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Thread: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

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    Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Hello,

    thought I'd try and get a bit of advice from the many Mac experts around here

    I'm going to be getting a new laptop very soon, just waiting for the core duo 2 chips to come out. I am being swayed towards buying a Mac rather than a PC, so my question is to ask if anyone has tried/owned a Macbook or Macbook Pro and could tell me what they thought of it?

    Trying to decide between the two: I know the Pro has better graphics, illuminated keyboard, express card slot, bigger screen which can be matt or glossy. However, the Macbook is also appealing because it is a bit smaller, lighter and cheaper but not sure how good the integrated graphics are.

    I can read online reviews till the cows come home but I thought I'd ask here as there seems to be quite a few Mac people who I'll trust to give me an honest opinion.

    So can anyone help?

    Cheers ,
    Paul

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    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    I own a 15" Powerbook, and have used a 17" MacBook Pro. Both lovely machines.

    I haven't yet used a MacBook, but I'm probably going to buy one shortly as a Mac/Windows loan machine at work.

    If I were buying a new laptop today it would be a toss-up between the black MacBook and the 15" Pro. But I'd want a matt screen, and the extra expansion options of the Pro would probably sway me in that direction.

    If you want a Core 2 Duo, I think you might find they will appear in the Pro first.

    Tough decision to make...
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Registered User El Salsero Gringo's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    I helped set up someone's MacBook today - a black one - and it's totally gorgeous. As/when dual boot gets to be sensible, I can guess what my next pc is going to be...

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo
    I helped set up someone's MacBook today
    What? They let you open the box
    "If you rebel against high heels, take care to do so in a very smart hat.'' George Bernard Shaw

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    Registered User El Salsero Gringo's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe
    What? They let you open the box
    No, I talked them through doing it themselves. They learnt much more that way, which was the object of the exercise.

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    "If you rebel against high heels, take care to do so in a very smart hat.'' George Bernard Shaw

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    I own a 15" Powerbook, and have used a 17" MacBook Pro. Both lovely machines.

    I haven't yet used a MacBook, but I'm probably going to buy one shortly as a Mac/Windows loan machine at work.

    If I were buying a new laptop today it would be a toss-up between the black MacBook and the 15" Pro. But I'd want a matt screen, and the extra expansion options of the Pro would probably sway me in that direction.

    If you want a Core 2 Duo, I think you might find they will appear in the Pro first.

    Tough decision to make...


    I guess the rule of thumb is that you get the best computer you can, within the price range you set for yourself, so if you can afford pro, go for it. The only thing within that is a) whether you want the larger screen size (sounds like you wouldn't want the 17", so it's 15 vs 13), and b) ensuring that you get it with sufficient RAM - 512Mb is not enough - you want a minimum of a gig, and personally I'd go for two (but then I do a lot of photo processing)

    EDIT Having said all that - the main question is: what do you want to do with your lovely new laptop? All the advice in the world is fairly well worthless unless it's properly in context.
    Last edited by straycat; 16th-August-2006 at 04:13 PM. Reason: Thought of something I should have said in the first place

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Thanks straycat, I've had 12 & 15" screens before and really want to go to a smaller screen again, so that's why I'm tempted by the 13" screen but unsure if the glossy option will be a good or bad thing.

    To put it in context it'll be a lot of home use, but less likely to be gaming as I'm not a big gamer, don't have the reflexes so the separate video card may not be necessary, probably will use for work presentations though but integrated should be fine. It'll be used for work stuff as well but that's nothing too demanding.

    The main reason I was asking is because I will be new to the world of OSX and am a little unsure of how it ran on these two laptops? I could get an equilavent or cheaper windows laptop but I fancy trying something different but with the potential to use windows if I need to, using bootcamp or parallels.

    I'm holding off getting one now so I can get the rumoured 64-bit versions, especially as leopard will be able to take advantage of it when released.

    At the moment I'm getting swayed towards the Macbook, as I can't see me needing the expresscard option and might be able to do without the larger screen & size of the pro. The illuminated keyboard would be cool but not several hundred quid cool.

    That's why I was wondering if anyone had tried the two and found any significant differences. Anyone know where I could find either of these to mess about for real? I think John Lewis stock them but won't be near one till the end of the month. PC world in Dundee only had the Pro last time I looked, they were still trying to sell very expensive ibooks so are trying to get rid of those first I think before they stock the Macbook.

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Hmmm. Well - the 13" criterion suggests the MacBook. Glossy screen - haven't seen one, but as the choice seems to be between glossy and anti-glare, I'd go for the anti-glare myself. I may change my mind if I see one - but with a laptop, you can't always control the lighting you're working in, so anything that reduces reflection on the screen is a Good Thing(TM)

    Personally, I'd hate to sacrifice on screen size, but one option is to get one of these for home use (uses the same tube as the Apple 20" monitor, but at half the price. Just got one, and it's luverly)

    Gaming - don't know - I don't use my Mac at all for gaming (that's what my PC's for ) - but the built-in graphics for any of the latest laptops will be ample for your needs, I'm guessing, even if you do decide to be more of a gamer later on .

    OSX likewise. MacBooks will run OSX fine for a few versions yet, just make sure you get all the RAM you can afford, as I said earlier. It's the best single step you can take towards future-proofing a computer.

    Personally, in your position, I'd still be looking for a pro, but that's me (I'm a geek). From what you've said though, I think the standard MacBook will be fine for your needs.

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    I'm just as much of a geek but one on a budget that's trying not to be distracted by too many shiny things

    The Macbook is more tempting due to it's size and weight I suppose, the last laptop I had was a 15" non- wide screen acer travelmate, which could be a bit to lug about at times and made me think about a smaller laptop next time round.

    I'll be getting at least 1GB of memory on it, (apple's bto option for 2GB is £300 but £60 for 1GB is more sensible) but may do my own HDD upgrade so I can use the spare as an external back up.

    The Pro is tempting......just as well I've got a month to make my mind up

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    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Paul, from what you're written, it sounds like the MacBook is the one you want, and the right one for you.

    Just got to decide whether to wait for the Core 2. And if the Pro gets it before the MacBook...
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think the Macbook is the right one for me, unless there's something I'm missing. I'll try and get a look at both before I order anything though.

    From what I've read on quite a few rumour sites both Macbook and Pro are getting the merom chips at the same time.

    Thanks to every one for there opinions though I might well be back to ask a few OSX related questions in the future (getting to know it by fixing the lab next doors Macs but not played with it enough yet)

    Thanks!
    Paul

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    They have both at John Lewis in Glasgow for sure...

    I'd go for the black one.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Registered User quiet_flame's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    I know CMJ just invested in a nice shiny new Macbook, and the main user is Robert Winter, he said he's had no problems with it, but (as he works mainly on a G5) he found it did Lag a bit sometimes.

    I've been on an Ibook for nearly a year now, and I've had no problems,
    the only time I found it lagged is if I was importing Photo's and video, however, once imported it worked with it really fast! I've been Mightily impressed and looking to upgrade to the macbookpro when I eventually get the money together. Will probably also invest in a camera with a digital output at that time, so I can record and process my own promotional show reels. Being a dancer it needs to be up to date at all times.

    I haven't invested in Aperture yet... thinking about it... but worried about the processing power required, I don't think my little Ibook is up to it.

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Just popped into the local John Lewis, and had a play on a shiny black Macbook. I can be a little more specific now...

    Speed - nice. Tried a few applications (iPhoto, Garageband, iMove) - only had time for a few things, but they seemed as snappy and responsive as on my dual G5 monster back home. Far better than Ms. Straycat's 17" G4 powerbook.

    Keyboard - beautiful. A lot nicer in feel than the Macbook Pro. Who needs backlighting anyway?

    Screen. Changing my mind about the glossy screen - it looked wonderful, and that was under the lights of a department store. The matt one seemed to dissapate the glare, but didn't eliminate it - and that did seem a tad worse, in fact. The colours for the glossy screen were definitely more intense, and it looked amazing.

    Size. Very little difference between the 15" pro and the 13" macbook. 1.3 inches wider, 0.7 inches deeper, and the pro was actually 0.8 inches thinner. Pro is only about 3 ounces heavier too. For the extra screen resolution, the pro wins there.

    So there you go. I honestly think that about the only obvious advantage of the pro is the increased screen size. Both are gorgeous machines.

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    Omnipotent Moderator Tiggerbabe's Avatar
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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat264 View Post
    Keyboard - beautiful. A lot nicer in feel than the Macbook Pro. Who needs backlighting anyway?
    Trust me, if you are thinking of using it for dj-ing, the back lit keyboard can be incredibly, wonderfully, fantastically useful.
    "If you rebel against high heels, take care to do so in a very smart hat.'' George Bernard Shaw

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Thanks quiet_flame, I've been quite impressed by the ibooks that some of the folk I work beside own.

    Thanks very much for the field report Straycat

    Will try and get to the nearest John Lewis sometime soon! Definitely leaning towards the Macbook now but will have a play with it first, just to make sure

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe View Post
    Trust me, if you are thinking of using it for dj-ing, the back lit keyboard can be incredibly, wonderfully, fantastically useful.
    Think I'll leave the DJ-ing to the experts like yourself

    I'll just stick to being a dancer

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiggerbabe View Post
    Trust me, if you are thinking of using it for dj-ing, the back lit screen can be incredibly, wonderfully, fantastically useful.
    I presume you meant 'keyboard' not screen?

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    Re: Macbook v's Macbook Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat264 View Post
    I presume you meant 'keyboard' not screen?
    yup a non-backlit laptop would be close to useless in anything other than direct light Im pretty sure you cant buy them

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