Using the Macbook Pro vs. Oct PB 15"

[jer2eydevil88]

I used a Macbook Pro today at the Apple store since mine hasn't arrived yet. This might end up a hot button issue; but it doesn't seem faster for most things. It actually seems like OS X isn't as stable and Quicktime died on me twice while trying to download 3 720p hidef trailers (something I commonly do on my PB).

Firefox took up 80mb of ram and 680mb of virtual memory to run. I did like how I was able to play two 720p hidef trailers side by side without dropping below 24fps for the most part.

I don't know though... is it really worth the price? My PB gets better battery life, uses RAM more efficiently and aside from all the hype about speed and benchmarking it seems to do most things better.

I am buying the MacBook for working on Video's in iMove and later after the UB is released Final Cut Pro.

I use Firefox, Office 2004, iPhoto 06' and iTunes for almost everything I do on the go.

Does anyone here have any opinions as to my thoughts and please feel free to express your own... I am thinking of canceling my order...

 

[blueflame]

yea, buy my powerbook

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=2161738#post2161738

andreas

 

[ads musicmac]

Yeah it these kind of reports that have got me wondering whether to stick with the powerbook - I want to get a laptop to use primarily for music and have been trying to decide between the Macbook and the Powerbook. I can see where your coming from, but weren't the revE powerbooks reported to be a bit buggy?

 

[arcobb]

I recently got a early 1.67 powerbook to replace my old 12 inch. And I love it, it is a quality machine and does everything I ask of it (really... and a lot more). I thought about the macbook pro, and I got a killer deal on PB and I ran with it. One big reason I went PB over MBP is I use Virtual PC a lot... and for me this computer makes it "scream" I'm sure the MBP is a great machine and does lots of things faster. But I also think technology hype gets out of control. If you have a computer that does everything you need... then be happy and enjoy it.

Is my PB as fast as MBP at encoding a movie? No... but then I generally don't care how fast it is when I'm sleeping... or riding my road bike. Can I write better emails or email faster... not really, for that I have to use the the processor in my head (unfortunately I haven't found an upgrade for that yet). Will MBP play my MP3's faster or better... nope.

You could do what I did... keep your old PB and buy stock in apple instead. It is most certainly going up when apple finishes there trasition and native apps are out. Then you could buy the Mac Book Pro Rev 3... which should truely kick *ss! Or... buy a MPB a year from now and save almost $800 - $1000... And the native versions of most the software should be out!

P.S. I even got a hacked verson of Front Row working on my PB

 

[FSUSem1noles]

I was able to play around with a MBP and I noticed similarities in what you are saying..

As of now, my needs are getting met quite well with my PB, so I just can't justify giving her up for a MBP..

 

[AJ Muni]

I recently got a early 1.67 powerbook to replace my old 12 inch. And I love it, it is a quality machine and does everything I ask of it (really... and a lot more). I thought about the macbook pro, and I got a killer deal on PB and I ran with it. One big reason I went PB over MBP is I use Virtual PC a lot... and for me this computer makes it "scream" I'm sure the MBP is a great machine and does lots of things faster. But I also think technology hype gets out of control. If you have a computer that does everything you need... then be happy and enjoy it.

Is my PB as fast as MBP at encoding a movie? No... but then I generally don't care how fast it is when I'm sleeping... or riding my road bike. Can I write better emails or email faster... not really, for that I have to use the the processor in my head (unfortunately I haven't found an upgrade for that yet). Will MBP play my MP3's faster or better... nope.

You could do what I did... keep your old PB and buy stock in apple instead. It is most certainly going up when apple finishes there trasition and native apps are out. Then you could buy the Mac Book Pro Rev 3... which should truely kick *ss! Or... buy a MPB a year from now and save almost $800 - $1000... And the native versions of most the software should be out!

P.S. I even got a hacked verson of Front Row working on my PB

Amen to every word you said Brotha' !!... You just helped me convince myself not to sell my PB and just wait another year to buy whichever model is out..

 

[jer2eydevil88]

While I appreciate these replies (except for the guy peddling his PB) I am hoping for some input from people who have the MB-Pro and have a different view.

 

[madmaxmedia]

If you recently bought a PowerBook, I don't think you really have to rush out get a MBP just to get the latest thing. I mean you probably loved your PB before the MBP came out, and your PB didn't suddenly get slower.

I'm still humming along on my 1.25GHz Rev. A PB, and absolutely love it. At some point, I'll upgrade. But unless something about your existing machine compels you to upgrade, then I would think it over carefully.

I probably will want a MBP for the longer battery life and brighter screen and hopefully WINE/Windows, rather than absolute speed, since I mainly use Office and that sort of stuff anyways!

One big reason I went PB over MBP is I use Virtual PC a lot... and for me this computer makes it "scream" I'm sure the MBP is a great machine and does lots of things faster. But I also think technology hype gets out of control. If you have a computer that does everything you need... then be happy and enjoy it.

It will be very interesting to see WINE or VPC or perhaps even a dual-boot setup on a MBP. Of course, that doesn't help you now, if you need to run Windows apps on your Mac today. I imagine VPC running poorly on a MBP, it's like a man pretending to be a woman dressing up as a man.

 

[Cloudgazer]

I love my pbook.
i wasx quite upset about the macbook
(but probably only cause my baby is no longer the newest, bestest, shiniest thing on the block)
But reading this thread has made me realise - there is nothing wrong with my pb, well except maybe it needs more RAM.
But every single day I am sooo happy with this machine.
I love everything about it.

The powerbook may be dead, but long live the powerbook!

I've been considering getting my wife an iBook and thought maybe i should wait for the intel version. But what for?
The iBook will do everything she needs and more....

 

[M-theory]

I'm still humming along on my 1.25GHz Rev. A PB, and absolutely love it. At some point, I'll upgrade. But unless something about your existing machine compels you to upgrade, then I would think it over carefully.

I think this quote needs to be placed into the heads of most if not all computer users, I think most people get caught up with 'the next big thing' while their computer at home is more than able to do the job.

 

[Captagon]

I agree, I've had an iBook G3 800 mhz 256 RAM for about 3 years now. I'm finishing my master degree this year and I was still very pleased with the preformance of the iBook (I use if for my studies and so I don't need that big of a machine). I was planning to keep the iBook for another year and then I would pass it on to my girlfriend who would probably use it for a year or 2 but sadly my iBook passed away this weekend and I need to buy a new one. I could go for the powerbook but since the macbook is out I think it is smarter to buy this one...

 

[verb]

I guess I'll bite.

I have a 2.0Ghz MBP and have been using it since Tuesday. I never had a powerbook, but an iBook G3 and an iMac G4 . I try to wait 2-3 years between upgrades so I wasn't faced with a dilemma between a 1.67Mhz PB and a MBP.

First of all, Firefox is not a universal binary...yet. We already know that PPC applications run slower on intel machines than on PPC machines even at higher clock ratings. I'm a firefox user, but I'm sticking to Safari until a final Universal version of Firefox is released. Compared to my iMac Safari is MUCH MUCH snappier.

The iLife and iWork apps are also MUCH MUCH snappier. I also experienced a crash last night trying to download a 720p trailer. I was downloading 3 concurrently, but it was still surprising. It has been noted in other threads that quicktime is not optimized for the intel processors and perhaps is also not as stable. That being said, quicktime crashed on me on the iMac also.

The decision to upgrade is probably a financial one. If I could afford to, I'd upgrade every 6 months.

 

[airkarol]

I sold my PB, and will be getting rev. b of the MBP. I record a lot on the PB, but when I'm recording and editing in pro tools, if any plugins are on, I get an error saying CPU overload. I talked to digidesign about it, and they told me there will be a new version of Pro Tools to work better on the MBP in May. I sold my PB now, so I'd get a little more $$$ for it, and once rev. B is out, I plan on purchasing it.

I guess I'm in a different situation, because the PB didn't do everything I need it to do.

 

[Gadgetron]

For what its worth

Hello.
Thanks for starting this topic
I ordered a 2.0 MBP early this month. In order to get the funds I ended up: selling my gaming rig on craigslist got a surprise bonus from work, and I had a 200.00 apple gift card that I was saving for just an occasion.
I chose the macbook over a powerbook for one main reason. I wanted to replace my windows desktop with a uber laptop, and it just so happened that the MBP 2.0 met that to a T. (I’ll actually end up with a better video card in the MBP than my old GT 6800). I wanted a machine that would last me a few years, and (not saying this to get flamed) I figured that the Power PC proc was a dead end.
If you can swing the money I would suggest going with a MBP, yes there are unstable apps, yes the hardware is still new, but in the end you'll have a sweet little rig that will last you a while.
As always "the best way to make something obsolete is to buy it!"

 

[itgoesbuzz]

The MacBook Pro is without a doubt a kick ayse machine, i want one, and believe me i'm jealous of all who are getting one but in my case the only reason i have to get one is because i want it. My 1.5 Ghz PB G4 (1.5GB RAM) does what i need to (email, adium, Internet, Word Processing) and its fast. I cant really imagine me seeing a difference in performance, or even if i did it wouldnt be enough of an upgrade to shell out another 2000+ on a laptop. Powerbooks, although overpriced, are still good machines, and great for a person who does basic tasks. Im probably not saying anything new but if i was going to upgrade, i want to see a huge increase, which is not likely in my case. However, if i had the extra money i would have a MacBook by now.

Pretty much im just saying that if i think rationally i wouldnt get the MacBook for myself, but if i had that extra money i wouldnt care about being rational because i would have purchased it already. Since i have little money (at school, no job until summer) its forcing me to think rationally so i can feel better about not having that beautfiul machine.

anyway, anyone who has one, enjoy it, and when i try one at the apple store i will at least taste a snippet of what you experiance every day.

at least the pistons won tonight though.

 

[arcobb]

My 1.5 Ghz PB G4 (1.5GB RAM) does what i need to (email, adium, Internet, Word Processing) and its fast. I cant really imagine me seeing a difference in performance, or even if i did it wouldnt be enough of an upgrade to shell out another 2000+ on a laptop. Powerbooks, although overpriced, are still good machines, and great for a person who does basic tasks.

I dissagree that Powerbooks are only a good value for a person who does basic tasks. I'm sure there are some applications where the MBP can do things that the PB can't... I really can't think of many off the top of my head... the the PB can certanily perform more then "basic tasks" They can edit movies, sound, capture sound, page layout and design, logo design, webdesign, DJing... and many more. Just because something new, faster, and more hyped at the moment doesn't mean PB lose their usefulness or in any regard... suck.

I guess i'm biased because I love buying older technology but cause I find great value in old tech and new tech to be very hyped. I am liable to be making the same comments 2 years from now when the new new MBP comes out and blows the paints off the current MBP... Today you can buy a 1.67 PB for $1,000 - $1,200. Thats cheap when compared to the new MBP which will go for $1,000 -$1400 a year from now... and they will still have all the functionality they do today. Likewise the PB's functionality has not dimisshed because the new MBP is out.

Ish... I need to stop reading these forums... they can get so addicting sometimes!

 

[itgoesbuzz]

I dissagree that Powerbooks are only a good value for a person who does basic tasks. I'm sure there are some applications where the MBP can do things that the PB can't... I really can't think of many off the top of my head... the the PB can certanily perform more then "basic tasks" They can edit movies, sound, capture sound, page layout and design, logo design, webdesign, DJing... and many more. Just because something new, faster, and more hyped at the moment doesn't mean PB lose their usefulness or in any regard... suck.

I guess i'm biased because I love buying older technology but cause I find great value in old tech and new tech to be very hyped. I am liable to be making the same comments 2 years from now when the new new MBP comes out and blows the paints off the current MBP... Today you can buy a 1.67 PB for $1,000 - $1,200. Thats cheap when compared to the new MBP which will go for $1,000 -$1400 a year from now... and they will still have all the functionality they do today. Likewise the PB's functionality has not dimisshed because the new MBP is out.

Ish... I need to stop reading these forums... they can get so addicting sometimes!

Im just saying they are great for basic tasks because thats what i do. I have never touched a pro app, or captured sound or video in my life, so i cant say anything about how well a PB runs these things, my bad.

 

[jer2eydevil88]

I have to say that this Powerbook isn't "great" at capturing video (start of flame war i'm sure) but to me its slow even when the stream is going straight to my FW800 drive. My Athlon 3400+ rig blows it out of the water and I frequently use it to capture mpeg streams then move over to the mac for editing because of the power iMovie (for small projects) and FCP (for bigger client caliber projects) give me.

My big problem with dropping the PB is stability, it seems that Quicktime and possibly iLife are unstable on the MB-Pro and I just don't want to do the beta testing for Apple. I would love to bring the render time on a 3minute movie down from the 3+hours it takes on my PB by upgrading to a faster notebook I just don't wanna wait 2 hours and have nothing but a blue screen video and high pitched shriek for background audio due to some bug.

I also don't enjoy hearing about Adium being buggy... thats another must have for me... If my fears are unfounded then would a MB-Pro owner please enlighten me as my MB-Pro order is hinging on these problems..

 

[PeterKG]

I had just bought a new Hi-Res. 1.67 PB in December. My Apple store manager new I was disappointed that shortly after, a new Macbook was introduced. She offered to take back my PB with a restocking fee, and purchase a Macbook. With the price difference and restocking, I paid a little over 700.00USD, plus lost 100.00USD on the ram from my PB that is not returnable, so I jumped on that offer.

I have to say, other than a few software glitches that will be solved as more universal apps. come out, this machine is amazing. It's just an evolution, I think. I would say to move forward with the Macbook. You will love the speed, and yes, it is VERY noticable. I use MS Office in Rosetta, and it also works the same or faster than it did on my PB.

The build quality is also the best I have seen so far. This Macbook came with zero defects, in the build. I also don't have any screen, speaker, or humming problems, which might be overblown anyway.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[the Helix]

My 2¢

On January 25, 2006, I opted to purchase the last revision of the PowerBook G4 15". I could have purchased the MB Pro, but I decided not to.

From a purely irrational standpoint, revision A's give me the heebie jeebies. On the other hand, buying the last of a proven model sets my mind at ease (I also bought the last of the Titaniums).

On a side note: the various problems of the last PB G4s may have been a bit overstated. Who knows?