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new MacBook 13.3" or new MacBook Pro 15.4"?

E

Extol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 1, 2008
2
0
Hi there.

Question:
Which one should I buy, new MacBook 13.3" or new MacBook Pro 15.4"?

I'm planning to bring it to office and using it as a my main computer at home.
I think processing capacity of both is really no problem(I'm doing PHP programming(at office and home) and some Photoshop, compose music(at home)),
but I'm really worrying about is screen size and portability.

There are no problem when I'm at office cause I will use external display.
But how are the screen size(Is too small to use it as a main computer at home?) and portability(bring it to office 5 days in a week etc...)?

* I've never used any Mac and any Laptop before.

Any opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
 
Extol said:
Hi there.

Question:
Which one should I buy, new MacBook 13.3" or new MacBook Pro 15.4"?

I'm planning to bring it to office and using it as a my main computer at home.
I think processing capacity of both is really no problem(I'm doing PHP programming(at office and home) and some Photoshop, compose music(at home)),
but I'm really worrying about is screen size and portability.

There are no problem when I'm at office cause I will use external display.
But how are the screen size(Is too small to use it as a main computer at home?) and portability(bring it to office 5 days in a week etc...)?

* I've never used any Mac and any Laptop before.

Any opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Either would be fine. The screen quality of the 15" is much better.
 
macbook pro for professional video editing or graphic design. or gaming. macbook is not good at all for video editing or graphic design.
 
sprice25 said:
macbook pro for professional video editing or graphic design. or gaming. macbook is not good at all for video editing or graphic design.
Click to expand...

Why aren't macbooks good for graphic design? Just because of the screen size?
 
if by compose music you mean record it, all good audio interfaces are firewire - new macbook doesn't have firewire.
 
MB supports very high resolutions on an external monitor and new
9400 is plenty powerful for the uses you stated. And the 13 is much
more portable.
 
It's a tough call balancing portability and functionality...

The 15" will serve you better, because it has a larger display - 13" is too small for photoshop.

However, if you're taking it to the office - do you use public transport? If not, or it's not too long a distance, the 17" macbook pro would be much better. It's got a large display but is still definitely portable.

A guy at work does php programming and web/advert design, and brings his 17" macbook pro from home to do it all on.
 
Why not get the MacBook with an external display? I've got a 20" Dell display at home, and another display at work. The MacBook's portable, and can power most displays, and is more portable.
 
I personally would go MBP everytime if you u can. Ultimately the higher specs will mean it will stay current for a little bit longer and the extra screen real estate has always been something I have appreciated. I have the last gen (see spec) but I have used the new al models in store and can report that the MBP screen is really noticeably better. I also demo'd the 'higher' model and it really was great to use and reminded me of when I used my MBA the first time with the SSD and that 'snappy' feeling

D:apple:
 
get the macbook and the new apple led display
portability + big screen = best of both worlds:D
 
Unless you really need the portability, I'd say to go with the Pro. The larger screen with the higher resolution will fair you well when it's not connected to an externl display. The improved graphics performance will be great during Photoshop. And, in addition, there's FireWire, and better speakers.
 
any pro work like video editing or graphic design, get a pro. consumer machines like the macbook are just for internet, documents, music, movies, photos. thats it.
 
i vote for the macbook pro. Since it's your main computer, the extra screen estate and better quality screen will be really helpful in the long run.
 
macbook. The only need to go to the pro for most is the screen size. We have a 17" MBP and a 13". If it were not for photo editing I would not own anything beyond the 13". You will find you use it more with the macbook. The size translates into ease of use. I find its just to easy to pick it up and use it on a whim. Lately I've been thinking of getting rid of the 17" and going for new macbook. I thought about the 15" but I think I would run into the same tradeoff and prefer the 13" macbook.
 
i'd go for the backlit macbook and a cheap but nice dell 24inch LCD.

you don't do photoshop all the time though, when you are using photoshop, it must be at home or the office where you can plug the macbook to an external display.

you don't do photoshop at the coffee shop so it's much nicer to having a smaller screen and less weight notebook when you use it in a public place.
 
I've been using a blackbook for the last 2 years as my primary computer. At home I hook it to a 24" monitor and keyboard, and on the road it's small enough to take everywhere.

But now that I'm due to upgrade I'm going with a Pro. I don't like the idea of a bigger travel load, but with the lower-quality screen and missing FireWire then I'm forced to spend the $700 firewire-tax.
 
aleni said:
i'd go for the backlit macbook and a cheap but nice dell 24inch LCD.

you don't do photoshop all the time though, when you are using photoshop, it must be at home or the office where you can plug the macbook to an external display.

you don't do photoshop at the coffee shop so it's much nicer to having a smaller screen and less weight notebook when you use it in a public place.
Click to expand...

my question for this issue is this,,,

i'd like to get a macbook pro, but as far as using the computer 90% of the time at home, would i be better off getting an iMac (highest model)???

for hooking up a macbook and a macbook pro to external monitor, are the graphics the same? or is the upgraded graphics better on the pro even when it is hooked to external monitor???

and since i'd be using computer at home MOST of the time, is the current iMac better at low end photoshop/aperture use than the macbook pro, or the other way around? my aperture library is agonizingly slow on my current powerbook 1.5gh G4, 2 GB ram... i have about 9500+ images...
 
i still prefer notebooks over desktop anytime.

for the 9400M in the macbook vs 9600GT in the mbp, i think macbook's 9400M is just fine for hooking it up to a big ass external display, it's quite powerful enough i think.

but it's your choice, you might want to wait a new revision of iMac if you want to buy it. right now is not the right time to buy iMac.
 
my plan is to get the cheap (1200) macbook and the new 24 inch cinema display. i know the 13 has a subpar display, but when i need a good one, ill have the 24 at home. and the reality is that the 1200 macbook and the 900 cinema display is not much more than a base line 15 inch macbook pro!

with the macbook and pro being so similar power wise, and having the same build quality, there isn't as much to really compel me to jump up 800 buck for 2 inchs of screen spacewhen i could spend that same money and get 11 extra inchs
 
christ3d said:
my plan is to get the cheap (1200) macbook and the new 24 inch cinema display. i know the 13 has a subpar display, but when i need a good one, ill have the 24 at home. and the reality is that the 1200 macbook and the 900 cinema display is not much more than a base line 15 inch macbook pro!

with the macbook and pro being so similar power wise, and having the same build quality, there isn't as much to really compel me to jump up 800 buck for 2 inchs of screen spacewhen i could spend that same money and get 11 extra inchs
Click to expand...

don't forget a nicer 9600GT video graphic card, a backlit keyboard and the infamous firewire port.
 
Macbook With a 22" Dell Monitor

Buy the Macbook and a 22" Dell Monitor for the same cost as a Macbook Pro. I think the Macbook/Dell combo offers more flexibility.
 
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