Contrast MB vs MBP Portability & Features

[R1Dragon]

Hi All,

I am contrasting the new MB & MBP to find a good personal fit. I do word processing, photography, & considering some HD video. I will use the following soft wear: Mac Word 2008, Photoshop CS-3, & I am unsure of soft wear for video editing. Portability is critical. Fire wire may be worked around with a newer HD camera with USB. Will the slower MB nvidia 9400 card work with HD video, with a slower speed being the trade-off? Any insight to contrast the various pro & con are welcome. Thanks to all the Sages: D

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I'd say the MacBook is a great place to start. It's very portable, and I speak from experience. I don't have the newer aluminum models, but my polycorbonate model from late 2007 is much more portable than a 15" MBP. The nVidia 9400M graphics card is good, but the 9600GT (I think that's the model number) is much better. Anyway here is the bird's eye view of things:

MacBook (not Pro)
Smaller size, lighter weight
nVidia graphics are pretty good, enough for your uses and more
Has the same glass trackpad as the MBP
Multi touch, etc
Screen may be a bit small for serious photshop work

MacBook Pro
A bit bigger
Stunning graphics, beats the MB's nVidia by a whole lot
Has the glass trackpad
Screen is still glossy, but is much bigger than a 13"
Multi touch, etc

Overall, I'd say just go to an Apple Store and try out both models. Which ever one you like, should be the one you walk out with.

 

[itgoesbuzz]

I've had both a 13" Macbook and 15" powerbook and I feel that while the 13" is more portable, the 15" is not so huge that it creates that much of a hassle. For my use, the specs as far as the raw power of the computer never really come into play so it really comes down to screen size. I think you can expand the RAM in the MBP more so than in the MB so that also would favor the MBP as well. If you are connecting to an external monitor maybe the screen size isn't as much of an issue though. Also i believe that the MBP can support a larger monitor (someone correct me if im off base on that)

There is quite a difference in price. the reason i went with a MB instead of a MBP was that I planned on getting an external display for home use, and the price gap didn't justify the two inches of screen real estate i was gaining. Essentially that is all I was paying for because for what I do, I wouldn't notice much in terms of performance between the two machines. if money isnt much of an issue though, I go with the MBP.

the macbook i bought was $999 so it was the low end macbook, and the cheapest mbp was like $1,999 so the extra grand wasnt worth it. Lets pretend that I wasnt in school anymore and I had a job besides taking bottles back to the grocery store for deposit...then id get the pro for sure.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

To a certain extent, it's the old power versus portability argument. With the MB, you get a great machine which is tested and tried, very portable and a fine computer which will readily do what you ask of it. The MBP offers more power, better performance, and an excellent screen. Both come with Apple's warranty. If you can afford it, or do a lot of video work, go for the MBP. I have one, and it is a superb computer. However, my advice is the same as that offered by SnowLeopard2008. Visit an Apple shop and try them both out, then buy whichever computer you prefer.

Cheers and good luck

 

[clyde2801]

Or, IMO, it was a portability versus crappy screen argument.

 

[ACiB708]

Hi All,

I am contrasting the new MB & MBP to find a good personal fit. I do word processing, photography, & considering some HD video. I will use the following soft wear: Mac Word 2008, Photoshop CS-3, & I am unsure of soft wear for video editing. Portability is critical. Fire wire may be worked around with a newer HD camera with USB. Will the slower MB nvidia 9400 card work with HD video, with a slower speed being the trade-off? Any insight to contrast the various pro & con are welcome. Thanks to all the Sages: D

If you are planning to do HD video editing, get the MBP for sure. The new 9400m integrated graphics in the MB are good, very good actually, but just for everyday tasks and casual gaming, not for HD video editing, not at all. Get the MBP, and as for portability you won't notice it that much, the Pro is quite a light and thin machine compared to systems in the same range.