Quick Q about Mac processor speed?

keefg

I am looking at buying a Macbook Pro and on the apple website there are a couple of options regarding processors.

2.4 ghz for €1800
or

2.5 ghz for €2200 (you can also upgrade to a 2.6 ghz for an extra €220)

Is it worth the extra dosh? Even if I go for the 2.5 ghz mac would an upgrade to 2.6 be noticeable?

Do those 0.1 (s) extra on the processor make that much difference in the speed of the machine?

cheers.

kevteljeur

keefg wrote: »

I am looking at buying a Macbook Pro and on the apple website there are a couple of options regarding processors.

2.4 ghz for €1800
or

2.5 ghz for €2200 (you can also upgrade to a 2.6 ghz for an extra €220)

Is it worth the extra dosh? Even if I go for the 2.5 ghz mac would an upgrade to 2.6 be noticeable?

Do those 0.1 (s) extra on the processor make that much difference in the speed of the machine?

cheers.

The differences aren't just in processor speed, they have different graphics cards and other options too. Check the feature matrix/list to see, and decide if those additional features or improvements justify the extra cost - if you really need a better graphics card, for example, then the 2.5 GHz model is the one for you.

I doubt the difference between the 2.5 and the 2.6 GHz is worth it, but there could be more to it; more cache on the processor, or a better bus multiple (= better performance at any given speed) though I'm not sure that matters as much these days.

I strongly recommend after-market RAM, by the way rather than Apple Store upgrades - it's often far cheaper (but make sure you get a good brand).

J-blk

I found myself in the same position recently, as I bought a MacBook Pro just over a month ago - I ended up going with the 2.4Ghz model, 256MB graphics card (as Kevteljeur pointed out, there is a difference in the graphics card - the 2.5Ghz model uses a 512MB variation). That said, unless you are using something that actually take advantage of the larger amount of video memory (something like Adobe Premiere or 3D rendering software), there is practically no difference between the 256MB and the 512MB. I also don't think you'll see any real life benefits with the 0.1Ghz speed difference on the processor, at least any to justify the price difference. For the most part, I think it's best to go for the 2.4Ghz model and possibly upgrade the RAM to 4GB (but not from Apple directly!) if you need to.

K.O.Kiki

(Slightly) annoyingly, the 128mb 8600m GT of the low-end 2007 rev3 MBP only supports resolutions up to 1920x1200 -- so if I were to ever :rolleyes: hook it up to a 30" monitor, it wouldn't be able to drive it at native resolution.