Perfomance difference: 2.16GHz vz. 2.33GHz

Hi. I'm new to this board. I am looking to buy a MacBook Pro, and want to know if there is a noticeable difference in performance speed between the 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and the 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo? The base price for the 2.16 is $1799.00 and for the 2.33 is $2299.00. Is it worth the extra money? Also, I have been playing around and configured the 2.16GHz with the following specifications:
* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
* 160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
* SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
* iWork '06 preinstalled
* Accessory Kit
* AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro/PowerBook
This totals $2335.00

I configured the 2.33GHz with the following specifications:
* 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
* 160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
* SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
* iWork '06 preinstalled
* Accessory Kit
* AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro/PowerBook
This totals $2677.00

So, what's the difference, and is it worth it? Thanks.

 

This has been asked time and time again, I think the majority of people will think that it is not worth the extra money. The only real difference is an extra 0.17 GHz of processor, and an extra 128 mb of video ram. It really comes down to gaming, if you like to play the latest games then I suggest you get the more expensive one, if not, the cheaper one should be fine. You wont even notice the extra bit of processing power in everyday use.

Then again, if you can afford it, go for the expensive one, if you want to save some bucks, get the cheaper one.

I got the cheaper one and upgraded it with the money i saved. I barely game on this computer so its a perfect machine for me.

Hope that helps your decision.

 

There is a big price premium for the top of the range CPU. In paper it is about 7% faster but you would only notice the difference if you have applications which load the CPU to the maximum for minutes. Would you notice the difference between 13 seconds and 12 seconds without using a stop watch?

I would never buy the fastest CPU if I can get the next one down.

John

 

Thanks for the advice. I am not really a gamer...I don't think The Sims 2 counts . I think I will go with the cheaper model, and I if I feel compelled to upgrade, I'll spend the money then.

 

good choice

 

if you want to save even more money you may consider looking at refurbished...and then buying an extra stick of RAM from somewhere else (newegg or crucial). the 2.16 model is often for sale refurbished for $1599...i think thats with only a 120gb drive though...and you can get a 1gb stick of RAM for less than $50. just a thought.

 

Ya i cannot for the life of me understand the MBP lineup. $500 is an awful lot to pay for a gig of RAM, 128 MB of VRAM and a slightly faster processor. They really need to differentiate more.

 

I got the 2.16.

$500 for 1GB ram (retail $60), a few MHz, and 128MB of VRAM is a rip.

I can' believe they don't even bump the HD to a 160GB model.

Sometimes the beancounters at Apple make it easy, sometimes they make it hard.

This one was easy.