Core 2 Duo or Intel Core i5?

Question

I am planning to buy a used or refurbished 17" Macbook Pro.
I do a lot of graphics work, using an Intuos 4 tablet. My usual software is Photoshop CS 6, Photoshop Elements 10, Photoshop Elements 6, and Toonboom Storyboard Pro. There's also a very strong chance of my using programs such as Adobe After Effects and Toonboom Animate Pro in the future.
I'm wondering what is best for me: Will an older Core 2 Duo be enough, or do I need an Intel Core i5?

Answer 1

JaiJethani wrote:
Unfortunately, the 17" was taken out because of not having a high demand.
I'm well aware of the numbers. I'm also aware of the fact that the Retina display could not be produced in the 17" form factor at the time the 17" MBP was discontinued, and Apple did not want its flagship notebook computer to be "outclassed" by the 15" model, which some say is the real reason why Apple killed the 17" MBP. Of course, only Apple knows for sure, and in any case, it's their decision to make...for whatever reasons they want.
But consider this: The 17" MacBook Pro was unarguably the priciest notebook in the Mac product line. I suppose some units might have been purchased by folks who had more dollars than sense — people who didn't really need the screen area, but simply HAD to have the top of the line, the best of the best, la crème de la crème. But I don't think that's true of most 17" MBP users.
In fact, if the posts I've read are any indication of the typical 17" MBP user profile, most of them are professionals who use their machines for productive work. Apple could charge any price and they'd buy it because it's the tool they need. Price is not the primary consideration, which means that the 17" could easily have been a low-volume, high-margin product; IOW, high profit per unit, which is generally not the reason why a company discontinues a product.
So the argument that demand was low doesn't quite ring true. Superficially, it sounds plausible, but I suspect there's more to it.
Anyhow, that's a glimpse into a debate that won't be resolved here. The fact remains that, for those who know the value of the 17" form factor, nothing else will do. It might not make any sense to those who have never used a 17" MBP day in and day out for production workflow. But to those who do, it's a fact.