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Shai-Nadir

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2005
25
0
I recently sold my powerbook so I could finance my MBP. The PB was the last g4 revision with the higher resolution. I picked up a 1.83ghz MPB from the Apple Store yesterday and here are some initial impressions compared to the PB. Please note that I am not a professional user so no benchmarks were run.

Speed: The MBP feels all around snappier than the PB. It boots fast and opens applications very quickly

Heat: The heat on the MBP is slightly warmer than that of the PB, when surfing the web, I can use the MBP comfortably on my lap but when watching a DVD, it can be a little uncomfortable. Also, the palmrest on the MPB is noticeably warmer than the PB.

Screen Brightness: On the PB, I would have the brightness set to the highest level at all times. On the MPB, the brightness at the midpoint level is equal to the brightness of the PB at the max level.

Battery: On the PB, at full charge, I would get a little over 3 hours of use. On the MBP, without calibration, I got about 3 1/2 hours with a full charge.

Noise: My PB was absolutely silent at all times. The MBP, is very silent as well. My MBP has the high pitch whine that seems to be prevalent on these models but mine is barely noticeable. I have a lot of ambient noise in my house, so I cant really hear the whine unless my ear is right next to the MBP.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. I was a little wary about getting the MBP because so many people were complaining about the heat and the noise, but those are non issues on my MBP.
 

Deepdale

macrumors 68000
May 4, 2005
1,965
0
New York
Even though you acknowledge not being a demanding user, it is always nice to see a brief review posted that indicates there was no buyer's remorse. Best of luck during your period of MBP ownership.
 

blckout20

macrumors member
Mar 2, 2006
54
1
CT
I'm glad to here that you are enjoying your MBP too. Mine also is coming Wednesday and I'm extremely excited. I haven't had a new computer in soooo long and this is going to be my first pro computer.
 

kirk.davis

macrumors newbie
Mar 25, 2006
27
0
Well I picked up my MBP on Saturday from the Apple store at the Bullring in Birmingham, UK.

I absolutely love it! Even took it to work today, just to admire it once in a while :) I have to use a Dell laptop at work and it's like using a toy after the MBP :(

I've just been introduced to Clutter and Virtue by a friend as well; these Mac's never fail to amaze me :D :D
 

jamesi

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2005
595
2
Davis CA
dont buy a powerbook, the macbookpro is there to "replace" it so dont buy the inferior machine. once UBs are out, the macbook pro will finally be unleashed. its already faster for normal tasks than the pb. use common sense and stay away from anything powerpc right now
 

kbonnel

macrumors 6502
Mar 1, 2004
471
2
In a nice place..
After seeing the MBP's performance, even with rosetta, I think it is a super machine. If I didn't have my PB 1.5GHZ I would get one :). I notice that I have hit the limits of my PB, but that is because I am using it as my main machine (I travel a lot). When I start using Photoshop, and playing a video podcast, and surfing the web, I can notice it really working hard. I can live with though, and plan on getting a G5 or replacement once I am done traveling. Then my poor old PB can go back to doing what I got it for, writing papers :)

Kimo
 

gauchogolfer

macrumors 603
Jan 28, 2005
5,551
5
American Riviera
jamesi said:
dont buy a powerbook, the macbookpro is there to "replace" it so dont buy the inferior machine. once UBs are out, the macbook pro will finally be unleashed. its already faster for normal tasks than the pb. use common sense and stay away from anything powerpc right now

I don't think the point of the post was which one to buy. He was just giving impressions of MBP vs Powerbook, since he's lucky enough to have both. It is indeed nice to hear good things from satisfied users, instead of only hearing from people with bad experiences.
 

jer2eydevil88

macrumors 6502
Feb 6, 2004
254
2
USA
Its good to see some people are happy with buying now, personally I think its worth the wait for a 64-bit model hopefully launched alongside Leopard (because we all know revision a hardware and software work so well).

:-D
 

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,815
1,819
Bristol, UK
I am in almost the same position as Shai-Nadir, I have upgraded from a 1.5Ghz G4 Powerbook to a 2.0 GHz Macbook Pro. I can confirm just about everything he says

Screen is fantastic and everyone who sees it comments on the screen. I do have the high pitch sound, but it is not very noticeable, and I can only hear it when there is no ambient noise about.

I use the Notebook at work on a windows network and Office running under rosetta is about as quick as the G4 Powerbook. Universal apps are noticeably quicker than G4 versions. One surprise that I was not expecting was how much quicker safari renders web-pages, it is quicker than my PowerMac G5 2.7 Dual.

Also for those WOW fanatics, my frame-rate running around a busy Ironforge is normally 35 FPS :)
 

eXan

macrumors 601
Jan 10, 2005
4,731
63
Russia
I dont really understand if you're not a power user and you have the latest PowerBook, why get MBP? Sounds like a waste of money to me... :rolleyes:
 

m-dogg

macrumors 65816
Mar 15, 2004
1,338
4
Connecticut
jamesi said:
dont buy a powerbook, the macbookpro is there to "replace" it so dont buy the inferior machine. once UBs are out, the macbook pro will finally be unleashed. its already faster for normal tasks than the pb. use common sense and stay away from anything powerpc right now

:confused: :confused: :confused: Next time, maybe you should read the thread (or even just the first post) before commenting.

eXan said:
I dont really understand if you're not a power user and you have the latest PowerBook, why get MBP? Sounds like a waste of money to me... :rolleyes:

Some people just gotta have the latest & greatest all the time. If they can afford it, more power to 'em I guess...
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
hey shai,

sounds like the mbp will serve you well for a long time

if you are not a cutting edge user, then you won't feel left behind next year or the year after that

but there are those users who have to have the bleeding edge every year and the mbp will only suffice for them until the next mbp revision and users like that are used to getting a new machine every 12 months
 

the Helix

macrumors regular
Sep 16, 2003
189
7
whoah!

jamesi said:
dont buy a powerbook, the macbookpro is there to "replace" it so dont buy the inferior machine. once UBs are out, the macbook pro will finally be unleashed. its already faster for normal tasks than the pb. use common sense and stay away from anything powerpc right now

Dude,

Lighten-up. What's with all this against the PPC? No matter what the speed of the Intel machine, there are just some things which cannot yet be done on them and some people need to do them now.
 

macpastor

macrumors regular
Mar 22, 2006
196
0
Ditto

Shai-Nadir said:
I recently sold my powerbook so I could finance my MBP. The PB was the last g4 revision with the higher resolution. I picked up a 1.83ghz MPB from the Apple Store yesterday and here are some initial impressions compared to the PB. Please note that I am not a professional user so no benchmarks were run.

Speed: The MBP feels all around snappier than the PB. It boots fast and opens applications very quickly

Heat: The heat on the MBP is slightly warmer than that of the PB, when surfing the web, I can use the MBP comfortably on my lap but when watching a DVD, it can be a little uncomfortable. Also, the palmrest on the MPB is noticeably warmer than the PB.

Screen Brightness: On the PB, I would have the brightness set to the highest level at all times. On the MPB, the brightness at the midpoint level is equal to the brightness of the PB at the max level.

Battery: On the PB, at full charge, I would get a little over 3 hours of use. On the MBP, without calibration, I got about 3 1/2 hours with a full charge.

Noise: My PB was absolutely silent at all times. The MBP, is very silent as well. My MBP has the high pitch whine that seems to be prevalent on these models but mine is barely noticeable. I have a lot of ambient noise in my house, so I cant really hear the whine unless my ear is right next to the MBP.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. I was a little wary about getting the MBP because so many people were complaining about the heat and the noise, but those are non issues on my MBP.

I would ditto what you said. I had the latest PB also, and sold it to go to the MacBook. I went to the top and have not regretted it yet.
 

Codemonkey

macrumors 6502
Apr 22, 2002
280
0
Edmonton
I heart my MBP

So.... for what it's worth, I'm absolutely in love with my MBP... I got my 1.83GHz stock configuration about a week ago... and it's been a real joy to work with. I am a Web Developer and Digital Media Designer by trade, and this laptop does it all and more. Here are my highlights:

- Yes, I do hear a whine. As someone who has no frame of reference, I didn't even think this was an issue until I took a peek at the Apple forums. My take: Most people should just suck it up and move on... be happy it's the most advanced, fastest laptop around. And, I believe it's fixable with a software or firmware upgrade. So seriously, quit whining.

- The scrolling, widescreen trackpad is marvelous. Still need a mouse tho. :)

- The sound quality is superb, and I like seeing 2-6% of my processor being used for iTunes... my old G3 iMac was 30-70% depending on the encoding.

- Airport sometimes drops connection, but I can't tell if it's the AE base station or the MBP. It's not a big deal yet, and might be as simple as another wireless network in the area on the same channel.

- Apps are sickningly fast - even under rosetta... the only noticable difference is the load times are a bit longer

- Some apps/drivers still need to be ported to the Intel processor, because they simply don't work. I have an MS mouse who's driver is completely broken. Also, I have a Widget called iStatPro that doesn't monitor CPU temps or fans, prolly due to the architecture change.

Did I mention it's fast fast fast? :p It's a reall winner for me.
 

sam10685

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2006
1,763
1
Portland, OR
i have a 12'' PB G4 and i absolutely love it! although it's gettinga bit slugish and the built in iSight and the Front row software would REALLY come in handy. i think when a 12" MBP is released, i'll sell the powerbook and get a macbook pro.
 

Shai-Nadir

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2005
25
0
eXan said:
I dont really understand if you're not a power user and you have the latest PowerBook, why get MBP? Sounds like a waste of money to me... :rolleyes:


If you can afford it, why not. Why get the Ipod in your signature when you can spend half as much and get something generic. :)
 

eXan

macrumors 601
Jan 10, 2005
4,731
63
Russia
Shai-Nadir said:
If you can afford it, why not. Why get the Ipod in your signature when you can spend half as much and get something generic. :)

iPod is a bad example, but who I am to judge you? Enjoy your Power... err... MacBook Pro :) ;)
 

eXan

macrumors 601
Jan 10, 2005
4,731
63
Russia
wickedG35 said:
We will... with our dual core intel processors, brighter display, thinner form, and built in iSight! :D

The best feature (for me) MBP has is the graphics card. Dual Core is also nice :D
 

raremage

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2005
548
0
Orlando, Florida
"- The scrolling, widescreen trackpad is marvelous. Still need a mouse tho. :)"

Funny, this is about my only real complaint on my MBP. The trackpad is less reliable than my PB15. Now I could be "using it wrong" but my take is it should pretty much just work.

It's an interexting concept, but I don't think it works as well for whatever reason - many's a time that I find myself being forced to reposition my hand to get a response.

Other than that it rocks, of course, but thought I would point it out.
 
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