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Macbook vs 12" pb

sikkinixx

sikkinixx

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
2,062
0
Rocketing through the sky!
I have read the Macworld bencharks and they dont test the 12"pb at the same time :( I havea 12"pb but the warranty is almost up so I am forced with shelling out 300 bucks for the extended apple care. However, I got offered a 1000 dollar trade in (cdn) for my pb. I could buy the middle range MB for only a few hundred more than the extended warranty. I like the performance bump for the majority of things but the integrated graphics kinda suck because I would love to play some old school windows games if i got the new intel one. But the cheap white plastic case kinda sucks! and so does the bigger size (albeit not much bigger).

ANYWAY, the point im trying to get at is, does anyone know any sites that havea comparision between the 12"pb and the mb? any help would rock :cool:
 
Well, seeing from the benchmarks that have been provided, we can see the macbook is just as good as the lowest line of macbook pros. However obviously games will simply take a huge hit and will be lacking in this field. So for everything else, just expect what you would fine with a 15'' MBP.


Also if you are just going to play "old" school games, i think a onboard would be fine. Definately would run something like Starcraft just fine.
 
yeah performance wise it looks darn snazzy. I would only play games like Fallout, Warcraft III (maybe), SC, FFVII/VIII (yes! i have the pc versions, im a FF nerd) all of which worked on my pentium 2 with 8mb of video ram (except WCIII) so I doubt I will have any real problems. Althought Sim City 4 runs qicked on my pb and that wont run well on the mb...nm!

Im just worried about the glossy screen, size and the plastic-yness of the mb! No stores have one around here so im stuck with just pictures!
 
sikkinixx said:
Im just worried about the glossy screen, size and the plastic-yness of the mb! No stores have one around here so im stuck with just pictures!
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Moving from a TiPB to a Macbook, i was concerned with these issues as well.
That said i am typing on my MB now. The glossy screen is a bit reflective, but not bad IMHO. If viewed from an angle the glare is more prominent, but who uses a computer from the side? The size is great. A bit smaller than my TiPB, but it has a decent screen resolution and it sits nicely in my lap (actually more so than my TiPB). No problems with the "plastic-yness" of it yet. It did take a bit of time to get used to the feel of the computer, the keys, and the palm rests, but even during that adjustment time it was not uncomfortable.

I didnt buy until i could get my hands on one. Once i did, i liked the feel/build of it, and bought it. It is a wonderful machine!
 
My primary reason from switching from a 15" PB to my 12" PB was the portability. I spend a lot of my day moving about so it being small and light with a nice battery life was rocking for me. With the MB all three of these things have taken a hit. I'm going to have to check one out in real life before I make my final decision as I was keen for a new lappy but on paper I've been a little disappointed. I also loved the aesthetic of the aluminium it's a shame to see that go. But knowing Apple my lust will grow quickly :)!
 
thanks faintember, thats good to know! im 80% sold on the MB so just gotta wait till i can try one out


and i know what you mean about the aluminium, it looks really professional while the plastic looks....well kinda cheap
 
.Andy said:
I spend a lot of my day moving about so it being small and light with a nice battery life was rocking for me. With the MB all three of these things have taken a hit.
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Battery life on my MB is around 4hr 30mins on 3/4 brightness, WiFi on and running safari, itunes, mail, ical and occasionally another app. Did the 12" PB ever do any better?

NP sikkinixx. I feel people should know that the MBP is most likely a waste of money unless you need the few options that the MB does not have, and that the MB is a very nice, solid machine. I hope you have your credit card ready when you try one out, b/c you will want to buy one.
 
faintember said:
Battery life on my MB is around 4hr 30mins on 3/4 brightness, WiFi on and running safari, itunes, mail, ical and occasionally another app. Did the 12" PB ever do any better?
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I stand corrected I just finished reading the ars review :). They managed to squeeze 3 hours out of it at high usage (playing a DVD, brightness set to half, "best performance" setting selected in the energy settings) and 4 hours on medium usage (playing a stream in iTunes, WiFi and Bluetooth on, half brightness, "best performance" in energy settings) - not too shabby at all. And no - the powerbook 12" never really did any better - it was slated at 5 hours battery life by Apple although in the real world came out similar to the MB results there. I guess Apple are just being a little more modest these days :)!
 
.Andy said:
And no - the powerbook 12" never really did any better (especially not on an 11 month old battery)!
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Thats what i thought. (hell, my TiPB never got better than 3hrs, under light use after the first year!)

I was acutally thinking of watching a DVD on mine tonight to see what the battery life would be, but i might just keep importing audio files instead.

I do wonder how the longevity of this battery will be when compared to past Apple laptop offerings.
 
faintember said:
Thats what i thought. (hell, my TiPB never got better than 3hrs, under light use after the first year!)

I was acutally thinking of watching a DVD on mine tonight to see what the battery life would be, but i might just keep importing audio files instead.

I do wonder how the longevity of this battery will be when compared to past Apple laptop offerings.
Click to expand...
Beat me before my ninja edit :). I agree with you on the Tibooks. Mine came in around 3 hours solidly but towards the end of the batteries life (usually only ~12months for me) it dropped off really quickly. Been much happier with the PB12". It's running at 90% capacity after 11 months of more solid usage than my Tibook.

And you're right sikkinixx, I can't wait for a few more reviews to trickle in. It'd be a great gig to be paid to review Apple's new hardware :)!
 
sikkinixx said:
Im just worried about the glossy screen, size and the plastic-yness of the mb! No stores have one around here so im stuck with just pictures!
Click to expand...



actually, i dropped by the mac store today while I was at the mall today. the glossy screen actually isnt bad. I really dont understand why people are complaining over it.
 
wako said:
actually, i dropped by the mac store today while I was at the mall today. the glossy screen actually isnt bad. I really dont understand why people are complaining over it.
Click to expand...

It's withdrawl from a previous loyalty. We all experienced it when the Intel switch was announced. Mac syndrome! :)
 
JDOG_ said:
How are you still considering a PPC mac at this point?
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You know he's not considering buying one, right. He just wants benchmarks comparing his current PPC Mac to the MB, which I can completely understand. In fact, I'd like to see some as well.
 
JDOG_ said:
How are you still considering a PPC mac at this point?
Click to expand...


I already havea ppc guy, a 12" 1.5ghz pb. I want the benchmarks to see if it is worth the money to upgrade. My pb is sweet, im using it right now, but it is a lil slow and being able to use windows would be a nice adder. I think too many people get SUPER excited and order before really taking good look at it. Every hasty purchase I make ends up biting me in the butt so I wanna be sure. Is that such a crime?!:cool:
 
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