[Googler]

Well there are 2 15" macbook pro's (core2due) that i am interested in, i'll be purchasing one.

I am moderately budget concious.

My main concern between the to is the .16 processor speed and the 128megs extra graphics.

With ram the same the 2.33ghz is 500 dollars more expensive that the 2.16 ghz with same config just ofcourse more processor speed and double graphics memory.

so0o i will be gaming on this macbook pro. Is it really worth the $500 (australian) to upgrade the graphics and the meager .16cpu speed?

Will i see much of a difference in games? put simply will i see a 500 dollar difference in games and/or overall performance?

Thanks in advance,
Nas

*edit*

price difference indicates both systems have 2gb of ram, i aint skimpin on ram nomatter what lol.

[chiptw]

Go ahead and get the 2.16 ghz MacBookPro--I got mine a month now and love it. It is much better than the 1st generation MacBookPro which I also owned 1.83 ghz.

I am an WoW addict and my old Macbook Pro 1.83 ghz really got too hot with the game & the computer was shutting down of being overheated.

And now the 2.16 ghz MacBookPro is more than adequate for games! Graphics are an improvement on WoW and everthing seems better. It does get a tad hot during the game now (but still bearable to keep on your lap) with the fans switching on, but I have a little portable fan blowing at the back of my laptop to keep it cool--and also to prevent wear and tear of my internal fans.

So don't worry, and save that money for extra ram or so.

Chiptw
MacBook Pro 2.16 ghz - 2 GB RAM

[Googler]

thanx for the reply man i probly will do that . any chance of being more specific about the graphical differences, like when u run WoW can u run it at the highest settings? or atleast close to them and get a good frame rate, cuz honestly i've never seen the point of 256 graphics cards over 128. but ya know lol making sure. I just wanna make the best investment as this laptop is gunna have to last me atleast 4 years, last 2 yrs of skool and first 2 of uni. Which yes, means i'll be a poor poor man for the next 4 years.

I'm already not looking forward to being a "student" *cries*.
apple discount is nice tho .

[hldan]

Originally Posted by Googler 

thanx for the reply man i probly will do that . any chance of being more specific about the graphical differences, like when u run WoW can u run it at the highest settings? or atleast close to them and get a good frame rate, cuz honestly i've never seen the point of 256 graphics cards over 128. but ya know lol making sure. I just wanna make the best investment as this laptop is gunna have to last me atleast 4 years, last 2 yrs of skool and first 2 of uni. Which yes, means i'll be a poor poor man for the next 4 years.

I'm already not looking forward to being a "student" *cries*.
apple discount is nice tho .

You never mentioned what games you will be playing. If gaming is going to be a concern for you then by all means max out the ram options on your Mac. If you are going to be maxing out system ram then max out video ram as well. I have a dual 2.3 Ghz G5 desktop and this machine flies but when I first bought it last year I replaced the GPU with the ATI Radeon X800 with 256MB grahics memory. I play Quake 4 and Doom 3 and both of these games won't allow me to set them to the highest settings without the game getting choppy. Now the GPU's in notebooks are "mobility" chips and they won't offer as much gaming performance as a desktop removable GPU. Another thing to note, games are only going to get more complex so it's best to get the best GPU possible because you can't replace it.
Excuse the expression but don't half-ass your computer if you are going to use for more than just basic web surfing.

[Googler]

thanx, that advice is much appreciated lol ur right i sppose i should go for the best, especially if the 500bux will get me a few more months outta the machine.

Thanks for the advice, 2.33ghz mbp here i come wo0

[John123]

In the event you haven't ordered, I disagree. The extra 128MB in video RAM pales in comparison to the difference between types of chips. I too have played WOW on both a 1.83Ghz MBP (and a 2.0 Ghz MBP) and now a 2.16Ghz C2D MBP. The C2D smokes the original one and can do higher textures because Apple has stopped crippling the ATI x1600 on the C2Ds. Beforehand, there was some downclocking going on (you can read about this at Barefeats), supposedly to deal with the heat. This is gone, and that has led to some substantial improvements.

However, that's an architectural change. And so would a new graphics card (like the x1800, which sadly is not in the new ones). 128MB versus 256MB is not a large difference, and I personally think you'd be better off saving your $500 and upgrading your MBP to a newer model sooner.

[hldan]

Originally Posted by John123 

In the event you haven't ordered, I disagree. The extra 128MB in video RAM pales in comparison to the difference between types of chips. I too have played WOW on both a 1.83Ghz MBP (and a 2.0 Ghz MBP) and now a 2.16Ghz C2D MBP. The C2D smokes the original one and can do higher textures because Apple has stopped crippling the ATI x1600 on the C2Ds. Beforehand, there was some downclocking going on (you can read about this at Barefeats), supposedly to deal with the heat. This is gone, and that has led to some substantial improvements.

However, that's an architectural change. And so would a new graphics card (like the x1800, which sadly is not in the new ones). 128MB versus 256MB is not a large difference, and I personally think you'd be better off saving your $500 and upgrading your MBP to a newer model sooner.

You are just confusing him, he already made up his mind and your logic will make him spend more money in the long run. That's nonsense to recommend for him to get the lower end and upgrade to yet another MBP like you have obviously done. Not everyone has disposable income which is why they buy the best so it will last them longer.

[Ghigster]

could just get the refurbished 2.33 for the same price as the new 2.16...problem solved, unless you dont want to get a refurbished machine

[Googler]

yeah well i do need this to last me AGES like 3-4 years or more.

do refurbs get edu discounts?

i think i'll be going for the higher end, since i wont be spending this kinda money in a long long time so the buying the lower end and upgrading later isnt really an option for me.

my budget = 43 cents and a button lol.

neway thanx guys.

[Carbine18]

the amount of memory (128 v 256) shouldnt matter much at all. the real performance comes from the card itself. i'd just get the cheaper one as $500 gets you a bit more processing power and some extra memory for your GPU that you probably won't need enless you are connecting to an external monitor.

[Googler]

oh well i guess i need the higher end one then as i expect to have to hook it up to not only external monitors for dvd's every now and then but also projectors, etc.

thanks for your help guys!