Help me pick my MBP specs!

bkribbs

bkribbs

New Member
Assuming WWDC doesn't release a new MBP (which it probably will) I'm going to go with a MBP. If they do, I still will, I'll just apply the concepts over to the new gen.

I know I want the bigger screen. So there's no discussion there.

How important is a 2.3GHz vs 2.6GHz i7 CPU? Note the 2.6GHz also comes with 1GB instead of 512mb of DDR for the video card.

How much RAM do I really need? I'm going to school as an engineer, so do you all think 8GB? Stock is 4, max is 16.

Hard drive- Comes with a 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drive. I think I need more size, 750 GB or I would love 1TB. Because of price, the 750 I think can be 7200rpm but the 1tb would have to be 5400. Which is preferable do you think? Doubt I'd fill it up, but I can probably fill up close to 500 mb with dual boot and all sorts of stuff.

Lemme know what you think!
 
So....what do you actually need it for? Cause all you did is throw out specs.

Get either a Macbook Pro or a Dell Latitude/Precision.
 
Would be nice to know what your going to use the hardware for? If your not gaming or high end video editing then I would go for a baseline MBP with the upgraded HDD but thats just me.
 
Sorry should have mentioned.

I really have no idea. I'm going to be an engineer. But I'm looking for what upgrades really matter.

Like does the extra 512 mb of video card RAM matter? Or how about .3 ghz?

And is a bigger (therefore emptier) while slower hard drive better than a fuller, faster one?
 
bkribbs said:
Sorry should have mentioned.

I really have no idea. I'm going to be an engineer. But I'm looking for what upgrades really matter.

Like does the extra 512 mb of video card RAM matter? Or how about .3 ghz?

And is a bigger (therefore emptier) while slower hard drive better than a fuller, faster one?
Click to expand...

Well the speed of your HDD only matters if you plan on gaming, but a faster HDD using more power then a slower. Personally SSD is the way to go but I know through Apple you are going to pay a pretty penny for SSD.

is the 2.3 Ghz and 2.6 Ghz both i7? If so the 2.6 Ghz will be slightly faster but only would be a big deal in my opinion if you have integrated graphics since the HD 4000 differs depending on the i7 in terms of performance.

With you saying 512 MB I am assuming your talking about the GPU, so if possible with apple I would go with the slower i7 and the more premium GPU since 1 GB seems to be the PC manufacture standard these days I would imagine software companies that rely on graphics will build to those standards.
 
All CPUs are i7.

2.3 comes with the 512mb video card
2.6 comes with the 1gb video card. I want to know if that's much of a realistic difference.

I will be upgrading RAM and HDD myself, not through apple, just FYI. Still want to know which matters really.
 
bkribbs said:
All CPUs are i7.

2.3 comes with the 512mb video card
2.6 comes with the 1gb video card. I want to know if that's much of a realistic difference.

I will be upgrading RAM and HDD myself, not through apple, just FYI. Still want to know which matters really.
Click to expand...

Sorry I forgot it is apple and you can't really pick or choose CPU and GPU configurations, it is this model or that model.

Personally I would go with the 2.6 Ghz since it is a little faster and double the GPU memory.
 
My question is how much difference do they make?

For a price difference, as well as an hour difference in battery life (according to some reputable site, engadget or the like).
 
Is there a different video card for either one, or are they the same card but with more vram?
 
bkribbs said:
My question is how much difference do they make?

For a price difference, as well as an hour difference in battery life (according to some reputable site, engadget or the like).
Click to expand...

if you want actual specifics it would be nice to know the model number for the cpu and what are the gpu, your question is to vague and you need to provide more information.
 
voyagerfan99 said:
Is there a different video card for either one, or are they the same card but with more vram?
Click to expand...

They're the same card, just different VRAM: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with either 512mb or 1 GB of GDDR5.

DMGrier said:
if you want actual specifics it would be nice to know the model number for the cpu and what are the gpu, your question is to vague and you need to provide more information.
Click to expand...

I'm asking in general if everything is the same, except I have 512mb or one 1 GB of VRAM, how much difference does that really make?

And with any CPU how much of a difference does .3 MHz make?

The CPU is just listed as "2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7" or the 2.6 version of the same. GPU above.
 
Unless you're doing graphically intensive stuff, the extra VRAM will make no difference.

If I were you I'd just max the machine out and get the best of the best.
 
bkribbs said:
They're the same card, just different VRAM: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with either 512mb or 1 GB of GDDR5.



I'm asking in general if everything is the same, except I have 512mb or one 1 GB of VRAM, how much difference does that really make?

And with any CPU how much of a difference does .3 MHz make?

The CPU is just listed as "2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7" or the 2.6 version of the same. GPU above.
Click to expand...

The cpu difference is minimal I am guessing since apple does not provide the cpu model numbers. I would tell you more if I had model numbers since I could reference the intel website but intel does not have specific Apple area, they only list cpu by model number.

As for power consumption of course the 2.6 Ghz will use more but from what I gathered at apple.com the higher end models receive a better battery so they all get 7 hours. But battery life is relative, it just depends on the multi tasking your doing and the how heavy the applications are, I remember last year when I bought my Macbook Pro which I only had for about a week, the battery listed on it was 7 hours but usually only seen about 4-5 and as low as 3 hours just depending on what hell I put it through.

As I said before, if it was me I would go with the 2.6 Ghz just to get the extra video memory.
 
If you're going to be running CAD programs or similarly resource intensive stuff on the machine I'd opt for the higher spec, if not why bother? I'm was in a very similar situation to you, but I'm doing a b.IT.

I find I only use my laptop primarily for note taking and minor editing of course work, otherwise I use faculty machines in classes and other times I'm on campus for most of my technical type class work and my home machine when I'm not.

I ended up going with the lowest spec, 13" monitor, MBP with the retina display. I have a friend with one of the current models as well without dat retina (fck I hate using Apple buzzwords)when compared side by side or when I was using his machine, I had this constant feeling it just wasn't as nice and something was definitely missing, but then again it is a massive blow to the pocket...

These are just my experiences and a lot of it won't apply to you, but I hope at least some of the above ramblings are some help with making your decision.
 
So I've been told to max it out and not to bother unless I need graphics intensive stuff. And I see both sides too. Humph.

Well thanks guys, and if anyone else has anything else to add thats great!
 
Between these two: (and the fact they are refurbished is fine, I don't want comments on that please.)


Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel i7
Originally released June 2012
15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Hi-Res antiglare widescreen display, 1680-by-1050 resolution
8GB (2 x 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
750GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

and


Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display
Originally released June 2012
15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch
16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

Which is better? Not including price as they are the same price.

For easy comparison, with the first, I don't get retina, get 8 gigs of ram, and a 750 gb 5400 rpm hard drive. Both ram and hdd are upgradable.

In the second one I get a retina screen, 16 gbs of ram, but only a 256 gb ssd.
The ram is soldered in which is why I have to get 16 gigs (maxxed out) and the ssd is upgradable, but as it is proprietary, its expensive.

Thoughts?
 
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