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MB vs. MBP in terms of non-performance things?

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matth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 26, 2007
3
0
Hi all

I'm planning in getting am mac notebook later this year, but i can't decide between the MB and the MBP. I've read the specs and performance-wise there shouldn't be a big difference (except for the GPU, but that doesn't matter that much to me). Now i'm more interested how non-performance things compare, like:

1. Noise-level?
2. Heat?
3. Battery life?
4. Screen quality?
5. Case strength?

Thanks & have a nice day!
Matt
 
B

brettanderson

macrumors member
Jun 26, 2007
57
0
I would say that the fans seem kick in sooner and hit full speed a lot sooner on the macbook. For example, if I watch a youtube video full screen, I can hear the macbook fans kick in after about 5 minutes or so, whereas I never notice them on the MBP. The fans used to really bug me on the macbook, whereas I don't really notice them as much on the MBP.

MB has better battery life, the screen is noticeably inferior and the viewing angle on the screen is really narrow.

I would be fine with a MB, but personally the MBP is much more enjoyable to use.
 
T

thebrain74

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2006
225
0
even if the MBP case is less rugged I greatly prefer it, and the keyboard too (but the MB still pretty good) I find that even though it seems everyone whines about the heat of the MBP, I tried out my friends MB and it got just as warm if not warmer during low-medium work. Also when the MBP gets hot and the fans start to go, I find that probably due to its alu case both of those go down very quickly.

Also backlit keyboard is awesome
if you use and external HDD, FW800 is awesome
expresscard is nice (probably gonna use mine for a card reader)

I would like to second what others have said about the small viewing angle on the MB's, whereas I think the viewing angle on the Pro is great.

personal pref: I don't think that a 13'' screen is big enough for a main computer. the 15'' has the same res as my 17'' iMac so I am very pleased

batt life is the only thing that tips in the MB's favor
 
Erasmus

Erasmus

macrumors 68030
Jun 22, 2006
2,756
298
Australia
The MB and MBP are supposed to have the same battery life.

So I would assume that there would be no discernable difference, and even if there was, it would be well drowned out by what you choose to use the computers for.
 
T

thebrain74

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2006
225
0
Apple's battery estimates are a little inconsistent for the MBP. On the MBP hardware page (the one with the black background) the 15'' is listed as a 6hr batt life, and the 17'' is listed as 5.75hrs. while on the store page both are listed as 5.5 hrs and the MB is listed as 6hrs on both pages. From this and my personal experience I believe the MB has a 30-90 min batt advantage on the pro. in real world applications, but I could easily be wrong, I wasn't wearing a labcoat or anything.

but you are right that the batt life difference is drown out by what you chose the computers for
 
P

polycat33

macrumors 6502
Jul 1, 2007
437
1
Alexandria, VA
thebrain74 said:
Apple's battery estimates are a little inconsistent for the MBP. On the MBP hardware page (the one with the black background) the 15'' is listed as a 6hr batt life, and the 17'' is listed as 5.75hrs. while on the store page both are listed as 5.5 hrs and the MB is listed as 6hrs on both pages. From this and my personal experience I believe the MB has a 30-90 min batt advantage on the pro. in real world applications, but I could easily be wrong, I wasn't wearing a labcoat or anything.

but you are right that the batt life difference is drown out by what you chose the computers for
Click to expand...

Are any of you MBP owners getting 5.5-6 hours out of your batteries??? What is that estimate assuming is running? Nothing? Cause that's the only way I'd get five and a half hours out of my battery. While it's really good when just surfing the net, it's nowhere near six hours!
 
S

Sounds Good

macrumors 68000
Jul 8, 2007
1,692
57
matth said:
I'm planning in getting am mac notebook later this year, but i can't decide between the MB and the MBP... i'm more interested how non-performance things compare...
Click to expand...
I'm in exactly the same boat. Just jumping on this thread to "listen in" :)
 
kuebby

kuebby

macrumors 68000
Jan 18, 2007
1,582
13
MD
I can't speak to MBPs but my MB is very quiet. Even when the fans go to high gear they're not too bad. There is some heat around the plug/battery area though. Sometimes hot enough that I get a little worried.
 
T

thebrain74

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2006
225
0
My macbook pro battery meter shows 3hrs while browsing with camino and using word (which is in rosetta) the time seems accurate but I haven't used a watch to time it or anything. this is on better batt life, but with the screen pretty bright.
 
EvryDayImShufln

EvryDayImShufln

macrumors 65816
Sep 18, 2006
1,094
1
Sounds Good said:
Really? Is this true?
Click to expand...

Yes. I always heard complaining about the MBP screens and always figured that was due to the MB screens being better, but now, working at a big electronics dealer, I realize the MB screens are litterally garbage compared to the MBP screens (ok I'm exaggerating a little). But seriously they are not as clear, as more yellowish and not nearly as bright.
 
JFreak

JFreak

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2003
3,151
9
Tampere, Finland
polycat33 said:
Are any of you MBP owners getting 5.5-6 hours out of your batteries???
Click to expand...

Nope. It's more like 3-3.5h (normal use). Half an hour less than Titanium PowerBook but half an hour more than 15" Aluminum PowerBook. Definetely an improvement, but still could be a lot better.

I so much miss those Titanium days — it was four hours real world!
 
F

flyingkite

macrumors newbie
Jul 9, 2007
26
0
Hi

I've owned both the macbook (black 2ghz with 1 GB ram) and the latest Macbook Pro (MBP) 2.2Ghz 15" with 2 GB ram (the LED screen).

Firstly, I much prefer the responsiveness of the MBP, everything is faster compared to the macbook, restart, opening windows even surfing seems more instant, which maybe is due to the new GPU. It makes hell lots of difference. It's that minor speed of responsiveness you feel it's faster.

And I think that in terms of speed wise (measureable) the MBP is much faster with its 2GB ram (if you were to upgrade your Macbook to 2gb,you would have inch a bit closer to spending near to what the MBP is already, so why don't you pay for that extra speed and graphic performance?)

I feel the MBP is more rugged and sturdy. With the Macbook, I have to be careful of the surface, there are always oil stains..etc.just marks no matter how clean your fingers are...it will be there. If you were to spend extra money on a case, it's not worth it at all-might as well contribute to the MBP fund. I have to buy a Marware wrist protector for the Macbook.

The MBP is definitely hotter. but I can live with that.

As for screen wise, both my Macbook and MBP are glossy. The Macbook is glossy to the extent of un-naturally glossy, its like a layer of perspex..some people will like it. But the MBP on the other hand - the gloss coating is more natural. In natural room light, you do not notice that it's glossy. It's comparable to my Samsung 20" LCD and Imac.

Both the viewing angle of the Macbook and MBP are not great. If you are looking at great viewing angle screen - neither offers you comfort in that area. The Macbook has limited viewing angle but the MBP I have has also some sort of yellowish/dark (lower third and right) gradation..very slight. But I would still say MBP has much better and nicer balance of contrast than Macbook. Macbook is the shiny glossy contrast like perspex (ever seen a Sony VAIO?)....hmm if you get what I'm trying to say. I use Huey Calibrator to calibrate on both screens.

The speakers on the MBP are much better. way better.

Full illumination of keyboard..mines sort of purpish tint light. And its a full keyboard size. if that matters to you.

If you are using Parallel Desktop. The MBP blows the Macbook hands down because of
1) 2Gb ram (would you want to upgrade your Macbook?)
2) GPU ( can't upgrade on Macbook)

Windows XP takes less than 5 secs to "boot" and its almost instant using saved state. "Cold Boot" is about 15 secs . Macbook can drastically take pretty long and stalls because of lack of ram. I'm not sure if 2Gb of ram will make a better difference but I bet it would. And I run dual monitors. So I really stress it, in terms of the GPU.

One thing more, the DVI output of MBP is full DVI. So you save money from buying a mini-DVI to DVI converter for the Macbook also.

After owning both the Macbook and Macbook Pro. I have no hesistation to recommend the MBP over the Macbook as it's just 0.5 pounds more heavy than the Macbook . (even the weight doesn't seem to tilt on the Macbook side)

I think there are too many things I feel the MBP are just more worth it then the Macbook. Unless you really like the size of the 13" tiny screen or "cuteness", the MBP is a more worthy buy.

My 2 cents
 
MIDI_EVIL

MIDI_EVIL

macrumors 65816
Jan 23, 2006
1,320
14
UK
iW00t said:
Noise and heat wise they are about the same, but the MacBook does have a more rugged case design.
Click to expand...


???

The MacBook is far more noisy than the MacBook Pro, the fans kick in too often and are loud!

Rich.
 
Killyp

Killyp

macrumors 68040
Jun 14, 2006
3,859
7
I agree, I have owned both MacBook Pro and MacBook. Okay my MBP is in for service, but it's a 1st gen one and hopefully Apple will be replacing it with one of the newer more reliable models.

But basically, the MacBook Pro is just a far nicer machine to use. The MacBook's screen feels cramped in comparison, the touchpad material isn't as nice as the MacBook Pro's, the speakers aren't anywhere near as good, the keyboard is nicer IMO, the display itself on the MacBook has a much poorer contrast ratio than the MBP's, and it's viewing angle isn't as good. The MBP has a better iSight, seems to charge quicker and has more connections.

You specified without speed in the topic title, but I might as well mention it anyway, that the MBP seems to perform much more like a desktop machine than the MB, which does often perform like a laptop. With the MBP, things are almost instant, and it has the capability of driving bigger/better displays, more USB devices, PC expansion slot, and of course takes up to 4 gb of RAM.

There are only three advantages of the MB over the MBP:

1. It's smaller (only slightly)
2. It costs less
3. It doesn't produce as much heat (the difference is small on the latest models though)
 
paddy

paddy

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2005
651
0
TN
I'm personally a fan of the MB. The way some people talk about it around here you'd swear they hated the thing! :p Seriously though, the MBP is obviously going to be better in many design aspects, it is the pro model after all and that's what you pay for. Best advice I'd say though is just borrow a friends MB/MBP or go into a shop and make your own decision 'cos at the end of the day it's all personal preference.
 
Abstract

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,836
848
Location Location Location
Sounds Good said:
Really? Is this true?
Click to expand...


Yes.

1. Noise-level?
2. Heat?
3. Battery life?
4. Screen quality?
5. Case strength?
Click to expand...

Out of all the things listed:

1. Same
2. Same
3. MB
4. MBP
5. MB


Regarding screen quality, the picture on the MB screen is just as good as the one on the MBP. The difference is the viewing angle, especially the vertical viewing angle. It's garbage on the MB. It doesn't make a lick of a difference when you're doing regular stuff. You may not even notice it. However, if you're into photography, and your MB's screen is the only one you have, then it will matter. The viewing angle is so bad that the middle of the screen appears brighter than the top and bottom of the screen due to the sliiiiight difference in viewing angle.

Also, the MB has a slightly lower resolution, although if the MB's resolution is way too low for you, chances are that the 15" MBP's screen is also inadequate for you, resolution wise.
 
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