Core 2 Duo or Intel Core i5?

AisforInterval,

are you asking which would be best for you, or which would be enough for you? (Both of these questions are entirely subjective, so only you can answer them.) As long as your tablet and your software could be used with either CPU, either would be “enough”; whether it would be “best” depends upon your performance expectations and your budget. Whichever one you choose, be sure to maximize its RAM, since your graphics apps can be memory-hungry.

Buy the machine with the most recent and highest-performance processor you can afford. Here's why:

1. You'll be running Photoshop, which means you'll benefit from multi-threading on multiple cores. The Core i7 is available in both dual core and quad-core. The i5 is dual core only. Both have TurboBoost, which is like an automatic overclocking if the CPU is not too hot. The i7 can run higher clock speeds than the i5. The i7 is also capable of virtualization, which would allow you to run multiple operating systems at the same time. You might not need that now, but you never know.
2. Apple is notorious for dropping support for older hardware without warning. The Core 2 Duo is a fine processor, but look what happened to the Core Duo processor on the original 17" MB Pro; it's stuck at Snow Leopard (10.6.8) because...well, because that's what Apple did with their system architecture. At some point, they're likely to drop support for the Core 2 Duo processor.

On point 2, you'll be OK through Yosemite with any of the processors you're considering, but no guarantees after that. There's probably a better chance that your 17" MacBook Pro will remain viable farther into the future if you go with an i5 or i7 CPU.

Remember, that 17" MBP is a gem because of its screen area, and Apple stopped making the 17" model. It makes sense to get a model that will let you hang on to the 17" form factor for as long as possible.

You will get away with the Core 2 Duo, but probably will be disappointed by its performance.

I'd strongly suggest look for an intel i5 for sure.

Unless the 17" screen real estate is a must, then look for newer hardware in 15" which will truly benefit you.

😀

AisforInterval:

Stick with your plan to get the 17". You won't regret it, but you will regret going with the 15" form factor. The impoverished screen size is barbaric for animation graphics. The 17" MBP Core i7 will be your best shot going forward.

You've already used the 17". Go try a 15" and see for yourself what the difference is. It's obscene. Whoever made the decision at Apple to kill the 17" machine obviously never used one for any serious workflow. Once you use the 17", you realize that the 15" doesn't cut it, and you can't go back.

Really.

Unfortunately, the 17" was taken out because of not having a high demand.

JaiJethani wrote:

Unfortunately, the 17" was taken out because of not having a high demand.

I'm well aware of the numbers. I'm also aware of the fact that the Retina display could not be produced in the 17" form factor at the time the 17" MBP was discontinued, and Apple did not want its flagship notebook computer to be "outclassed" by the 15" model, which some say is the real reason why Apple killed the 17" MBP. Of course, only Apple knows for sure, and in any case, it's their decision to make...for whatever reasons they want.

But consider this: The 17" MacBook Pro was unarguably the priciest notebook in the Mac product line. I suppose some units might have been purchased by folks who had more dollars than sense — people who didn't really need the screen area, but simply HAD to have the top of the line, the best of the best, la crème de la crème. But I don't think that's true of most 17" MBP users.

In fact, if the posts I've read are any indication of the typical 17" MBP user profile, most of them are professionals who use their machines for productive work. Apple could charge any price and they'd buy it because it's the tool they need. Price is not the primary consideration, which means that the 17" could easily have been a low-volume, high-margin product; IOW, high profit per unit, which is generally not the reason why a company discontinues a product.

So the argument that demand was low doesn't quite ring true. Superficially, it sounds plausible, but I suspect there's more to it.

Anyhow, that's a glimpse into a debate that won't be resolved here. The fact remains that, for those who know the value of the 17" form factor, nothing else will do. It might not make any sense to those who have never used a 17" MBP day in and day out for production workflow. But to those who do, it's a fact.

Very well said, I'll second that.

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