,200rpm HD) and track management has played a fairly significant role.
That said, I'm curious to know how much faster protools runs on a dual core intel setup of any speed in comparison to a single core powerpc. Are we talking double the processors = double the speed? I ask because even though I have found myself getting frustrated at times when working on the iMac, it has never brought me to the brink of insanity. If the upgrade to a dual-core architecture alone will make things run significantly faster, I may be perfectly content with the 2.4ghz MBP. Can you give me some feedback on this?
Another important factor is that, regardless of which processor speed I choose, the MBP will have 4gb DDR3 ram as opposed to the 2gb DDR ram in my current setup. How significant of a role will this play? FuturePastNow, could you maybe expand a bit on the significance of ram in this discussion?
At the end of the day, if I go with the 2.4ghz model, will I be astonished by how much faster it is than my iMac? And if I were to throw affordability out the window, Would the 2.8ghz model blow my freaking mind??? And finally, where does the 2.53ghz model sit within the context of these questions? From my uneducated opinion it seems to me like the decision is between going with the 2.4ghz model or shelling out the extra $550 bucks for the 2.8ghz model. I may be wrong here, but I just can't imagine noticing a difference between 2.4ghz and 2.53ghz. I mean, how much of a difference can a 5.5% speed boost really make?
I'll take the CPU question...
The dual-core 2.4ghz itself *will blow your freakin' mind* running Universal applications. Compared to the iMac G5, today's Penryn and Nvidia chipset destroys the old iMac G5s. PowerMac G5s still hold their own, but the latest MacBook Pro will be much, much faster than the iMac G5s. I am not a ProTools person (never really was), but they've very likely improved and optimised the latest revision of ProTools to run well on Intel Macs now, since it has been a few years and Avid is pretty aggressive in pushing the envelope.
After a few years of all Macs being dual-core, overall improvements in all aspects of OS X Leopard and Universal applications have been significant. Just open most applications nowadays, open Activity Monitor, and you can see CPU-hungry apps peg both CPUs at close to 100% most of the time. Meaning, nowadays, one can be fairly certain that both those cores are being used. On a Mac Pro with 4 to 8 cores, quite a number of applications now, you'll see 4 to 8 cores usually being used simultaneously quite well.
From a CPU perspective, many people do believe that the G5 line was really a dead end and if Steve didn't go hardcore into Intel CPUs, Apple would really not be where they are today.
As for the 2.4ghz vs 2.53ghz, one of the main differences there is actually the *video card*. 512MB of VRAM on the 2.53ghz vs 256MB. It makes a huge difference in gaming, and for video editing I believe gives that much "snappier" edge to things. I'm not so much into video but for gaming, 512MB is a nice chunk of dedicated DDR3 video memory for all sorts of texture and anti-aliasing goodness.
The other thing about the 2.4ghz vs 2.53ghz besides the clock speed is the L2 cache. The 2.53ghz has 6MB L2 cache vs 3MB L2 cache on the 2.4ghz. The implications are somewhat geeky but benchmarks show about a 10%-15% improvement (IIRC).
So the 2.53ghz is kinda a "go for the kickass video card, stay for the CPU icing on the cake".
Since your track management skills (50+ tracks?!!) are pretty good, the 2.8ghz would be overkill for you since you are not doing serious video stuff.
The 2.4ghz, 4GB RAM, 7200rpm drive (order through Apple Store don't put it in yourself there is a risk of vibration issues(?)) MacBook Pro will be a good step up and probably appropriate for the next few years of what you need to do.
Further upgrades in a year could be 6GB of RAM (yes, this is possible), and a "scratch disk" of a RAID 0 FW800 external drive.
Lastly, I would say the 2.8ghz is probably very much related to video, motion graphics stuff. People that would normally be on 8-core Mac Pros but need a lot of portability. The 512MB VRAM helps for realtime effects, 3D visualisation etc, and the 2.8ghz dualcore is a must for rendering, video-encoding, etc. where usually the CPU is "never" fast enough...
Okay, that's my say for now.
I'll take the CPU question...
The dual-core 2.4ghz itself *will blow your freakin' mind* running Universal applications. Compared to the iMac G5, today's Penryn and Nvidia chipset destroys the old iMac G5s. PowerMac G5s still hold their own, but the latest MacBook Pro will be much, much faster than the iMac G5s. I am not a ProTools person (never really was), but they've very likely improved and optimised the latest revision of ProTools to run well on Intel Macs now, since it has been a few years and Avid is pretty aggressive in pushing the envelope.
After a few years of all Macs being dual-core, overall improvements in all aspects of OS X Leopard and Universal applications have been significant. Just open most applications nowadays, open Activity Monitor, and you can see CPU-hungry apps peg both CPUs at close to 100% most of the time. Meaning, nowadays, one can be fairly certain that both those cores are being used. On a Mac Pro with 4 to 8 cores, quite a number of applications now, you'll see 4 to 8 cores usually being used simultaneously quite well.
From a CPU perspective, many people do believe that the G5 line was really a dead end and if Steve didn't go hardcore into Intel CPUs, Apple would really not be where they are today.
As for the 2.4ghz vs 2.53ghz, one of the main differences there is actually the *video card*. 512MB of VRAM on the 2.53ghz vs 256MB. It makes a huge difference in gaming, and for video editing I believe gives that much "snappier" edge to things. I'm not so much into video but for gaming, 512MB is a nice chunk of dedicated DDR3 video memory for all sorts of texture and anti-aliasing goodness.
The other thing about the 2.4ghz vs 2.53ghz besides the clock speed is the L2 cache. The 2.53ghz has 6MB L2 cache vs 3MB L2 cache on the 2.4ghz. The implications are somewhat geeky but benchmarks show about a 10%-15% improvement (IIRC).
So the 2.53ghz is kinda a "go for the kickass video card, stay for the CPU icing on the cake".
Since your track management skills (50+ tracks?!!) are pretty good, the 2.8ghz would be overkill for you since you are not doing serious video stuff.
The 2.4ghz, 4GB RAM, 7200rpm drive (order through Apple Store don't put it in yourself there is a risk of vibration issues(?)) MacBook Pro will be a good step up and probably appropriate for the next few years of what you need to do.
Further upgrades in a year could be 6GB of RAM (yes, this is possible), and a "scratch disk" of a RAID 0 FW800 external drive.
Lastly, I would say the 2.8ghz is probably very much related to video, motion graphics stuff. People that would normally be on 8-core Mac Pros but need a lot of portability. The 512MB VRAM helps for realtime effects, 3D visualisation etc, and the 2.8ghz dualcore is a must for rendering, video-encoding, etc. where usually the CPU is "never" fast enough...
Okay, that's my say for now.
Wow, let me start by saying that you are THE MAN. The insight you have provided has been truly enlightening and I can now make a substantially more informed purchasing decision. SO THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
At this point I can safely say that the value added with the 2.8ghz model simply does not justify digging a little deeper into my shallow pockets. And in terms of 2.4 vs 2.53, well... here is where I may be tempted indulge a little and throw down for the extra boost. Based on the information you provided, the $250 dollar upgrade from 2.4=>2.53 brings way more to the table than what originally met my eye (even though the bulk of the value admittedly has less to do with my recording needs and more to do with also throwing in a couple shwanky new games into the mix to waste some time with
I think that the final decision to my exact budgetary constraints, which I'm not 100% sure of since part of the loot will come from selling crap lying around my house on e-bay. Anybody interested in a 3.4ghz pentium 4 Alienware Laptop???
If anyone has anything to add, please don't hesitate!! And nvidia2008, thanks again!!!!!
Wow, let me start by saying that you are THE MAN. The insight you have provided has been truly enlightening and I can now make a substantially more informed purchasing decision. SO THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
At this point I can safely say that the value added with the 2.8ghz model simply does not justify digging a little deeper into my shallow pockets. And in terms of 2.4 vs 2.53, well... here is where I may be tempted indulge a little and throw down for the extra boost. Based on the information you provided, the $250 dollar upgrade from 2.4=>2.53 brings way more to the table than what originally met my eye (even though the bulk of the value admittedly has less to do with my recording needs and more to do with also throwing in a couple shwanky new games into the mix to waste some time with
I think that the final decision to my exact budgetary constraints, which I'm not 100% sure of since part of the loot will come from selling crap lying around my house on e-bay. Anybody interested in a 3.4ghz pentium 4 Alienware Laptop???
If anyone has anything to add, please don't hesitate!! And nvidia2008, thanks again!!!!!
Hey no worries. Just be aware, check the unit as thoroughly as possible within the first few days of purchase. That way, if you find anything not right, you are usually entitled to an exchange to a new unit, usually "on the spot" (Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Store).
Other than that, if during the year something goes wrong with the unit, don't fret, the build quality of Macs nowadays ain't perfect, but usually it's just one component that causes trouble and once swapped out overall it's okay. And finally, again, the 7200rpm drive, order it through Apple when you first configure/buy the system. IMO, not recommended to upgrade it yourself after you buy it. Enjoy