Processor - i5 dual v i7 quad

Tony101

Tony101

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I'm going to be buying a new Retina MacBook Pro and I'm trying to balance various specifications; ie. useful working life Vs value for money.

The spec I was looking at is the...
13", 256GB, with memory upgraded to 16GB - this has the standard 2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 processor [current gen chip - Broadwell(?)].​
However, if I bite the bullet and spend another £240 I could get...
15", 256GB, standard 16GB memory - this means the standard 2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 processor [previous gen chip - Haswell(?)].​

I'd rather not spend any more money, but if it means a machine that may have an extra year of useful working life (during which it's noticeably faster); then it may possibly be a worthwhile investment.

FWIW the 13" has some advantages over the 15" - smaller, lighter, faster SSD, slightly better battery life, slightly faster memory. I edit on an external monitor so the 15" screen real estate isn't a huge bonus.

It will be replacing a lowest spec mid-2010 13" 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo upgraded with SSD and 8GB memory. This has been a trooper but is showing its age, most noticeably chugging with LR and 22MP raw files. No video editing so far, but there may be in the future.

My current MBP has suffered a hardware fault and I don't think it's worth spending any money to repair it, so a replacement is urgently required (no waiting to see what upcoming announcements Apple may make eg. Skylake(?) chips).

Phew! That's probably w-a-y too much info. Thank you for reading all the way down to here. :-)

So would it be £240 very well spent, or should I stick to my original plan of getting an up-to-date direct replacement?

Cheers!

PS: I'm fully aware of the pros and cons of Mac Vs PC, this part of the spec is not up for debate - many thanks.
 
If the software you plan to edit with will use all 4 cores then I suspect the quad-core will offer a performance boost. TBH I can't remember for sure, but think LR will use all 4 cores. Might be worth visiting an applestore & trying out both machines.
 
If you only use it for LR then i5 will be good enough as long as you do have a d800 type camera with massive raw files.
 
I'm also looking at almost the exact spec but with a 512gb ssddrive. I tried the 13 and it's lovely BUT after using it for a day I think the 15 will be the one I go for. This is due to wanting to edit on the laptop as well. The screen is lovely.
 
I have a dell u30 & a dell 2410 for those duties when I'm at home. The benefits of a laptop are being able to use to away too.
 
I have the i7 rMBP. much much faster than the i5. The faster processor would future proof ( if anything can be ) your purchase. The extra cost could be well worth it

I'd also hang on for a bit. Big Apple event ( rumored) in a couple of weeks as you mention . Possible announcement of iPhone 6s, plus maybe some new macs
 
Many thanks everyone, your input is very much appreciated.

Since posting my question outside factors have dictated my decision. Apple can't deliver the build-to-order 16GB RAM in time (delivery estimate is Sept. 8th), so I'll have to buy an off-the-shelf 15".

While the additional expense and size is moderately unwelcome, I think in the long term the extra processor power will continue to be appreciated long after the dent in my wallet is just a dim memory. :-)

Another upside is if I buy from John Lewis I'll get a 3 year warranty, so that'll save me £279 I wouldn't have spent on Applecare. :-)

At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is...woohoo, new toys!
 
Chappers said:
I'd also hang on for a bit. Big Apple event ( rumored) in a couple of weeks as you mention . Possible announcement of iPhone 6S, plus maybe some new macs
Click to expand...
Yep, Sept. 9th there'll be a load of Apple hoopla announcing iPhone 6s and an updated Apple TV, but it'll be interesting to see if there's a "one more thing...".

As for new MBPs, the general consensus on the rumour mills that I've seen, is early 2016 when Intel start shipping suitable Skylake CPUs. The current 15" MBP was only updated (in a minor way) a few months ago.

Besides, I feel happier having a tried and tested design rather than some new incarnation dreamed up in the Apple reality distortion field. :)
Tadaah! No ports, and we've made it even smaller by utilising only 18 letters of the alphabet on the keyboard, we've also replaced the screen with a mirror...you've never looked better! :eek:
 
Tony

Check on what the free extra warranty covers. I received an email from an Apple reseller ( not John Lewis ) offering a free 3 year warranty on all purchases. This was not Apple Care but any service was carried out by their own service department. No problem there, but it didn't cover the screen, or the hard drive. OK some cover but I'd sooner pay the extra for Apple Care, As I had a MacBook develop a screen fault after 2 1/2 years and the cost was £480 to replace the screen. Now having said that I've an iMac nearly 5 years old no problem and a 3 year old rMBP that both have performed faultlessly, but I'd still feel safer with Apple Care
 
Chappers said:
Check on what the free extra warranty covers.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up John. I've checked the small print of the guarantee and it's what I'd expect from John Lewis.

Basically, if any functioning part breaks they'll get it fixed; if they can't fix the computer it'll be replaced with something of equivalent specification. What's not covered is neglect, misuse, deliberate damage, cosmetic damage, self repair attempt etc. - basically don't be an idiot. Also, I've only really heard good things about John Lewis's customer service - however I don't plan on testing it myself.

I fully understand why people buy AppleCare, especially for portable items, but in the 20+ years I've owned Macs (4 of them have been laptops) I've never had any problem that AppleCare would've covered <runs off to frantically find some wood to touch, knock etc.:)).

After buying the new machine I was a little peeved to discover that PCWorld have a Bank Holiday 10% cashback deal on. But on reflection, I feel happier with the JL guarantee and service.
 
Hi Tony, I went for the MBPr 15" and specified the 500 GB SSD, I found out after ordering that both this model (1 down from the top of range) and the top model are made to order at the factory and not off the shelf items, it took around 3 weeks for the build and shipping but the wait was worth it.
It is my first Mac and the fastest computer I've ever owned, almost instant boot from cold, well under 10 seconds, and handles everything I've thrown at it with ease.
Screen hasn't been an issue since I calibrated it and I've not felt the need for an external monitor at all.
I do store most of my media on NAS drives and also back up to both another NAS drive (time machine) and also use carbon copy to clone the macs drive onto an external SSD drive once a week.
Yeah it cost more than double I've ever spent on a computer before but what price can you put on reliability and peace of mind?
In short it's the best thing I've ever done with regards to computing and I don't regret it at all.
 
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