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Macbook vs. Macbook Pro

I

IntenseKipp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 21, 2006
18
0
Tempe, AZ
Im a long time PC-USER wanting to get a MAC laptop for college. Im not sure wether to get the PRO or not. I mainly use my computers for music, basic picture editing, MS OFFICE and a few games.

What are the benefits to the PRO? Also are there any risks running windows on a MAC?
 
If you're running games - go for the Pro. The Macbook does not have a dedicated graphics card. Up your RAM too, 512MB isn't going to cut it!

I think you can get viruses while running Windows on a Mac. That alone would keep me away from it.

Btw, if anyone knows, is Windows supported by Apple? Like if something goes wrong with your Windows partition or something, will the people at the Genius Bar help you? Or is it "run at your own risk," type thing?


Lol, and Mac doesn't need to be all uppercase. MAC makes me think of the makeup company, M.A.C.
 
if you're going to be gaming on it the extra screen real estate will come in handy, but for everything else the MacBook will be just fine... but if you can afford to shell out for a MacBook Pro, i'd go with the Pro.

from what i've heard Windows runs pretty darn good on the intel macs, though i haven't and won't install Windows on my MBP, so i can't tell you from personal experience, check around on the Windows on Mac threads, you'll find what you're looking for there
 
MacBook is probably your best choice here

sounds like you are in the same boat as I. I use my for basic task that uses Excel, Word and iLife. I have a black MacBook. In retrospect, I should have waited for a rev. b. I have the same problem that most on this forum encountered i.e. unexpected shutdown, but I think it is fixed now. I don't know if I can tell the difference between having 512MB and 1GB in the MacBook unless you are running 5+ software. I like the MacBook very much especially my black version. I think it looks pretty compare to anything out there including the Pro version and the PC analog dell, HP, gateway etc.

Cinch
 
extraextra said:
Btw, if anyone knows, is Windows supported by Apple? Like if something goes wrong with your Windows partition or something, will the people at the Genius Bar help you? Or is it "run at your own risk," type thing?
Click to expand...

It is not supported, if you have problems with windows on a mac, apple will not help you.
 
Cinch said:
I don't know if I can tell the difference between having 512MB and 1GB in the MacBook unless you are running 5+ software.
Cinch
Click to expand...
Well I have a 1.83GHz Core Duo iMac with 512MB of RAM and a 2GHz MacBook Pro with 2GB of RAM and I notice a very significant difference in speed, even in basic system tasks. The MBP is much more responsive, and runs apps a lot smoother than the iMac. If you're going to be running windows on the Mac and you're not going to be gaming then I'd highly recommend using parallels over bootcamp. I've used both and find parallels a lot easier and although I was gaming when I first got it using bootcamp, although it was just a little (I booted into windows less than 5 times). Now I use parallels and it's tons more convinient and now I just play simple games and parallels can handle that. I too was debating getting a MBP or a MB and decided to go all out and get the Pro. I came off of using an iBook G4 and I know I made the right decision because although the MB could have probably sufficed now that I think about it, I like the design and feel of the computer much better. I also like the feel of the keyboard a lot more, along with the backlit keyboard being very useful. The screen resolution and size are also a lot better than the MB and I find them useful even in daily tasks such as web browsing, chatting, checking my email all at the same time. Even when I'm using parallels I can have that windows set to 800x600 and still do all my daily stuff while checking on windows at the same time. That would be a lot harder to do on the MacBook screen with losing 2 inches of screen space and losing a lot of resolution. That's my take on it.
 
If you have the money to get the MBP then get it. I've owned both and hands down the MBP blows the MB out of the water, and I don't even do a lot of intensive things. I had problems with my macbook, and I've known many people who have had problems with them. Also as I've read reviews on the internet and in magazines the MB isn't getting half of the raving reviews that the MBP is. And the thing that turned me off the most was the size of the screen. 13" just isn't enough. (for me at least)

IntenseKipp said:
Im a long time PC-USER wanting to get a MAC laptop for college. Im not sure wether to get the PRO or not. I mainly use my computers for music, basic picture editing, MS OFFICE and a few games.

What are the benefits to the PRO? Also are there any risks running windows on a MAC?
Click to expand...
 
craigatkinson said:
If you have the money to get the MBP then get it. I've owned both and hands down the MBP blows the MB out of the water, and I don't even do a lot of intensive things. I had problems with my macbook, and I've known many people who have had problems with them. Also as I've read reviews on the internet and in magazines the MB isn't getting half of the raving reviews that the MBP is. And the thing that turned me off the most was the size of the screen. 13" just isn't enough. (for me at least)
Click to expand...

what he said!

also, if you want to ever play any games, or anything requiring a graphics processor, you dont have a choice but to get the MBP.

One thing, wait till new models are announced!! should be within weeks that they get announced and ship.
 
The MB is better value though - dollar for dollar

I don't think most ppl would notice the processor difference between the MB & MBP - the shared graphics/RAM is the thing I think stands the two apart - besides the casing and screen size.

If you want value I think the MB over the MBP - hands down. If you have the extra money to splurge - then it's not really an issue for you perhaps.

Battery power & portability is definitely a plus with the MB - but the early MB's (maybe prior to Sept?) have had some quality issues. As have the MBP's too - but not as many insidious issues to date.
 
gop for the pro if you have the mpney. the bigger screen and graphivs will help you. if you can also get at least one gig of ram.
fivetoadsloth
 
MBP would be my choice

I would also pick MBP because of:

  • matt screen (this would be a personal preference; for myself, I cannot stand a glossy screen due to its annoying reflections on the screen)
  • larger screen
  • more powerful GPU (which can drive a 30" ACD)
  • more traditional looking keyboard (with back-light)
  • Firewire 800 (for a 17" model; I have Apple will bring it back to 15" as well.my 15" PB 1.25 Ghz has both 400 and 800 FW ports)
and, of course,
  • the nice metal casing

Also, I think the speed bump for MBP is around the corner as this site's long thread has been discussing for ages (I think it would reach 5000 posts by the time Apple does the speed bump on their MBP).
 
I have to disagree with most posters on this thread.

Get a MacBook. For a casual user, the MB is far and away the best value. I'll second what another poster said above about not being able to tell the difference in speed between a MB and MBP. Go to an Apple Store and test out the MacBook - you'll see it's plenty fast (just make sure you get at least 1 GHZ of memory). So the biggest difference will be in screen size and style. The Pros are obviously 15.2" and 17" vs. 13.3" for the MB, so the size difference is significant. Also, the metal casing on the Pros looks quite a big different the the MB's plastic casing. My preference was for both the smaller size (I prefer compactness in my laptops), and the white plastic (most distinctive color since there are already a lot of black and silver laptops out there). So for me it was MacBook all the way.
 
lmalave said:
I have to disagree with most posters on this thread.

Get a MacBook. For a casual user, the MB is far and away the best value. I'll second what another poster said above about not being able to tell the difference in speed between a MB and MBP. Go to an Apple Store and test out the MacBook - you'll see it's plenty fast (just make sure you get at least 1 GHZ of memory). So the biggest difference will be in screen size and style. The Pros are obviously 15.2" and 17" vs. 13.3" for the MB, so the size difference is significant. Also, the metal casing on the Pros looks quite a big different the the MB's plastic casing. My preference was for both the smaller size (I prefer compactness in my laptops), and the white plastic (most distinctive color since there are already a lot of black and silver laptops out there). So for me it was MacBook all the way.
Click to expand...

You really need to get your specs right! :cool:
 
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