MBP 15" model difference

Hi, I have decided to buy a 15" macbook pro for the new year. I am just wonder about the 2 models that are available. Does the higher end one warrent the additional $700? And how big of a difference does that extra GPU memory make?

I guess a little about myself: I am a computing student, I work with 3d models and stuff. I also hope to play some of the newer games like oblivion, i am not a hardcore gamer, so as long as the games runs and plays smoothly, i'll be content.

If i can save that few hundred dollars without losing out on too much I guess i'll go for it. thanks

 

I plan on getting the higher end one. Better graphics card, faster processor, more memory. The higher end one will stay good longer. With a slower processor, less memory, you will probably have to upgrade or replace sooner.

 

I'm sorry, which models are you comparing?
The 15" to the 17" or the two 15" models? You say $700, but the two 15" models aren't priced different by $700.
I'll assume you're talking about the two 15" models though...
First, the processor speed is very negligable. You won't notice much of a difference between the two except for benchmark scores. Everything else will not be notible. You may shave off a few seconds during encoding or rendering, but again, it won't be much.
The only 2 other differences are the memory and the video card. The memory is a single sodimm, so you can easily add another gig yourself for $100 or so (depending on the flucuating memory prices).
As far as the video card performance, it will depend on what your doing. You will probably see a 15% difference between the two cards in some newer games that have larger texture sizes. I'm sure there are some benchmarks to show the differences between the two. Otherwise, to get an idea of the difference, check out some sites like tomshardware.com that have video card comparisions. Try to find an x1600 or x1800 that are the same speed but have different memory. That will give you an idea of the difference.

I personally wouldln't go with the higher unit. There isn't enough there to justify the extra $500. Really $400 once you DIY upgrade the ram.

None of the features of the upper end 15" model will really make it last significantly longer. They should both last you a good 3 years or so. Granted, neither will be able to perform well in games in 2 years or less. And keep in mind that the x1600 does not support DX 10.

 

Yes, I mean the 2 15" models, my mistake with the price difference. So 15% isnt really that big of a difference? Thank you! Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I too am looking at the new MBP and I agree with hollownail. I'm planning on getting the lower 15" model since the price difference just isn't worth it. The processor different isn't significant unless you want to say you have the fastest mobile chip available. The RAM I would prefer to get myself anyones since I can get it cheaper from third parties. The only thing is the additional GPU memory, which I would really like to have, but I don't really want to pay that much more for essentially 128MB more video memory. (Given I've already mentioned the other features aren't that worthwhile).

That said, if you plan on "really playing" Oblivion or newer games, the extra video memory will definitely help. I don't think it's worth the extra cost though. If Apple threw in the 160GB HDD in the 2.33GHz 15" model than that would be a different story, but they didn't so...

 

Well its not just the better GPU that the upper end 15 inch macbook pro comes with. The extra gig of ram is also worth around $100, but if you plan on playing oblivion or that level of games definitely get the better GPU as it will make a big difference.

Check out MacMall, shipping is free and you don't have to pay taxes. plus they have some great prices.

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/new_promo~dp~7133509~family~macbookpro~promo~3.asp

 

Is there any way to get the education discount at MacMall? After taxes, shipping it, and rebate MacMall's MBP would be cheaper than ordering from Apple with an educational discount. It would be awesome to get the educational discount on top of all that.

 

Well, when I compared between macmall and Apple, it's still cheaper to go with the educational discount through apple.
The base price of the MBP is 1799. After the MAIL-IN rebate (which suck) and buying the printer does not seem to be optional when I tried to checkout.
Apple seems to be running the same promotion for the printers and .Mac.
The only rebate that kinda makes it worthwhile is the discount on Parallels. But then again, your paying a lot more upfront and have to wait god knows how long for the mail in rebate to get back to you.
But yes, it would be sweet if you could get a student discount on top of that.

I couldn't get taxes to come up on macmall btw. So I'm assuming same taxes as that of apple (88.85 in my case).

 

The orders I have placed through macmall have not been taxed so that probably will even the overall cost rather significantly. Unfortunately macmall does not offer edu discounts, but it is a better deal than you can get through apple plus its open to the general public.

 

How in the world are your taxes so low with apple? When I added a MBP to the cart, my taxes were $230. B/c of taxes, it is nearly $200 cheaper for me to buy from macmall and do the $150 mail-in rebate, rather than just use the 10% education discount at Apple. Then I can buy my Applecare through apple directly at only $220 for 3 years. But you are sure that Macmall does not charge tax?

 

The taxes depend upon your location. I had around $50 in taxes for my Macbook. If you live in Mass. or CA. I wouldn't be surprised if they were through the roof.

 

Well for me in CA it is I think 8 or 8.25% so that would be about $160 in tax on a $2000 purchase.