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No, processors don't melt and that's where all the heat comes from, so the heat issue is not an issue. The only internals you need to worry about are on your lap (for guys). You don't want all that heat blowing on your you know what. The macbook blows the heat upward so you don't feel hot there.

Macbook pro will last longer
(Aluminum=conductor- transfers heat+ keeps heat away from the internals
polycarbonate= insulator- doesn't transfer heat well so while it may feel cooler, it is worse on the internals for the long run)

polycarbonate discolors

Better resale value
sexy
etc etc
 
same old question.
but I decided to put a little spice in it!

Mac Book Pro: ($1497.00)

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

How do you figure almost $1500? They are listed at $1199 retail. I would go with the Pro. The firewire port, unibody design, and SD card slot make it completely worthwhile. Buy a nice case and enjoy it. Although the insides are exactly the same as the Macbook...
 
How do you figure almost $1500? They are listed at $1199 retail. I would go with the Pro. The firewire port, unibody design, and SD card slot make it completely worthwhile. Buy a nice case and enjoy it. Although the insides are exactly the same as the Macbook...

oh, uhm. i had the applecare and office, so that adds up to 1500s.
I see. i guess now im between a macbook pro or a macbook air if they decide to upgrade the air
 
Having owned both the 13" Macbook and the 13" MBP, the pro is better, albeit only slightly and the most significant thing about that is based on looks.

The white plastic Macbook looks like the other plastic PC's. Plastic just seems like the 1980's. While titanium, aluminum and carbon fiber give laptop computers the cool factor. My Macbooks also cracked around the plastic edges and scratched so easily. The aluminum shell of the MBP is 10x better. Macbook batteries have also had issues with batteries expanding causing internal damage to the trackpad. (Hopefully, that has been fixes with the 2010 model).

As for heat, well, the Macbooks I owned felt hotter on the bottom compared to the Pro. Of course if you are maxing out the processor for an extended period of time, it won't make any difference if you have a Macbook or Pro. They will get hot. Aluminum just transfers the heat over a larger area, whereas the polycarbonate will localize the heat.

The backlit keyboard and SD card readers are big pluses for the pro. Can't tell you how much I love the backlit keyboard, especially at night!

The MBP comes with 4GB of RAM expandable to 8GB, whereas the Macbook comes with 2GB and is expandable to 4GB. Harddrives should never be a plus when comparing Macs. Never, ever buy a larger drive from Apple. You can get them cheaper and better from Monoprice or Newegg and install yourself. Installing a harddrive is easier than changing oil on a car. And you can get a 500GB 7200rpm drive for around $50-$70.

For resale, you'll get more money out of the Pro. Just look at ebay listings.
 
You can get them cheaper and better from Monoprice or Newegg and install yourself. Installing a harddrive is easier than changing oil on a car. And you can get a 500GB 7200rpm drive for around $50-$70.

I have asked around and can't get a consistent response: is there a recommended brand of HDD? I want to replace the 250 GB 5400 RPM in my MBP with a 500GB 7200RPM drive, but they seem to be hard to find. I have only looked at Best Buy, and have browsed OWC, but am unsure which brand is recommended. My iMac came with WD, but I think my MBP came with a Hitachi? I will check out NEWEGG, never heard of it until the other day.
 
I have asked around and can't get a consistent response: is there a recommended brand of HDD? I want to replace the 250 GB 5400 RPM in my MBP with a 500GB 7200RPM drive, but they seem to be hard to find. I have only looked at Best Buy, and have browsed OWC, but am unsure which brand is recommended. My iMac came with WD, but I think my MBP came with a Hitachi? I will check out NEWEGG, never heard of it until the other day.

IMO the best 7200rpm drive on the market is the 7200rpm WD Scorpio Black in either the 320GB or 500GB capacity. Go to either monoprice or newegg to purchase. Here's one link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Description=wd+7200rpm+scorpio+black&x=0&y=0

And this 320GB version has over 1000 reviews and a perfect 5 egg rating (I own this one as well and it's awesome): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._7200rpm_scorpio_black-_-22-136-280-_-Product
 
to the harddrive guy, I myself got a seagate momentus 7200.4 looking at some websites it is ridiculously fast, but does use a bit of power. I'm getting a backup drive, likely the western digital above, it uses less power than the seagate, but is a tad slower.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned is the the MBP is fully 64 bit cabable both kernel and EFI
the MB are purposely crippled to only support a 64 bit EFI and can only run a 64 bit kernel with a fair amount of hacking.
It doesn't make a huge difference as they both run 32 or 64 bit software fine, the only difference is the kernel a 32bit can not support 64 bit kexts while a 64 cant use 32 bit *shrugs* not a huge difference, but something worth noting I think.

the backlit keyboard is great, I type without looking too, but sometimes at night, if you don't have your hands resting on the home keys 100% of the time it's nice to have the lit keyboard just to place your fingers, then type away, plus it just looks awesome. It is true the screen CAN light the keyboard but at night i tend to lower my screen brightness, and then you can't see the keyboard so just turn on the backlight, brilliant! I've even just turned off the screen and turned on the keyboard backlight to type!, it's useful for class sometimes if theres a powerpoint and the room is dark, you can turn off your screen and not disrupt other, and see the keyboard perfectly fine (typing without a screen is a completely different story though haha)

the other difference is the SD and firewire
like someone else said the expandability to 8gb of ram(really only useful if running vms they will run fast but your comp still gets pretty hot)

I have an alum MB and i love it, the backlit keyboard, aluminum, glass screen. I really think the keyboard alone is worth the 50 bucks, even if you THINK you won't use it, you'd be surprised how useful it is.
 
in my opinion..

i would choose the white plastic..

reasons being.

i have a aluminum macbook..and treat it with such care...

i.e wipe it when i feel i need to and try not to scratch the surface..so in its defence its a ell looked after machine..

the reasons i would buy the white is that even though you get scratches on it..its not noticeable as it would be on the aluminum..and in that case..when the light is reflecting on the scratches on the plastic it doesnt break your heart as it would with the aluminum

i love my machine..and will try to keep it for many years to come as this is my first mac since the ibook

i started with the ibook 1st in order to fimiliarise myself with the mac os, as i had been a window user for years..

but once i had that ibook.i realised i didnt lose any money on it at all..and in fact made a few quid..in which i sourced out a 2nd hand aluminum macbook 2ghz no backlit keyboard..but is fully loaded with ram..and was only 4 months old..but i thought the price was too good to pass by so i paid about 580 ukp at which then was a real snip.

but the only downfall is that it had no install cd's..

but as i am mumbling now..all i have to say in defence for your future purchase is that if you buy the pro.your forever wondering about its care..

but with the plastic ..i would not take so much care on it..as its casing is much more easier to replace...

in terms of performance ...


i would look at what you need it for ..and if it justifies your purchase..

just one last thing..if you choose the latest model you will always be chasing the top end macs..so for me i would be content on my mac performing the tasks i need it to..

good luck
 
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