i5 or i7 in the new MBP a quick out-take

Chris Hulshof

A while ago I posted something with a similar title asking for help/advice in choosing between these two.  One of the posters (Ben) asked for a followup.  Here's my thoughts after a month or so....

I am running the Alpha of L4 Mac.  I have not nor do I anticipate using L4 on a partitioned Hard Drive through Fusion, Parallels, or Bootcamp.

Speed wise - I don't notice any lag or some of the other issues that were reported.  However, I haven't seen that lately so that may have as much to do with the program getting better as it does with the i7 processor.  The searches are almost instantaneous and the page scrolling keeps up.

Indexing - No heavy fan noise, no excess heat, and cpu usage doesn't get near as high as I have seen some people post about in here.

Other programs - I'm able to run and flip between iTunes, Pages, L4, and Randy Beck's Bible Software without any difficulty.  Each one pops right back up where I left it when I flip between them.

I am a Mac convert and Newbie who loves this new MBP.  I'm glad I made the choice to jump on the Alpha rather then get another PC and use L4 for Windows.  In my 1 month experience of using L4 on my Alienware before it died I think that this Mac version is as good and as fast on my i7 MBP.  I wish some of the features I used were available but some of them aren't even available on the Windows platform yet (I'm back to pen and paper for sentence diagraming).  As a local church pastor, it does exactly what I need it to do (and much more) for my weekly sermon prep.  Overall, I have been most impressed with my new MBP and L4 Mac.

Chris

 

 

Wilson Hines

Hey Chris, 

As you may know from this thread here, I switched about a week before you, so we're both newbs.  I have journaled my switch over to the Mac via this podcast.

After looking at the Apple Store website for a solid month, two weeks before they upgraded the MBPros and a week or two after, I chose the 13" MBP.  I had lots of advice and a couple close friends helping me, one of whom was a Alpha user of L4 on a MacBook that was a couple years old.  

I made a pre-buy judgement, which in all reality was risky, based on all I was learning and what I knew about L4 on the PC.  I chose the 13" even though it didn't have an i5 or i7 processor.  The only advantage I could see in the new i processor MPB was the screen size.  I know what your thinking, he's lost his mind.  The reasoning in my mind still came through with flying colors: With the indexing system on L4, it is almost instant, regardless of the processor; second of all, wow, I have 8 to 9 hours of battery life! 

Now, that being said, when I walked into that Apple Store to buy my machine, all the iPads were out and the store was packed, the i5/i7 selection was on one side and the 13" selection was on the other side.  I focused and didn't even go to anything BUT what I was intent on buying, the 13".  Two weeks later, I went in to get an iCase protector and I admit, I tinkered with the i7 and I was impressed with the remarkable difference just in normal computing (Safari, gmail, google reader, GarageBand, iPhoto, ect.).  The gadget guy in me regretted not buying an i7, but almost two months has proven I made the right decision.  I am back in college and that i7 would be a tote to lug around!  I have a friend of whom is majoring in graphic design with a new i7 and he said walking from one side of the campus to the other is a trek!  I rarely ever forget how nice and lite this thing is when I pick it up.  I had a 15" Gateway laptop before this and it was a piece of lead.  

Anyway, I don't want you to get the idea I am arguing whether or not you or I made the right decision.  My all means, don't get that idea.  One thing we both know is we are different people with different needs.  I am really just giving other people things to think about.  

Welcome to the Switch Club!