You are the reason Apple can charge $150 for a different color.
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Buying a laptop Monday - Macbook or Pro?
- Thread starter NYU02
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You are the reason Apple can charge $150 for a different color.
Congratulations on being cool.
I had three MacBooks. All of them would reach 87 °C when I stressed the CPU, and it never got cooler, even though the fan (fans?) was running at full speed. Actually, it (they) began to underclock itself because it got so hot.
I tried stressing the CPU the same way on my new MacBook Pro, and it initially reached the same level (85 °C from what I could see), but then the fan kicked in and after a while it was quite steady at 72-73 °C, without underclocking itself.
Something to think about. Also, all the MacBooks I had made a whining noise, so I couldn't use them in a quiet environment. I haven't noticed that with the MacBook Pro. All the computers suffered from a flickering screen though (both the MacBooks and the MacBook Pro).
I tried stressing the CPU the same way on my new MacBook Pro, and it initially reached the same level (85 °C from what I could see), but then the fan kicked in and after a while it was quite steady at 72-73 °C, without underclocking itself.
Something to think about. Also, all the MacBooks I had made a whining noise, so I couldn't use them in a quiet environment. I haven't noticed that with the MacBook Pro. All the computers suffered from a flickering screen though (both the MacBooks and the MacBook Pro).
furcalchick - Do you use iMovie or other iLife software often? Is there a majoy difference in the speed between the macbook and the macbook pro when editing VHS tapes and then converting them to DVD. Thats the major selling point as I have a ton of old family videos I want to convert to dvd. Plus I love iWeb and other mac software.
I just dont want editing to take much longer where I become fustrated with the laptop.
Thanks again for all the insight
NYU02
I just dont want editing to take much longer where I become fustrated with the laptop.
Thanks again for all the insight
NYU02
I'm not really huge on PC gaming. I do plan to do some video editing as well and mess around with pictures. I also plan on playing music quite a lot. Are the MacBooks speakers good to play music?
I clearly said that since the OP didn't have that as a major issue, so a PRO was better for him.
If you don't have the money, there's no reason why you should be torn up about it; get what you can afford.
You must have been using the older Core Duos. Whining does not seem to be a problem with the newer ones and mine is as cool as a cucumber.
To convert VHS tapes you will have to get an external device that does the analog to digital conversion. This goes for both MB and MBP. Elgato has some good ones for the Mac and they have TV tuners built into them too. Both machines should feel equally fast with iMovie.
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Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
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80GB hard drive
6x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
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Save 24% off the original price
Original price: $1,299.00
Your price: $999.00
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display
1GB memory
120GB hard drive
6x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB of GDDR3 memory
Built-in iSight camera
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Save 21% off the original price
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The extra screen is quite an important thing, and glossy just makes me insane, so the PRO is your friend here.
It's not whether or not they look professional, it's what looks good down the road. I took my sister with me when it came time to buy the pro in my sig, and the first thing she said was, "don't get anything but silver, you'll get tired of the other colors quickly." As sisters usually do far better than brothers when it comes to fashion, I have to trust her advice. The white and black may look good now, but you might find them old and tired after a while, but the silver always looks good.
If you want to keep it for longer, then the higher end model is best. Certain features that seem useless now will be paramount in the future.
Good luck on your purchase though!
second that. speakers are weak, at least if you want high quality. they are low and just sad.
I don't know what you mean by standard. If anything, the MBP keyboard is more standard because very few laptops use the chiclet design of the mb. I know that there is no empircal way to measure keyboard feel, but most members of this forum agree that after the Thinkpad keyboard, the MBPs and Powerbooks have some of the best keyboards around. Personally, after trying both to a reasonable degree (there are some macbooks at my school, and I tried out the keyboard there), for fast typing, the MBP is much better.
Can't argue there, I just like silver a whole lot better!
My point was about the left-handed mouse users out there. Right now, as a right-handed person, I plug my usb mouse into the left USB port. A left-handed person would thus be more comfortable on the right side (so the cord doesn't bunch up and get in the way).
It can be messy, if you don't place thing well, but at least with the PRO, you get to choose which side you want to use.
Well you can't expect great speakers from a notebook. Externals are almost a requirement if you do anything serious with music.
it really is a matter of personal taste. you can't say one color is better than another; not everyone will agree. i personally prefer the white/black colors of the macbook over the aluminum of the macbook pro. as for looking good down the road, the macbook pro's design to me is long overdue for a redesign.
No, all three were Core 2 Duo. They definitely suffered from the whining. Very, very, annoying!
Have you tried stressing the CPU? I used calc, ran two instances and let them both calculate something difficult, like 1000!^10!.
Calboy - As far as the keyboard goes - It might be just me but I noticed on the macbook pro that some keys tend to be un-even. Some keys seem to be lower/higher then others. Kinda looks like they aren't very secure. Might be just me but does anyone else notice this? With the macbook keyboard - some like the layout some dont but the keys itself seem solid.
Thanks,
NYU02
Thanks,
NYU02
I already said that everyone has their own taste, but my point was about over time. I just think that it's easier to get tired of looking at white, but one might not get so tired of looking at silver. Just my opinion, but silver is a big selling point in a lot of products.
Why does the mbp need a redesign? It looks great, works great, and is an icon. You can recognize a mbp from a mile away. They're sleek, stylish, and sexy. It doesn't need a redesign simply because it's been around for a while; there should be a reason to change it (ie, it doesn't look as good because others have come out with a better design).
If you were looking at a demo model, that's very possible, as those things get abused day in and day out. My mbp has no uneven keys, and I doubt that most do. Obviously a few lemons will, but you should demand an exchange if it happens to you.
In the end, the important thing is whether or not you feel comfortable with the keyboard. Don't let me or anyone else tell you how the keyboard feels. All we can do advise you with our personal experiences, and most veterns of this site will tell you that the mbp keyboard is better.
Go to an Apple Store (or one of their carriers) and try out both keyboards. You should try to use every key a few times, just to get the proper feel of things.
Again, best of luck, keep us updated.
Wow! you must have been very unlucky. Most people who have had both have said the whining was much less or non-existent in the C2Ds vs the CDs. Could be my ears are getting old.
I ran InCrease and my temps reached about 83C which I consider fine given how much the CPU is doing.
No. The MacBook speakers REALLY suck, even for a laptop. It's their biggest weakness IMHO, even more than the GMA950.
i personally like the macbooks keyboard much better, i have big hands and that well defined space helps me a bit in typing as i tend to slip between the key gaps. but that's just me.
and i suggest you get external headphones at least for the macbook, terrible speakers on the macbook i think, but i think it's tolerable for what i do most of the time, as i have more acute hearing than most people, so i need less to hear different tones.
ya same, i guess if ur trying to hear alot the speakers might not be too good but my friends MB speakers arent too bad i can hear everyhing easily
The low end Macbook Pro will be faster in encoding video (better CPU), but I couldn't tell you by how much. In either case I doubt it'll make much difference as you'll have to leave it running for a while. Either one is about as fast as you can get in a laptop, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
One consideration-if you're using an external screen (and I don't know how you couldn't, on that tiny Macbook screen), I've heard multiple people say the Macbook Pro deals with it better. That the Macbook's graphical effects can slow down or stutter with two screens, since it's got a low end GPU and no video RAM at all.
Basically it's $700 more - $90ish for the extra RAM you don't have to buy. So $610ish more for the Pro, which includes:
-larger, better screen with better backlighting
-faster CPU
-MASSIVELY faster GPU with dedicated video RAM (probably won't be much of an issue if you don't game and will just use the Macbook's built-in screen, although you never know what future versions of OS X might do with the graphics hardware).
-support for at least 4GB of RAM, possibly more, versus 2-3GB
-better keyboard (personal preference, but most people don't like chicklet keyboards...which is why they disappeared for 20 years until last year when Apple and Sony inexplicably brought them back)
-an Express Card slot-not too useful for most people, though some cell phone modems use them.
So I guess just try to think if those features are worth the extra $600 or so. To me the one huge drawback to the Macbook Pro is it's hard drive is harder to swap, and probably voids the warranty (at least technically, if they know you swapped it).
I have used the mid line macbook with 2 gig ram upgrade to produce a 30 minute informercial on our local cable tv network without a problem. I used FCP with the macbook and despite APPLE saying they dont support FCP on macbook, it ran like a champ, without a hitch.
You be installing windows ?? (vista ??) then you will appreciate the MBP independent GPU. Also, when leopard comes out with its core animation, I will assume integrated GPU like the Macbook will take a hit.
You be installing windows ?? (vista ??) then you will appreciate the MBP independent GPU. Also, when leopard comes out with its core animation, I will assume integrated GPU like the Macbook will take a hit.