mb or mbp

[nippy]

i have an 17" imac (pre-intel) and planning to buy a powerbook. i am stuck with deciding on with i should get the black macbook or the 15" macbook pro.

i mainly need the labtop for:
- travelling
- running autocad (2D only) with pc (boot camp)
- lightweight stuff ... surfing email iphoto etc.

any advice? would the macbook be capable to run autocad? thanks!

 

[Gymnut]

i have an 17" imac (pre-intel) and planning to buy a powerbook. i am stuck with deciding on with i should get the black macbook or the 15" macbook pro.

i mainly need the labtop for:
- travelling
- running autocad (2D only) with pc (boot camp)
- lightweight stuff ... surfing email iphoto etc.

any advice? would the macbook be capable to run autocad? thanks!

The Macbook should fit you nicely given your needs. The MBP is plenty portable although that is a matter of opinion and some find the smaller Macbook easier to tote around. The system requirements for AutoCad 2007 for 2D drawings are :
Intel® Pentium® IV recommended
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home & Professional SP1 or SP2, Windows XP for Tablet PC
SP2, or Windows® 2000 SP3 or SP4
512 MB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
1024x768 VGA with True Color
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or higher

That being said, it doesn't look like the Macbook having an integrated graphic processor should affect whether you can run AutoCad or not. If anything, I would recommend upgrading the stock ram(1GB) to 2GB from a third pary vendor.

 

[kumbaya]

i strongly advise you to go to an apple store or apple reseller and have a look at both machines for yourself.

from the 17" screen of your iMac, you'll have to satisfy yourself if the 13.3" screen of the macbook is ok for you, or you'll need the bigger screen on the macbook pro

also, i didn't like the smudging that the black macbooks seemed to pick up so easily

unfortunately, i have no experience of autocad so cannot advise as to what machine you will need to run that well

rest assured that either way you'll be getting a great computer!

 

[Mernak]

The main reason for you to get the MBP is for he screen space, most CAD programs have so many pop-up windows that I would think would get annoying very quickly. Granted the 15" screen isn't that much bigger, and an external moniter would most likely work better for you (at home). Otherwise the MacBook should fit all of you needs fine, plus it's a lot cheaper.

 

[nippy]

thanks!

thanks for all the replies! i went into the shop and fell in love with the 15 inch screen. although knowing that the mb will be capable of handling all that i just cant resist!

so
15.4 display, 2.2GHz, 120GB, 2GB ... ))