What is the performance difference between these two processors in a 17inch MBP? Also, is the $50 upgrade for 7200 rpm hard drive necessary? I’ve heard it will use more battery compared to 5400rpm. Is that true? I am trying to decide and want to be sure the upgraded options are worth the extra money.
Mike
— Mike
Hi there !
I happen to have the 3.06 version, and a friend of mine has the 2.8 version. My opinion is : there isn't a big difference between the two, so unless you do lots of data crunching (e.g. video conversion), the 3.06 isn't really necessary.
On the other hand, upgrading to a 7200rpm drive makes a huge difference in the overall performance of the machine, so I would definitely recommend you take it, it's totally worth the money. Besides, the battery life won't suffer much, as the particular drive in the MacBook Pros is one of the best available in terms of power consumption.
Side note : I hear from various sources around the web that Apple is about to refresh the whole MacBook Pro line, so if I were you, I'd wait and see ;-)
Hope this helps,
Camille
Thanks so much for the response. I do some video work so probably will go ahead and upgrade both. This is actually for an apple replacement device and only have to pay for upgrades.
Is there any performance differences with those configurations on a 15in or 17in MBP? I am leaning towards the 17in but it seems the only benefit is screen and battery life.
There are more differences. The 17-inch has an Express34 slot -- which allows you to add a whole class of peripherals. You also get 3 USB ports. There might also be some other differences that could be useful to pro users. I'd compare them carefully.
Thanks Gary. I knew about the other hardware differences but was more concerned with performance between the two models. Which would you recommend regardless of hardware specs?
It really depends on your budget and needs. It sounds like you are a professional video editor, so a big screen and the future ability to take video in through the Express34 slot may come in handy. But if you travel a lot the downside is the extra size and weight. I can't make a definite recommendation.
Best feature of the 17 in is, in my opinion, the 1920x1200 resolution. Makes it possible to view FullHD 1080p video, and it looks absolutely gorgeous.