MacBook or MacBook Pro...

MonkieMann

MonkieMann

MonkieMann

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Sheffield
hey all,

I know you probably get this question all the time, so if anyone has a link to another thread like this one, let me know :)

righto, i've decided i'm going for a mac over a normal laptop, but now i need to decide whether to spend the extra and get the macbook pro? another £350?!

i'm looking at getting either the middle macbook, or the lowest macbook pro

i'll be using it mainly for internet, msn, photoshop, dreamweaver and visual studio (C# .net, via vista, via bootcamp)

i'm currently a uni student, so i get HE discount, but i work part-time for a web design company, i'll be getting a full time job there after uni too :)

i'm not bothered about gaming, as i have consoles, and an alright pc

any advice would be a big help :)

one last thing, MBP matte or glossy screen? :)
 
I had a 2.0ghz Macbook and then moved to the 2.4MacBookPro

I prefer the MBP, for things like higher screen res, better built quality - all the lurvely aluminium etc :)

The MB is a cracking value machine, and tbh is a better portable seeing as its slightly smaller, lighter etc.

Either way you won't be disappointed.

Best bet is to get to an apple store or retailer and try them, see what suits best.

Oh and..
imho the Matte screen is better (having owned a matte Powerbook, then Glossy MB and now back to a Matte MBP)
 
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was it worth it? :)

i really like the idea of having a MBP, if only for the bigger screen and higher res

EDIT: cool, i'll pop into my local apple store when i get the chance :)

anyone else done this? i.e. upgraded from MacBook to MacBook Pro?
 
well, when it comes down to screen size and aesthetics, only you can decide... i went with a macbook as it was cheaper but just as good for what i want (photoshop, flash, illustrator) since it would be plugged into an external monitor...

looking at bench results, you aren't going to get any more performance for the applications you are going to be using by getting the mbp, so like i said, its down to screen size and aesthetics... if you're not playing games then the video card is a moot point...

with regards to the apps you would be using... the macbook does the job very well, with regards to photoshop, i can make it hit a wall (in fact, i did so yesterday when creating a flowing water effect using 3 different filters and lots of twisty warping... on an A3 size document, so i can't hold that against it (but it really did slow down the cores were maxed!!)

so yeah, for normal photoshop use, its just fine but like i said, the mbp wouldn't be any better... if you do intense stuff then the iMac offers slightly better performance otherwise your looking at the monsters which eat up photoshop (and anything else for that matter) for breakfast :p

oh and i reckon they look better... love the whole "white" thing :D
 
yea, i see your point, i heard that the mbp wasn't all the better performance wise, and i guess the £350 could get me a nice 24" samsung monitor :p

i set out looking for a light weight portable laptop, so i guess the macbook would be the right choice, my gfriend has a macbook, and she loves it, i use it when ever i get the chance, to get the feel os osx (and i love it!)

does anyone know if they plan to update the macbook soon? and am i right in thinking they all have santa rose chipsets now?

cheers :)
 
I'd say get the MBP if you intend on doing web-design (or similar), and you want to have the larger-screen with the portability (unless you want to lug a monitor around).

Otherwise the MacBook & screen will suffice if you aren't bothered about having a large screen at all times.
 
EVH said:
I'd say get the MBP if you intend on doing web-design (or similar), and you want to have the larger-screen with the portability (unless you want to lug a monitor around).

Otherwise the MacBook & screen will suffice if you aren't bothered about having a large screen at all times.
Click to expand...
i see your point, but 15" is pretty bad for web design anyway, any serious web design needs a decent monitor... 15 is bad, 13 is a bit worse...

so its nice to have portability when i need it, but thats not for work, that for casual browsing, documents etc... for graphics work i wouldn't dream of using it in "laptop mode"... and like i said, 15" would only be a bit better...

conclusion, get whichever you want, but you'll probably want a big screen as well ;)
 
woot! just got a macbook pro 15"! went for matte display in the end, think its better overall :) thanks for all your comments!
cheers
if anyone has any question about it, just ask! :)
 
Just bought a 15" Glossy MBP myself and the display is awesome. Fantastic battery life, fast and oozes quality. Very, very pleased.

Just wished you could double tap on the trackpad for windows.
 
yea i'm loving it!
one question... why does it have tiger on it?
do i have to upgrade it myself?
confused :S
any advice would be great, thanks

EDIT: what should i do with the battery? does it need to be charged? or should i let it run out and then charge it fully?

cheers :D
 
MonkieMann said:
yea i'm loving it!
one question... why does it have tiger on it?
do i have to upgrade it myself?
confused :S
any advice would be great, thanks

EDIT: what should i do with the battery? does it need to be charged? or should i let it run out and then charge it fully?


cheers :D
Click to expand...

It should have come with Leopard..

If they haven't given you the disks for it then ring them and I'm sure they will happily send you some.

Doesn't matter with the battery tbh, do what ever you want. Mine is always on charge, as when the battery is fullu charged the MBP runs of the mains. :)
 
wierd :S

how do i tell if mines a Santa Rosa?
i don't have a clue how to find out system information on a mac :S
cheers

EDIT: found system details :p doesn't say anything about it being a santa rosa tho :S

it does have the new gfx card, and the 800mhz fsb, does this make it a santa rosa?

p.s. how do i enable quick look?

cheers again
 
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Yep yours is Santa Rosa as it's the new processor. Don't worry about that.

Leopard should have been pre-loaded, but Apple haven;t got round to pre-loading all their machines yet so give you the disks to do it yourself.

Quick look is already enabled. Either ctrl + click the thing you want to see then select quick look, or in finder select the options button (this one
dock-20071222-121159.jpg
) and select quick look.

:)
 
using my mac really for the first time since i got it, and i'm worried about a couple of things, wondered if anyone could clear them up for me :)

1) Finder has stopped responding twice (in an hour, think it had something to do with my pen-drive, but can't be sure)
2) Fans are running rather loud, pretty much all the time, i thought macbooks were supposed to be pretty quiet?
3) Tried opening a couple of programs and they just never opened :S

EDIT:
4) OSX doesn't even pick my pen-drive up now, therefore another reboot (4th in a hour and half) :(
5) Keyboard stopped working for about 2 minutes after reboot ...

whats wrong with my macbook? :confused:

could it be possible i have a faulty MBP? or am i doing something to upset osx?

cheers :)

p.s. apart from that i'm loving it, its soooo pretty, lol :p
 
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