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Is the MBP 13" worth it over the Macbook?

skippymac

skippymac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
592
3
Hampshire, UK
Hi,

Im planning on getting a Macbook for college next september. I'm planning to either get the basic MBP or the Macbook upgraded to 4GB of RAM.
The advantages i can see of the Pro are
*Slightly smaller and lighter
*More supported resolutions?
*backlit keyboard
*Firewire and SD card slot
*Aluminium body - more durable, stays clean easier and apparently has a sound dampening quality which is nice. (and is beautiful)
*higher expandability, eg. up to 8GB ram in the future compared to the 4GB supported by the macbook

I dont use firewire and not usually an SD card slot although it is possible that I will need these in the future.

In your opinion, are these advantages worth the (roughly) £65 ($100)

also are there any other advantages which i have missed?

Thanks, Matt :)
 
Also, sorry if this is in the wrong place, and sorry if the issue has been addressed before, but i can only find references to slightly different issues to mine :) thanks
 
skippymac said:
*More supported resolutions?
Click to expand...

Nope

*Aluminium body - more durable, stays clean easier and apparently has a sound dampening quality which is nice. (and is beautiful)
Click to expand...

MBP has subwoofer while MB doesn't

*higher expandability, eg. up to 8GB ram in the future compared to the 4GB supported by the macbook
Click to expand...

Both can utilize 8GB, Apple just doesn't advertise 8GB for MB

Get the MBP
 
Unless you are really strapped for cash get the MBP. 100 bux over 3-4 years really doesn't amount to much. Just cut back in the beer :)
 
The plastic that Apple uses for the MacBook is crap. It literally fails apart at the edges. The batteries are known to "expand". In the end it will mess up the trackpad.
Ask me how I know. I owned 2 MacBooks from 2 separate years and both did the exact same thing. Go with the MBP. You'll be grateful you did later.
 
skippymac said:
Hi,
*Slightly smaller and lighter
*More supported resolutions?
*backlit keyboard
*Firewire and SD card slot
*Aluminium body - more durable, stays clean easier and apparently has a sound dampening quality which is nice. (and is beautiful)
*higher expandability, eg. up to 8GB ram in the future compared to the 4GB supported by the macbook
Click to expand...

Take a look at all of those advantages, and add on that the MBP already comes with 4gb of RAM, of course its worth 100 bucks ha.

Also, it would cost you the same if not more to upgrade the Macbook to 4GB of RAM...soooo there ya go ha.

Also, sell the free ipod and printer and you'll end up getting the MBP for the same if not less than the Macbook. Either way, get the MBP.
 
Damers said:
Really? Where did you see/hear this? Not calling you out, I just had no idea.

Edit: Nevermind, just saw it on the apple website. neat.
Click to expand...

If that pea sized "subwoofer" is count, then it does :p I doubt there is big difference in sound quality though
 
skippymac said:
I looked on the specs for each and the MBP seemed to have a slightly longer list of supported resolutions but I may have read it wrong :)
Click to expand...

I can't see any difference, they just look different (MB has little wider space for res in Apple's site). Anyway, you shouldn't be running any other but the native res. Both support up to 2560x1600 resolution in external display

You might be looking at the supported resolutions when connecting to an external display.
Click to expand...

There is no such list AFAIK, both support up to 2560x1600 anyway.
 
Hellhammer said:
I can't see any difference, they just look different (MB has little wider space for res in Apple's site). Anyway, you shouldn't be running any other but the native res. Both support up to 2560x1600 resolution in external display



There is no such list AFAIK, both support up to 2560x1600 anyway.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I only mentioned it as there might be a chance that whatever document OP was looking at, the author of the document might be outlining the supported resolutions on the MacBook Pro and the supported resolutions through an external display. But Hellhammer is right, regardless of model, all models support up to 2560x1600 through and on-device is of course limited.
 
Definitely get the MacBook Pro. You'll be in college and will, most likely, be carrying your MacBook everywhere - to classes for notes, to libraries for studying, or to friends' room for gaming/movies (not to mention roommates not respecting your things). You'll be surprised at how easily the MacBook casing cracks. I made the mistake of getting a MacBook for my first year of college and I am always meticulous (as I am OCD) about my stuff and yet, one day, when I pulled it out of it's sleeve from the padded compartment of my backpack, the casing was chipped! :mad: Granted, Apple will replace your casing as long as you're under warrenty but do you really want to take it to Apple every few months and then being without it for a couple of hours each time?:rolleyes:

The MacBook Pro will put up with the daily activities of college life - $100 is so worth it plus, you get that sexy aluminum look :cool: And now you'll be able to work in the dark when your roommate is complaining about the lights being on :p

I recently upgraded to the MBP and I am so happy with it.
 
BTW, I have both a MBP 13 and MPB 15 and dont notice a huge difference in sound quality between the two using the built in speakers. Just my opinion :)
 
Cracking/chipping of MacBook...

Look on Ebay, virtually every MacBook there has cracks or chips. It's really discouraging. This never happened with the old iBooks. Apparently Apple's changed to some cheaper, harder plastic. Definitely go with the Pro.
 
Those chips and cracks are for the old type of Macbook, though. Is the unibody Macbook plagued by such issues? Mine isn't, so far.
 
Can anyone post some information about the subwoofer? How large is it and what kind of low frequencies can this speaker handle? I don't see how there is room for anything larger than what we would normally think of as a midrange driver.
 
patrix has hit the nail on the head.

The old white MacBook's edges cracked, the new one is not supposed to suffer from the same issue, but get the MacBook Pro anyway.

You never know how useful target disc mode is until you need it.
 
I have compared both and the aluminum casing appears much better built. Also if you have a microcenter around you the 13 MBP is on sale for $999!!
 
cubist said:
Look on Ebay, virtually every MacBook there has cracks or chips. It's really discouraging. This never happened with the old iBooks. Apparently Apple's changed to some cheaper, harder plastic. Definitely go with the Pro.
Click to expand...

jmazzamj said:
patrix has hit the nail on the head.

The old white MacBook's edges cracked, the new one is not supposed to suffer from the same issue, but get the MacBook Pro anyway.

You never know how useful target disc mode is until you need it.
Click to expand...

I've heard that the new ones crack too (or at least have read complaints about it).

But I had a 2007 macbook. Top case cracked in a little more than a year (I didn't realize that Apple would replace it until three years later when I replaced it myself when I had to fix the fan on it). Everyone I knew with a macbook had it crack in the exact same area (friend of mine had it replaed when his keyboard died, the new top case cracked too). Shoot, you see plenty of used top cases for sale with chips on them (I managed to find a pretty pristine one of the new style that does not have the apple logo on the command anymore but has the MP3 player controls. The mouse button on it was broken but my very handy roommate fixed that. I have heard the mouse buttons breaking and being constantly stuck in click mode is another common problem wtih those models).

For that reason alone I'd spend the extra just for the aluminum case. Plus the light up keyboard is really nice. I think the display looks much nicer, especially with the black border around it (I really don't think screens should be framed by light colors, black is ideal cause it is nuetral and dark). I like having 2 USBs and a firewire (Though I'd be happy with 3 USBs but the macbook just has two USBs). I like how slim it is (keep in mind though I'm coming from the non unibody which was notabley thicker).

Honestly, you'd not get me back with a white or plastic macbook again unless that was what I could afford. But budget (or that's all they made) would be the only reason I'd choose a plastic one again.
 
cherry su said:
The new unibody MacBook has a glass trackpad. I also agree that the MacBook Pro is worth it.
Click to expand...

Don't think of it as $100 extra now, think of it as $50 a year over two years. Or $33 a year over three years. Either way, in the grand scheme of things its not that much for a much better machine.
 
tigress666 said:
I've heard that the new ones crack too (or at least have read complaints about it).

I think the display looks much nicer, especially with the black border around it.
Click to expand...

I didn't know about the new ones breaking. A friend of mine got one back in october and he has not had any issue regardind that.

I also agree, the MBP screen is better, not estetically but technically or at least mine looks a lot brighter, I haven't compared them directly, but I remember that when I used his MB I was a bit disappointed with the screen bar being all the way up. It's sunny outside and I'm perfectly comfortable with just two bars.
 
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