Please help.

Can anyone explain the relationship between the difference in specs for the various MacBooks and their actual performace capabilities in laymans terms?

 

You are basically looking at various HD capacities and you are paying more for color. The black macbook is $200 more than the white one at $1299 but with almost the same specs, so color is what you are paying more for. I would suggest just the basic $1099 macbook, and upgrade ram and hd yourself if need be. But if you want a DVD burner, go for the midrange one.

 

Delta said it pretty well.

Base model is $1,099 which includes the slowest CPU speed (now when I say slow, don't think I'm saying it in a bad way, because in reality, it's a fast processor especially since its 'TWO' processors, reason why I have it in '' is because it's actually not two processors, but two in one)

As for Ram, it comes with 512MB, which is pretty standard for base these days, but remember more ram means faster computer, the more the better. I recommend at least 1GB of ram, also don't upgrade the memory via Apple, but third party, and install the ram yourself, Don't worry it's very easy to do as long as you read the instructions,need more help on this ask Us, we'll help you.

As Delta said the Black one is 200 more, basically you're paying 150 for the color black, and the other 50 for the larger HD, the larger the HD the more space you will have available for pictures, music and etc. You can upgrade the HD to larger size via Apple right away as it's on par with the rest of the computer industry, so buying third party isn't a must here.

The white one that cost 1299, has a faster processor than the 1,099 one, but the speed difference is marginal, it's not something you're really going to notice at all so 1.8 Ghz is fine. Now the 1299 one also includes a DVD burner, so if you ever have a home movie on a camcorder somewhere, and put it on your mac (which by the way is very easy to do) you can burn that movie to a DVD to watch on TV. So really Faster processor and the ability to burn DVD is what the price difference is from.

If burning a DVD isn't a big deal, than go for the 1,099 and try to get at least 1GB of Memory, and I highly recommend getting Apple's APP (Warranty extenstion) So if something ever goes wrong, Apple will cover it, granted it wasnt abuse that is, and trust me LCD screens are the MOST expensive part on a notebook. any more questions or clarification, just ask.

 

Thanks for the info it was very helpful, how drastic is the performance difference between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro? I've looked at the specs but as far as the #'s go I still don"t feel I fully understand what they mean. I'm definitly interested in video/photo editing and publishing. The last attempt I made at getting a suitable set up for this six years ago ended up being nothing but an overpriced paperweight PC. I don't want to get burned again investing in a computer that isn't stable enough to do what I want when I want. Thanks again.

 

They are very close performance-wise, what seperates them is the video, as the video has its own dedicated memory, this is good for gaming only mostly, it can help much in other areas, but if you aren't a big gamer its not really needed, the other difference is higher resolution on your screen as well, more real estate on your screen for applications. Video and Photo editing are CPU intensive mostly, and any help from video would be marginal, few things actually use video to help the cpu. MBP also has backlit keyboard that changes brightness by the room lighting as well.

Its something you really need to visit an Apple store or retailer for an better idea, which is always HIGHLY recommended. Check apple.com for nearby stores.

 

That's right, it is highly recommended to go and play with both machines for a while. One more note: the size of the notebook may also matter. If you don't mind lugging a bigger notebook around, then the 15,4" MBP may be a nice deal - it is even very thin and light for its size. But the Macbook is much more portable, so it depends on how you intend to use it.

 

Delta hit it on the nose