i5 vs i7 processors in new MacBookPro (April 2010)? Not much in it?

{quote:title=lhotka wrote:}
i7 has hyperthreading

{quote}

So does the i5!!! - see here: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47341
"Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology Yes"

...in exactly the same way that the i7 does: 2 cores, 4 threads.

I would conclude that the i5 is better value for money but if you want slightly more speed then the i7 is an option.

{quote:title=JoeyR wrote:}
The biggest difference is that the i7 has a 4MB L2 cache (they call it Intel Smart Cache) and the i5 has a 3MB L2 cache. The L2 cache can make for some decent performance improvements. Nothing earth shattering, but certainly worth mentioning.

{quote}

So the i7 has 33% more of the same cache that the i5 has, or to put another way, the i5 has 25% less of the same cache as the i7.

{quote:title=joosky wrote:}
I have been reading this forum for a while now since I wanted to buy the new macbook pro.
And I did something that nobody here tried to do which is compare prices.
Here is the link: http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=43560,47341,43544,
Basically, there is 32 dollars difference between I5 2.4GHZ and the I5 2.53GHZ.
Will I pay 168 dollars more to get a 500 GB HD instead of a 320 GH?
AND, there is 107 dollars difference between I5 2,4Ghz and the I7 2,66 Ghz.
Will I pay 293 dollars more (400-107) for the 500 GB HD and the 256 MB more of graphics?
You bet it a big NO.

{quote}

I agree. Apple don't separate CPU from hard disc in all the customisation options.

Dell is still the king for customisation in this respect.

I would like to be able to just upgrade the processor and not the hard disc.

The hard disc can be replaced or an external one can be added but the processor is harder (if not impossible, if hardwired onto the motherboard, to upgrade).

{quote:title=joosky wrote:}
What I did is get the best deal here which is the 2,4Ghz I5 but I had to add antiglare and no other option.

{quote}

I agree you made the right choice - best value for money. Sure there are faster processor options but they are not so good value for money.

{quote:title=joosky wrote:}
Apple products are expensive compared to the competition no matter what BUT they are great products. You just have to think if you really need the difference in speed for the difference in price.

{quote}

Agreed, you have to think harder about what you really need, given the premium prices. When there is an option to have even faster there is always the temptation to go further. Recommendations are relative, based on what is available now and in 6 months time when they refresh the line, they'll be saying: "don't go for that model, now we have this model..." and the cycle goes on.

{quote:title=joosky wrote:}
P.S: I hope my first post was helpful to someone.

{quote}

Definitely was, thankyou.

{quote:title=Little_Fish wrote:}
The biggest difference between the i5 and i7 is that with the i7 you get discrete graphics

{quote}

Incorrect. BOTH the i5 and i7 have discrete graphics - i.e. a full, separate video/graphics chipset (a Nvidia part) as opposed to integrated Intel graphics. http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

eww, yes, very sorry, Little Fish wasn't wrong. I read it wrong, Little Fish wasn't saying that the i5 didn't have discrete graphics, they were specifically saying that for the i7's discrete graphics, you get 512mb - that's how I should have read it.

I agree that my tone earlier did not encourage - sorry. Thanks for highlighting how I misread the response from Little Fish - it did make me go and re-read it and realise that I had mis-interpreted it. Useful lesson.