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Macbook Pro, 13" base model enough?

C

chkenwing

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 27, 2010
130
10
So as like many of us here, disappointed at the fact that there was no news on any MBP updates so I'm sat here wondering whether I should just bite the bullet and purchase a current gen MBP (despite the fact that the hardware currently is years old behind the PC counter parts).

Anyway, I was looking into getting a base model 13" MBP but I've been doing a lot of lurking/reading on these forums and it seems many people see that it is not powerful enough?

I have also seen a trend that many people are going for the 2.53ghz as opposed to the 2.26ghz one.

Is the speed difference between the two that much different? Or would it really be unnoticeable if I got the 2.26ghz and bumped the RAM to 4GB? Is it really worth the extra £150-£200 on top? (I'm a Uni student so I get Edu discount)

Bare in mind, my usage of the MBP will be:

General use - internet browsing, some document work, youtubing, videos and music.

Specific use would be - video editing (nothing major, mostly amatuer videos for youtube and the like), music editing, photo-editing (lightroom, photoshop), and probably dual-booting with WinXP/7 for my other needs such as 3DSMax (again, nothing HUGE to render, more of a hobby)
 
You'll be fine with the 2.26. I love it.....

That's what I have (including the 4 GB of RAM), and I use my MBP for pretty much the same stuff as you (I don't use Windows).
 
I have the 2.26 with 2GB of memory. It runs games, and all the software you listed perfectly without any issues. Although, I would recommend 4 GIGs of memory if you plan to use Fusion or Parallel Desktop. Windows 7 64-bit runs smoothly in bootcamp but Fusion and Parallel it lags.
 
It'll be more than enough.

Not often do you see a post saying it's not powerful enough. Mind linking us to some threads? I'd be curious to see what kind of users are saying that.
 
Ahh cheers for the advice guys :).

Can't quite remember which threads they were specifically, I might've got some of my information mixed up but I vaguely remember someone saying something like that it was ridiculous that the MB is similar to the base MBP (obviously MBP has it's advantages over the MB).

It might just be my ego as well, I'm one of those people who want the better out of two options. Haha. But financially as a student, I should just be happy with what I can get.:D
 
What are Apple like with price matching?

Basically, PCWorld offer the 13" base model for £999 which includes the 4GB Ram and 250Gb hard drive.

If I buy through Apple, it would cost £1040. Would they honour a price match? Considering most resellers of Apple price them at the RRP. And would they slap on the Edu discount if they price matched?
 
^^^^ Not sure about Apple's price matching policy, but I'm pretty sure they don't do it.



The MB and the base MBP are very similar. Same specs, except for the HD size. But, with the MBP, you get the aluminum unibody, the SD Card slot, backlit keyboard, and firewire.
 
Ahh ok. Upon closer inspection, I'm seeing model numbers e.g. MB991B, PPZ0GK on PCWorld's website.

Are these in correspondant to the actual revision of the MBPs, as I see people stating these on this forum.
 
chkenwing said:
Ahh ok. Upon closer inspection, I'm seeing model numbers e.g. MB991B, PPZ0GK on PCWorld's website.

Are these in correspondant to the actual revision of the MBPs, as I see people stating these on this forum.
Click to expand...

The MacBook pro also has a better display and gets better battery life since it has a better backlight.
 
kny3twalker said:
The MacBook pro also has a better display and gets better battery life since it has a better backlight.
Click to expand...

:confused:The displays look the same to me:
 

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Surely said:
:confused:The displays look the same to me:
Click to expand...

Not all led backlights are created the same. Neither are all 13.3" LCD panels. There is plenty of evidence to show the MacBook got not only a inferior display but also an inferior backlight in comparison to the pro. I would post some links but I am typing this on my touch and falling asleep.
 
well my bro bought a 2.26 2 weeks ago and put in 4 GB RAM and yesterday we put in a Seagate 500 GB 7200 HDD. I just talked to him and he says everything is working fine. He says the machine is fast. He uses Photoshop CS4, Logic Studio, and iMovie a ton. He said with 2 GB RAM there was a lot of lag but after the upgrades he says no more lag and everything is fast! Pretty impressive.

For me I'd never want a 13...I use Final Cut Studio on mine and never had a problem but I have the 2.8 15".
 
I think the biggest factor for or against the 13" model is the screen size. Personally, I think the 13" is a great machine, much more portable then the 15" and easier working with. That said, if you want to use photoshop, Lightroom and such. You may find the screen a little limiting.
 
The 13" screen won't actually be that limiting to me.

I've been doing a lot of work on my Acer One with a 8.9" screen :D which includes 3DSMax and Photoshop haha. Terrible I know but it still works!
 
If your budget is limited, I think more RAM would make more impact than bump in clock speed (for most users.)

Going from 2 GB to 4 GB drastically increases free RAM for apps (since the OS takes up a good portion of the first 2 GB.)
 
madmaxmedia said:
If your budget is limited, I think more RAM would make more impact than bump in clock speed (for most users.)

Going from 2 GB to 4 GB drastically increases free RAM for apps (since the OS takes up a good portion of the first 2 GB.)
Click to expand...

I actually got the 13" MBP 2GB version, but still had my student ID card from my MBA program and Best Buy sold it to me for $1099 US. Upgraded to 4GB ram and picked up an OCZ 120 GB Summit SSD drive and flashed the firmware on it to the latest. While the 4GB helped, the SSD was by far the best upgrade I think I've invested in for a laptop. Boots in 7-9 seconds and applications open with almost no lag. Photoshop Elements loads fast, Firefox loads fast. Sleep works great. Battery life even slightly improved, it doesn't heat up as much as it did with the 160GB mechanical drive. Bootcamp with Win7 works great as well.

I know you said budget might be of concern, but I'm much happier I spent the 100 + 300 for the 4GB and SSD vs the additional 300+ for the 2.53 13".
 
kny3twalker said:
Not all led backlights are created the same. Neither are all 13.3" LCD panels. There is plenty of evidence to show the MacBook got not only a inferior display but also an inferior backlight in comparison to the pro. I would post some links but I am typing this on my touch and falling asleep.
Click to expand...

I looked into this before I bought my MBP. I looked at several Unibody white MacBooks as well as 13"MBPs in stores (late 2009). All the MBs and MBPs I looked at used the same 9C9E panel.

I would agree that the old non-unibody white MBs had inferior panels, as did the original 13" unibody metal MBs (later renamed MBP).

But from what I have seen at least some of the new white unibody MBs have exactly the same panel as the current 13" MBPs. Therefore the performance should be the same. Visually the MB panel looked extremely good (black levels, colours).
 
I've got the base 13" and a proper screen to work on. It's plenty fast enough and you would only really get the processor speed increase on activities that require constant 100% cpu usage such as video editing, after effects, video conversion and watching a small flash video ;-)

Get the base and upgrade the hd and ram!
 
Hey there. I think for your needs, the baseline model MBP seems great. Like you, when I heard that no new MacBooks were being released at the iPad event, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase an MBP. I had a BIT more money to play with (not really - I just allowed the educational discount to fool me into thinking I was saving money), so I went for the 2.53. If you can push your funds a bit further, you might want to go 2.53 GHz just so when the NEW MBPs come out (no doubt soon-ish), then you won't feel like you got AS left in the dust. 4 GB of RAM is a must, obviously, but in some ways I don't even think that is enough. Oh well. I'm looking forward to Saturday as that's when I crack open the box! Best of luck to you. Keep the thread updated if you end up making the purchase. =)
 
I've been using the base model stock with the 2GB of ram and 160GB HDD for the past few months doing the same things you would be using it for. It's my school machine.

It works flawlessly and only lags a little in iMovie...

Hard drive space feels REALLY limited though and a bigger hard drive is a must.

Like others said 4GB of ram and a larger hard drive and you're set.
 
for me a 13 would not cut it. also i need the 2.8ghz for hardcore vid editing. but for my bro who does amateur vid editing and a lot of photoshop cs4 and Logic Studio music stuff his little 2.26 cooks. Quite honestly I am surprised.

He originally wanted to get an OWC SSD 80GB but for what he does I told him to go for a 500 GB internal at 7200rpm and at least 1 TB external. So he did. He got a G-Drive 1 TB which will serve him well.

I pulled my stock 500GB 7200 out and put it into an enclosure. Replaced it with a SSD 160GB, but I have a ton of external storage so this doesn't bother me having only 160GB internal. But I will say SSD should be the way to go but not yet.

Anyway with two simple upgrades (HDD and RAM) the 2.26 can compete with the big boys it seems!
 
I got the 13" 2.26ghz and use it for similar purposes.

Quite honestly its perfect, I'm even more happy with it now that I've seen the iPad:D. I got mine on EDU discount last summer and had more than enough money to get the 2.53ghz but my logitical thinking over ruled my ego. When I did the math its just didnt make sense. IMO most people got it for bragging rights.

I will however upgrade the ram and HDD at some point.
 
How is it actually running HD movies off the 'tube?

I'm probably most likely going to wait until next week before I decide (just to see whether the whole pattern of a February release is true).

If there is a new release, probably wait till end of the month (Get my big fat bursary from Uni which will go towards it :D )

If not, then it's Hello Nice to meet you MBP.
 
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