Alu Macbook vs. 13" Macbook pro: Heat & Battery Life

Hi guys. Thanks for reading this. I've got a few questions regarding the new 13" MBP that I hope you'll definitely be able to answer. I've searched through the forums but didn't really find a to-the-point answer.

1. I've been using the 2008 Aluminum Macbook for quite sometime now and with 30%-40% screen brightness and Xampp, Photoshop, firefox, a text editor running (No airport or bluetooth, I use a USB modem stick), I get about 3.30 hours of battery life. Now, my question is, (I'd prefer some answers from guys in the Graphics/web design field) how much battery life can I expect from 13" Macbook pro at the above setting and with the same programs running?

*Please don't point me to any other thread unless it answers the exact same question.

2. On my Alu macbook, when I'm running the same applications mentioned above at the same settings, my temp NEVER goes up to 62C, I mean ike NEVER, it always stays around 60C, now, if I was on a 13" MBP, what's the heat's going to be like? I know MBP's been known for heating a little more because of the spec bump but I really need to know if it's going to stay below 70C if I was running the same programs. Heat is really important for me. My Alu macbook feels really comfy at 60C on my lap and I never have to move it to give my lap a rest or breeze. I've been planning on upgrading to 13" MBP because of the battery life but I really need to make sure the temps remains comfortable. Please answer this question from your experience with precise numbers if possible.

Thanks again for reading.

Thanks a lot for your input tempusfugit. Could you please tell me about the battery life of your MBP?

Z06jerry said:

I experience about 20-25% more time with the 13" uMBP vs 13 uMB, so if you're uMB is giving 3 1/2 hrs with your current usage now you can expect to get approx 4 1/2 with the uMBP.

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And how's the heat on your uMBP? Does it really get hotter than uMB, I know hot/hotter is a subjective word, but seeing that you own both, could you please put some comparison numbers from your experience?

Thanks a lot for your kind inputs jerry, the temp report was really helpful.

Z06jerry said:

smcfancontrol is not tested for our machines, and even if it was I would rather trust Apple to control my fans and temps. Just my 2¢

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I'd really like to take your side on this Jerry, even though I've heard that apple might have miscalculated the fan speed towards the temp and stuff. Heat is not gonna be a problem I can see/feel, and in my experience, I haven't heard any noise even when I set the RPM to 3000, which might not seem enough when running cpu intensive apps but it does cool down the cpu a little more than 2000 does. The point is, I agree with Jerry here because I really love my macbook, I've owned like half a dozen pc laptops but none of them could nearly beat the alu mac. And the reason I too wouldn't want to push the fan is because pushing it means putting it in more pressure than normal, it least that's what I feel.

I'm still confused about getting the uMBP for just an hour more battery life though, (but I'm pretty sure I'll buy one anyway, as soon as I've saved up enough, probably next month) I mean, the alu mac works just fine for me, I never needed a SD card slot, never needed firewire- I don't even know how it works, I mostly work from home, and the only reason I'm dying for a uMBP is the battery life and the slighly* better screen (*I'm a web designer but after profiling the colors, it -9c8c- just serves as good as my very trusted Samsung CRT and better than my LCD). I go to a place every now and then and spend like 5 hours there with my alu mac, the problem is, I have to carry the charger every time cuz battery runs out after 3 and half hours and I'd really like to spend the whole time there without a charger. I carry my mac in a sleeve and you should know how bulky and disturbing it gets when you have to carry the charger.