Macbook Pro 2.66GHz or 2.8GHz?

[FrankieP]

Saved up enough cash to purchase a Christmas gift for myself. Will be getting a 17" Macbook Pro 8gig RAM, 7200RPM 500Gig HD. Is there a big performance difference between 2.66GHz compared to 2.8GHz? Or should I spend the extra $200 towards AppleCare?

[arctic ranger]

applecare...consensus has kinda been that the extra power is not worth the money. check the live 8 performance test to see if there are any comparisons if its worth it

[davepermen]

max difference possible is 2.8/2.66 = 1.0526 => ~5%.

i would personally not even go for 2.66ghz (the i7 in the macs is just another i5 with a different name btw, nothing quadcore here).

but anyways, consider getting at max 5% gain for the additional cost of (i checked the swiss prices) nearly 12%.


from the lowest to the highest one: 10% performance difference, 20% cost difference.


but yeah, get apple care. i would have said + get an ssd, but the prices on the apple page are horrendous.

[Machinesworking]

Applecare.

Had really really great luck with macbooks and powerbooks until this last one.
Logic board, LCD, power charger, battery all died in the last 3 years; The only thing in this laptop that's the same as when I got it is the optical drive and the actual case. $300 VS around $900 in parts plus labor. Had to pay for the LCD myself, accidental damage isn't covered... Every other Apple laptop I've owned had been rock solid, but when it rains it pours!

[oblique strategies]

You don't have to purchase AppleCare at the same time that you buy the MacBook Pro, you just have to purchase it before the standard one year warranty period is up. So you can postpone the Apple Care purchase until later, & apply the $200 towards something else if you want.

I'd apply the money towards the anti-glare hi-res display & an SSD drive. Just don't buy RAM from Apple, they charge too much!

[CR78]

I just bought a mint, month old 15" MBP 2.66GHZ i7 with antiglare and 8GB of RAM for under $2k.Love it.

I'm finding many business people who do alot of traveling dumping their new MBP for the new MB Air.

Wait until the 10th or 11th month of your first year warranty and then grab Applecare off of EBay.

I'm going to put an SSD in mine come next spring when the next gen is released.

[Bizon]

I Don’t know if I would buy 8 gb of ram from apple.

I upgraded on my own and purchased the 8 gb of Mushkin ram about $160 cdn. Then, I sold my old ram on ebay for $65. Therefore, I really only paid less than $100 for the upgrade which is a steal! Additionally, Mushkin ram is better in my opinion.

[Neon Breath]

You wouldn't see much difference, really. Save your $ for a little useful plugin for you instead!

[greatwhitedope]

I Don’t know if I would buy 8 gb of ram from apple.

I upgraded on my own and purchased the 8 gb of Mushkin ram about $160 cdn. Then, I sold my old ram on ebay for $65. Therefore, I really only paid less than $100 for the upgrade which is a steal! Additionally, Mushkin ram is better in my opinion.

Is this what you bought?

[FrankieP]

so the consensus is to stick with 2.66GHz and applecare? I'm planning to run Logic/Live 8 with this machine btw. As far as the RAM, I might just get the stock 4gig and purchase 8gigs from OWC. If I install it myself, doesn't that void the warranty? Also, the anti-glare LCD mentioned previously, is that really necessary? Thanks to all that had replied.

[davepermen]

antiglare FTW. but paying for it should not be necessary. then again, apple..

but yeah, i would get it, 100%.

[CR78]

Ditto on the Antiglare.

Get the OWC RAM and no, you will not void your warranty.It's under 'User/Owner Replaceable'.

[swishniak]

sorry to hijack this; my mbp looks like it might be dying soon; is there a difference between the intel core duo and i5 (aside from the amount of RAM you can stick in)?

[CR78]

Still keeping the topic on(albeit, somewhat)on thread:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3659/appl ... e-to-get/3

[greatwhitedope]

so the consensus is to stick with 2.66GHz and applecare? I'm planning to run Logic/Live 8 with this machine btw. As far as the RAM, I might just get the stock 4gig and purchase 8gigs from OWC. If I install it myself, doesn't that void the warranty? Also, the anti-glare LCD mentioned previously, is that really necessary? Thanks to all that had replied.

Anti-glare is a must. Two weeks ago I bought the 15" anti-glare 2.66 i7 4GB ram (upgrading within the next two weeks) 500GB 7200 RPM HDD, it's pretty quick but I have noticed only decent (3 - 3 1/2hr) battery life with the upgraded HDD.