MacBook Pro i7 Recommendations

With gains on many tasks of 15- 30%, anyone buying the April 2010 MacBook Pro is bound to be pleased.

To put things into perspective, as this was written, there was a $1200 upcharge to go from a 2.66GHz Mac Pro to a 3.33GHz Mac Pro— that’s a 25% difference. So realizing 15-30% more performance is a Big Deal when the new MacBook Pro costs about the same as the prior one.

To consistently realize those gains for big job, you’ll need 8GB of memory and a fast system drive. You’ll want the MPG Pro Laptop.

The gains are impressive enough that I’ll be selling my older 2.93GHz MacBook Pro shortly.

Existing models

For those who already have a MacBook Pro, your smart move is to install a quality solid state drive in the laptop you already have; with some tasks (including some not shown in this review), the SSD will make an existing MacBook Pro feel much perkier than even the new model.

Adding memory is always a good idea, but whether you need 4GB or 6GB or 8GB depends on what you do.

A photographer’s perspective

The graph below pretty much sums it up for me as a photographer: the Core i7 chip kicks some serious butt in the time saving department.

While a nicely outfitted Mac Pro is your best bet, a Mac Pro can’t be carried with you, so any gains in the laptop area are a big plus for those who often work “in the field” or want or can afford only a single computer.

Reduction percent, longer is better