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Base model MB or MBP as a gift?

which is better replacement as far as performance for Vaio vpccw17fx

  • Total voters
    61
Turian.Spectre

Turian.Spectre

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 31, 2010
177
0
I want to get a mac laptop for my sister. She wants just the standard 13" model white MB. (only bc she likes white, see what I have to deal with?)

Right now she owns a Sony Vaio vpccw17fx. So my question to you dear forum bloggers is which 13" mac laptop should i get for her? would she notice a big performance difference (better or worse) with the white one? Or not? If she will I will probably get her the aluminum one instead.

The POLL is for PERFORMANCE opinion only. Not which you think is better between the 2 and which has better perks like the illuminated keyboard. I just want to know which of the 2 will be a better substitute for her Vaio. thank you!
 
Just get her the Whitebook if thats what she wants. The performance is really not going to be any different to her. About all you gain is some RAM which is user upgradable anyways.
 
What will she use the computer for? If all she's going to be doing is web and email, then performance is not an issue. Neither will seem faster.
 
good point. all she does is surf web, homework, and watch videos. =/ Maybe its just me, i keep telling her since she doesnt understand anything in the computers she should get the one that has more features like the illuminated keyboard, sd card slot.
 
Turian.Spectre said:
good point. all she does is surf web, homework, and watch videos. =/ Maybe its just me, i keep telling her since she doesnt understand anything in the computers she should get the one that has more features like the illuminated keyboard, sd card slot.
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You said to keep the features out of it. Personally, I like the extra features that the Pro provides. But that was not what your thread/poll is about.

I still say there is no way she'll notice a difference doing the tasks you listed above. If anyone tell's you otherwise, I'd love to hear their reasoning, because it's simply not true.
 
You can get a MBP for the same price as a Macbook from Microcenter, so I think it's a no brainer. Unless she is set on white.
 
It would help to know how old your sister is. Depending on that, you might just want to get her what she wants. :)
 
She won't notice any difference in performance for what she does. If she prefers white, then get her white. "Yes! We're all individuals!" Monty Python (1979) Life of Brian.
 
wordoflife said:
It would help to know how old your sister is. Depending on that, you might just want to get her what she wants. :)
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She is 33. I'm 22. =)

fluent617 said:
You can get a MBP for the same price as a Macbook from Microcenter, so I think it's a no brainer. Unless she is set on white.
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microcenter... first time i hear of it. looked on their website. I live in charlotte NC. They dont do shipping... and the closest microcenter is Atlanta GA.
 
she will appreciate the backlite keyobard of a macbook pro coming from a computer that didn't have one its a huge difference and the built in sd card reader is always a bonus for easier importing of your photos and vidoes off the card.

and the silver looks classy. but she wont notice any performance difference between the two at all
 
I highly recommend refurbished Apple stuff (from the official Apple online store, of course :p )

Well, I guess the decision is up to you and her. I would just ask her one more time what she would like more in the long run and let her decide from there.

Maybe she likes the white....
 
I bought my Wife to be a MacBook for her wedding present (she got me an iPad) and she loves it, the performance is nothing really to worry about, I would say, if she likes white, get her the MacBook, I would hate to tell someone what I really want for my birthday/christmas and then get something completely different.

I know you are being super generous, but I would ask her if the colour is the only reason and if she wouldn't prefer a MBP...
 
Lunchb0x8 said:
I bought my Wife to be a MacBook for her wedding present (she got me an iPad) and she loves it, the performance is nothing really to worry about, I would say, if she likes white, get her the MacBook, I would hate to tell someone what I really want for my birthday/christmas and then get something completely different.

I know you are being super generous, but I would ask her if the colour is the only reason and if she wouldn't prefer a MBP...
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i would love to except she doesnt understand anything about computers at all! so the only way i can persuade her is the way it looks. and based on that she wants white. =) I just don't know how to explain to her that the illuminated keyboard is genius. After my MBP I will NEVER get something different. I'm stuck between thinking i should get white bc she likes the color and i should get mbp bc i know its better.
 
I would say since she doesn't understand much about computers, just get the white MB. It's cause she can't really utilize what she doesn't understand. I'm sure for people like your sister, once she goes pro, she won't know the difference between the pro and the MB is (aside from looks), so she wouldn't know what she's going back to.

EDIT: I voted for MBP without reading thread. lol. Now that I've read, I wanna change my vote.
 
Turian.Spectre said:
i would love to except she doesnt understand anything about computers at all! so the only way i can persuade her is the way it looks. and based on that she wants white. =) I just don't know how to explain to her that the illuminated keyboard is genius. After my MBP I will NEVER get something different. I'm stuck between thinking i should get white bc she likes the color and i should get mbp bc i know its better.
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Yes, it's better, but only slightly, and it appears not at all for her needs. I'd go with the white one, it's what she wants, and would make her happier. Sure the backlit keyboard is great (I love mine, even though I don't have to look at the keys), but it seems that she is set on what she wants.
 
Honestly though, its her computer, and if that is what she wants, then fine.

Theres nothing wrong with the Macbook, and it even saves you, what? 200$$.

You only skip out on 2GB ram (performance wise).

Just get her what she wants, and she'll be happy, and you will have a spare $200;

Ask yourself if she really needs/wants it, or you want her to get it.
 
I voted for the MBP. I voted for that because its a much more rugged computer. I know so many people with the whitebook, and they always have cracks and the palm rests always get dirty. Based on that alone i would personally spend the extra money to get the aluminum body so that it will hold up better.
 
lickitysplit said:
I voted for the MBP. I voted for that because its a much more rugged computer. I know so many people with the whitebook, and they always have cracks and the palm rests always get dirty. Based on that alone i would personally spend the extra money to get the aluminum body so that it will hold up better.
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I would agree with that.
 
I love my white Macbook. It's a better value and they'll never dispute a scratch on my Macbook like they would dispute a dent on a Pro in the event something goes wrong. For everything you get with the Pro, you save 300 with on the Macbook. The features are simply not worth it. Backlight cool, but really, don't all kids touch type now anyway. SD card? Is it that hard to plug your camera in or get a simple card reader? And it's only SD, not a multiformat slot. It's just not worth it. Oh, and firewire, unless she's doing video then it shouldn't be an issue. I haven't used firewire since I sold my video camera 6 years ago.
 
crazy how 316 people looked at this post and less than 50 voted. thanks for all who did.
 
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