MB or MBP

[sam12345-2008]

Right so I'm looking to buy a MacBook but the dilemma is...
Do I go for a MB and upgrade the RAM to 4gb?
Or do I go for the entry level MBP, which will be more expensive for what will essentially be the same specs as the MB?
The other thing is, we are due an update of the current lines so do I wait until these come out or will they be unnoticeable?

I havent really thought about the MBA but I suppose it's an option, I have a 21' iMac so having no optical drive isn't a problem and I mainly use external hard drives for storage of photos and documents anyway so this isn't a problem either. I can also upgrade the RAM on the 11' 64gb model for the same price as the MB but the 11' screen and slower processor is what puts me off.

So which would you go for and why?

 

[orfeas0]

macbook VS macbook pro
macbook has a better wifi signal and is cheaper
macbook pro has a firewire port and a backlit keyboard
macbook air-it's thinner.
the macbook air performs really well thanks to the SSD drive, but you can put an SSD in the macbook/macbook pro too, and have even better performance. the only reason you should buy macbook air is if you want that small of a screen, but its price is really high considering you get a small processor and storage.

 

[sam12345-2008]

macbook VS macbook pro
macbook has a better wifi signal and is cheaper
macbook pro has a firewire port and a backlit keyboard
macbook air-it's thinner.
the macbook air performs really well thanks to the SSD drive, but you can put an SSD in the macbook/macbook pro too, and have even better performance. the only reason you should buy macbook air is if you want that small of a screen, but its price is really high considering you get a small processor and storage.

Thanks for the info.
It looks like its going to be the MB with extra RAM, I can't see myself ever using the FireWire port, and I can't see the backlit keyboard being worth £70 to me.

Would you recommend waiting for the product updates though?

 

[iPhoneCollector]

They just updated the macbook a couple of months ago so there is no need to wait

 

[iRado]

I think that the mbp is better . You will have more "power" and productivity with it.

 

[sam12345-2008]

They just updated the macbook a couple of months ago so there is no need to wait

So is it only the pro range due an update or was that done then aswell?

 

[sam12345-2008]

I think that the mbp is better . You will have more "power" and productivity with it.

Thing is I'm only looking at the 13' 2.4Ghz MBP so spec wise they would be identical with the RAM upgrade, right?

 

[iPhoneCollector]

So is it only the pro range due an update or was that done then aswell?

Only the white macbook. But i think the mbp looks cooler but wont be that much better. The white mc does the job just fine.

 

[altecXP]

Thing is I'm only looking at the 13' 2.4Ghz MBP so spec wise they would be identical with the RAM upgrade, right?

Yup.

 

[Peterpot]

Same Situation

I was in the same situation as you about a week ago! Here is what I did...

I needed a laptop for traveling, and also to use for music editing and for live shows. I needed one for end of April at the latest. I figured the pro was the best route, and they look really good too. Since they were updating the pro's in the next few months, it didn't make sense to buy a new one now.

I went on kijiji and was looking for a used macbook pro from the last couple of years with a 13" screen so that I could determine if the pro was what I'd need, and if the 13" would work well for me. Mac's retain their value so well I could probably sell a used mac for the same price or even with a $50-$100 loss max by the time the new pro's come out.

A brand new macbook in box and everything popped up for only $850. I snagged it up, figuring I could sell it in a couple months for around the same price as I'm picking it up for. I've had it for about 4 days now and I absolutely love it. I may even end up keeping it, depending on what the new pro's are like when they are announced. I definitely, 100% would not get a current gen macbook pro over the white macbook. Here are a few reasons why:

- Massive price savings (I bought 4 gigs of ram for $40, so the price difference for me was around $420 for identical specs)
- The backlit keyboard of the pro looks nice, but for my use would be more of a novelty. You can see the white keys perfectly well in the dark just from the light from the monitor. I've also read of pro owners who have turned the backlight setting off since it drains the battery a little bit
- Current gen macpro's have been having issues with the aluminum edge at the front wearing and becoming abbraisive to the skin (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/925608/)
- The white macbook looks really nice in person and the screen doesn't appear as glossy so you could take it outside (I haven't been able to confirm since it's winter)

If anything I'd get the 13" air instead since weighs less, but I'm really happy with my macbook. Especially for the price. I <3 my mac

 

[Yebubbleman]

Right so I'm looking to buy a MacBook but the dilemma is...
Do I go for a MB and upgrade the RAM to 4gb?
Or do I go for the entry level MBP, which will be more expensive for what will essentially be the same specs as the MB?
The other thing is, we are due an update of the current lines so do I wait until these come out or will they be unnoticeable?

I havent really thought about the MBA but I suppose it's an option, I have a 21' iMac so having no optical drive isn't a problem and I mainly use external hard drives for storage of photos and documents anyway so this isn't a problem either. I can also upgrade the RAM on the 11' 64gb model for the same price as the MB but the 11' screen and slower processor is what puts me off.

So which would you go for and why?

If, as you state in what I've quoted right below this, you won't be using the FireWire port, or backlit keyboard, then I'd say it makes more sense to go with the White MacBook with 4GB of RAM as it, essentially, IS the same computer under the hood as the lower-end 13" MacBook Pro, and why pay more for features you won't use?

Thanks for the info.
It looks like its going to be the MB with extra RAM, I can't see myself ever using the FireWire port, and I can't see the backlit keyboard being worth £70 to me.

Would you recommend waiting for the product updates though?

If you are in a hurry, get it now. If you can wait, do so. For the White MacBook, it's looking like it'll be sometime in the next couple of months. If you can wait the few months thereafter for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to come preinstalled, that might also be worth it.

Alternatively, the current generation/model White MacBook sometimes makes appearances on Apple's "Refurbished Mac" section of their online store for $850; you can buy a 4GB RAM upgrade kit from Crucial and still be under $950; just a thought...

They just updated the macbook a couple of months ago so there is no need to wait

May 2010 isn't a couple months ago. Get with the times, man!

I think that the mbp is better . You will have more "power" and productivity with it.

If he's comparing the low-end 13" MacBook Pro to the white MacBook, then you are wrong; the two machines are practically identical under the hood.

So is it only the pro range due an update or was that done then aswell?

His information is incorrect, the MacBook Pro line was last refreshed in April 2010 and the White MacBook was refreshed in May 2010. They're both due for a refresh in the next couple of months.

Only the white macbook. But i think the mbp looks cooler but wont be that much better. The white mc does the job just fine.

Again, your dates are wrong.

Yup.

+1

 

[sam12345-2008]

Tbh I think that steals it then.
I prefer the look of the MB over the MBP anyway so I might as well save a bit of money and go for that. I'm also probably going to buy the lion update discs for my iMac anyway so waiting for that won't really make much difference for me.

Is it true the MB can only support 4gb RAM or is that just apples guideline?

Sorry for so many questions guys.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Tbh I think that steals it then.
I prefer the look of the MB over the MBP anyway so I might as well save a bit of money and go for that. I'm also probably going to buy the lion update discs for my iMac anyway so waiting for that won't really make much difference for me.

Is it true the MB can only support 4gb RAM or is that just apples guideline?

Sorry for so many questions guys.

Apple only supports 4GB of RAM in that machine, but it has been known to both take and recognize 8GB just fine.

 

[rienrah]

- Current gen macpro's have been having issues with the aluminum edge at the front wearing and becoming abbraisive to the skin (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/925608/)

Thanks, I hadn't heard that one. But I did hear that the white unibody is prone to hairline cracks at the hinge and palmrests. I was planning to get a 13" pro because of that, but it sounds like there are issues with both. So, I guess I need an air?

 

[Bobbytoad]

If you're buying from the UK apple store, remember you can get £3-4% cash back by using quidco http://www.quidco.com/user/123570/32231/apple-store
Doesn't sound much but I got over £50 back on my iMac purchase!

 

[Peterpot]

Thanks, I hadn't heard that one. But I did hear that the white unibody is prone to hairline cracks at the hinge and palmrests. I was planning to get a 13" pro because of that, but it sounds like there are issues with both. So, I guess I need an air?

I've heard of the crack issue with previous gen macbooks, my friend's has even had that issue. Apparently the new unibody macbooks are designed to prevent that from happening, although I haven't read anything to confirm or deny that from people's experiance. The new polycarbinate unibody's haven't really been out long enough for people to see if there's cracking I guess.

My white iPhone 3 has some hairline cracks on the back around the camera, and I've always kept it in a case and taken great care of it. they are hardly noticeable, but in all honesty i would actually prefer the hairline cracks macbook to the chipping of the aluminum (especially if I paid more for the aluminum) if hairline cracks were actually to be the case.

 

[Yebubbleman]

- Current gen macpro's have been having issues with the aluminum edge at the front wearing and becoming abbraisive to the skin (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/925608/)

I work at an Apple Authorized Repair center and have never once seen nor heard of that complaint.

Thanks, I hadn't heard that one. But I did hear that the white unibody is prone to hairline cracks at the hinge and palmrests. I was planning to get a 13" pro because of that, but it sounds like there are issues with both. So, I guess I need an air?

That was only an issue on earlier models, the current White Unibody MacBooks don't have that issue.

 

[Peterpot]

I work at an Apple Authorized Repair center and have never once seen nor heard of that complaint.

What about all the pictures that people are posting in that topic? That's at least 5 cases of it happening in there. Most people wouldn't bring it to a repair centre, the general idea in the topic is that people weren't sure what to do with their macbook pro's that had that issue, since it was probably considered to be normal wear and therefore not under warranty.

My roomate has a 2009 macbook pro and it doesn't have any issues with the edges, however all the instances of the edges chipping are from the current gen macbook pro's according in that topic

 

[Miss Terri]

I can't speak to the Airs, except for reading about them, but I can compare the MBP and MB.

I really like white plastic laptops, aesthetically, and I'm used to them, having had an "icebook," and then a non-unibody plastic Macbook. When the latter Macbook died prematurely, I got an MB under warranty. I was glad to see the plastic one had gone unibody, as I'd had quite a few hairline cracking and delamination issues with my non-unibody one.

But then I found out that a couple of the features I really liked on my former MB had been *removed* from the new MB. These were Firewire (I don't use it daily, but I did NOT want to give up the option of Target Disc mode), and the external battery monitor. Heck, both of those were on my early 2000's iBook!

The external battery monitor is a small feature, but one I use quite often. I tend to keep my computer in a backpack and/or shut down or asleep, and I like to be able to just press a button to see how the battery is doing without opening, waking up, or starting up the computer. Of course you may not need this - I'm just speaking from my point of view. And of course there is always something "worse" about having features "taken away" when you already had them in a previous version!

One other small thing that was on my older MB but has now been taken away: The infrared port so you can use a remote. That can be nice for slide shows, music, etc.

Here are a those things on a list, as well as few other differences I noted in the MBP (i.e. things that are not on the MB at all):

1) Firewire port

2) External battery monitor

3) Infrared port for remote control

4) The 4g RAM, obviously, and capacity for more total RAM (I didin't know you could "force" the MB to use more RAM as someone mentioned previously in this thread).

5) Better speakers (subwoofer, I believe)

6) Backlit keyboard (which can be turned off sometimes or all the time, if one so chooses; I am liking it because although I can touch type, sometimes when you are web surfing/chatting in bed or on the couch, you don't "know" where all the keys are.

7) SD card slot (wow, this is handy!)

8) Black bezel (this didn't matter to me, but just mentioning it).

All that said, from what I understand, the current MB and 13" MBP use the same screen/display/glass (someone commented that they were different).

The above differences were enough to make me go MBP (luckily I had a friend on the verge of buying a refurbished MB, so we struck a deal). Additionally, there are authorized Apple resellers in the US who sell the MBP for $999, so some people don't even have the $200 difference (I have not noticed the MB for an equivalent reduction).

I'm not a huge fan of the aluminum, and I don't like the edges on either the MB or MBP (too sharp to my mind). But until they change the design, or until the Air becomes the computer for me (currently the Air I would have chosen would have been nearly double the MBP so I'm holding off), well, I'm enjoying the MBP I bought a Moshi Palmguard to keep the "humanity" off of the anodizing If that's not enough to quell the edge, I may get a Speck case and then round the edge of that with some wet/dry sand paper. So far that's not needed.

 

[Yebubbleman]

What about all the pictures that people are posting in that topic? That's at least 5 cases of it happening in there. Most people wouldn't bring it to a repair centre, the general idea in the topic is that people weren't sure what to do with their macbook pro's that had that issue, since it was probably considered to be normal wear and therefore not under warranty.

My roomate has a 2009 macbook pro and it doesn't have any issues with the edges, however all the instances of the edges chipping are from the current gen macbook pro's according in that topic

Most of the pictures I saw involved 12" PowerBook G4s. Otherwise, I'd say go into an Apple Store and wait UNTIL you are told to buzz off on grounds that isn't covered under warranty. Again, I've seen some pretty banged up MacBook Pros come in here, none ever with that problem though.

 

[Peterpot]

Most of the pictures I saw involved 12" PowerBook G4s. Otherwise, I'd say go into an Apple Store and wait UNTIL you are told to buzz off on grounds that isn't covered under warranty. Again, I've seen some pretty banged up MacBook Pros come in here, none ever with that problem though.

There was only one post/set of pictures with the powerbook The rest were all relating to current gen macbook pro's. But you may be right in saying that it's not a common issue, I just wanted to make the topic creator aware of it

 

[Yebubbleman]

There was only one post/set of pictures with the powerbook The rest were all relating to current gen macbook pro's. But you may be right in saying that it's not a common issue, I just wanted to make the topic creator aware of it

Makes sense. And it's funny, since you brought it to my/our attention, I've seen many old pre-unibody MacBook Pros and PowerBook G4s with it. Pretty f'ugly if you ask me.