Yet another MBP vs MB question...

[eepohboy]

Hi,

I'm new around these parts so please forgive me if I am asking the obvious. I've been searching the forums to determine whether a 15" MacBook Pro or a black MacBook would be the best buy.

I've found several threads that talk about performance and aesthetics, and those pretty much boil down to whether one needs a dedicated graphics card or not, or if one prefers black over titanium.

All those threads are fine and informative, but what I find missing is a comparison on durability especially wrt casings. I currently use a white, 2 GHz MB at work and I have had several problems. Scratches and dirt on a white MB are quite obvious, my num-lock key has cracked along one edge, my hand rest has cracked and snapped off along the bottom right-hand edge and I've had a "heating pimple" crack the bottom of the outer casing.

Now, I suspect the plastic casing on a black MB will face similar problems, except that scratches and dirt may not be as obvious. Is this a correct assumption? Would a MBP's titanium casing be "immune" to these problems? Or does a MBP face other unique problems of it's own?

Assuming the titanium casing is more "durable", I would ideally like to buy a 13.3" Macbook (Pro?) with a titanium casing as I want something less bulky to carry around and not face all these "cracking" problems. However, reality is as such that a decision needs to be made, hence my here posting today...

As my DB lecturer used to say at the end of his sessions, "Comments? Queries? Criticisms?"

 

[iBookG4user]

Hi,

I'm new around these parts so please forgive me if I am asking the obvious. I've been searching the forums to determine whether a 15" MacBook Pro or a black MacBook would be the best buy.

I've found several threads that talk about performance and aesthetics, and those pretty much boil down to whether one needs a dedicated graphics card or not, or if one prefers black over titanium.

All those threads are fine and informative, but what I find missing is a comparison on durability especially wrt casings. I currently use a white, 2 GHz MB at work and I have had several problems. Scratches and dirt on a white MB are quite obvious, my num-lock key has cracked along one edge, my hand rest has cracked and snapped off along the bottom right-hand edge and I've had a "heating pimple" crack the bottom of the outer casing.

Now, I suspect the plastic casing on a black MB will face similar problems, except that scratches and dirt may not be as obvious. Is this a correct assumption? Would a MBP's titanium casing be "immune" to these problems? Or does a MBP face other unique problems of it's own?

Assuming the titanium casing is more "durable", I would ideally like to buy a 13.3" Macbook (Pro?) with a titanium casing as I want something less bulky to carry around and not face all these "cracking" problems. However, reality is as such that a decision needs to be made, hence my here posting today...

As my DB lecturer used to say at the end of his sessions, "Comments? Queries? Criticisms?"

I have owned an iBook (same material as the MacBook, although white) and 3 MacBook Pros. Scratches on the iBook were apparent, dirt, all that you mentioned was there for that. With the MacBook Pro the aluminum resists scratches to a much greater degree (I've had one scratch on one of the MacBook Pros, and one chip in the paint on my previous one, but other than that they are pretty spotless). Dirt however does accumulate, but it does not show much at all. The only problem you'd really face as for durability is denting, and I've not had one of my MacBook Pros dented at all. I've seen dented ones but that's either due to bad handling or to dropping it, not due to normal wear and tear. Personally I much prefer the MacBook Pro to the MacBook for obvious reasons, but in the end it's a personal choice and one can't really make you decide on one or the other.

 

[Snowbound]

I've had 4 pros since they came out, and they hold up well for sure. If you wear a metal watch, you may get scratches on the wrist pad, but that can be fixed with a moshi wrist pad. Otherwise I got paint wearing off on the button to open the lid and that was pretty much the only sign of use on the one I just got rid of after using for a year. Hope it helps.

 

[Outsiderdude26]

The MBP are more scratch resistant but not immune.

 

[sammy2066]

I have a PowerBook G4 that's been pretty spotless for the last 3 years. As someone mentioned earlier, the paint on the LCD latch button has worn off, and that's the only sign of use. They hold up well against unintentional abuse, and this is coming from a college student.

 

[rockthecasbah]

Just a point of clarification for the OP, the MacBook Pros are ALUMINUM not Titanium. Only the older revisions of the PowerBook (before the Aluminum versions) were Ti.

If you are considering a MB vs. MBP for size purposes, you should bear in mind a key fact that seems to be missing when people often compare size. People think that the width of the laptop overall is relative to the screen width, but that's not true. The 15.4'' MBP is actually not much wider than the MB with a 13.3'' because the area between the end of the screen and the end of the physical laptop on the MB is considering larger than the MBP. Putting them one on top of the other, the size difference is not significant in my view.

 

[eepohboy]

Just a point of clarification for the OP, the MacBook Pros are ALUMINUM not Titanium. Only the older revisions of the PowerBook (before the Aluminum versions) were Ti.

Noted.

If you are considering a MB vs. MBP for size purposes, you should bear in mind a key fact that seems to be missing when people often compare size. People think that the width of the laptop overall is relative to the screen width, but that's not true. The 15.4'' MBP is actually not much wider than the MB with a 13.3'' because the area between the end of the screen and the end of the physical laptop on the MB is considering larger than the MBP. Putting them one on top of the other, the size difference is not significant in my view.

Hmmm... I think understand what you mean wrt the sizing. I should make another trip to the dealer to physically compare the 2 models side-by-side to get a feel of the difference.

I guess the obvious has been stated, that being the aluminium (sorry, British ed) casing is the more durable between the 2 models. And there also were some reminders that neither is it indestructible. At the end of the day, what someone said earlier was right, it all boils down to a personal choice.

Thanks to everyone who have replied. Your contributions are much appreciated. Keep em coming though. I'm interested to hear other experiences and POVs...