Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I'm torn: new MB vs MBP

noobinator

noobinator

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
7,228
6,793
Los Angeles, CA
I'm a pretty light user and use a $200 Asus laptop now (x205ta).

I mainly use the laptop for:
Netflix
Sling TV
MS Office
Light photo editing in Lightroom

My current laptop even stutters when watching Netflix and doing nothing else. When I do two things at once forget it. I know the new MB should blow this thing away since my machine only has 2gb ram.

I am just worried it would stutter if watching video and doing something else. I think the MBP might be overkill but I'd consider it if things would run much smoother. I don't take my laptop with me many places but I love technology and having the newest technology. The new form factor and space gray color are awesome to me.

What do you all think? Should I get the new MB or MBP. Just how much more powerful is the MBP? And would I actually notice or utilize any of the extra power?
 
fisherking

fisherking

macrumors G4
Jul 16, 2010
11,082
5,431
ny somewhere
april 10, the new macbook will be in the stores. go. try it. see how it feels... then read actual reviews, check the benchmarks.

once it's actually available, we'll all know more. right now, there's way too much whining, speculation, guesses, and reviews-in-advance of real-world usage on this forum...
 
Queen6

Queen6

macrumors G4
Dec 11, 2008
10,878
10,903
Flying over the rainforest at dawn - Priceless
As your under no time crunch, it`s better to wait for the reviews to roll in once the new MacBook is released. The very nature of Intel`s core M, OS X combined with a completely new Mac hardware make predictions unpredictable at best, myself included.

If your usage dictates Adobe`s Flash player this may be the "bottleneck" for you, certainly something the 13" MBPr will easily deal with. If you require an all round strong performing Notebook I solidly recommend the 13" MacBook Pro with Retina display you won't be disappointed. If you require an ultra portable business machine the new MacBook may well fit your need.

In short I would wait until end April, then you will have enough information to make a definitive decision.

Q-6
 
Last edited:
S

Samuelsan2001

macrumors 604
Oct 24, 2013
7,729
2,153
This is sensible advice

fisherking said:
april 10, the new macbook will be in the stores. go. try it. see how it feels... then read actual reviews, check the benchmarks.

once it's actually available, we'll all know more. right now, there's way too much whining, speculation, guesses, and reviews-in-advance of real-world usage on this forum...
Click to expand...

I would also add that you can easily do that workload on an ipad TBH.

The rMB should find it no trouble at all....

We can only wait and see though.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
noobinator said:
I am just worried it would stutter if watching video and doing something else.
Click to expand...

How does one watch video and doing something else on a small laptop, do you have the video on a tiny window on a corner?

Anywhoo, make sure "stutter" is not buffering. Buffering means you have an Internet bottleneck.

Either MB or MBP will blow away your Atom, at almost 10x cost.
 
D

Donz0r

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2006
903
23
The MacBook will probably be great for what you want to use it for.
Just wait until we get closer to the release date and there will be tons of reviews.
 
J

jemesouviens

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2012
51
0
noobinator said:
I'm a pretty light user and use a $200 Asus laptop now (x205ta).

I mainly use the laptop for:
Netflix
Sling TV
MS Office
Light photo editing in Lightroom

My current laptop even stutters when watching Netflix and doing nothing else. When I do two things at once forget it. I know the new MB should blow this thing away since my machine only has 2gb ram.

I am just worried it would stutter if watching video and doing something else. I think the MBP might be overkill but I'd consider it if things would run much smoother. I don't take my laptop with me many places but I love technology and having the newest technology. The new form factor and space gray color are awesome to me.

What do you all think? Should I get the new MB or MBP. Just how much more powerful is the MBP? And would I actually notice or utilize any of the extra power?
Click to expand...

You should know that Office is pretty rubbish on macs unless you intend to use parallels or similar to run windows in a VM (or god forbid boot camp).

Just something to keep in mind if you're a power user.

All the other stuff you could do very well on almost any decent laptop, but if you're determined to go for bling get the macbook!
 
iRun26.2

iRun26.2

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2010
2,123
345
jemesouviens said:
You should know that Office is pretty rubbish on macs unless you intend to use parallels or similar to run windows in a VM (or god forbid boot camp).

Just something to keep in mind if you're a power user.

All the other stuff you could do very well on almost any decent laptop, but if you're determined to go for bling get the macbook!
Click to expand...

I have MS Office 11 on my Mac (OS X) and I think it actually is pretty good.
 
C

cinealta

macrumors 6502
Dec 9, 2012
488
6
noobinator said:
I think the MBP might be overkill but I'd consider it if things would run much smoother.
Click to expand...
The entry level 13" MBP is the same price as the rMP but has a much better CPU, 1+ inch bigger screen, more ports (future flexibility) and arguably a better keyboard (more travel). It may be overkill but it's the same price. If you don't need ultra-portability it may be better to err on the side of more capability than less.
 
gregvet

gregvet

macrumors regular
Jan 21, 2008
104
2
Brighton, UK
cinealta said:
The entry level 13" MBP is the same price as the rMP but has a much better CPU, 1+ inch bigger screen, more ports (future flexibility) and arguably a better keyboard (more travel). It may be overkill but it's the same price. If you don't need ultra-portability it may be better to err on the side of more capability than less.
Click to expand...

It also has only half the internal storage tho. Bringing the ssd in the rMBP to the same size (256Gb) makes the rMBP significantly more expensive than the rMB.

While I get the argument, the specs that are variable need to be comparable in both. Storage capacity is a big decision for most buyers and I don't know many people who would be happy with 126Gb.
 
newellj

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,127
3,030
East of Eden
iRun26.2 said:
I have MS Office 11 on my Mac (OS X) and I think it actually is pretty good.
Click to expand...

Queen6 said:
Same here, don't use Outlook, the rest is perfect for my usage, will have a look at Office 2016 at some point, and see if it offers any signifiant improvements.

Q-6
Click to expand...

Agree. The interface difference vs. Windows is a little annoying if you use both daily, but the functionality is very good.
 
noobinator

noobinator

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
7,228
6,793
Los Angeles, CA
Samuelsan2001 said:
I would also add that you can easily do that workload on an ipad TBH.

The rMB should find it no trouble at all....

We can only wait and see though.
Click to expand...

I could do it on an iPad but I want a laptop. I enjoy the extra screen real estate even if it's only a couple inches and prefer the design of the laptop over connecting a keyboard to an iPad and not being able to use a mouse/trackpad.

Mrbobb said:
How does one watch video and doing something else on a small laptop, do you have the video on a tiny window on a corner?

Anywhoo, make sure "stutter" is not buffering. Buffering means you have an Internet bottleneck.

Either MB or MBP will blow away your Atom, at almost 10x cost.
Click to expand...

I let things run in the background (YouTube/Sling) while I surf the net or work in office. It's nice background noise.

It is stuttering, not buffering on my current laptop. I know the difference. My internet speed is 100mb down.

jemesouviens said:
You should know that Office is pretty rubbish on macs unless you intend to use parallels or similar to run windows in a VM (or god forbid boot camp).

Just something to keep in mind if you're a power user.

All the other stuff you could do very well on almost any decent laptop, but if you're determined to go for bling get the macbook!
Click to expand...

Yeah it isn't the greatest on Mac but luckily I'm doing pretty simple things.
 
S

Samuelsan2001

macrumors 604
Oct 24, 2013
7,729
2,153
Just pointing out

noobinator said:
I could do it on an iPad but I want a laptop. I enjoy the extra screen real estate even if it's only a couple inches and prefer the design of the laptop over connecting a keyboard to an iPad and not being able to use a mouse/trackpad.



I let things run in the background (YouTube/Sling) while I surf the net or work in office. It's nice background noise.

It is stuttering, not buffering on my current laptop. I know the difference. My internet speed is 100mb down.



Yeah it isn't the greatest on Mac but luckily I'm doing pretty simple things.
Click to expand...

That the rMB has more than enough power for what you want.
 
D

dexterbell

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2015
855
16
noobinator said:
I'm a pretty light user and use a $200 Asus laptop now (x205ta).

I mainly use the laptop for:
Netflix
Sling TV
MS Office
Light photo editing in Lightroom

My current laptop even stutters when watching Netflix and doing nothing else. When I do two things at once forget it. I know the new MB should blow this thing away since my machine only has 2gb ram.

I am just worried it would stutter if watching video and doing something else. I think the MBP might be overkill but I'd consider it if things would run much smoother. I don't take my laptop with me many places but I love technology and having the newest technology. The new form factor and space gray color are awesome to me.

What do you all think? Should I get the new MB or MBP. Just how much more powerful is the MBP? And would I actually notice or utilize any of the extra power?
Click to expand...

The rMBP has a larger display, much better CPU/GPU and ports for the same price. Its a no brainer.
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,929
3,677
noobinator said:
I would counter with its heavier, smaller hard drive for that price, is thicker, only available in one color, and has moving parts (fan).

Thus my conundrum.
Click to expand...

I think you have your answer. Do you wish to pay for power and flexibility or for thin and lightweight? The MacBook should have no issue whatsoever handling the load you will put on it.
 
D

dexterbell

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2015
855
16
noobinator said:
I would counter with its heavier, smaller hard drive for that price, is thicker, only available in one color, and has moving parts (fan).

Thus my conundrum.
Click to expand...

Do you walk long distances? Like miles every day schlepping around gear? I doubt it. Is that whopping 1.5 pounds difference really going to break your poor arms and back? Your willing to buy a laptop gimped with only one port but your concerned about HD space? Id assume you do everything in the cloud if you are willing to deal with only one port, HD space shouldn't really matter. Colors? lol. Sounds like you want a toy rather than a productive machine for work. Get the rMB then.
 
noobinator

noobinator

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
7,228
6,793
Los Angeles, CA
dexterbell said:
Do you walk long distances? Like miles every day schlepping around gear? I doubt it. Is that whopping 1.5 pounds difference really going to break your poor arms and back? Your willing to buy a laptop gimped with only one port but your concerned about HD space? Id assume you do everything in the cloud if you are willing to deal with only one port, HD space shouldn't really matter. Colors? lol. Sounds like you want a toy rather than a productive machine for work. Get the rMB then.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've decided to buy the "toy".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom