MacBook vs. MacBook Pro - EVERYTHING the extra $500 gets you.

[aristobrat]

And the worst viewing angle I have ever seen on an LCD. Fill your entire screen with a single colour. Look at the centre of your screen. Without moving your head, look at the top and bottom of your screen. It's different from the middle. Everybody who works with photo editing and graphics found this out the hard way.....AFTER they bought their system.

What happened to graphics and photo editing people in the last 2 years?

The question back then used to be "Should I get the 12" or the 15" PowerBook?".

Someone would inevitably chime in that the 12" was too small to do any video or photo editing, and several people who would use their 12" PB for exactly what would responsd with "I always use an external monitor for that. Laptop colors are never right anyways. I just need to be able to quickly look at my stuff when I'm on the [plane, train automobile]."

Oye, how times have changed.

 

[pjo]

different systems for different people

Firstly as has been noted, if you compare the MBP with the white 2.0 MB then you have a $700 difference (okay, some people may have something for the black colour).

Other than that, the MB (to me) seems to be targeted at people who don't have that as their main machine (or who are on a budget) and are primarily concerned with mobility. The differences in WiFi (or is it Wi-FI?) reception will only be felt in places of marginal coverage: read airports/hotels and not your office/home. People with no real need for the extra pixels (e.g if my ruby app has a line that spans more than the characters textmate on a 13" MB can show then chances are I haven't written that app properly....) could also use it as a main machine.

The MBP seems to be targeted towards people who need the extra screen estate or who need to have a laptop as their only machine. These people will actually put the dedicated RAM on their graphics cards to use as well as the extra RAM. Don't laugh - I've actually seen an MBP with obscene CPU idle times and almost 1/2 its RAM unused for 4hours in an 8hour working day.

In short, you may or may not justify the $700 difference depending on what you need; put another way, some people would consider paying extra (well maybe not $700) to get the MB rather than the MBP.

(and no, I'm not one of them but have met one.)

 

[dongmin]

Two things:

1. You definitely pay a PREMIUM for the nicer finish and few "pro" features of the MBPs. No doubt the MacBooks are the better value. Just look at the sales.

2. The MacBook design is less than a year old. The MBP hasn't really changed all that much--design-wise--since the original Titanium Powerbooks. My guess is that a redesign is coming sometime soon.

 

[uNext]

Macbook users always say the same thing.

"The macbook gives you more bang for you buck"

yeah the same with the macbook pro.

The bang is a dedicated graphics card where you can play games and run extensive 3d apps.

the bang is a better resolution and many features.

The macbook is great but i am tired of hearing people say is more bang for you buck. A great value great little computer but the macbook pro really does give you more for the 500 bucks. Now thats more bang for your buck

 

[KKP925]

Er, well ... yeah, but I can't take a Mac Pro with me to class, on airplanes, etc...

My MBP 17" goes on every flight with me! I fly at least 3 times per year on busienss and anoth 2 or 3 for vacations and take my MBP (with spare battery incase there is no plug-in available) every time! It is great watching a movie or TV show on DVD on the 17" screen.... not to mention how fast a 6 hour flight goes by!!

Looking forward to having it on my trip to Egypt in March

 

[aquajet]

The macbook is great but i am tired of hearing people say is more bang for you buck. A great value great little computer but the macbook pro really does give you more for the 500 bucks. Now thats more bang for your buck

Well I agree with you somewhat in that the previous "the MB is a better value," because it's an empty statement with no reasoning behind it. In reality, the MBP has quite a few features that the MB doesn't have and many people want/need these extras features. To us, this empty statement simply doesn't apply.

For me, it was a number of those features that I wanted, the most significant being the superior graphics subsystem.

 

[bankshot]

The macbook is great but i am tired of hearing people say is more bang for you buck. A great value great little computer but the macbook pro really does give you more for the 500 bucks. Now thats more bang for your buck

Of course the Pro gives you more for that $500 or $700. But unless you need one or more of those extra features, I would argue that it's a comparably small extra bang for significantly more bucks. Thus lower overall bang for the buck.

Obviously this is not true for everyone. It always depends on the individual user's needs. Some people really do need FireWire 800, more than 2 GB memory, non-integrated graphics, expresscard, or a larger screen. I contend that CPU is a wash because 15% difference is hardly noticeable, especially when components like the hard drive and RAM will always be bottlenecks first. And I'd say that people who really need this stuff (professionals, gamers) are firmly in the minority. If I were giving buying advice, 9 times out of 10 I would recommend the Macbook first unless the person really needs one of the above.

But hey, whatever helps you rationalize your (a) extra expensive purchase (MacBook Pro), or (b) less than top-of-the-line purchase (MacBook).

 

[bearbo]

3. It's a matter of preference, but I definitely loved not having to try to push my nail into the latch release button on my MBP - it's not exactly ergonomic in design.

so you'd rather use your nail (and finger tips) to pry the display open?

Er, well ... yeah, but I can't take a Mac Pro with me to class, on airplanes, etc...
That, and if I spent that $2600 on a Mac Pro, I'd have like $200 left to buy a monitor mouse and keyboard...

i'm sure you didn't see what i posted before you did?

no, but i'm surprised to see you are doing that with 17 incher... i took that to work to use on the desk and that was too much.

it's quite inconvenient with the 17" too. and im saying that from my own experience. sure it's usable, but on the airplane 17" is a bit too big. (yes, i used 17" to fly quite a number of times, i can bear with it, but that's when i hoped for a 12")

You don't get the easy to replace hard drive that the MacBook has. Very disappointing.

so the fact that you can't easily replace HDD is the reason you didn't get a MBP? then you probably dont need it to begin with.

 

[Squonk]

You don't get the easy to replace hard drive that the MacBook has. Very disappointing.

Granted that the MBP does not have the easy hard drive replacement like the MB, but for someone who is ok with opening the case, it's not all that bad to replace it. I recently looked up how to do that as after upgrading the drive in my PB 15" Alum, I was skiddish at doing that again. But the MBP removed the latches from inside the SuperDrive slot, so I'm game to open my MBP when I get it (later this year).

 

[erkanasu]

Just switched to a blackbook from a new MBP. I can honestly say I like this machine better(and the Screen is soooo much better..NO ****ING GRAIN!). It seems more durable, and JUST AS FAST. Plus, I really don't like to play games anymore, im only 22, but games these days just bore me and make me feel like a loser.
With the left over cash, I ordered a 22" Dell, with $200 still left over. The MBP is a ****ing rip off.

 

[PDE]

so you'd rather use your nail (and finger tips) to pry the display open?

Absolutely! The macbook latchless design is infinitely more pleasant to use than the macbook pro latch. It's wonderful to just open the display without having to push the tiny latch button. Also, it puts less stress on the display bezel as there is no pull the way the MBPs pull - probably part of the reason for the warped displays, that the bezel pulls upward where there is no latch (the corners).

 

[phungy]

Two of my friends got the base MBPs...they are lovely no doubt but I made the right choice in opting for the MB

 

[bearbo]

Absolutely! The macbook latchless design is infinitely more pleasant to use than the macbook pro latch. It's wonderful to just open the display without having to push the tiny latch button. Also, it puts less stress on the display bezel as there is no pull the way the MBPs pull - probably part of the reason for the warped displays, that the bezel pulls upward where there is no latch (the corners).

if anything macbook's design put more stress on the display's bezel.

also, try open the macbook with one hand.

what, you can't? well, you can with macbook pro easily.

 

[phungy]

if anything macbook's design put more stress on the display's bezel.

also, try open the macbook with one hand.

what, you can't? well, you can with macbook pro easily.

I have to agree...I just tried and almost flipped my MB upside down. At least it won't open by accident/too easily.

 

[PDE]

if anything macbook's design put more stress on the display's bezel.

also, try open the macbook with one hand.

what, you can't? well, you can with macbook pro easily.

After owning several macbooks, I have to say that they varied slightly in terms of the magnet strength. A few I could open very easily, while with other I needed to hold down the base. Surely you're not saying that the Macbook pro latch and latch release button is well-designed? As in user friendly and ergonomic?

I think the stress on the macbook pro screens caused by the springiness of the display coupled with the latch in the middle causes more problems than the magnetic latchless design. Haven't heard of anybody having trouble with their macbook display bezels, but look at all the people with warped aluminum displays! When they first arrive in the apple stores they're usually pretty straight. After a few weeks they are u-shaped. It's probably a combination of factors, but the latch is likely one of them.

I prefer the macbook design any day to my 17" macbook pro.

 

[Passante]

Originally Posted by bearbo

snip

so the fact that you can't easily replace HDD is the reason you didn't get a MBP? then you probably dont need it to begin with. end quote

Hey that was a little testy. I just added a data point to the discussion.

I think the MacBooks easily replaceable hard drive is a big plus. I hope that a future rev of the MBP incorporates that. I'm sure any Powerbook owner with a Toshiba 80 gig hard drive would agree with me.

So why don't we just share our thoughts about the MB and MBP and leave the decision about who needs a MBP to the person buying it.

 

[iW00t]

Macbook users always say the same thing.

"The macbook gives you more bang for you buck"

yeah the same with the macbook pro.

The bang is a dedicated graphics card where you can play games and run extensive 3d apps.

the bang is a better resolution and many features.

The macbook is great but i am tired of hearing people say is more bang for you buck. A great value great little computer but the macbook pro really does give you more for the 500 bucks. Now thats more bang for your buck

Hello this is not freeshrink-r-us.com, if you need to alleviate post purchase regrets for your MBP please spend that couple hundred dollars to get therapy of your own instead of lashing out here.

You are tired of hearing people praise the Macbook? What does the Macbook Pro give for twice the cash?

A sub par graphics card. Real "Pro" laptops gives real workstation quality quadro based GPUs, none of this cheap consumer crap Apple seems to have struck a bargain with from ATi, because they seem to put so many of these cheap x1600s into the iMacs and everything else.

A sub par LCD panel. 'nuff said. And mine isn't even that bad. Some photos showing people with blotchy backlighting, well that's just sad mate. For a $2499 computer FFS. Not a "$500 more than $1299 computer", but $2499 mind you.

Durability? Fail. We have enough warping lids to prove this point.

Travelweariness? Fail. Just wait till the TSA takes your Macbook Pro out of your triple padded STM(tm) bag, remove it from its internal protective case, and put it into the x-ray machine. I'm sure even the rubber strips that cover the conveyor leading into the X-ray machine is heavy enough to knock some dents into your Macbook "Pro".

All that nonsense about dedicated graphics for playing games and blah bah is just that. Crap. For the price difference between a white 2ghz MB and a top of the line 15" MBP you can easily spec out a PC with more graphics mojo than even an iMac. And nobody needs to run stuff like Autocad while on that 7 hour transatlantic flight, nevermind the fact that 1) Autocad doesn't even see Macs as anything to port their apps over 2) Such apps are best run on workstation anyway 3) the x1600 is just a toy GPU that isn't even certified for such real PRO apps.

The creative [insult removed] suite applications needs even a wee bit of power from a dedicated GPU.

The only good things for it is pretty much the backlight keyboard, that is the one and only feature that sets it heads and shoulders above the competition. Everything else, is sub par for its price.

I am tired of hearing people saying that they are tired of hearing people express their opinion. The Macbook is a good computer. I have used one for a couple weeks while my MBP was in for servicing and I can definitely see why people buy those. Sure the MBP has more screen estate and a larger screen. I certainly welcome the larger screen when I got it back, seeing the grain puts me off again.

 

[dllavaneras]

So based on this I should start thinking about a Rev C or D MBP?

 

[iW00t]

So based on this I should start thinking about a Rev C or D MBP?

Just base it on your needs and buy. Just don't try to start stupid threads like these on community forums to try and rationise it.

I bought a MBP, it has a crap display, I am a sucker, oh yes. I don't hide it or try to paint a glamous picture about what a great value I have gotten for my $2499. For that price I could have gotten two blackbooks and well 2.33ghz isn't THAT much faster than a 2.0ghz core duo (not core 2 duo even).

Ultimately it is your budget and needs, it will be your computer. Don't come here and listen to some overly carried away fanboi rag on the Macbook and end up getting put off and turning into yet another sucker. The Macbook is a mighty fine computer for what it does.

 

[findnemo]

I love my Rev A Pro. I love my 2 core macbook more.

I don't know why.....it's just so freeking fun to surf the web in it. Maybe it's because I have sweaty hands and I everytime I use my pro I feel like I'm violating it with my sweat.

The battery life is freeking nuts on the macbook.....like nuts. Stock I had 3:30-3:40 battery life with wi-fi on the Pro......

Stock on my Macbook is freeking 4-4:50 hours with Wi-fi. I never lets me down. I lovveeeeee it.

I have 2 gb ram on the pro....and 512 on the macbook.....my macbook performs 10-15% less then my Pro. Worth 1000$ difference.......(Yes I got the lowest model macbook).....noooo way. Do I regret it? Nooooo way.

 

[iW00t]

I don't know why.....it's just so freeking fun to surf the web in it. Maybe it's because I have sweaty hands and I everytime I use my pro I feel like I'm violating it with my sweat.

I feel the same why too. It is so much better to surf in bed with a Macbook than a Macbook Pro.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

..snip..

The creative pros? Wake up from your f***ing ideas. None of your fancy "Creative" (more like failed math in high school and too stupid for anything else lol) suite applications needs even a wee bit of power from a dedicated GPU.

I would like to run Aperture on a Laptop. Apparently IT NEEDS the better GPU to run better.

Sure, I could do it on the Macbook - but in 3 years i'll HATE myself for buying low end AGAIN. 3 years ago I bought a 12" iBook. It won't run Aperture - even slow.

I'm not repeating that - i need to buy a machine that will last me AT LEAST 3 years, what I have hasn't.

Am I a "Pro" photographer? Nope. Just a pro-sumer with a great camera and over 150gb of pictures to catalog and deal with. I use CS2 NOW, so the iPhoto/Elements combo doesn't work for me.

I wish i could let myself get "just" a Macbook - probably would get it sooner. But I can't..... and the screens may be crap - but they are WAY better than the 2 I have access to now - the iBook and a Sony R505.

 

[iW00t]

I would like to run Aperture on a Laptop. Apparently IT NEEDS the better GPU to run better.

Apple's own inhouse software deliberately pimps their own hardware.

*Gasp*

Aperture, who cares? All sizzle and little steak.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Apple's own inhouse software deliberately pimps their own hardware.

*Gasp*

Aperture, who cares? All sizzle and little steak.

*GASP* I happen to like it. I live in America so i have choices, and i'm picking Apple over Adobe in this case.

You know, for someone that buys a lot of Macs - you sure do appear to hate "them" - the company and the hardware. Maybe you don't, but your postings come across that way - when I started reading here a few weeks ago - i thought you were "level-headed" and trying to get to the bottom of the MBP issues. Now....... now you just seem to be in a phase like my kids - picking a fight on EVERYTHING.

Some of us members can't buy computers just because they are a good deal - some of us need to think about what computer is going to serve us the best in the next 2-3 years. Because on a single income with 3 kids, 2 of whom have lifetime medical issues, the computer is ALWAYS at the bottom of the list to buy. If i was buying on a 12-18 month basis, i'd buy the Macbook in a heartbeat. But i'm not - and I know that, so I am shopping accordingly.

And I happen to prefer Aperture - so shoot me.

 

[mikesk8]

I guess that 'PRO' in case of Apple concerns only desktop computers, where is a clear border between home and pro models. For Mac laptops 'PRO' means just, more or less, more advanced version, next model in the line; those PRO ones must cover both home and pro markets; many people will buy them just for the bigger screen. However, you must pay for word 'PRO' )

A sub par graphics card. Real "Pro" laptops gives real workstation quality quadro based GPUs, none of this cheap consumer crap Apple seems to have struck a bargain with from ATi, because they seem to put so many of these cheap x1600s into the iMacs and everything else.