As a new (and thrifty) mac buyer, is it worth it to bump up a few hundred bucks for a MacBook Pro? Or is a MacBook all I need? for Questionland Seattle

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As a new (and thrifty) mac buyer, is it worth it to bump up a few hundred bucks for a MacBook Pro? Or is a MacBook all I need?

My last (and I mean LAST!) PC laptop just died. As in, dead. And I am finally ready to make the hop. Thing is, Macs are ridiculously more expensive. But that's ok. They've got payment plans and such. But what I wanna know is: why is everyone so strongly recommending the MacBookPro over the cheaper (and baseline higher-memory) MacBook which seems to have all the bells and whistles and is just as customizable. Is it simply that the MacBookPro is cooler-looking and more durable? I'm actually asking because I'd like to know: why is the MacBookPro better?

drb asked in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I owned a base model iBook (the older equivalent of a macbook) for several years, and it served me just fine for my needs. That is, until I went to grad school and started using really computer-intensive software. I upgraded to a macbook pro and that worked much better for me.

Short answer: for most people's needs, the macbook is just fine. However, if you're planning on doing a lot of heavy computer use, such as video / photo editing or 1st person shooter games, you may want to consider upgrading to a macbook pro.

In general, macs may be more expensive up front, but it's a superior product that comes with a lot of software off the bat. If you add in the equivalent cost of all the software the mac comes with, the costs between macs and pcs become much closer.

emily answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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The plain MacBook doesn't have all the same bells and whistles, as others have already mentioned. It doesn't have an SD card slot (standard on even low-cost netbooks, but Mac-wise only the MacBook Pro has it). It doesn't have a backlit keyboard (very useful for some people). The SD slot is very valuable to me and life without it would be meaningless. (Yes, I know one could simply plug a SD card adapter into the USB, but that can get clunky.)

Can you hold off on buying one for a month or two? There's a good chance that the MBP line will be updated very soon. No guarantees of course, but there are signs pointing to an update sooner rather than later. See recent rumors under MB and MBP sections:

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook

stinkbug answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Regardless of which model you choose (which totally depends on your needs as others have pointed out) I would seriously consider a refurb model on the Apple webstore - and spend the extra $$ for the AppleCare extended warranty. In 3 years, something is going to break on a laptop and the AppleCare will fix it unless it is due to abuse/accident etc. I'm on my 3rd refurb (over 8 years) and have been very happy with that route. Good luck!

nwMarco answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Nathaniel Irons

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I wouldn't recommend anybody buy the $1000 base-model macbook.

First, the aluminum body on the MBP is much higher quality than polycarbonate plastic. Just pick one up in a store and try to flex it. That's not just a cosmetic advantage, it's protection for parts built to tight tolerances, like the optical drive and the display.

Second, the RAM ceiling is double the 4 GB limit on the low-end model. 8 GB of RAM costs about $350 now, and will continue to fall until you have no reason not to max it out. RAM, not CPU or video performance, is increasingly the limiting factor for extending a computer's lifespan. Stuffed with memory and a solid state drive (again, wait a year or two for the price to drop), the MBP could be the rare five-year laptop.

Third, it has Firewire, and the plastic model doesn't. I see a lot more failing disks than most people so I freely cop to a bias, but the ability to boot a Mac as a hard disk and plug it into another computer for data recovery or testing is a lifesaver. Apple's sacrifice of that traditional advantage on the low-end machine is shameful.

I buy Macs because both the software and the hardware are better. Since the introduction of the 13" pro model, the base-model macbook hardware just isn't better enough to mess with.

Nathaniel Irons answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I faced this same choice. Went with the MacBook Pro because it had a Firewire port and my video camera requires that. And I wanted to be able to edit video when I'm away from my desktop.

Plus, the aluminum body seemed sturdier. And it's only $200 more so I figured: Why not?

Are Macs ridiculously more expensive? They do cost more but that's because they come with everything and have higher quality components. Just check the gorgeous Mac display and you'll see where the money went.

You can get a cheaper laptop PC but it won't be the same.

Prospero answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Kristin Bell

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It totally depends on your needs like others have said.

Go for the pro if you are into gaming, heavy photo editing, etc.

But if you were into heavy photo editing or gaming I wouldn't really recommend a laptop anyway. I would recommend a desktop.

As far as the MacBook (regular flavor) goes I think they are great little machines. I have had iBooks and now I have a macbook and it does everything I need it to do. If I want to do more intensive design work, I use my iMac. I don't have any problem with getting my cover dirty and I don't really carry it around too much any more, but I was hauling it around a few years ago and it did just fine. I use my macbook every singe day and it is great, so it isn't like you'd be throwing money down the drain or anything. Personally, I like the macbooks better, because if (god forbid) the hard drive fails out of warranty or something it would be cheaper to replace than a macbook pro and for a laptop I really don't need any more computing power than what the macbook has versus how much more the pros cost.

Kristin Bell answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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This will be a shallow response, not based on tech but on matters which are irrelevant to most. So no need to smack me for that ok?
I went for the MacBook Pro because (a) my roommate's MacBook looks grey and crappy after only a few months, (b) I like the backlit keyboard feature on the Pro and (c) if it is only a few hundred more why not go for the schmik looking casing? You will have it for at least a few years, may as well look good.

ozchick answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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It depends on what you're going to do with it. If you plan on doing basic web browsing/e-mail/chat with lite use of photo editing/watching DVDs etc. then the basic MacBook will probably work fine for you. If you're planning on doing any gaming whatsoever, extensive photo/video editing/telecommuting or if you really really want an SD slot then go with the Pro. It also is more durable, so if you plan on hauling it around a lot and using it on the go it might be worth the price bump just for the durability. Personally I love my MacbBook pro and would never switch back to a PC, but I think a MacBook basic probably would have resulted in similar feelings.

Sierra answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I just went Macbook from PC. My understanding in comparing between price and features was that I would be getting fewer features (memory, ports etc) for the base macbook pro model than I would with the base macbook. The guy at the store actually tried to sell me that the titanium case would make me more credible when I walked into a meeting with clients rather than an old macbook I had in college. I called bullsh*t. This stupid line of thinking sold me on the macbook. And I'm totally happy! Got iwork and a printer/scanner and I'm good to go.

K8 answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Sorry, there is no such thing as a thrifty new Mac buyer. There are many excellent reasons to buy a Mac but thrift isn't one of them. "Ridiculously more expensive" are your words, not mine.

If you want to be thrifty, spend ~$250 on a Core 2 Duo laptop here, download and burn the Ubuntu Linux LiveCD image for the cost of a blank CD-ROM, spend a minimal amount of time Googling and customizing, and then do everything the open-source way that you would have done on a MacBook.

capicola answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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