PC user looking for a Macbook; white or Pro?

[ftaok]

Well, I had decided on the white 4gb/320gb but pulled out my video camera last night and found I need firewire to download from it to the computer! It's a miniDV. It looks like I might lean towards the Pro.

Well, this just seals the deal. Looks like Apple knew what it was doing when they nixed FW on the white uMB. Well, at least the jump up is only $200 (note - the first time Apple dumped FW on the Macbook, the price jump was closer to $500)

The pro for the same price is 2gb/160gb. The question now is how hard is it to upgrade the ram and hdd in the future? I might upgrade the hdd right away to 250, I think the ram would be easier to upgrade down the road since you don't have to transfer any files like changing the hdd.

Take a look at this guide. It certainly looks pretty easy. Not whiteMacbook easy, but certainly no where near as difficult as iBooks.

RAM replacement looks just as easy as the HDD replacement. Still not as easy as the previous MBs.

Last thing, transferring files from one HDD to another is pretty easy. Just use an external case for the HDD, and either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. Or, if you have TimeMachine, you could restore from a backup.

Also, if you're gonna open up the case, you might as well do both the RAM and HDD swaps at the same time. Unless cash flow is an issue.

 

[Tbone17]

I was at future shop earlier today looking at mb's, routers and hard drives. I found out that the mb or mbp can no longer be set up for automatic backups, you have to buy the timecapsule if you want auto backups. They took this feature away so you have to buy their router/hd

If I use an external hd plugged to the usb port, can I make a backup file to restore when the hd is replaced? Or is this only possible if using the timecapsule?

So many things to figure out....

 

[XboxMySocks]

I was at future shop earlier today looking at mb's, routers and hard drives. I found out that the mb or mbp can no longer be set up for automatic backups, you have to buy the timecapsule if you want auto backups. They took this feature away so you have to buy their router/hd

If I use an external hd plugged to the usb port, can I make a backup file to restore when the hd is replaced? Or is this only possible if using the timecapsule?

So many things to figure out....

Or you can just use Time Machine which is much easier and faster and free-er.

 

[Tbone17]

Is the time machine a program built into the mb?

Basically I'm trying to find out if there's a significant savings getting more ram and a bigger hd when I buy the mbp compared to buying ram and hd later.

 

[LotteNYC]

Glad I found this thread! (figured there must be one like this in there).

But Im in the same boat, currently a PC user, FT grad student with ONE semester left! About 95% of my colleagues all have Macbooks (of whichever version) and this is the main thing I see around campus. They all tell me they are wonderful yadda yadda.

I just just shocked at the prices like many people. Im glad they dropped the MB even lower which makes it more tempting than the MBP for me. I was bummed about the SD slot or lack of but I can purchase a USB port ($25) for it or use my desktop.

None of my laptops have had backlighting so that might be a good thing but I tend to use the things in classrooms with more than ample lighting.

My worry is that Im going to be taking a MIDI class with Logic. Can the MB handle this? Also, if I wanted to upgrade anything, is it generally pretty expensive? Coz I've heard they are great but pretty pricey (above the already pricey) to maintain, fix, upgrade etc.

I also can't stand Windows 7 or Vista. I would have to pay a few hundred to get XP installed in a new system so that makes them both around the same price.

 

[janewales]

I was at future shop earlier today looking at mb's, routers and hard drives. I found out that the mb or mbp can no longer be set up for automatic backups, you have to buy the timecapsule if you want auto backups.

So many things to figure out....

Woah, woah, woah-- this is why you NEVER buy from FutureShop (or BestBuy) if you actually need advice (if you know what you're doing, that's different). TimeMachine is the built-in back-up program in the Mac OS. You set it up to back up to external media-- I use a FW hard drive at work, and a small, portable USB hard drive at home. It's completely automatic once set up (and set up is dead easy). To use two drives, like I do, you do need to go into Time Machine preferences and tell it which drive to use, but if you had only one backup locale, you'd just set it up the first time, and then let it do its thing. And there's no noticeable system slow-down when it's happening.

Since you're in the lower mainland, I'd suggest you go either to the Apple store (Pacific Centre, and I think there's one in Oakridge now)-- use the online system to book an appointment with a personal shopper, who can walk you through things. Or go to one of the independent authorized Apple dealers (not sure it's allowed to name them here-- google apple and Vancouver, and they should show up). FS is pretty hit and miss when it comes to advice.

 

[Tbone17]

The SD slot can easily be replaced by a usb reader but the FW can't be added later which makes the mbp more appealing. The backlit keyboard and aluminum case will be nice to have but not deal breakers like the FW.

 

[Aadhil]

I bought my macbook from Amazon.com. $970, no taxes, no shipping.

I also purchased 4gb of ram along with it which I installed myself (pretty easy to do).

 

[Tbone17]

I know the guys at FS or Bestbuy don't know much; I mainly stopped in to check prices and there was an Apple rep there who told me I couldn't set up auto backups with the new mb/mbp. He said that feature was disabled on the new machines to make it necessary to purchase their timecapsule. I hope he's wrong, does anyone have the new machine and tried setting it up? I would like to set up a router with a hd and have it backup automatically.

I still have a PC and want the hd to work for it and the new mac.

 

[cherry su]

Any laptop you buy these days comes with built in wifi, most new ones now come with wireless n capability.

My question was wether there is an advantage to the airport over other wireless n routers(eg linksys or cisco) which can be had for half the price

I was browsing around yesterday and found these(all 13.3"):
1)white, 2.26, 2gb/250gb $1099
2)white, 2.26, 4gb/320gb, bluetooth $1299
3)Pro, 2.26, 2gb/160gb, $1299
4)Pro, 2.53 4gb/250gb, $1599

Only the one white says it's got bluetooth but I think they all do(?). From what I read, the bluetooth enables you to use the wireless mac mouse and keyboard or up/download from your phone. I can't see myself spending an extra $300 to step up to #4 but #2 seems like the best bet. The pro has some nice features but the white has more ram/hdd and would probably be a better machine.

all of the macs listed have bluetooth standard.

 

[kurzz]

I know the guys at FS or Bestbuy don't know much; I mainly stopped in to check prices and there was an Apple rep there who told me I couldn't set up auto backups with the new mb/mbp. He said that feature was disabled on the new machines to make it necessary to purchase their timecapsule. I hope he's wrong, does anyone have the new machine and tried setting it up? I would like to set up a router with a hd and have it backup automatically.

I still have a PC and want the hd to work for it and the new mac.

What that rep actually means (or misinformed) is that you can't do wireless backups using Time Machine (without some hacking, or without Time Capsule router). It will only work (auto-backup) if you plug in an external USB or firewire hard drive.

In other words, Time Machine won't work over WIFI or without Time Capsule.

 

[PracticalMac]

Well, I had decided on the white 4gb/320gb but pulled out my video camera last night and found I need firewire to download from it to the computer! It's a miniDV. It looks like I might lean towards the Pro.

The pro for the same price is 2gb/160gb. The question now is how hard is it to upgrade the ram and hdd in the future? I might upgrade the hdd right away to 250, I think the ram would be easier to upgrade down the road since you don't have to transfer any files like changing the hdd.

The SD slot can easily be replaced by a usb reader but the FW can't be added later which makes the mbp more appealing. The backlit keyboard and aluminum case will be nice to have but not deal breakers like the FW.

You are a perfect case on the value of FW, and using that need to force customers to upgrade.

You still have the option of finding a used MB, or even refurbished late PolyMB with FW for less.

If you do go with 13 MBP, the next level up from lowest is worth the extra, if you have budget (thats what I would do).

I was at future shop earlier today looking at mb's, routers and hard drives. I found out that the mb or mbp can no longer be set up for automatic backups, you have to buy the timecapsule if you want auto backups. They took this feature away so you have to buy their router/hd

If I use an external hd plugged to the usb port, can I make a backup file to restore when the hd is replaced? Or is this only possible if using the timecapsule?

So many things to figure out....

As others have said, you can use ANY program for backing up, even use the Disk Utility to make an image of your boot drive.
TM has a wireless backup feature, but its not hard with others.

Backup programs:
Data Backup
Retrospect
Time Machine.

HDD makers with FireWire (avoid USB for backup):
Western Digital (my pick)
Maxtor
Seagate
Wiebetech http://www.wiebetech.com/home.php
OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/
Buffalo
and many others

 

[ToroidalZeus]

Just to break down the specs.

CPU speed - What are you going to do? Unless you are planning on editing videos, a high cpu speed isn't really necessary. The most CPU intensive stuff most people will do is burn dvds. Now you should always burn at 4x so that extra .25ghz in speed increase won't do anything for you. The second most intensive app people use is vlc or watching movies. I got up to about 66 percent cpu usage right when the movie starts and it drops own to about 12 during the movie.

BUS Speed- who even talks about this?

RAM - Having a movie in vlc playing, safari open, itunes open, word and mail open my ram usage is 1.2gb active and 800mb wired. So 2GB of ram is good enough for everyday usage.

Hard Drive - Right now i have a 250gb hdd with 190gb fee. With a good amount of songs and videos. THe biggest thing i see HDD space for is disc images but since i usually just burn and delete those.... you get the point.

So IMO the basic PC specs we get sold on are just about meaningless for the vast majority of people (including myself)

What it comes down IMO is the real features. All macbooks have a trackpad that supports gestures which is amazingly useful IMO. This alone makes them a step above the rest. The next great feature is the illuminated keyboard but only macbook pros support this. So the question is the price difference between the white and the pro worth this feature?

IMO i would (and did) buy the 15in macbook pro 2.53ghz refurb. The 15in makes a huge difference over the 13. Its still small enough to be portable but large enough to multitask quite well. It also has the gesture feature which is worlds above last years models.

http://store.apple.com/us_epp_55499/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro

 

[Tbone17]

I agree the 15inch mbp would be nice.
I would love to get the big mbp with lots of ram and a big hdd but have reviewed my needs and the original reason for my post.

I have always been a PC user and would like to make the switch to mac. I'd like to try mac as affordably as possible. I was going to go for the white mb but have decided to go for the base mbp due to it having a firewire port for my miniDV camera.

The sd slot will be convenient and the backlit keyboard will probably be great once I try it.

 

[XboxMySocks]

I know the guys at FS or Bestbuy don't know much; I mainly stopped in to check prices and there was an Apple rep there who told me I couldn't set up auto backups with the new mb/mbp. He said that feature was disabled on the new machines to make it necessary to purchase their timecapsule. I hope he's wrong, does anyone have the new machine and tried setting it up? I would like to set up a router with a hd and have it backup automatically.

I still have a PC and want the hd to work for it and the new mac.

I'm fairly certain he's incorrect. Fairly certain.

 

[Skippy440]

Any laptop you buy these days comes with built in wifi, most new ones now come with wireless n capability.

My question was wether there is an advantage to the airport over other wireless n routers(eg linksys or cisco) which can be had for half the price

I was browsing around yesterday and found these(all 13.3"):
1)white, 2.26, 2gb/250gb $1099
2)white, 2.26, 4gb/320gb, bluetooth $1299
3)Pro, 2.26, 2gb/160gb, $1299
4)Pro, 2.53 4gb/250gb, $1599

Only the one white says it's got bluetooth but I think they all do(?). From what I read, the bluetooth enables you to use the wireless mac mouse and keyboard or up/download from your phone. I can't see myself spending an extra $300 to step up to #4 but #2 seems like the best bet. The pro has some nice features but the white has more ram/hdd and would probably be a better machine.

I've been a PC user for most of my life with the odd Mac exposure.
I invested in option #2 about 3 months ago and haven't regretted it.

I would say if you needed a firewire or an SD slot, get the Macbook pro. If you can live without it, then the white Macbook is an excellent choice.

 

[Tbone17]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm going to wait a few weeks before I buy anything; partially to save more money and partially to wait and see if any sales come up. I will be buying a mbp due to the firewire port.

 

[tollickd]

I am in the same situation, I want to get a Macbook but not sure.

I want to use it for, surfing, downloading maybe some Adobe programs and movies!

I am thinking of either the entry 13"MBP with 160Gb HDD/2GB Ram or the 250GB HDD/4GB RAM.

I have 3tb of external HDD's so I am not sure if i will need the bigger HDD.

How much does OS X take?

 

[hackia]

Both seem good

Well both macbook white and macbook pro seem good, i guess it may come down to what yoy like better regarding looks.

and consider whats more easier to customize in design and such....

hmmm, i like macbook pro, silver shell and black keyboard, it my taste.

the white one seem more halo like, and i got a little mischievous to me.

hmm personal opnion

 

[Skippy440]

I am in the same situation, I want to get a Macbook but not sure.

I want to use it for, surfing, downloading maybe some Adobe programs and movies!

I am thinking of either the entry 13"MBP with 160Gb HDD/2GB Ram or the 250GB HDD/4GB RAM.

I have 3tb of external HDD's so I am not sure if i will need the bigger HDD.

How much does OS X take?

The new Snow Leopard takes about 11-12 GB with all its components.
Depending on how much music (iTunes) and movies you have, and whether you will store it on the computer or ext drive, I would recommend the white Macbook with 4GB and either the 250Gb or 320GB HD. This is provided that you don't require a firewire or SD slot.
Just make sure that your ext drive that you use for Time Machine (for backups) is at least the same or preferably bigger than the laptop's drive.

 

[Tbone17]

The white 4gb/320gb is definately the best bang for the buck. I need to have the firewire port so it's going to be the mbp. For the same price you get a mbp with only 2gb/160gb...but it has the fw, sd slot and backlit keyboard.

 

[tollickd]

The new Snow Leopard takes about 11-12 GB with all its components.
Depending on how much music (iTunes) and movies you have, and whether you will store it on the computer or ext drive, I would recommend the white Macbook with 4GB and either the 250Gb or 320GB HD. This is provided that you don't require a firewire or SD slot.
Just make sure that your ext drive that you use for Time Machine (for backups) is at least the same or preferably bigger than the laptop's drive.

I have a 1TB I use for Windows now that is FAT 32 so I can use that

 

[ToroidalZeus]

The white 4gb/320gb is definately the best bang for the buck. I need to have the firewire port so it's going to be the mbp. For the same price you get a mbp with only 2gb/160gb...but it has the fw, sd slot and backlit keyboard.

Still thinking like a windows user, lol

The best bang for your buck is the 15in macbook pro. You get about ~20 percent more pixels compared to the 13in model. So when you have 2 windows open like a word and safari or safari and ichat it's a LOT better.

When you buy a mac, you are going to be keeping it for years. So unless you need that amazing portability of the 13in, the 15in is the best compromise.

 

[vistadude]

The 13 inch is the best bang for the buck. The 15 inch is so much more expensive for basically only a slightly bigger screen. At that the price the pc is way more cost efficient and you get much more ram and other features. I still think the 13 inch is a good deal, but the screen is becoming too small to multitask efficiently.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

The 13 inch is the best bang for the buck.

cheapest =/= best bang for your buck.

4gb (2gb x 2) of ram is ~100 new. Assuming you bought the cheapest macbook for ~900 with that extra ~100 you have 1000 total (-tax). So you are paying ~75 dollars per inch.

Assuming you buy the 15in macbook pro with the epp refurb discount for ~1450 (-tax). You are paying ~94 dollars per inch.

So for a extra 25% in price (per inches) you get about 20% more screen space (by pixel) but you also get a 12% faster cpu, illuminated keyboard, sd card slot and most importantly a case made out of aluminum so it will not crack.