MacBook Pro :: Performance Gaining/Pentium D 2.3ghz Versus 2.26ghz Core 2 Duo/i3
Mar 1, 2010
I'm holding out for a supposed 13" i3 mbp.
I've got a Windows machine with a Pentium D 2.3ghz and 3g ram.
Using Photoshop or video editing software, what type of performance gains, if any, should I see with a .26ghz core 2 duo and 4g ram? What about with the i3 and 4g ram?
Just curious as to how much of an improvement in performance I would see upgrading my system as it states above, since my 2006 machine is 3 years old and getting close to the end of my apple care, figured I would trade it in and upgrade.
The ivy bridge processors are coming out soon (or may already be out). I have heard that macbook pro 13" models might be able to use the new processers due to their lower energy useage. I presume that I will be able to take my mac to an apple store and have it installed. Is this information true?
Info: MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)
No matter how many times I compare and spec out which model to buy, I keep coming back to the 2.66GHz 8 core model (I only want the 8 cores not the quads). Anyway, just looking at various benches the 2.66GHz looks very close in the results to the 2.93GHz 8 core and turbo boost pushes the 2.66GHz up to 2.93GHz. I know its $1400 more than the 2.26GHz model but anyone here make the jump from a 2.26GHz to the 2.66GHz (8 cores) and noticed the huge jump in performance? I just can never shake off the low clock speed of the 2.26GHz even when its turbo boosted up to 2.53GHz with 1 core working.
I have a mid 2009 Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo with 2.26 GHz and will be upgrading both the RAM and hard drive. I've done a fair bit of research regarding which brand and have decided to go with the Hitachi Travelstar.
1) Is my Macbook Pro compatible with the Hitachi Travelstar? By this, I know the physical dimensions fit, but I'm actually wondering if there are any known problems in practice such as the dreaded EFI firmware issue or dropping the 3Gbps SATA to 1.5 speed issue, etc. I'm not sure if my specific Macbook Pro model is the same mid 2009 model that has all these problems so I just wanted to make sure.
2) Assuming the Hitachi Travelstar is compatible, which model is better and why: the 7K500 or the 7K750. I'm especially interested in those who have personal experience of either of these (or both!)
3) Should I buy the 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm version? Why? As of now, I'm trying to decide between 500 Gb, 640 Gb or 750 Gb (is there any difference to performance in regards of which size)?
Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz
I'm new to this forum, just registered and you've helped me before with some of my mac issues.. Recently, I was offered a Powermac G5 2.3 Ghz dual core. I'm interested but I want to know if the machine is worth paying for, he was asking $1700.00 AUD.
Here are the specs. POWERMAC CPU * 2.3GHz Dual PowerPC G5 processor * 1.15GHz frontside bus * 512k L2 cache * 2.5 Ghz RAM (400MHz DDR2 PC3200U DDR SDRAM Memory) * 300GB Serial ATA hard drive * 16x SuperDrive (double-layer) DVD Burner * 4 Firewire port PCI-X Expansion card * Two open PCI-X expansion slots * ATI RADEON 9650 Video Card with 256MB of GDDR SDRAM
PORTS & BAYS * 1x FireWire 800 port * 2x FireWire 400 ports (one on front) * 4x USB 2.0 ports (one on front) * 2x internal SATA hard drive bays
BUILT IN AUDIO * Optical digital audio input/output * Analog line-level input/output * Front headphone minijack and speaker Upgradable to 8Gb RAM and 2-3 Terabyte of Hard Drive
I was told its a good, non-problematic machine. Are they telling the truth. I am also planning to check it out, what should I check or watch out for.
There's a lot of people wondering if the 13" MBPs would have been a lot better with a Core i3 processor, but everything has been just hangups over perceived old vs. new technology, and really the only thing the Core i3 adds is Hyper-Threading, but it doesn't have Turbo Boost, which helps the Core i5/i7s tremendously. Let's compare using Geekbench since it is cross-platform and one of the few available sources of info...
Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz (~3362)
[URL]
vs.
Core i3 330m 2.13GHz (~3472)
[URL]
Core 2 Duo P8800 2.66GHz (~3700)
[URL]
vs.
Core i3 350m 2.26GHz (~3680)
[URL]
As you can see in both cases, the difference is pretty minimal indeed, and in single threaded applications, the C2D will easily outdo the Core i3 which lacks Turbo Boost and runs at lower clock rates.
And you get a 320M instead of Intel HD graphics with the new 13".
The Geekbench results from the old 15/17" to the new 15/17" are quite an order of magnitude better.
So unless people are expecting Core i5 processors in the 13", sticking to the C2D was actually a good decision, and given the differences between 2.4 and 2.53 isn't so large, one is far better buying the base 13" and then putting the money saved towards a good 7.2k HDD or SSD.
Note - I took averages of the 32-bit numbers and added them.
Note 2 - The C2D Pxxxx are 25W TDP processors, which are more efficient than the Core i3 which are 35W TDP processors. Less heat, better battery life from C2Ds.
I've been debating whether or not to upgrade my 3 year old 15" Macbook Pro that has a 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa) to the new 13" 2.4Ghz Macbook Pro. FYI... My current system also has 4GB of RAM. Since both systems are Core 2 Duo, what kind of speed bump am I going to see? Would this be a substantial upgrade?
I have read reports on here about the 2.26GHz 8-core Mac Pro being reportedly slow...but is it really THAT slow?? I mean, I am in the market for a Mac Pro right now and I don't really know if I will wait until the 6-core machines come out. How slow does the 2.26GHz feel in the Mac OS when navigating, opening apps? Is there a big difference between the 2.66GHz and the 2.93GHz? Also comparably how is the single core 3.33GHz vs the 8-core 2.26GHz?
i have a g5 dual core 2.3ghz from late 05 modal with 4GB DDR533 certifed memory, recently i always had random KPs. i'd tried to reinstall a clean OS 10.5.8 right now still the same. Ran memtest everything seems fine. i didnt use any firewaire devices or usb, just the apple original alu keyboard and mighty mouse, 23inch Cinema HD lcd display monitor thats it!
I'm about to make a career change and move into 3D visualization / CGI while continuing with a certain amount of 2D artwork for print. I use Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, some Final Cut and Motion and I can see After Effects being added to that list at some point.
My eye has been on the "Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon" Mac Pro, I'd bump the RAM to 8Gb to start with. But like many others I've been reluctant to pay what seems like over the odds especially when we want to believe that a new machine is round the corner.
Although i'm hardly impressed by the prices and specs of these 'new' machines I need one so I'm buying!
Just need to know before I make the plunge. Is the i7 variant with the extra GPU ram really worth it? I would use the extra power in my work but I honestly need to know if I'd notice any difference as for a few seconds less waiting it would hardly justify the price.
I have a Power Mac G5 2.3Ghz dual-core system (M9591LL/A) with 2.5GBs of RAM and an Nvidia 6600 PCIe graphics card with 256MBs of RAM.
I tried playing a full-screen HD episode of "The Office" on Hulu.com and it was extremely choppy (like 0.5fps). The sound was fine. It's still quite choppy (~2fps) in a normal browser window (not full-screen)
Is this normal? Does this video card not support it? What is the most powerful card that can be installed in this machine? I'm not opposed to buying a PC card and flashing the ROM if need-be.
As I see the new Speedmark 6.5 test scores come out, I''m taken back somewhat.
I'm buying an iMac for my office which is used for internet, email, heavy excel and word. I like to get 4 to 5 years out of my computer so I'm switching to an iMac. That being said I'm buying a refurbished unit, but am wondering if it's worth the extra 4-500 bucks to upgrade from the 3.06 Core i3 to the 2.66 Quad-core i5??
So I was talking to my friend about the new MPs and that they should have two 6 core processors in it.
I plan on getting one for rendering scenes with Maya and doing stuff on AE, FCP, and the CS5 master collection. We were talking about his computer, which is one quad core processor.
He was saying that render times on Maya wouldn't be very different when comparing a quad core versus two hexa cores. I don't agree with him but would like someone elses opinion on this.
I am looking to purchase my first Macbook Pro. I am having a difficult time deciding between a $1749 17" from Amazon that is the older 2.8Ghz Core 2 Duo and the $2298 17" (w/ student discount and tax... have to include tax) from Apple that is the newest model. The price difference is $549.
Some things I'm curious about:
1. Intel HD card? Does it really cause that much lag? How is it compared to the nVidia 9400m? I don't mean benchmarks, I mean real life performance.
2. Battery life? Is the battery life in the newest model much better than previous gen?
3. Heat? Is there a difference in heat production between them?
I don't care about gaming, so the 512 300m vs. 512 9600m is no concern.
Does the newest 17" justify the $549 price difference? Are there any other things that I should know between the two?
I'm pretty new here, though I posted over a year ago here with a few questions as a beginning switcher. My switch completed in Christmas of 2005 with a late '05 Power Mac G5 Dual-Core 2.3GHz with 1GB RAM and 250GB HDD. I decided to get another monitor and it is a Sony 19" LCD one. I also didn't get any speakers since I used headphones a lot at the time. I recently decided to start using speakers. So temporarily, I am using the Altec Lansing BX1120 2.0 Stereo speakers from Walmart for only $15. They sound great but I would like 5.1 surround sound to watch my DVDs (and to soon upgrade to BluRay & SACD/DVD-A; but that's for another thread later on). Before I go on, I would like to ask questions and provide facts with what my 'puter has. My specific products I'm looking for is at the bottom of this message.
I have a 20 inch imac that I bought about 2 years ago. The processor is a 2.4 GHz intel core 2 duo. and the memory is 1 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. I am wanting to try and sell this and buy new 13" macbook pro, the 2.4GHz model with 4 GB Ram. I want to get this now because I do alot of video editing for action sports using Final Cut Pro, now getting into Adobe Premiere, but I am driving alot and would like to have a MBP to bring with me now. I want to know though, how much of a performance difference would I see using this for Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere?