MB enough? Or do I need MBP?

[lacereza]

I'll be retiring this iBook G4 in a couple of months, but I'm not sure what to replace it with. I'll be running Dragon NatuallySpeaking Preferred on it through XP almost all the time (using VMware Fusion so I can use both OSes at the same time). Not planning to do anything particularly heavy with it, just Microsoft suite, Photoshop, and lots of browsing and video watching. No games or anything. I do like to have a lot of programs open at once though -- not unusual to have Firefox, Word, PDF reader, iTunes, iPhoto, Skype, iChat and iCal all going at the same time.

I was planning to go for the Macbook (lighter, cheaper) but my father reckons that since I'll be using the voice recognition most of the time I should get a MBP instead, because the higher specs would mean it'll work better for longer. When I tried to use MacSpeech on this G4 a couple of years ago it wouldn't work at all, there wasn't enough grunt to handle it. Do you think he's right? Or would it be better to use the $900 price difference to buy a big monitor, mouse and keyboard to connect a Macbook to when I'm at home? I would expect to be using it for the next three years or so.

 

[xxjuicymintxx]

I'll always recommend the Macbook Pro to people who seem to be in your situation.
It's got a dedicated video card, which is great, the screen size is always a bonus, and overall it's capable of doing so much more.

 

[-Josh-]

Well, I put in 4 GB of ram in my Macbook (2.2 GHZ, newer ones are 2.4) and I have never, ever had any slow downs at all. I love my Macbooks design, case, keyboard, size. It's so comfortable to me.
So I recommend the Macbook, of course, load the sucker with maxed out ram for opening all of those programs at once. Also, it doesn't seem like you're using anything that needs a uber graphics card. Save the money!

Also, I know you don't play games, but I thought I'd mention it. I played WoW for about a month (I didn't get to into it) and that game ran amazingly smooth. Looked good too, in comparison with my friends Windows laptops. I could exit the game entirely, and then re load the game, log in, and still make it back to the game before they can load up the game once.

Macbooks rock.


Josh

 

[ecoj]

I'll be retiring this iBook G4 in a couple of months, but I'm not sure what to replace it with. I'll be running Dragon NatuallySpeaking Preferred on it through XP almost all the time (using VMware Fusion so I can use both OSes at the same time). Not planning to do anything particularly heavy with it, just Microsoft suite, Photoshop, and lots of browsing and video watching. No games or anything. I do like to have a lot of programs open at once though -- not unusual to have Firefox, Word, PDF reader, iTunes, iPhoto, Skype, iChat and iCal all going at the same time.

I was planning to go for the Macbook (lighter, cheaper) but my father reckons that since I'll be using the voice recognition most of the time I should get a MBP instead, because the higher specs would mean it'll work better for longer. When I tried to use MacSpeech on this G4 a couple of years ago it wouldn't work at all, there wasn't enough grunt to handle it. Do you think he's right? Or would it be better to use the $900 price difference to buy a big monitor, mouse and keyboard to connect a Macbook to when I'm at home? I would expect to be using it for the next three years or so.

your best option would be go for the MB black, it's the same as MBP but lighter, cheaper and cooler

I'll always recommend the Macbook Pro to people who seem to be in your situation.
It's got a dedicated video card, which is great, the screen size is always a bonus, and overall it's capable of doing so much more.

yeah but the MacBook BLACK is the same as a MacBookPro, so why get a more expencive, havier one?!

 

[dukebound85]

yeah but the MacBook BLACK is the same as a MacBookPro, so why get a more expencive, havier one?!

huh?? they are not the same


anyways to the op, a mb would be fine for your needs as none needs a dedicated video card

what id reccomend is to get a mb and with the savings from the mbp (anywhere from 500-1000 bucks'ish), maybe pick up an external monitor to increase screen real estate

good combo in my opinion

if you game, just get an xbox as really, the mbp isnt the best gaming machine even with its video card lol or if you are serious in pc gaming, you shouldnt b looking at laptps in the first place (id reccomend building your own rig for pc gaming)

 

[QCassidy352]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I'll always recommend the Macbook Pro to people who seem to be in your situation.
It's got a dedicated video card, which is great, the screen size is always a bonus, and overall it's capable of doing so much more.

Such as? Other than games/3d graphics, what exactly is it apable of doing that the MacBook is not?

 

[ki2594]

we'll to run those apps its not a must to max out but it'd be a good idea...im pretty much in the same situation with my macbook which is in desktop mode right now and i just have the factory 2gb ram and everything works to perfection

 

[Victor ch]

(...)what id reccomend is to get a mb and with the savings from the mbp (anywhere from 500-1000 bucks'ish), maybe pick up an external monitor to increase screen real estate

good combo in my opinion(...)

True, you can pick a 22" for like 400bucks or near and you'll love that combo (I have mine that way)

As for the first question I'll say a maxed out MB will be more than enough, mine has 1GB of RAM and runs many things "smoothly" but if you add 4GB (non  OFC) you'll be good to go.

Victor

 

[BlizzardBomb]

MacBook would be fine and 2 GBs of RAM would handle all of those applications at the same time nicely. It will do everything almost as well as the MBP. The only big thing you'll be missing out on is resolution.

 

[ki2594]

actually u could prolly find a cheaper display. I use mine in desktop mode mann its awesome.

 

[Ryuukumori]

Well, I put in 4 GB of ram in my Macbook (2.2 GHZ, newer ones are 2.4) and I have never, ever had any slow downs at all. I love my Macbooks design, case, keyboard, size. It's so comfortable to me.
So I recommend the Macbook, of course, load the sucker with maxed out ram for opening all of those programs at once. Also, it doesn't seem like you're using anything that needs a uber graphics card. Save the money!

Also, I know you don't play games, but I thought I'd mention it. I played WoW for about a month (I didn't get to into it) and that game ran amazingly smooth. Looked good too, in comparison with my friends Windows laptops. I could exit the game entirely, and then re load the game, log in, and still make it back to the game before they can load up the game once.

Macbooks rock.


Josh

Finally! Some proof that WoW can run smooth on a MB.

What are the specs in your MB?

 

[-Josh-]

Finally! Some proof that WoW can run smooth on a MB.

What are the specs in your MB?

The game ran great. I don't think it could run any faster, IMO. I mean, it takes literally seconds. If I still had an account I'd make a video of it.

I have a blackbook. 2.2 Ghz ntel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM.
I just bought a plain Macbook, ordered 4 gigs of am for like $120 or something around there..I forget exactly how much.

 

[lacereza]

Thanks for all your replies. There is NO chance of me using the machine for gaming, but hopefully that info'll help someone else who's browsing!

Now I'm leaning towards a Macbook, either the high specs white one or a Blackbook. The only thing that is keeping me from the Blackbook is having people think I'm only getting it for the colour!

 

[mavherzog]

I passed along a 15.4" MBP (2.4Ghz C2D, 4GB ram, 250GB hdd) to my wife and replaced it with a blackbook. Upgraded it to 4GB ram and a 320GB hdd. I'm not missing that MBP at ALL. I like the design, keyboard, and portability of the MB much more.

I had a 1st gen CD Macbook and absolutely loved it. When I returned home from Iraq last fall, I decided to treat myself...I figured I'd learn to love the MBP...but I never did. I always wanted another Macbook.

 

[ecoj]

Finally! Some proof that WoW can run smooth on a MB.

What are the specs in your MB?

I just got a brand new MacBook BLACK and I am having problems in WoW, with the image sometimes.... weird stuff happens, like it's the video card or something... do u get that?

 

[ecoj]

huh?? they are not the same


anyways to the op, a mb would be fine for your needs as none needs a dedicated video card

what id reccomend is to get a mb and with the savings from the mbp (anywhere from 500-1000 bucks'ish), maybe pick up an external monitor to increase screen real estate

good combo in my opinion

if you game, just get an xbox as really, the mbp isnt the best gaming machine even with its video card lol or if you are serious in pc gaming, you shouldnt b looking at laptps in the first place (id reccomend building your own rig for pc gaming)

OK THEN, TELL ME WHAT IS NOT THE SAME?!??!?! FOR EXCEPTION OF THE SCREEN SIZE AND THE VIDEO CARD, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY THE SAME, ONLY THE MACBOOK HAS A BIGGER HARD DRIVE!!!

 

[lacereza]

OK THEN, TELL ME WHAT IS NOT THE SAME?!??!?! FOR EXCEPTION OF THE SCREEN SIZE AND THE VIDEO CARD, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY THE SAME, ONLY THE MACBOOK HAS A BIGGER HARD DRIVE!!!

Please don't shout in my thread

Screen size is a pretty big difference, the finish isn't a small one, and the video card also makes a big difference to many people. They're two different computers! Why would Apple be marketing them both if they were exactly the same?

 

[hmai18]

OK THEN, TELL ME WHAT IS NOT THE SAME?!??!?! FOR EXCEPTION OF THE SCREEN SIZE AND THE VIDEO CARD, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY THE SAME, ONLY THE MACBOOK HAS A BIGGER HARD DRIVE!!!

Uh, how about ExpressCard, FW800, backlit keyboard, and the Multitouch trackpad? They may be trivial differences to some depending on intended use, but the Blackbook and the MBP are NOT exactly the same.