Macbook, what's the big difference?

[corywoolf]

so if you're gonna be doing some rendering with your machine, great to have 2.0ghz. if it's just regular email, safari, ms office, you probably won't notice a diff.

If your doing rendering on your machine, then you are probably doing RAM intensive tasks in the first place. I say go with the 2 Ghz if you are only using Mail, Safari, MS Office, etc. and go with 1.83 Ghz + 2 GB RAM if you are doing any sort of intensive tasks. Wait, erase that, don't bother with a MB if you have to render anything but iLife apps. The MacBook doesn't meet the requirements for Final Cut Studio, so it's either the 1.83 Ghz MB or the 2 Ghz MBP. I say, if you have the cash, go for a 1.83 Ghz MBP refurb, it is a great deal.
Just $1,599.00 for:

15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 Cache
667MHz frontside bus
512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory

vs.

13.3-inch widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
Intel integrated graphics
2.0GHz Intel Core Duo1
512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs)
80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive2
SuperDrive (DVD±RW, CD-RW)

 

[bit density]

Most of the time the 1.83 and 2ghz machines will be running at the exact same speed. It only gets to 2ghz when running really intense stuff, and even then depending on heat the 2 ghz often throttles back down to 1.833 anyways.

Spend the money on memory, and the only true choice in this category should be between the 1.83 macbook and the 2 ghz macbookpro. The in between catagories aren't worth the money... (This could be because I am a rueful Black MB owner that got an unreturnable build-to-order that has nearly ALL of the problems, the whine, the moo, the wlan issues. And in trying to track down whether my machine is running hot, discovered that it rarely goes over 1.5 ghz. I am actually wondering if I would be happier if I could throttle max -cpu to 1.5 always just to keep the heat down (my CPU usage rarely gets to 10% now). I am not sure if slower/higher utilization would result in more or less heat than faster/lower utilization. I am pretty sure that most of the time I will probably be happiest with whatever gives me the longest battery life.

 

[tristan]

Would a 60Gb HD be enough for having Windows, iLife, iWork, Office, some randoms programs and my personal files (which don't pass from 9Gb)?

My system & apps take maybe 15 gigs max, and I have plenty of apps. You won't have any problems unless you pick up a hobby that requires tons of space. (Collecting DVDs or large amounts of music/images or something.)

 

[gnasher729]

I'll buy a MB , but I'm not sure what's better, buying the 2.0Ghz MB or the 1.83Ghz and adding 512mb of RAM? As for the superdrive, I never use it, and the PC at my house has DVD burner if I need to burn one.

First, you have to be sure about the superdrive. I have a Macintosh with DVD writer, and I don't need two DVD writers, so that was fine for me. If there is any chance you'll need the superdrive, then get it. If that is not the case:

2.0 GHz vs. 1.83 GHz is only ten percent faster. Most of the time, your Mac doesn't need 100 percent of the power anyway, and if it needs it, you gain only 10 percent.

However, having too little memory can slow down your Macintosh dramatically! A Mac with too little memory may be reading data from the harddisk all the time, and that is hundred times slower than reading the same data from memory. 1.83 GHz with 1GB RAM will almost always beat 2.0 GHz with 512MB RAM. Actually, it would beat 5 GHz with 512MB RAM a lot of the time.

 

[2nyRiggz]

60gigs is good but you might want to get a external HD for your pictures/music/backup pleasure......

Note: being me i would get the 2.0GHz and get the extra RAM all in one shot...but thats just me


Bless

 

[lexus]

Get the 2.0 you wont regret it as it is more future proof.

 

[Willis]

I use my 30 Gb iPod......for important school files I burn them to CD's.

Sorry if I've made too many questions, but here goes the last one....Would a 60Gb HD be enough for having Windows, iLife, iWork, Office, some randoms programs and my personal files (which don't pass from 9Gb)?

Thanks,

Roco

I have a 60Gb HD on this iMac. I have iLife 06, Office, other bits and pieces, and ALOT of music. I have 55Gb to play with, and I've used 21GB (31 left). (I did a clean install of Tiger not long ago, mainly because the HD was full. Photoshop clogged it up.. stupid classic.)

It does what it needs to do. I have been meaning to install CS2, but havent got around to it yet. (its on the powerbook anyway)

60Gb should be fine for you, but you can always upgrade it at a later date anyway

 

[AstrosFan]

I'll buy a MB , but I'm not sure what's better, buying the 2.0Ghz MB or the 1.83Ghz and adding 512mb of RAM?

My short answer is I agree with most people here that you should get the 1.83 & add the RAM.
Here's a link to a recent Macworld article that supports bankshot's claim that the 1.83 isn't that much slower.

http://www.macworld.com/2006/05/firstlooks/macbookbench/index.php

Of note, the 1.83 is the stock model, so if you added more RAM, it would perform even better. Whether it would outperform the 2.0 is unknown, but I certainly think it wouldn't be that different.

I think it really boils down to how certain you are that you won't need the DVD burner. I have used the Superdrive in my PB primarily to make backup DVDs, not movie DVDs. For that, it has been instrumental, but since I have switched to an external hard drive, I don't use it much anymore. As long as you have another method for backup purposes, and don't plan to do significant video, you'll likely be fine.

Best wishes - in either case, I think you'll be happy!

 

[lexus]

The 1.83 comes with less RAM though

 

[66217]

The 1.83 comes with less RAM though

Both come with 512mb of RAM.

Maybe you got confused with the MBP, where the high end one comes with 1gb of RAM

 

[mybook4]

Get the 2.0Ghz model

You should buy the 2.0Ghz model for three reasons.

1) The GMA 950 relies on CPU for things it can't do.
2) As software utilizes the Core Duo better, you will have a faster machine.
3) It will run cooler at the same speed as the 1.83Ghz model.

 

[andrewag]

I will go against the majority and say get the 2ghz, and get the extra ram down the track. That tiny increase might have the edge years down the track. 2Ghz is a nice round number too.

 

[javierbds]

You should buy the 2.0Ghz model for three reasons.

1) The GMA 950 relies on CPU for things it can't do.
2) As software utilizes the Core Duo better, you will have a faster machine.
3) It will run cooler at the same speed as the 1.83Ghz model.

Is is true 2.0Ghz will run cooler than 1.83GHz?

Here's is what I would do (I'm in a similar situation with an iBook from last August):

1.Buy an 1.83 machine (it is not much slower and I THINK it should be cooler and MAYBE it has a little more battery life!)
2.As soon as you feel the need (mine took less than 5 months) buy more third party RAM
3.When 2.5 HDs get bigger, buy another HD (A year?, I'm not there yet and changing my HD is going to be much harder ... ) and an external USB2/Fw enclosure for the old one (until then, you have the iPod).
4.Buy an external DVD burner USB2/Fw (I bought it in less than 3 months) soon. Slot-ins are much more delicate drivers and cannot use mini formats (small discs) ...
5. You may have to buy a replacement battery in less than 2 years (I'm not there yet). By all means, do NOT buy NOW a second battery (they have, more or less, a limited life f(date of fabrication)).
6. MAYBE buy AppleCare before 1 year passes. Being a laptop and a Rev A machine I would buy it !

So, than should give you an idea of the expenses you may have in about a year ... I do not regret at all having bought a 12'' iBook! Best experience I've had with a computer since I was a teenager ... Recent 'switcher' too and my first laptop ever ...

Enjoy!

 

[66217]

Thanks for all the replies.....I've just ordered the 1.83Ghz MB....now I am only waiting for it to arrive (7-8 days)

I hope to enjoy this notebook, it will be my first Mac and I hope it won't be the last one

So again, thanks for the replies and pray for my MB not having any defect.


Roco