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1. 

   #1 Peter says:

   Your analysis is through and accurate. Get yourself the MacBook with bigger hard drive from Apple, get 4gb of memory from OWC, and call it a day..

   If you were going to hook it to an external monitor, or run vmware/parallels on it, then the Pro would have made a bit more sense..

2. 

   #2 Oli Kenobi says:

   Go for the MacBook, the Pro will be overkill for your needs.

3. 

   #3 wilson says:

   Good comparison. I’m shopping for a portable myself… Here are some additional comparisons.

   MB - 3mb L2 cache
   MBP - 6mb L2 cache

   Display (if you consider brightness an issue)
   MB - TFT
   MBP - LED TFT

   HardDrives
   MB - Seems capped at 5200 RPM
   MBP- 5200 up to an upgraded 7200 (this factor + video card + 6mb cache = better transition potential for keynote)

   Don’t forget MBP comes with DVI to VGA adapter ($20 for MB)

   I’m a multimedia person and for quick production on the run I think the mac book cuts the mustard. Sitting behind the desk a macPro is the way to go. Did your budget include cinema displays w/ laptop?

4. 

   #4 Jalle says:

   For me it was the look that tipped the balance in the end. MBP simply looks better:) But also I wanted the bigger screen (15″) and I realized that despite the difference in price, I wouldn’t be satisfied with MB.

5. 

   #5 Todd says:

   The reasons you mentioned are why I decided to go with a loaded black MacBook (it just looks nicer than a white one) instead of a MacBook Pro.

6. 

   #6 bloatedsack says:

   Buy the Pro. It really is better, and with the educational discount (I “homeschool children”), its not that much more.

   There’s a world of difference in the video cards. The only reason I dumped my Powerbook Ti was because the screen cut out, otherwise, even at 800ghz, it was more than enough to do my tasks.

7. 

   #7 Luca says:

   I was in the same boat as yourself, and Todd. I went for a Black Macbook also because the MBP was just way to much money for the personally minor benefits.

8. 

   #8 Joe says:

   for doing real work, the 15″ screen is a MUST.
   of course, you should have external monitors as well, but in that case you would just extend the desktop.

   My wife uses a 13″ MacBook for everything, and she seems to like it. It’s a fine little machine, but I can’t stand to do anything on it more than casual websurfing because the screen is just too damned small. My 15″ MBP, just 2 inches bigger, makes a WORLD of difference.

9. 

   #9 Alex Muller says:

   This is a really close call - I’m personally using a MacBook with 4GB of RAM and am finding it fine for absolutely everything. It’s just, the MacBook Pro feels… snappier, and it’s the graphics card that’s making the difference. While $650 is probably a lot, it’s £330 here - which is just about worth it.

10. 

    #10 James says:

    The MBP screen absolutely destroys the MB screen. Not only is it bigger, it is also much brighter and the colors are much more vivid. If you plan on doing real work in this machine, go with the MBP for sure.

11. 

    #11 Nathaniel Bibler says:

    If this is a machine you will use for several hours throughout the day without an external mouse, I’d throw my $0.02 and say that the multi-touch pad on the MBP is more than a minor convenience. It’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t used to it being there, but once you use it, it is worth at least $100, if not more.

    No moving the pointer to the sidebars, AT ALL; just two-finger slide to scroll. That alone saves me at least a few minutes a day, not to mention relieves the need for me to *think* about how I’m reading your post vs. just reading your post (focusing on the task at hand). As long as the pointer is somewhere in the window, scrolling is effortless and thoughtless. Spread across the lifetime of the machine (3-4 years?) even saving me 2-3 minutes per day, which is an understatement, more than justifies some cost difference between the two.

    Think about how often you scroll a window! Web browsers, text editors, email ….

12. 

    #12 Scott says:

    MBP has a better screen and I can connect up another monitor and the macbook can’t.

13. 

    #13 HWH says:

    Same analysis hee, same conclusion.

    A key factor: will you be looking at the laptop’s screen most of the time; or an external monitor most of the time. If external monitor, is it larger than 1920×1200 (typical 24″ and 27″ size)?

14. 

    #14 HWH says:

    Uh, that is: Same analysis *here*, same conclusion. Must stop proofreading comments AFTER submission.

15. 

    #15 Bruce says:

    MBP has a better screen and I can connect up another monitor and the macbook can’t

    I’m using a 1.83GHz Core Duo (old, not CD 2) with 2GM RAM to drive a 23″ Cinema Display. It’s great having the combined screen space, moving windows from one display to the other. No real world issues editing in Photoshop, watching fullscreen video, etc.

16. 

    #16 Panny says:

    @Nathaniel Bibler

    The macbook does have 2 finger scrolling (and 2 finger-click for ‘right’ click which is also very handy) - you don’t need the macbook pro fir this.

17. 

    #17 monkeypox says:

    don’t forget that the ease of upgrading the non-pro macbook’s hard drive (remove the battery, unscrew 3 screws and slide in a new drive) is a huge plus. upgrading on the macbook pro is a much more complicated procedure. save yourself some money; get the smallest drive you can with your macbook and replace it yourself.

18. 

    #18 Litos says:

    Plus, the MB DOES have a connection to an external display… At least mine does (got it last November), so a new one will surely have it.

    So, down to the graphics and looks… I’d get another MB right now!!

19. 

    #19 Benjamin says:

    I look at a laptop as a long term purchase. With that in mind, I purchased a MBP. My reasoning was that even though it cost more upfront, it costs less in the long run because I can keep it longer between refreshes. My father has a 2 year old MB that is feeling really slow and if I were using it, I’d have to upgrade to a newer model. With my MBP I’m planning on using it for at least 3 to 4 years.

    On the negative side, replacing the hard drive in the MBP is a pain in comparison to doing so on the MB. My keyboard still isn’t flush :-).

    Ben

20. 

    #20 tory says:

    MPB, definitely. The display makes all the difference, as has been previously noted, in a real-world work environment. Since my laptop is my work machine (some programming, occasional Linux sysadmin and XP network support), my entertainment center (music, movies, surfing), and belongs to my employer (so what difference does a couple hundred extra mean to me?), the Pro was a no brainer. Love it! It’s a wonderful machine that runs XP under parallels as fast as most native XP installs in our unit and gives me four OSes at my fingertips. If I ever get fired or leave for somewhere where they will not supply me with a replacement, the first thing I do will buy one myself.

    (Wife has a MB– perfect for her needs– being dragged around libraries and academic conferences and such. Portability is the biggest issue here, of course.)

21. 

    #21 Peter says:

    I’m very interested in this comparison but there’s one key element I’d love to see discussed — wireless reception. My wife has a Macbook and gets fantastic wireless reception — my Aluminum Powerbook can’t even pick up a signal in our living room where she’s easily able to surf the net. How do the (very similarly cased) Macbook Pro’s stack up on wireless reception? I’d go for a Macbook Pro in a heartbeat if I thought I’d get that kind of wireless reach.

22. 

    #22 maestroQC says:

    My wife has a MacBook and I a MBP.
    The illuminated keyboard is a trivial feature but it makes a hell of a difference.
    I couldn’t go without it.

23. 

    #23 John says:

    Backlit keyboard is killer. For me, that and the graphics card are worth the extra coin. With Leopard (and apps) using Core Animation/Image/Graphics for so many things it really makes a difference.

    Peter - I have no issues with wireless reception. I have read it is better with the MacBook - but I upgraded from a PowerBook and there is no comparison.

24. 

    #24 Dave says:

    I also have been doing this analysis. I concluded that if you really can convince yourself that the smaller screen is OK that the MB is OK.

    Actually the difference in cost between the 15″ MBP and 17″ MBP which has more screen resolution is a tougher call to make than the MB vs 15″ MBP call. BTW the Apple refurb store usually has great deals on the MB and MBP. There are also MB there and even an occasional Black one.

    I have never known how the refurbs do so any comments on that route would be welcomed. I am leaning toward the 15inch MBP just because it will be useful for a longer period of time plus the display size is something I need.

25. 

    #25 Michael Vermaak says:

    I have a MBP but also use a MB on shows along side it.
    One thing I find with any glossy screen is the brightness compared to the LED screen from the MBP, also the matt screen on the MBP is so useable in most light conditions while with the glossy screen I find it hard to concentrate for periods in most light conditions. Also the resolution makes a huge difference for me.

    If your going to do any Final Cut work I would highly recommend a MBP over a MB but it’s all down to how much you will use it.

    If your not doing lots of video editing and are fine with the glossy screen and resolution the go with the MB.

    Everyone’s needs are different, a colleague has a MBP for sending emails surfing the net and running keynote and PowerPoint presentations the only reason he has a MBP is for playing COD4 in Windows!

26. 

    #26 longwing says:

    My iBook G4 has an expiring warranty in December so I will face the same choice. I have always gone with the low end macs. Since the days of the Performa. My wife has a Powerbook G4 and the metal case feels too slick to me. I feel like I’m going to drop it. I get a better grip on the plastic iBook.

    Although I’ll probably get the MacBook, if I wrote the Apple Blog I’d probably have to get a MacBook Pro.

27. 

    #27 Francisco Mota says:

    I have both – I’ve been using a 2.3 MBP for over a year now and I’m in the process of switching to a black 2.4 MacBook with 4gb of ram.

    My usage pattern is very similar to yours and after a year I was getting tired of lugging the MBP all over the place – without any advantage: I don’t usually do anything with my computer that really needs a dedicated graphics card, so I took the plunge.

    The Macbook form factor is perfect for me. And it has plenty of horsepower.
    And between the smaller and lighter computer+power brick, my bag feels a lot lighter.
    So far the only thing I’ve missed is the backlight keyboard…

    When I first bought the Macbook I was thinking in keeping the 2, but now I’m selling the MacBook Pro.
    I’m very pleased with my Macbook and find it perfectly usable has my primary machine.

28. 

    #28 John says:

    The MBP is really not that much heavier or larger than the MB. Not a factor really for me…

29. 

    #29 Jethro Jones says:

    Thanks for all your comments! I did not mention the LED Backlit display on the MBP. That is another good selling point. And Peter brings up a good point about wireless reception. It has been rumored that they did away with the metal casing on the iPhone because the reception was poorer than plastic.

    I am still undecided, but I will post what I do get when I get it.

30. 

    #30 Erik says:

    I have a MBP from before and I got a Blackbook. I had to sell it due to its poor screen. I got an Air instead, mainly for the better screen. The screen on the newer MacBooks are incredibly bad. Dither and bad contrast.

31. 

    #31 Joe says:

    i also don’t think the MBP is really that much bigger or heavier than the MB.
    On the contrary, I think my wife’s 2 year old (1st gen Intel) MB is f’ing heavy for its size. My 5 month old MBP, though, feels almost lightweight when I pick it up, considering the area. Also, the MBP feels thinner to me, even though it is ~same as the MB.

32. 

    #32 DJFelix says:

    The biggest difference for me was the ExpressCard slot. I use an eSATA expansion card, and a flash card reader in mine. It makes life much easier for me, but I am a power user.

    When I bought my wife a new laptop, I went for the MacBook. She would never use an expresscard slot, and the specs of the MacBook are more than she will ever use.

    My advice would be that if they are a power user, go for the Pro. If not, get the macbook and save the cash.

33. 

    #33 Shay says:

    I agree with a lot of your justification for a MacBook over a MacBook Pro, I went through a similar decision a while back.

    But in the end I chose the pro, bigger screen real-estate (not physical size but amount of pixels), video card, backlit keyboard - I love the MBP keyboard, my wife has a MacBook and I definitely prefer the MBP KB in comparison. The one thing I’m missing is the LED screen, I bought before they were introduced.

    I have loved every minute with my MBP, I’ve had it hooked up to a 24″ Dell 2407 at home and have used it for keynote presentations on the road. All in all its a wonderful machine and I would make the same decision again regardless of the extra cost (not that I can afford it easily).

34. 

    #34 Ben says:

    Go for the Macbook. I have a MBP at work, and I would gladly go for a MB and upgrade the HD and RAM.

35. 

    #35 Ken says:

    I saw several comments that MB also had the external video adapter. Can it do dual-head support like the MBP? A feature I use constantly is dual-head support with an external monitor above and behind the laptop. Lots of screen real estate between the two monitors and I find I’m much more productive. If MB supports dual-head with different content on the external, then I agree with others, MB is probably fine for you. For me, dual-head is a deal breaker.

36. 

    #36 chris says:

    dude… In my opinion… the macbook is the worst product made by apple. the build absolutely SUCKS. it is such a flimsy piece of garbage… it creaks and groans when you pick it up, and the video card in te pro is way worth the extra cash in my book (i play video games), all that rumored gpu powered photoshop action in the future would beefit from the gpu too. I have had both macbook and a pro, and looking back… the pro was so worth my cash. LOVE IT!

37. 

    #37 Ian says:

    Not to hijack this thread, but I work for a Mac reseller as a service tech and am an avid reader. I’ve commented on here before about service issues.

    If you or your company needs anything, or a quote, let me know. I’d be glad to help.

38. 

    #38 Lon Seidman says:

    For your situation, the bottom line decision will be whether or not you’re driving an external display. The Macbooks are very powerful little machines but the on board Intel video becomes a major impediment when driving external displays.

    At work I plug my Macbook Pro into a 24″ 1920×1200 display. The Macbook really struggled at the resolution, especially since it’s using system memory to drive the video card. The difference since upgrading to the Pro was huge.

    If you don’t plan on driving a large external display you’ll do fine with the Macbook.

39. 

    #39 Jethro Jones says:

    I typically don’t use another monitor, though I do sometimes project a mirror image or a second display on a projector screen. I have noticed some slow down on my MacBook when I have the external display (non-mirrored) up.

40. 

    #40 Jonas says:

    Good analysis on the Pro’s and Cons.
    Being honest about your likely usage patterns(power user, light user, gamer player, media maven ) are a crucial part of the decision matrix. But …..after all is said and done, do what makes you happy
    It seems simplistic and sappy, but considering that e either machine would suit for the work you do, all that you are left with is which would you enjoy more.
    Satisfaction is not a logical proposition, it is an emotional one.
    Some prefer blondes…..
    My own vote would be for the Macbook, the !!!idea!!! of the smaller yet very powerful machine speaks to me.

41. 

    #41 Kelly says:

    Short and sweet, spend the dough, get the pro.

42. 

    #42 Hannah says:

    It seems this is a common question around the internet these days - I saw this on Sunday: SchwarzTech >> Sunday Dialogue: MacBook or MacBook Pro?

43. 

    #43 Jörg says:

    Seriously, I have had the Pro for more then two years now and I have never, not a single time, used the backlit keyboard. In which particular situation did that come in handy for any of you guys? I’m really curious to know, maybe I’m missing something here, but that’d be no reason for me to vote pro Pro.

44. 

    #44 jg says:

    IMHO it’s not a good idea to buy an Apple notebook right now. There have been official claims by Apple to move the entire lineup to LED-backlit displays (which will give you an hour of extra battery time on the MacBook).
    In addition to this there were rumors going around about aluminium MacBooks coming up. Which you might want (I know I do) for the look and the feel.
    Also Intel has moved the new Centrino 2 platform to mid-july, and Apple is often among the first vendors to adopt improved chips into their machines.

    Taken together, if you can wait a month or two: Do it, there’s major improvements coming up.

45. 

    #45 raj says:

    From what I’ve seen, the Macbook seems to have consistently better battery life by about 30+ minutes.

    Re. connecting an external monitor, I know you used to not be able to do that with an iBook, but I thought the MacBook was capable of driving a 23″ external monitor. I could be wrong.

    I’ve also heard that the plastic case of the MacBook gets slightly better WiFi reception than the MacBook Pro.

    Personally, I’m rather torn. I have always had a MacBook Pro, but have many time thought that maybe a MacBook with max. memory and a lot of disk might be better. (I’d love to see how a MacBook handles Second Life graphics. That gets intense on my MacBook Pro with the fans going full speed!)

46. 

    #46 Michael says:

    This post is fab… I’m on the verge of getting a mac laptop, and have been debating myself over this very issue (to the point my wife thinks I’m going nuts!)
    I’m 80% certain now that I will be getting the MBP 15″ within the next month (birthdays are always a great excuse!) for these reasons:
    Screen - Higher res, bigger screen, LED backlighting giving more even brightness, Matte finish (I appreciate the glossy advantages, but I think it might drive me nuts)
    Video card - I am sure I will dabble with WinXP 3D games now and then. Also I’m hoping that Snow Leopard would take advantage of the GPU’s processing power and help boost overall performance, but thats just rumours - dont take my word for it!
    Lust - The MBP just screams out “touch me” to me. Form factor looks so much nicer, and the 1″ thickness accentuated by the larger area. And the backlit keyboard may not get much use, but would be a godsend when it is required.
    The biggest issue would be me knowing what the MBP can do, and always looking back with envious looks later on if I went for the MB. Shallow thought, but like Jonas said, a part of it comes down to emotions.

    Now my next challenge is: WHICH Macbook Pro??? 15″ Baseline; 15″ better graphics and more efficient CPU (ie. less heat); 17″ baseline or 17″ high res??? Buying an Apple is so hard…

47. 

    #47 Michael says:

    Looking back at my post, what I meant by “… and the 1″ thickness accentuated by the larger area…” was that in relative terms, the laptop’s overall dimensions make it look even more sleek and lithe.

48. 

    #48 James says:

    The biggest difference by far is in quality of the screen. Make sure you compare them side by side. The Macbook’s screen looks washed out in comparison to the Pro’s, which is has much better colors, sharpness, brightness - and especially viewing angle.

49. 

    #49 DaveLG says:

    I really do want a larger screen so the MBP is my only choice. I decided to wait until August/September as I think we should new hardware by then. I have reviewed some of the new Dell machines so I know what a complete hardware update can give a line.

    I have looked at the MacBook and MBP side-by-side in a store. The MBP screen has an edge for me although either is good.

    Well I decided… I am waiting for an update to the MBPs. I will either get a new version or a great deal on the existing versions. In the interim I will just have to suffer.

50. 

    #50 JohnL says:

    Luca (#7) wrote:
    I was in the same boat as yourself, and Todd. I went for a Black Macbook also because the MBP was just way to much money for the personally minor benefits.

    Getting a black MB costs $100 more than the exact same MB in white. I find it odd that you complain about spending money on stuff that has “personally minor benefits,” but don’t seem to care about spending money something that provides zero benefit to your system. I won’t deny that it looks snappy, but if you’re worried about cost, you should try to avoid window dressing.

51. 

    #51 rupps says:

    i think it’s quite easy: If your primary interest is MOBILITY, go for the MacBook. If you are more after a primary computer, MacBookPro has more to offer. This said, if your usage pattern involves mostly surfing, word processing, e-mail, and stuff like that, the MB might be enough.

    If you need horse power, MBP is the only option. Besides the decent graphic card, you get twice the processor cache. That’s a real boost! And specially now with multi-core cpu’s. For me, the relative importance of MBP features is: Dedicated Video Card >> Processor Cache >> Screen Size >> LED Screen technology

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