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What about heat? I've been hearing reports that the 15" 2.4Ghz models run very hot. Did you notice this in your testing?

The title should read "New MacBook Pros (Late 2011) feature updates that barely boost performance and value"

trichardlin, on 01 November 2011 - 09:09 AM, said:

They're faster for the same price.

Would you rather that they went the other way?

Those of us who used the PowerPC G3 series of processors dealt with small processor bumps, due to Motorola's inability. I just don't see anything wrong with the MacBook Pro changes. They can't re-design everything, every time. It's not economically feasible.

Hmmm. I wanted to do a quick comparison with the high-end 13-inc MacBook Air announced in July. http://www.macworld....benchmarks.html A little confusing that the zib-unzip Benchmarks from the older Macbook Pros have not been updated: note identical speeds for zip-unzip 2G and 4G files.

What I think would be really great is if, after doing these tests, they would update and put a link to the comprehensive Speedmark 7 report at http://www.macworld....2129/article... or say that it'll be on the horizon. It certainly helps my consideration of upgrading (as per the Macworld's buying advice).

What is not mentioned is the (lack?) of availability of a non-glare screen. Even more importantly, it is not mentioned if the hard drive can be replaced easily and without voiding the warranty.
That is one of my main concerns with a computer.
Remember, the HDD is by far the most frequently failing component.
If the HDD can be easily user-replaced, I can be up-and-running after an HDD failure in a few hours, especially if all of my backups are up to date. Without a user-replaceable HDD, I have to wait for apple, and pay apple prices if I ever want to update the size of the HDD.
Also, can I still use the migration assistant with a firewire cable as on all of the older mac books, except for the newer base model? The migration assistant has also been an important reason that I recommended apples in the past.
I am no longer comfortable recommending apple computers, mainly due to the HDD issue. I can not afford to be down a computer that long in case of a HDD failure. I can not recommend something that I am not comfortable with myself.

JackFeder, on 07 November 2011 - 07:51 AM, said:

The 15" and 17" lines of MacBook Pros offer an anti-glad hi-res screen for $150 as a Built To Order option. Also, not sure about the 13" models, but I know the 15" models it is very easy to replace the HDD and memory in these devices. However, as it has always been, if you replace the memory with non-Apple branded memory and you have to take it in for repair, they will return it to you saying it doesn't have factory ram in it. So, if you do replace the memory (and you should), keep the Apple memory just in case you need to take it in for repair.

And, I'd be interested to know about any heat issues. After @marcoarmant 's issues with the 2.4Ghz models (granted, it was a refurbish), it would be nice to know.

Also, in my opinion, stay away from the 13" MBP. The screen resolution on them is ridiculous compared to a 13" MacBook Air. If you want a 13" laptop get the Air.

you could not give me a laptop,, & yet i love my iPad,
my track pad & magic mouse, are stowed away in a cupboard,batteries(even rechargeable ones), are a retrograde step by apple , if ever there was one

John

Well I own a 13 inch and I don't think it heats up that bad It seems to be running like magic still after 1 year. its a great buy.

odaiwai, on 31 October 2011 - 11:12 PM, said:

I've been running Star Wars: The Old Republic on my 15" 2.4GHz MBP in Bootcamp, and I haven't noticed any heating issues. In fact, this machine is running cooler than the 13" MBP it replaced,

Did you ever test or is there any reviews of the late 2011 MACBOOK Pro 15 inch Built to Order configuration with the 2.5 ghz i7 quad core processor with 8gb memory with 750 gb/7200 speed HDD with high res anti glare screen,which I just ordered from apple and wanted to find our any additional information on this MBP. Did they change/upgrade the processor & HDD again?

I am wondering if the MacBook Pro 17-inch upgrade from 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7 to 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7 is worth it for $250?

I have a dilemma. I have just made the decision to get my first Mac, and I have been presented with two choices. I can get a 13" Pro i5 2.4 GHz or else a 13" Pro i7 2.8 GHz, $300 difference.

Help!

If you have not yet purchased your computer - here is my advice:

I purchased a 13" MBP - Late 2011 - i7 and the overall performance was great. I can honestly say that the performance was absolutely astounding! So where does this come in to play with regard to comparison for the i5? Well, my significant other purchased a MBP i5 the exact same month when she was away at school, then came to live with me! So I got to play with the two systems side-by-side and here is what I can say about the two. I ran MATLAB 2011Rb on the two systems in parallel and here were my results.

Initially - I backed up both systems on time machine to make sure I couldn't undo any stupid I did do.

I ran the two systems through every program I had, MS Word, MATLAB, Netflix, FireFox, Chrome . . . everything!

To begin with, the my i7 was slower in every regard, from startup to running the programs and execution. What I finally came to determine was that the reason my system was running slower was because I installed Norton Internet Secure from Comcast on my i7, but had not been installed on the i5. Once I uninstalled it everything in terms of speed manifested, but you'd be surprised . . .

The i7 was faster, but not by much - Running the programs and running the computer in general was great, but the i7 was not faster by any superior margin. When I ran the most complex program on MATLAB I could, the margin was only about 2.5 seconds. Given that information, I was really disappointed - I assumed that there would have been a huge margin of performance considering the $300 price difference! Here is the kicker - I ran the ever so popular Batman game from the App Store on both systems and wouldn't you know, the graphics/performance was EXACTLY alike! You have no idea how disappointed I was to find out that the system that I payed ~$300 more for showed nearly no significant difference in a graphics intensive game.

What was my final resolve in all of this? I shipped my system back to Amazon because I was still in the return period to return and I was given my $ back that I in turn, turned right around and purchased a 15-inch i7 2.2Ghz system from Amazon. So, here is my 2-cents of advice, do with it what you will:

1.) If you purchase a MPB, or any other computer for that matter, purchase it on Amazon - Apple or any other store only give you a 7-day return period, whereas Amazon give you 30+. Most importantly, Amazon's selling price is EXACTLY as it is listed. At Apple or best buy, you can get 5% off, but you still end up getting the screwed when taxes are paid! You WILL get the lowest price at Amazon - hands down!

2.) If you are set on getting a 13-inch, get the i5 - the i7 is glorified, in my opinion the i7 is all hype. For the most detailed information, you would have to get your program-specific application tested out on an i5 and an i7 so that you could make the most informed decision.

3.) Pass on the antivirus . . . macs just don't need it! Unless you download a lot of torrents, or run some weird download/hack applications like some of my friends do, you don't need antivirus.

4.) Always get an external backup hard disk and back up your system -ALWAYS! I have repeatedly read about Macs among other computers getting extremely low ratings because the hard drive failed. This is just common among hard drives, that is the reality of it. i5, i7, 13-inch, 15-inch, 17-inch, complaints that they have failed.

I am a computer savvy person who has a lot of experience with both PCs and Macs. I did not use a lot of technical terminology just for the sake of getting the point across. Take my advice with a grain of salt, ultimately the choice is yours.

Best of luck, and I hope you have taken this long-winded post as a data point to help you make an informed decision.

Cheers!