<p>The 2.2 Ghz model is $360 more on Amazon. Is it worth it?</p>
<p>Advantages:
2.2 over 2.0 GHz
750GB HD over 500GB HD
1GB AMD graphics over 256MB</p>
<p>Disadvantages:
$360 more
CPU will mostly likely get even hotter
Not significantly faster</p>
<p>I mean, both Macbook Pro's are quad-core, so I can't imagine the 2.2 GHz having a significant difference in speed. I'll be going to college next year and will most likely be using my laptop for regular things and the occasional games, Photoshop, MATLab, 3D Animation, etc. What do you guys recommend?</p>
<p>You won’t notice 2.2Ghz over 2.0Ghz at all, and it’s definitely not worth an extra $360 just for this aspect. Bigger hard drive space depends on what you like to do (I personally don’t use that much space).
The graphics card seems significant, but you’d need the model of the graphics card to effectively compare. I doubt you’re going to be doing serious gaming if you’re considering a Macbook, so the lesser one might be fine for you.</p>
<p>The only reason you would get the 2.2 ghz model is for the AMD 6750m graphics card. It’s a significant boost in graphics power.</p>
<p>Personally, I would not buy from Amazon. Instead I would get the student discount from Apple ($200 off the 15’'). Or find a friend and get an employee discount (shhhh!). Then I would buy it. It’s a huge investment but it should last a good 4 yrs.</p>
<p>If you’re doing 3D animation on your laptop then spring for the discrete graphics card and get the beefiest system you can. Really though, you shouldn’t be doing that kind of processing stuff on your laptop, unless it’s a very powerful one.</p>
<p>I agree about the education discount from Apple. Also, they usually have a Back-to-School special with rebates that will get you a free printer and iPod.</p>
<p>…Seriously? Do people not realize that Apple is just a huge scam? This computer is absolutely garbage for the price. Look for a PC with the same specs and you are looking at a a minimum 400 dollar price differential…</p>
<p>Yes and when those PC laptops need to be repaired or replaced in two years, our Apples will still be going strong. from personal experience, we have owned five PC laptops. Only one of them made it past the two year without a significant issue, requiring return to the manufacturer. Our MacBook is 3+ years old and we have never had a problem with it.</p>
<p>You’re comparing one vs many and then generalizing the many when you ought not to.</p>
<p>Now I am going to take two guesses here, which will probably be correct:
1.At least two of your laptops are Dell and/or HP
2.None of the four with issues are an Asus laptop or Thinkpad</p>
<p>Don’t take the bait. Just because some kid wants to start another,“Macs suck!” war doesn’t mean we have to participate. Don’t pay attention, he’ll get bored and go back to playing video games in his parents’ basement.</p>
<p>Macs have their uses, but they are very limited for the price. Why pay 2x as much for something because it has an Apple on it?</p>
<p>Buy an Asus or Toshiba notebook for half the price and (probably) better performance. Then you have a better product that is not hindered by the ridiculous Apple firmware updates.</p>