which one to go based on my use case?

[yokyoh]

my first time to consider a mac. i can't decide to buy wether macbook or macbook pro.

as far as i know the difference is from the graphic performance. but i really have no idea how big difference it will be to me.

i've already have a laptop with Windows and Linux on it. So I will not do much gaming with a macbook. Actually I'm thinking to remove Linux entirely from this laptop, and either install it on macbook or just use mac os as alternative( since its close to linux enough to me).

I do lots of programmings, and maybe very soon will come up with some graphics programming. And even more in the one year. Beside, I need to use Photoshop and really a little 3-D design processing(never about creating animation or movie, just play for fun and learn).

Another reason I want to buy it is because my old laptop is not so suitable to move around, eg. taking to the uni and giving presentations. At this point, maybe the macbook is better to me, as I don't much like any laptop bigger than 13 inch.

guys I need ur suggestion, plz. for many reasons such as price and mobility I prefer macbook a lot than mbp. but I really don't want it comes to be totally useless when I do some graphic programming or poor little graphic processing on it. if anyone has similar situation to me, plz let me have some advise.

 

[mcavjame]

Without anything that will tax the video processor, you won't see much performance difference between macbooks and pros with the same processor.

Of course the Pro also has a bigger, nicer screen. The new pro maintains at least the FW800 port while the new macbook has lost fw. I also like the option of the expresscard slot and illuminated keys as a standard option.

 

[liquidtrend]

-to lug around a university you would want to be sure the notebook will be portable in size. the macbook sits at 13" which meets your personal requirement.

-if you wont have any high graphic hunger, because you find use of your windows and linux machines for things such as games.

-little 3-d design and light use of photoshop or illustrator

all these fit the profile of the macbook. the biggest noticeable difference in the macbook pro is the graphics card and the size. the new unibody macbooks with that special nvidia chip will suit all your needs for any type of simple graphics, and since you wont be a heavy user because of your linux and windows boxes, then youd be alright.

 

[yokyoh]

thanks all. I've bought a macbook this afternoon. I'm so happy to have it and now play around.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I'd advise the MB since you pretty much said that a notebook bigger than 13" is not acceptable for you. And the nVidia 9400M is enough for all of your needs. Even my X3100 Intel GMA could do those tasks.