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MacBook or MacBook Pro?

MacBook or MacBook Pro?

  • MacBook

    Votes: 27 34.6%

  • MacBook Pro

    Votes: 51 65.4%
  • Total voters
    78
Fuzzy Orange

Fuzzy Orange

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2006
263
0
I am getting a notebook for traveling purposes and, of course, getting a Mac. However, I can't decide if I need the MB or MBP. I can use the Education Discount, so that makes the choice even harder (less monetary difference between the two). I would be using it for the web, email, word processing, GarageBand/Logic Express, Photoshop CS3 (when it's out), and Aperture. Also, can the MB take 3 GB of RAM? I know the Apple Store says only 2, but hey, you never know.:)
 
9/10 people here will prolly tell you to get a MBP,but I personally think MBP is an over buy for most people.MB is a great machine,and I can't get over the MBP's wifi issues due to it's alluminium case.And depending on how much traveling you're going to do,MBP is pretty huge to be hauling around with you.
 
Definately MBP - you'll really apreciate bigger screen in PS and Aperture, not to mention that Aperture is much more usable on a machine with dedicated graphics card.

Also an important factor is that MB's screen isnt the best at color reproduction and has really poor viewing angles.

So, if you plan to get a notebook for pro graphics use, a MacBook Pro is the only choice.
 
Fuzzy Orange said:
I am getting a notebook for traveling purposes and, of course, getting a Mac. However, I can't decide if I need the MB or MBP. I can use the Education Discount, so that makes the choice even harder (less monetary difference between the two). I would be using it for the web, email, word processing, GarageBand/Logic Express, Photoshop CS3 (when it's out), and Aperture. Also, can the MB take 3 GB of RAM? I know the Apple Store says only 2, but hey, you never know.:)
Click to expand...

The Macbook Pro seems like the best fit.
1. You'll need it to run Aperture well. (And it does run well!)
2. The dedicated video card will serve you better for heavy graphic apps.
3. FW800 and an ExpressCard slot for fast external storage down the line.
4. The MBP can drive a 30" monitor, ideal for all the pro apps you listed.

Some of these advantages might not be immediate concerns, but they do make your machine "future-proof".

Do consider the 2.33 model. You need the extra RAM anyway, and the difference isn't as great with the educational discount.
 
I voted MBP also--it seems like it will be more future-proof. You might also consider a refurb--the Apple Store is chock full of MBPs at the moment....

Best,

Bob
 
I went MacBook, as I figure that you can get a nice MB for $1300 (1gb/80gb/SD) where your MBP starts at $2000. The main difference being the HDD, display, and GPU. So, with your saved $700 you can get a cheap 20" LCD (low priced but perfectly nice 20" widescreen LCDs are in the $200 range, give or take $20 with rebates, brands, etc). You can get an external FW HDD for "scratch" space at home (for storing temp/working video files, etc) for $100. Get a nice BT mouse and keyboard for $50-100 depending on brand preferences. Add an XBox or Wii for gaming that you can't do with the MB, if that's something your interested in ($250-400). You could probably end up with a few bucks to spare in the end, even.

Just my $0.02.
 
I voted MBP given some of your uses are more professional. However, if you plan to travel with the machine a lot and have a good desktop system at home then I would suggest getting the MacBook. I have found the MacBook to be a bit more on the sturdy side vs the MBP.
 
:mad:

HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF THESE THREADS WILL THERE BE?

just research, search the forums, test it out at the Apple store see which one fits YOUR needs we cant tell you what you need!

just dont post a thread at least try to look for answers
 
Shackler said:
:mad:

HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF THESE THREADS WILL THERE BE?

just research, search the forums, test it out at the Apple store see which one fits YOUR needs we cant tell you what you need!

just dont post a thread at least try to look for answers
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!!!!!

I am sick of this "MB vs. MBP." How about I hold your hand while we go to the store, I swipe your card for you (or hand the cash if thats how you roll), carry it to the car, set it up, and make you dinner so you can play with it all night.

Not only is there enough of these threads to figure it out, but there are reviews, apple stores, apples website, etc etc.

I guarantee the question you asked and all future questions about this topic have been answered. They boil down to this:

Graphics
Size
Portability


That is pretty much it. Some say the graphics suck and you need a MBP for anything other than web browsing. I say no, Aperture is smoking on my MB with 2GB, and with my 20" external I have the space I need to get the job done.

Size, if like the MB form factor. The MBP isn't THAT much bigger, but it is still larger than I would like.

Leading into portability, I consider the MB to be more portable that varies by individual.

All the information you need to make an informed decision is already out there. I really wish people would stop making threads like this, especially when there are at 2-3 others with nearly the same title on the first page of this section and in the Macbook section.
 
Just get a MacBook Pro 17". Your going to like the screen size for aperture. Also try searching the forums before posting.
 
How many times do we have to be subjected to "how many times" comments? :D

I voted MB as I have an original core duo with 2GB Ram and use it for everything you mentioned as well as digital art (Corel Painter X) and Adobe Illustrator and everything runs flawlessly.

As for screen size, do as I do and connect it to an external monitor. After all when you're at home/office connecting it to an external is no big deal.

I will upgrade to a black MB in May/June mainly because I travel a lot as well and the MB is far less prone to dents and dings than the aluminium case of the MBP.

Most people who have a MBP don't really need it and could have used the extra cash on a decent external monitor (or have mums and dads who buy everything for them).
 
suneohair said:
I am sick of this "MB vs. MBP." How about I hold your hand while we go to the store, I swipe your card for you (or hand the cash if thats how you roll), carry it to the car, set it up, and make you dinner so you can play with it all night.
Click to expand...

I know I should not have laughed at this, but I just could not help it. The last comment was just so smart a$$ that I had to laugh out loud. :p
 
suneohair said:
Aperture is smoking on my MB with 2GB
Click to expand...

Really? This contradicts with BareFeats claiming that Aperture is much more usable on a Mac Pro with X1900 vs GF7300 :confused:

I dont have Aperture installed on my MacBook however, so I cant compare things in person :(
 
Gee - if somebody's willing to come with me (I don't need to have my hand held), will there be a charge for that? Or does swiping my card for me and carrying my MBP out of the store to my car come with an extra charge?
 
eXan said:
Really? This contradicts with BareFeats claiming that Aperture is much more usable on a Mac Pro with X1900 vs GF7300 :confused:

I dont have Aperture installed on my MacBook however, so I cant compare things in person :(
Click to expand...

I have Aperture on my 1st generation CD MB and it runs extremely well. You don't need a Mac Pro or MBP to run it.
 
Yeah, I know everyone is asking this question, but it helps to get some personal feedback, you know? Anyways, I am leaning towards either a White MacBook w/ 2 GB of RAM, 160 GB HDD, and 2.0 GHz C2D or the bottom end 15'' MBP. I wish the MB came with a bigger screen, since it is going to be a desktop replacement, too.:( I also am slightly concerned about the glossy screen on the MB and how light would reflect off of it. I would be buying in June, which should be long enough for Leopard to be out and the two notebook lines to be updated.

Also, how does the MB handle iMovie video editing? Are the MB and MBP around the same in that respect? And can the MB take 3 GB of RAM? Because if it could, I would almost instantly choose the MB.
 
Fuzzy Orange said:
Yeah, I know everyone is asking this question, but it helps to get some personal feedback, you know? Anyways, I am leaning towards either a White MacBook w/ 2 GB of RAM, 160 GB HDD, and 2.0 GHz C2D or the bottom end 15'' MBP. I wish the MB came with a bigger screen, since it is going to be a desktop replacement, too.:( I also am slightly concerned about the glossy screen on the MB and how light would reflect off of it. I would be buying in June, which should be long enough for Leopard to be out and the two notebook lines to be updated.

Also, how does the MB handle iMovie video editing? Are the MB and MBP around the same in that respect? And can the MB take 3 GB of RAM? Because if it could, I would almost instantly choose the MB.
Click to expand...

I've used finalcut on the MB and it seems to work ok not great by any means but it is useable the macbook was made for imovie the glossy screen is just not usable IMO the color is great when watching a DVD but for serious photo work you need a matte screen no question about it, and it makes working outside extremely difficult and you cant put 3GB of RAM into a MB a MBP yes but not a macbook


Just what i think
 
I would vote macbook if they made bigger ones, the core 2 duo in any speed is still very fast and is more than enough for most professional level applications. The deal breaker is the resolution, 13inch macbook has just a 1280x800 resolution, while the width isnt that bad, 800pixels tall really is just too small for me. A 15" macbook would be perfect, but at 13" I could never live with just 800pixels vertical space since it would totally ruin my work flow.
 
Not to disappoint, but I've been playing with Aperture and Lightroom on a MBP 2.16 2gb RAM 128MB vram.

Aperture is a dog... it's performance sucks badly and it's toolset is nothing compared to Lightroom. Based on heavy use of core image I don't want to even think about how crappy it would be on a MacBook. Use of just basic correction crawls and attempting to use more advanced tools like redeye reduction or blemish correction are even slower with much poorer results compared to Lightroom.

Lightroom is wicked fast, fast enough that I wouldn't think twice about passing 100% of my images through it but it does not integrate into iLife and version 1.0 does not have any library management.

Every time I go back to Aperture ( still in the 30 day trial ) I find new tricks but keep getting burned by the sucky performance of this beast. It's a shame too since I really want to like Aperture for it's integration with the iLife suite. But alas I'm probably just going to export full res jpg's from Lightroom for use in iPhoto.
 
snowmoon said:
Not to disappoint, but I've been playing with Aperture and Lightroom on a MBP 2.16 2gb RAM 128MB vram.

Aperture is a dog... it's performance sucks badly and it's toolset is nothing compared to Lightroom. Based on heavy use of core image I don't want to even think about how crappy it would be on a MacBook. Use of just basic correction crawls and attempting to use more advanced tools like redeye reduction or blemish correction are even slower with much poorer results compared to Lightroom.
Click to expand...

On the 2.33 Macbook Pro with 256 MB of video RAM, Aperture is great. All effects and sliders work smoothly in real-time for me.

Lightroom's not a bad program, but there are a number of limitations I don't like, like how photo editing is restricted to "Develop" mode. And the Aperture loupe just rocks.
 
Well, I went to the Apple Store today and played around with the machines. I looked at the MacBooks, and even though I was loving the BlackBook, I didn't think it would be big and powerful enough to be a desktop replacement. So I go down to the MBPs, and I fell in love with the 15'' MBP. It was big enough to suit my needs, plus it has all the power I will need. Then I got to looking at the iMacs. And I realized- I COULD get a stock 2.0 GHz MacBook + a 17'' iMac with 2 GB of RAM for about $250 more. Would this even be a smart idea? I mean, when I think about it, two computers sounds like overkill, but I've always liked using desktops, but would like a laptop...
 
Fuzzy Orange said:
Well, I went to the Apple Store today and played around with the machines. I looked at the MacBooks, and even though I was loving the BlackBook, I didn't think it would be big and powerful enough to be a desktop replacement. So I go down to the MBPs, and I fell in love with the 15'' MBP. It was big enough to suit my needs, plus it has all the power I will need. Then I got to looking at the iMacs. And I realized- I COULDget a 2.0 GHz MacBook + a 17'' iMac with 2 GB of RAM for about $250 more. Would this even be a smart idea? I mean, when I think about it, two computers sounds like overkill, but I've always liked using desktops, but would like a laptop...
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea to have an iMac (get the 17" with SuperDrive) and a MacBook. This way you get a main machine with a big screen and a faster hard driver, and you have your MacBook for portability. You could even get a base model macbook and upgrade the ram for 2gb for the price of getting the higher end white macbook...so you would save the $250...
 
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