Apple Mac Book And Mac Book Pro

[FarangBuddha]

I was out looking at computer porn today in the shops and saw the specs for the newest models of the Mac Book and the Mac Book Pro 13 inch notebooks. It was curious to note the the specs for both models [Pro's base model] were the same but the Pro's metal body-work will cost you 10,000 baht more (US$ 300). They both now have unibody cases...just that the MB's is white plastic and the MB-P's is aluminum.

Is the metal body alone worth the extra money?

Edited December 11, 2009 by FarangBuddha

[Curt1591]

Besides being noticeably more compact, the MacBook Pro also has a built in card reader and a firewire port, nice if you are into photography and video.

[rfukata]

I have a Mac Book (white plastic body) and it suits me fine for the things I do.

just install the latest software i.e. snow leopard and your'e good to go. you'll also have automatic software updates online

regularly so you don't have to keep up with whats new.

a good choice, get a MAC

[noahvail]

I've got a MBP 15P" with the metal case. It's a couple of years old now. Sad to say that I've dropped it a couple of times it goes with me wherever I go). Not from any great height, but enough to have dented the case in a couple of places. I don't know if the plastic would have broken in those mishaps, but if it did, I can imagine the repair bills would be rather high - especially here in LoS.

Happy to say that the MBP has really given me no problems, despite the drops. The battery always ran hot, though, and finally hit the end of its life last month. Despite it not being under warranty with AppleCare, they replaced the battery for free. I now get 3-1/2 hours from a full charge. I understand the newer ones give even more time.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

there are a lot more differences

ram speed. unibody is DDR3(1066mhz) vs DDR2(800mhz)

Display is backlit LED with unibody vs CCFL non backlit

as noted unibody has firewire port

SD card slot port for unibody

backlit keyboard for unibody

trackpad for unibody is new glass multitouch buttonless

slimmer and stronger enclosure. the polycarbonate whites enclosures have a lot of issues with discoloration and bulkier.

If I was making a choice and could afford it I would definitely go MBP and 15" to boot. Why settle for a 13"

[FarangBuddha]

I sorry to say but many of you are wrong...you are comparing the OLD Mac Book (white plastic) to the Mac Book Pro (aluminum). I am comparing the NEW Mac Book (white plastic) 13.3" to the current Mac Book Pro 13.3 (aluminum) base model. Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

Here are the specs for the new Mac Book (white plastic):

2.26 Core 2 Duo

2GB DDR3 RAM

250 GB HD

Super-Drive

Nvidia 9400 Graphics

Unibody plastic body.

These are the same specs as the Mac Book Pro 13.3 inch base model (aluminum) but plastic will cost you B10k less than the metal housing.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

macbook/pro comparison

yes very similar. the new one even has a unibody polycarbonate.

It does seem to have at least one significant difference.

max ram 4 gb vs 8 gb

Unless I am reading this wrong. I would definitely want 8gb potential down the road when they bring the price of simms down. I have a first gen MBP that only supports 2 gb and I am max'ed out and would love to upgrade to 4 gb now. Otherwise my machine is perfect for my needs after 4 years.

[Curt1591]

I sorry to say but many of you are wrong...you are comparing the OLD Mac Book (white plastic) to the Mac Book Pro (aluminum). I am comparing the NEW Mac Book (white plastic) 13.3" to the current Mac Book Pro 13.3 (aluminum) base model. Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Edited December 11, 2009 by Curt1591

[Deksan]

I sorry to say but many of you are wrong...you are comparing the OLD Mac Book (white plastic) to the Mac Book Pro (aluminum). I am comparing the NEW Mac Book (white plastic) 13.3" to the current Mac Book Pro 13.3 (aluminum) base model. Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Not sure why there is such difference, but the aluminium conduct heat way better than white plastic, also it s pbly more solid and more resistant to a glossy plastic. Thing to notice it s only 200$ difference in the us and not 200$ != 10000 bahts In the end if you are thinking to buy a macbook use the education discount from the website.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/Singapore/Images/tcTHedu.htm

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

also makes total sense to buy applecare on ebay. You just need the serial number and its often half the price. I did this last purchase and applecare is applecare and was accepted no problem at apple dealer here in CM.

[FarangBuddha]

Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Sorry...you are correct...the specs are not the same...the $300.00 more expensive Mac Book Pro (aluminum base model) comes with only a 120GB HD...not the 250GB found on the cheaper Mac Book plastic.

[Curt1591]

Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Sorry...you are correct...the specs are not the same...the $300.00 more expensive Mac Book Pro (aluminum base model) comes with only a 120GB HD...not the 250GB found on the cheaper Mac Book plastic.

Sounds like you are simply trying to get validation for a decision you've already made.

Bottom line is that you are getting a Mac. If you are coming from the PC world, either should thrill you.

But, if you do video, think "firewire".

[endure]

Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Sorry...you are correct...the specs are not the same...the $300.00 more expensive Mac Book Pro (aluminum base model) comes with only a 120GB HD...not the 250GB found on the cheaper Mac Book plastic.

Sounds like you are simply trying to get validation for a decision you've already made.

Bottom line is that you are getting a Mac. If you are coming from the PC world, either should thrill you.

[FarangBuddha]

Believe me, the specs are the SAME...except for the price as I mentioned.

And the size, the firewire and the card slot.

Sorry...you are correct...the specs are not the same...the $300.00 more expensive Mac Book Pro (aluminum base model) comes with only a 120GB HD...not the 250GB found on the cheaper Mac Book plastic.

Sounds like you are simply trying to get validation for a decision you've already made.

Bottom line is that you are getting a Mac. If you are coming from the PC world, either should thrill you.

Mai chai. I am not in the market for a new notebook...was just making a comparison between the two models...if people thought an aluminum case was worth $300.00 more than plastic. I agree that both are sleek machines.

[Curt1591]

"Sleek" might be one of the considerations.

The aluminum case is not just substituted for the plastic. The machine is an entirely different build.

[nikster]

Traditionally the LCD screens on the Pro are a lot better. But the new MacBook unibody has a LED backlit screen so you'd have to go to the store to see for yourself whether the one in the pro is better now.

I have a unibody MacBook Pro 17" and I have to say the unibody construction is simply amazing. There is nothing like it. This doesn't compare to the old MacBook Pro alu enclosures (which I also had). The unibody is built like a rock. It's feels like a solid piece of aluminium and glass - probably because it is, for the most part. It runs very cool too - unlike older MacBook Pros. Battery life is also wonderful. I get 6 real life hours (they claim "up to 8"). Which is fantastic for a full featured desktop replacement class machine. In fact, unrivaled on the 17".

The official price difference in the USA is $200, which I think is reasonable and explains why the MBP 13 is the most popular Apple laptop. So if the difference in Thailand is 10k, it's overpriced here... $100 Thailand tax. Just verified on the Thailand Apple store - 36k baht vs 46k. I smell a bit of a rip off

http://www.apple.com/mac/whichmacbook/compare.html

The pro is a bit slimmer, lighter, nicer looking, and sturdier. The 160GB HD is a joke which may or may not matter to you, the new MBPs have user-replaceable hard disks so I'd always just get a 500 anyway.

Edited December 12, 2009 by nikster