MBP 13'' Performance

Hi! I have a question regarding performance on C2D powered laptops and I think this is the best place to find an answer!

For work reasons now I need a 13'' laptop and the ones I like the most are the Macbook and MBP. The VAIO Z was a contender too but the extra bucks didn't convince me.

What I want to know is how well does OS X Snow Leopard performs on the "old" Core 2 Duo (2.4ghz); since I know from PC world that there's quite a difference between similary clocked C2D and i5 counterparts (even i3).

Since OS X is quite heavy on graphics... is the performance bad? the system laggy or something like that? I used Kubuntu (KDE 4.4) on a C2D 2.4ghz before and an 8400M GT and it ran happily, but I never played much with OS X...

If performance will be hampered then I'll have to rethink my options.. is there a MBP refresh coming soon that "might" include at least i3 specs??

Thanks a lot!!

P.S: I won't be doing cpu-intensive stuff like Photoshop or stuff like that.

 

Then it probably doesn't matter much. The performance bottleneck is most likely the hard drive than the CPU. A good SSD will help speed things up.

 

I do quite a bit on my MBP13 involving running virtual machines, programming, some light video editing, some gaming, among other things. The only thing hampering my MBP is the hard-drive, in which an SSD drive would fix. The C2D does it's job very well in my view.

Only thing is I hope Apple makes an MBP13 that has a higher resolution screen like the new MBA13 has. 1440x900 is the sweet spot for my needs.

 

the macbook pro has trouble with flash. but that is coming from the mouth of somebody who loads around 7 720p youtube videos at any one time(if you must ask....its what i do when looking for product reviews).

but ya...os x is an apple product; it is snappy as hell.

 

Huh? My 2010 MBP 13 had no issues at all playing flash.

 

lol, sorry.

choppy performance i meant :/ , but still working. and noticably worse under bootcamp w/ win7.

 

You might not have had the correct drivers installed, YouTube videos were very smooth on my Macbook. Both Windows 7 and OS X.

 

The c2d is more than enough to do most tasks. This isn't to say the i3/i5/i7 aren't better, but in most tasks an even-clocked i3 is only about 15-20% better.
(the gulf widens with i5 and higher especially on applications or multitasking that will use the additional cores)

What I am confused about is why you would get a macbook or macbook pro when you are not tied to Mac OSX.

Non-mac 13" laptops in the price range of $840-$1300 are relative god-boxes in comparison.

Take for instance
Amazon.com: ASUS U35F-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Laptop (Black): Computer & Accessories

For under the best price you can get a macbook for, you get macbook pro and then some hardware with up-to-date i3 processor and superior hardware in almost every case. Add on top of this the fact that ASUS's reliability and hardware is superior to anything Apple has made for many years.

Unless you really NEED Mac OSX, there is no reason to buy a mac.

 

If you're looking at a MBP 13, you might as well wait to see if the rumors of the Sandy Bridge upgrade for all MBPs turns out to be true on March 1st. That way you won't have to worry about the C2D vs Core i performance debate. If the rumors pan out you can have the best of both worlds. The slick graphics heavy OS X interface and the performance of Intel's latest and greatest processors. Its a win-win if you can wait two weeks or so.

 

sigh, lol. not my day. i meant that win7 was noticably BETTER

 

Yeah flash in OSX kinda sucks. Not that it's choppy or slow for me, but the CPU's just get ramped all the way up. Flash blocker in chrome helps a lot though on battery and cpu heat etc.

Anyway, I really recommend Macbook, sure you can get an $800 system and by all means go for it, but the screen quality (minus the resolution) of the MBP13 is terrific, there's more to hardware than cpu/gpu in which IMO the 320m is the best integrated gpu out (not saying much but still good). The trackpad is the best I've used anywhere, so if you're away from your desk a lot, this does a lot for me. Seriously I would pay $100+ to have that piece of glass hardware into any other laptop. The unibody build is solid, I like to carry my laptop around, hold it by the corner etc and no creaks or worries about it cracking. yup yup!