Macbook Pro 13" early 2011 or 2010?

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Level 1

8 points

Macbook Pro 13" early 2011 or 2010?

So currently I have a White Macbook at 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1gb ram. It gets jobs done, running windows XP bootcamp on it, I do my app programming and graphical work on it (using flash cs3)--sometimes lags while working, I mean I don't mind but I kind of have a short patience.

So I look at Macbook Pro 13" 2010 which is 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Not much of a difference from my current!) and 4gb ram (actually big difference), will it help me accomplish work faster? I mean it's only a 0.3GHz difference.

MacBook Pro 13" 2010 priced at: $700

Then I look at the Macbook Pro 13" 2011 which is a 2.3GHz i5 (Wow wow wow!) and 4gb ram, I know this will help me get more work faster but I've read some articles about it overheating because the Intel HD 3000 can't really keep up?

MacBook Pro 13" 2011 priced at: $860

Which one is for me? Is it worth the extra $160 for the 2011? I would also like to play some games on it like League of Legends or Skyrim?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on May 6, 2012 6:15 PM

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Answer 1

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

May 6, 2012 6:33 PM in response to LuckyIsDog

Without pausing for a second, I'd go for the 2011 model. Hands down. No debate.

You will be getting a Core i5 processor that has twice the processing power of your current Mac. Four times the RAM you currently have plus the possibility of upgrading up to 16GB if needed. Watch Windows fly! And, being an Early 2011 model, it would probably come with Snow Leopard and save you the issues that many people have with Lion. Plus it will very likely be totally compatible with the upcoming Mountain Lion out this summer.

As for gaming, sorry to say that none of these are good for graphics-intensive games. The shared video infrastructure puts a severe dent on performance. If you were to want to game on a Mac portable, 15" is the bare minimum.

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