Macbook Pro 13" or 15"

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Level 1

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Macbook Pro 13" or 15"

Good Evening,

I am currently thinking about purchasing one of the above mentioned Macbook Pro models. I am going to be working abroad next year and would like a new laptop to take along. I have an Iphone 4 and have been very impressed with it, i've never used a Mac however I look forward to the challenge.

The two models specifically are the Macbook Pro 13" Core i7 2.7GHz and the Macbook Pro 15" Core i7 2.0GHz. I will be using this laptop for University work however I do like to use Adobe Creative Suite which consists of Photoshop, Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro (all CS5.5) I am a very basic user and currently have a desktop which these are installed onto however I would like to run them on my new Mac.

As there is quite a steep price difference between the two models listed I am interested to know is spending the extra for the Quad Core processor and the Graphics card worth it for my needs?

I currently use (as a desktop) the following which seems to do everything I need but can be a little slow, Am i going to notice a big imrpovement compared to my desktop?

Intel Q8300 Quad Core processor

4GB RAM

Geforce GTX 460

Many thanks for your assistance.

Paul

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 27, 2011 2:04 PM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Aug 27, 2011 3:27 PM in response to Paul.Moss

The Q8300 is a Core2 from 2008. That is three generations ago. I should think you will see drastic improvements. Check out Geekbench2 to see if you can find "apples to apples" comparisons.

The 13" 2.7 benchmarks at 6796

The 15" 2.0 benchmarks at 8794

You can do the math, but that's significant in my eyes.

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Answer 2

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Aug 27, 2011 3:39 PM in response to Paul.Moss

And on the graphics it should be a no-contest: the 13" uses an integrated GPU and taps into the main RAM, while the 15" uses a dedicated/discrete GPU with its own VRAM = much better.

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Answer 3

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Aug 27, 2011 5:35 PM in response to Paul.Moss

Video card performance:

Intel HD 3000 scores: 11 = poor (all models have it, 13" only has it)

The 2.0 Ghz 15"/17" scores: 18 = eh so-so (extra video card)

The 2.2/2.3 Ghz 15"/17" scores: 30 = whoo hooo! (extra video card)

Clearly the last machine will last a heck of a lot longer and perform better than the first two, provided you can take care of it.

If your rough on you hardware, get a $400 PC instead.

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Answer 4

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Aug 27, 2011 5:34 PM in response to ds store

ds store wrote:

Video card performance:

Intel HD 3000 scores: 11

The 2.0 Ghz 15"/17" scores: 18

The 2.2/2.3 Ghz 15"/17" scores: 30

Clearly the last machine will last a heck of a lot longer and perform better than the first two, provided you can take care of it.

If your rough on you hardware, get a $400 PC instead.

Just for grins, where does the Geforce GTX 460 fit in?

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Answer 5

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Aug 27, 2011 5:53 PM in response to tjk

tjk wrote:

Just for grins, where does the Geforce GTX 460 fit in?

On OpenGL Cinebench which I was using above?

About 33-68 depending on the machine, OS, overclocking etc.

http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc

Desktop machines always going to beat a laptop in graphics speed.

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Answer 6

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Aug 27, 2011 5:45 PM in response to ds store

ds store wrote:

tjk wrote:

Just for grins, where does the Geforce GTX 460 fit in?

On OpenGL Cinebench which I was using above?

About 33-68 depending on the machine, OS, overclocking etc.

http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc

So according to you, it tops all of the others in question???

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Answer 7

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Aug 27, 2011 6:21 PM in response to tjk

tjk wrote:

So according to you, it tops all of the others in question???

According to the tests. It's a desktop video card, they don't have the cooling/battery issues like a laptop.

He's got a gamers PC.

Intel Q8300 Quad Core processor scores: 3551

The 2.2/2.3 Ghz i7 scores: 7653

His video card: GTX 460: 2361

2.2/2.3 15"/17" Radeon HD 6750M Passmark score: 1139

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

I currently use (as a desktop) the following which seems to do everything I need but can be a little slow, Am i going to notice a big imrpovement compared to my desktop?

Yes, your CPU performance which you mostly use (your not a 3D gamer) will most certainly improve quite a bit.

You got a good video card in the PC, if you reinstall windows 7 on a new 7,200 RPM hard drive it would likely be a fast machine again.

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Answer 8

steve359

Level 6

17,169 points

Aug 27, 2011 6:11 PM in response to ds store

Maybe a silly question, but ...

"working abroad"

Should the "language" of the keyboard figure in to the equation?

Working in UK ... few changes.

French/German, a few umlats and circumflex letters ...

Japanese or Arabic, erg?

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Answer 9

Paul.Moss Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 28, 2011 12:43 AM in response to Paul.Moss

So basically I should save a bit extra and get the 15"?

In regards to working away, I will be living and working in Finland for 3 months as part of my University Course.

Thanks for your replies.

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Answer 10

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Aug 28, 2011 11:01 AM in response to Paul.Moss

Paul.Moss wrote:

So basically I should save a bit extra and get the 15"?

In regards to working away, I will be living and working in Finland for 3 months as part of my University Course.

Thanks for your replies.

I don't understand how that is going to save money; it's actually going to cost more than the 13", but IMO, yes, I'd get the 15".

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