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MacBook or Macbook Pro?

A

agrudsky

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am trying to decide between a brand new MacBook or a MacBook Pro for my new laptop. Right now, I have a 14 inch Dell Latitude D630. It takes about 5 minutes to start up, and I have to turn it off every night. My dad bought an iMac about a year ago, and it still works like a charm. Plus, with the MacBook Pro, I can brag to my friends that I have a MacBook pro with Thunderbolt and a backlit keyboard. Anyways, getting back to the subject, here is what I will need to be doing:

HEAVY Web Browsing (including videos)
Some gaming
iTunes
GarageBand
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.)
Some minor Video Editing
PLEASE READ BELOW IF YOU WANT TO POST A COMMENT!
If you post a comment, please specify:
If you want me to get a MacBook, please tell me how much RAM, hard drive space and RPM.
If you want me to get a MacBook Pro, please tell me what screen size, what processor, how much RAM, how much hard drive space and RPM, and display type.
Thanks for commenting!🙂
 
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The reason the Dell takes so long is not the hardware. It's Windows. You are choosing between a Macbook and a Macbook Pro, eh?

Why don't you consider the 11 inch Macbook Air? It is almost instant on with the 64 Gig SSD and is the same price as the Macbook. You already have an iMac for your heavy lifting so why get a MBP when you can get away with the less capable but much lighter MBA?

I have a 3 year old white Macbook. I would like a MBP but I don't need a MBP. If you do go for the Macbook, it's not a bad machine but it's a LOT slower than the new 13 inch MBP. I wouldn't bother with any RAM or HDD upgrades on any Apple system as Apple tends to charge A LOT for upgrades. Go for the base model and it will do fine for web browsing, movies, garage band, etc.

One caveat. If you're creating huge files you might consider the MBP for more internal storage. Personally, I've gotten to the point I'd rather plug in a $99 external 1TB drive when I need to work on huge files and have a 64 Gig SSD base MBA. I'm considering getting one for my wife and I know she'll love it.

Again, I only recommend the MBA because you mention limited or light gaming. The MBA is not meant as a gaming machine but more as a light weight note taking machine. Oh. I should mention that if you want to deal with audio in garage band, both the MBA and MBP base models have some limitations. There is a single input output jack rather than separate jacks you would get on the 15 in MBP. This might be a big deal to somebody working with music. Once again, I wouldn't let something like this push me into a more expensive heavier machine when there are usb microphones around for $99 or less.

hope this helps...
 
Go for the MBP..

I dunno man, but for $200 more the 13" MBP is a much more solid machine than the MB (hence the value is there). The i5 CPU and graphics card are powerful enough for all the tasks you require and it's pretty much as portable as the MB.

However, if you have access to an iMac at home, then I agree with the post above that the MBA would be a pretty sweet pairing to that iMac. You can do all your content creation (music) and gaming on the iMac, while consuming content (videos, surfing, etc) on the MBA (while chilling on the couch or just about anywhere really). I don't believe that the MBA is powerful enough for heavy content creation, but it's display is very crisp and awesome for surfing and videos. The only downer is that the 13" MBA is way more expensive than both the 13" MB and MBP.

Now.. You mention iTunes.. If you are storing a heavy content load, then I wouldn't recommend the MBA, as the cool flash memory does not grant a lot of storage space unless you upgrade the capacity and that'll cost you a couple more bills.

IMO, as far as 13" Macs go, the BEST VALUE right now is the starting factory model MBP (Intel Core i5 2.3 Ghz CPU, 320 GB disk, and 4 GB of RAM).

Whatever you decide to go for, it'll be a sweet experience when switching from a Dell 😉
 
I couldn't agree more. I went from a Dell to a Macbook and looking back I could swear the first letter of Dell must be an "H". 🙄
 
Looks like you guys have a point. Now, I am trying to decide between a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro. The thing is, buying a 13 inch MBA for $1300 will get me:
2GB of RAM
1.86 GHZ Processor
A 2.3 pound computer
OR
I can get a MacBook Air 13 inch, $100 less or $100 more. The thing is, although MBAs are lighter, MBPs have bigger hard drives, Thunderbolt, better graphics, but they weigh more.
Help ME!!!😕
 
MBA's also don't have a super drive, backlit keyboard, or ethernet port. I'd go with the MBP. The 13" MBP is still extremely light. For your uses as well, I would not recommend a C2D processor when Sandy Bridge is in the market. If you really still want a MBA, wait until they are refreshed with SB processors.
 
ECUpirate44 said:
MBA's also don't have a super drive, backlit keyboard, or ethernet port. I'd go with the MBP. The 13" MBP is still extremely light. For your uses as well, I would not recommend a C2D processor when Sandy Bridge is in the market. If you really still want a MBA, wait until they are refreshed with SB processors.
Click to expand...

MBAs have their good things and bad things.
 
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Not to hi-jack the thread, but I do have a similar question...
My wife got me a refurbed MBP for a little over $850... I can get a new MBP for 1150. Is the new MBP worth the $300 (and the upset wife)? Or do I enjoy the current present?
 
hammerg26 said:
Not to hi-jack the thread, but I do have a similar question...
My wife got me a refurbed MBP for a little over $850... I can get a new MBP for 1150. Is the new MBP worth the $300 (and the upset wife)? Or do I enjoy the current present?
Click to expand...

You haven't given us specs, so how are we meant to judge which is 'better'?

Unless you just want new over refurb, which is entirely up to you, I personally wouldn't consider it.
 
Its a hard decision, deciding between a macbook air and a macbook pro. I'm not even going to buy one until summer, because I want to have a computer with OS X Lion. Plus, the MBA doesn't have a superdrive, so I can't watch movies or games. That won't even work with remote disk.
Any comments?
 
Since the regular MB is 13", I'd just get the 13" MBP. Microcenter supposedly has a deal for $999.
 
Good question - specs follow:
MacBook Pro
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Ram
250 GB HDD

Those are the most general specs - not sure how to get more data... but let me know if needed.

Is going refurb a bad idea? I was thinking that as soon as I use it, it is "used" anyway...
 
MBA's are nice. If I had say an iMac at home, or didn't need wired network, I'd go MBA. But the 13"MBP are fine, in terms of weight and portability. They don't weight that much, really...

Plus the backlit KB and SuperDrive are nice...and 4GB out of the gate. And you can go to 8GB pretty cheap.
 
You could literally walk into an apple store, blindfold yourself, spin around a couple times, and walk into any computer in the store and have something that will suit your needs adequately.

Having said that, I would recommend the stock 13" MacBook Pro. I daresay it's the best value for an Apple laptop. I wouldn't recommend a MacBook Air as your primary machine. I know you had mentioned your dad has an iMac, but you don't want to have to use his computer every time you need a more capable machine.
 
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OP: Sorry if a bit late but just read the thread. Ask yourself some questions:

1) Do you need Thunderbolt? Would you get it because you would daisy-chain 6 RAID HDs and an external monitor or would you get it to say to your friends 'I have Thunderbolt'?

2) Consider your needs. I do FCP video editing so I'd need the extra power from an MBP. Do you do video editing? Do you manage RAW photo files or anything similar? If no, get a 13" MBA. If yes, MBP.

Personally, for you I'd get a nice 13" MBA. Get the 4GB RAM though, as MBA RAM is non-upgradable.
 
Look guys, if I get a 13 inch MBP or MBA, I am going to get an external monitor because the screen is so small.
Thanks for all the comments!
 
Attention - read this!

ATTENTION EVERYONE!
If you haven't noticed, I put up another thing I am going to be using my new Mac for:
Some minor Video Editing!
Please keep this in mind if you comment.
Thanks!
 
Minor video editing, get the macbook pro.

Pros on going with the Pro:
It was just refreshed
The 13" offers good enough work area to do minor video editing (I was running on a 12" Powerbook G4 for years before I had to sell it).
It's priced competitively if you're comparing the entry level 13" Pro to the Macbook and MBA.
It's still lightweight, even compared to your Dell notebook.

I know people are telling you to consider the Air but when I was comparing the two I still think the MBP is still the way to go if you're going to perform some editing (Photo or Video). At times I feel some jitter/lag when editing photos on the MBA 11" and 13" base models. People might tell you to go towards the Ultimate for it to perform better but at that point you can upgrade your MBP to outperform the MBA for less.
 
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