Help me !! Macbook Or Macbook pro

Hi,

I am planning to buy a mac laptop...by looking into the apple site i couldn't able to decide on whether i have to go for macbook or macbook pro. For price & performnace ratio macbook seems to be better that pro. But the screen real estate is less and pro has got a dedicated graphics memory...i dont see any major weight difference between those. Can i have suggestions from macbook owners about macbook and macbook pro.. Which one to choose? is it really worth investing etc 600$ to buy the macbook pro..will it make a real difference.. for that 600 i can add 250gig hard disk and 4gb ram to the macbook and make it as powerful machine.. I already have asus g1s and i like the screen estate wxga+..

but do not have a portable one..so deciding to go on with macbook..

is there any macbook owners regretted, not going for macbook pro? reasons?

Thanks

 

Hi there! Welcome to the forums!

I bought a MacBook Pro in August, and back then, for me, there were a few reasons why I got it over the regular macbook.

Firstly, the screen on the macbook pro is noticeably bigger and the resolution is far higher. This makes using it so much more enjoyable. But for you, it might not be important because you may be planning to hook it up to an external monitor anyways when at home. Are you? If not, all around, the mbp screen is better.

The second reason why I went for the pro was for the matte screen. I hate the glossy screen - attracts way too much dust/fingerprints.

The third reason I went for the pro was because it had the Santa Rosa chipset, although the macbooks were recently updated and they have that.

To me, the dedicated video card isn't that important as I don't do much gaming/video editing at all.

I love the design/case of the MacBook Pro. It looks great, and feels so well build (not that the macbook does not or anything, I just prefer the aesthetics overall of the mbp). The backlit keyboard is outstanding, and because of the LED screen, you can drop the brightness super low to save battery power (while taking notes in class). The macbook doesnt' dim as much as the pro because it doesn't have an LED screen. I get fantastic battery life of the pro, though I'm sure you can get great battery life on the macbook too.

The size difference really isn't huge. Unless you travel a lot via airplane, I wouldn't worry about the size. I put the mbp in my backpack and hardly know it's even there...it's one of the lightest/thinnest 15.4" laptops available. Go check it out in the store and you'll see what I mean.


When I bought it, it turned out to be around ~$500 more for the pro (because I would have to add 1 GB of ram to the macbook, and the pro comes standard with 2 gb). It's worth it: bigger screen, higher res, cooler design.

ANy machine you get you're going to love - you can't really lose here. Just decide if the $ difference is worth the above differences I've described.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

 

Hi,

Great to see that ur encouraging me to buy macbook pro..2day evening after work i go to the retail outlet and have a look at both the system...

 

Yes, the weight between the two is surprisingly similar. MB = 5.2 lbs, and the MBP weighs 5.4 lbs! Crazy! The MB should weigh much less!

 

Yeah, and the mbp actually feels lighter and smaller sometimes - it's weird - it's because psychologically you're expecting the macbook pro to weigh more since it's physically a bit bigger but the macbook is surprisingly dense. truth is, it's really hard to notice a 0.2 lb difference!

 

Yeh...thats right...that made me to think for carrying around there wont be big difference between those two..i am leaning towards MBP now and checked in the forums and found that there are rumours about the upgrade from apple on MBP in early 2008. Is it worth to wait untill then..or go ahead and buy the current model....

 

Nobody knows really. I think it's unlikely they'll update them...they pretty much have the latest and greatest (except maybe penryn), but there have been strong rumors of an ultraportable coming.

If you need it now, buy it. It's not a bad time to buy. If you have time though I'd wait just to see what happens. There could be price drops, or new configuration options, etc, who knows? It's anyone's guess.

You might want to check out this thread over at macrumors. You can find tons of info there about waiting and such. There's tons of speculation going on there all the time about the next update, and how long to wait, and such.

 

the only reason and main reason i would get the pro is the video card. if you can not recognize the difference between a dedicated and an integrated graphics card (no offence intended) then i doubt you actually use programs that need the dedicated which then i recommend the macbook

 

i have both the macbook and the macbook pro. the MBP got significantly better screen. the macbook vertical viewing angle is very poor.
the macbook pro runs cooler. the MBP however is suceptible to dents...

you want to run it with external monitor? i suggest you get the MBP, its got more power to run an external monitor at higher resolution. also you already got the DVI cable in the box. if not then, definitely get the MBP! the MBP screen is actually usable!

the peryn early 2008 update is insignificant, not worth it to wait that long, if you want to wait then wait till late 2008 to see the new chipset upgrade.

 

Hi,

i do recognize the difference between integrated and dedeicated...i bought g1s considering dedicated graphics memory ...as you doubted i rarely use programs that use dedicated graphics memory.. however in the long run having dedicated graphics memory will be useful is it not? i have one more question...having 128 MB dedicated in low end MBP model...does it mean that it wont share the main memory if the application needs more than 128 MB...

 

thanks for your suggestions...i am not a fan of running with external monitor..nor fancy about it...may be have to try using external monitor see the real difference...

s as you said...i wont be having that much patience to wait for peryn.. still confused about choosing between mb and mbp...will decide after seeing them in person in the evening...

 

I see that lots of people are complaining about screen crack...
http://www.macworld.com/forums/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=422824&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

does it really very series issue with apple macs? i didnt seem to find any other brands have these much complaints...

Makingme to think before i leap in to MBP investment...

 

You have to take into consideration that people who have no issues with their computers will never start threads like "I have no problems with my Macbook Pro". (actually I think I'll start one) But people who actually DO have problems, will.

So it's very likely that on a forum, much like this one, you're bound to find A LOT of people complaining. But I can assure you, these are far less people than the ones with no problems at all.

So yeah, Macbook or Macbook Pro. 13" < 15.4". 120gb < 160gb (on the 2.4ghz). Processor the same, Ram, it's pretty much all better and faster on the Macbook Pro.

Now the thing is, if you really don't want to game a lot, get the "entry level" Macbook Pro. The 128mb graphics card will suffice for whatever WoW or small games you might wanna play.

If you want to game the latest, like Crysis, the Orange Box etc, get the 256mb graphics Macbook Pro.

And further more, the Macbook Pro is 10 times more sexier than the Macbook - so that alone should have influenced your decision haha!

Cheers and good luck on your decision, just make sure you let us know which one it is

 

I guess it really depends what you're looking for. Do you plan to game on the machine? If so, then obviously the MBP. Do you want to use Photoshop a lot? If so, both the MacBook and MBP are fine at Photoshop, but you will want to note the lower screen resolution the MacBook, which might make working with larger images harder.

All in all, I'd say if you can afford the MBP, absolutely get that. Its an awesome notebook.

And yes, there is an expected update of the MBP in early 2008, with the launch of Intel Penryn .

 

Hi,

Thank you guys for your suggestions and comments... I went to the retail outlet in the evening and had a look at MB and MBP.. No doubt...as you guys said MBP is far far superior than MB..I couldn't resist it...I was about to buy the MBP..but i came to know that it is jun'07 model and the new nov'07 model arrives only in dec 1st week with leopard..bad luck...so i checked the apple online store and they also need 7 to 8 days for delivery and provide only 1 year warranty..but in the retail outlets they provide 2 year warranty... so i decided to wait untill dec 1st week...

For the past 14 years i am using pc's only and never had a chance to feel the touch of mac... but recenly i bought an ipod nano 3rd gen and ipod classic models and become very impressed with design and coolness of the gadget..and started looking in to the macs... i am impressed by the look and build quality...havent had a chance to use mac osx... hope it should be a nice experience to me...i couldnt resist having an MBP even though i have a good asus g1s machine...

Some more questions to you guys...i am a software consultant who is primarily focusing on MS technlogies... is it okey to go ahead with vmware fusion and install vista or xp and go ahead installing ms products like VS .net, etc in VM..will it perform better...or stick with asus g1s for ms technologies...

vmware or parallel which one to go far...i have tried using vmware server, workstation, esx server and like the vmware products...so fusion should also be in par with them...but paralles is in the game for a some time...fusion has just come...so whics is better?

And one more thing...i was even looking into the imac 24 inch... oops...I couldn't believe it ...its too good to have that kind of thing at home... definitely i will have one in the future..

 

I bought a new Macbook for very simple reasons:

#1. Black
#2. Smaller/More Portable
#3. Not going to be playing games

In terms of power, there really is no differential. In fact, my 2.2 Macbook with a 7200 RPM drive and my own 3 gb ram is faster than most of all the current Macbook Pros out there.

 

You can always use Boot Camp, as it will run Windows better than Parallels and VMware Fusion as it runs Windows natively. And since you want to try out OS X, I think its a good idea to get a MBP instead of an ASUS G1S.

Parallels and VMware Fusion are both really great applications...but looking at both, I think Fusion has a slight edge over Parallels, as well as being cheaper (its written as $79, same price as Parallels, but VMware has had a lot of promotions for Fusion, like $20 off and such).

 

The thing which is not comfortable with bootcamp is you can only work on osx or windows at a time...which is not in the case of fusion and paralles..However if the speed difference is big i will be choosing bootcamp..

 

Well, since you're a software consultant, I was thinking you could boot into Windows at work, and use OS X when not at work...the speed difference can be big depending on what you're doing. Normal web surfing, Office, etc. not a big deal, but when gaming, I'd say definitely use Boot Camp to game rather than virtually using Parallels or VMware Fusion.

 

WOOOOPPPSS!!! sorry i meant to say that the MacBook screen viewing angle is poor! NOT the MacBook Pro's.. yeah, if you're not planning to use external monitor; by all mean get the MBP, the 15.4" screen is actually usable! and offer nice screen real estate. the MB is screen is a bit small, and the laptop frame size is eaten by the large size screen bezel.. the MBP got thin screen bezel.

 

Yes, the screen bezel is so thick on the MacBook. I wish it was sleeker like the MBP was.

As for viewing angle, I will mostly agree. I'd say the most three people could watch a movie enjoyably on it .

 

yeah and i would also like to add that the MB's screen get worse if you view it from a far too. in comparison, it was fine on the MBP.

 

Yes...you guys are correct...even MB is little bit(15mm) thicker than mbp.. Could see the difference easily...

 

Its a good idea...pardon me for this novice question...if i install vista using bootcamp can i use the same installation in fusion too??? i mean whether that vista installation can be used both in bootcamp and fusion without having major problems??

 

Yes, you can use the same partition you created in Boot Camp to run Parallels and VMware Fusion .

 

Its awesome.....nice feature...this http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/627333/art/iomega/ego-usb-2-0-250-gb-portab.html external disk has wd 250gb sata 2.5 disk...will it be possible to remove this and upgrade MBP? will it work?

 

Unfortunately, the MBP cannot have the harddrive upgraded by the user, it must be taken to an Apple authorized technician. Otherwise, the warranty will be voided.

The MB, though, can have the harddrive upgraded by the user without voiding the warranty. However, its harddrive is MUCH easier to get to. And definitely a lot easier than the older iBooks.

 

The difference is actually 0.4 and not 0.2.

 

I have an external hard disk with ntfs partition...how do i read/write ntfs partition from mac os x. which is the safest and reliable way of doing it?

thanks

 

You can copy files/read from an NTFS partition in OS X, but you can't write to it without a 3rd-party application. And even then, those programs can be sketchy sometimes. I wouldn't risk it if you have important data on your drive. If you have enough space on your notebook, copy your data from the NTFS drive to your Mac, then format the external drive to MS-DOS/FAT32 using OS X's built-in disk utility. Then copy all your stuff back over to the external drive. You'll then be able to have full read/write access from any operating system you have on the Mac, including Windows and Linux. The only major disadvantage to FAT32 is that you can't copy any files that are larger than 4 GB.

Alternatively, you can leave an NTFS partition in tact if you frequently work in Windows, but have a FAT32 one on the same drive if you need to copy files back and forth between OS X and Windows.

 

i agree with you...it is not good to risk...i came across this http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/...no idea about how far i can rely on this.


Yes i do frequently work on windows...thats why i am looking for a way to read/write ntfs partition.

 

Well, if its extremely important for you, have you considered just formatting the drive for Mac (HFS+), and getting MacDrive for Windows (application) so Windows can read and write to HFS+ drives?

 

Hi Sam,

Thank for referring the macdrive application... may be i can have it my MBP windows to access mac os x partition...but i think it is not convenient to have the external hdd in hfs+ since i will be carrying it and sharing it with friends sometimes. so i have to choose fat32...have to spend time converting the ex. hdd to fat32 or stick with ntfs and try ntfs for mac..

 

I would like to know whether these two memory upgrades are same. One is for macbook and another one is for macbook pro.

Here are the memories
Macbook Pro
http://www.crucial.com/eu/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=C599448AA5CA7304

Macbook
http://www.crucial.com/eu/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=722F2AF1A5CA7304

Can i buy either of the one and use it in MB or MBP.. Since i am in a dilemma of choosing between MB and MBP, i would like to know if i buy the memory for MB will it be compatiable with MBP (because first i am going to try MB and if i am not satisfied with that i will replace MB with MBP)


Thanks

 

I got my mac black book today evening at the first shop received santarosa version in lisboa and started with leopard..as a beginner struggling to get used to mac os x & keyboard...learning...already started liking the mac build quality.. very good and smooth when compared to my asus g1s. but feeling little slow in my browsing with safari when compared to filrefox in windows.

going to order 4gb crucial ram..as mentioned in the previous post.

I read the sams starter guides too...bit uncomfortable about the home, end delete key..will get used to the mac keyboard. trackpad seems to be okey for me without the right mouse button.

the screen seems to be very nice and the viewing angle with 13 inch hurts my neck ..dont know how many days i will lost with this.

About leopard no comments at present since hardly i have started looking in to that..

This mac craziness keeping me away from regular schedules like workouts,cooking,shopping etc

Is there any windows pcs out there having this kind of build quality?

 

ASUS has some nice notebooks. In fact, they make the MacBooks for Apple.

And not sure if you have, but have you read these two guides yet? I note you mentioned that you've read my guide already, but these have pictures and are from Apple :

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101

These guides are really helpful to new switchers .

 

SR macbook here. 2.0, 4gb ram, 160gb 7200 hdd. Superb machine. Small, powerful, fast. Running Leopard + Vista business in parallel through VMWare fusion - no slowdown whatsoever.

Obviously not a gaming machine, but it's not designed to be. It's small enough so I can carry it around. All in all, it's a great developer machine. Probably the best laptop I ever had.

Originally I was going for a MBP 15", but I am really glad I got macbook.

 

Wow, 4 GB of RAM? I'm jealous!

 

I got it from NCIX btw, for 160$ or so. It really did work out pretty well - plus I can really see the difference. It's really great to have that much memory in such a small machine =)

 

I'm thinking about upgrading my RAM too... although I dont' think I need 4GB. I think NCIX sells Corsair 2x1GB for $59.99 right now... I might jump on that deal!

 

Really? That's awesome! Hard to find such deals in Canada...Newegg always has 'em but isn't in Canada .

 

yes newegg is giving away hot deals in software and hardware..i wish newegg have their online store opened for europe also.

I ordered this http://www.crucial.com/eu/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=C599448AA5CA7304
and waiting for it.

Will this goes into MBP also?


Leopard is not mounting my network share automatically nor it shows the computers in the network. For the first time when i started leopard was showing the network computers. After sometime it disappeared...and i have to manually connect and mount the shares everytime... any idea how to solve this problem?

thank you