Remember when low-end Macs were not as good as high end Macs? With Apple’s quiet announcement of their new updated Macbook line I continue to be astounded that people continue to buy Macbook Pros.
This started a year ago when my wife announced that after years of using a PC she wanted to buy a Macbook Pro. So I started researching for her. I looked at graphs and charts on AnandTech and compared specs on Apple’s own website. What amazed me was that the important specifications between the regular Macbooks and the Macbook Pros were nearly identical. At least in most of the ways that would effect performance for a casual user. Granted, there were differences, the Pros had the option to put in one more gigabyte of RAM, slightly better video cards, and were bigger in size, but these slight improvements didn’t, in my mind, justify a nearly 100% increase in price between the models. So I advised my wife to buy a regular Macbook and we haven’t looked back.
So now Apple has quietly upgraded the regular Macbook line to my continued astonishment. The processors are nearly the same as the Pros. The frontside bus is the same. The level 2 cache is the same. And now BOTH are upgradeable to 4gb of RAM. Nearly all factors that effect the speed and “heft” of the computer are identical! So just what does that extra 100% price increase get you? Again, a better video card and a larger screen. Oh, and a few extra ports as well.
Now, I need to expose my bias. I am an audio guy. I write, record and mix music with my computers, so I need the fastest computer I can get to process all my audio demands. And even when buying for my wife, who’s demands on computers is far less, I still look for the “fastest” or “best” computer for the money. But with this latest announcement I’m having a hard time, again, understanding why anyone would buy a Macbook Pro. I guess if you’re doing remote video editing or gaming the better video card would be nice, but I’ve done both on my wife’s regular Macbook just fine.
But obviously thousands of people disagree with me as Macbook Pros continue to sell. That’s fine, I’d just like to know, from their perspective, what that extra $1000 got them? I guess in the mean time I’ll just continue to enjoy the speed and robustness of a Macbook Pro on my wife’s Macbook!
Hans Erik
Content Marketing Director
Hans@next2friends.com
www.Next2Friends.com
November 14th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
First of all the video card in the MBP is a lot more than “slightly better.” The MBP also has the Illuminated keyboard and FireWire 800.
For me the much better video card and screen size were the major reasons I got a MBP over a MB.
November 14th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Matte screen. Nuff said!
November 14th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
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November 14th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
The difference in screen size is pretty big (26% more pixels) and the difference is graphics cards is also very big. You also get aluminum enclosure, slimmer design, backlit keyboard, Firewire 800, ExpressCard34 slot, double the base ram, 50% larger base hard drive, LED backlit display.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
The Macbooks are an excellent value. Bought my wife one. I bought my boss a Dell that had a few better specs on paper for the price==> I’m sorry I bought the Dell, the macbook kicks its ars!
MacBook Pros for the pros.
Screen size and resolution (also now LED vs LCD with better color saturation, less battery use).
Graphic cards, huge with digital media / video all take advantage of the video cads.
Example of system graphic cards difference:I saw a spec in gaming with the new macbooks getting around 4-8fps in Quake 3 vs. something like 40+fps in the pros.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
For what it is, the Macbook is the better value especially the White “middle range” one. Its a bit smaller so easier to lug around and if I need a larger screen I have a nice 20 inch monitor to plug it into at work.
Unless you play 3D games or a heavy Aperture/Final Cut pro user the Macbook is perfect for all other basic tasks such as Movie watching, music and productivity apps.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Thanks for chiming in guys! Yes, I realize that the differences can be quite large for *specific* uses. I’m making a subjective argument based on my perception of the vast price difference. I understand ALL of the reasons the improved specs are better, but what astonished me was that for half the money I still got an amazing little audio recording/internet surfing/grad school paper writing box! It even had no problem with video editing like any home user might do. It seems to me that it used to be high end Macs would really be almost twice as good as the low end Macs, thus justifying the price. But while there are many subjective reasons to prefer the Macbook Pros to their little brothers the guts were essentially the same (processor speeds, FSB, RAM etc). If you could get by with a smaller screen (it doesn’t really matter for audio) then you are getting an almost identical computer as a Macbook Pro for much less. Just a subjective observation that influenced which one I bought. All said, I would still recommend a Macbook over a Macbook Pro for 90% of users. Now if money were no obstacle…
November 15th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
its all about the graphics card. the macbook line has shared VRAM memory (Intel chipset) from the DRAM. the macbook pros have dedicated VRAM and chipset that is top of the market.
BIG difference in performance for graphics programs, using Windows, and games of course.
November 16th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Well I bought myself a MBP for university this year, and I have to say it’s an awesome computer. I mean yes I probably could get the same specs and speed/usage using a MB, but I like to do a lot of things at once. As in open 20+ tabs in Camino, use Photoshop and have MS word open as well! I think at this point a MB would probably start to slow down a bit, but on my MBP I haven’t noticed that yet!
So I think it al depends on your usage!
November 16th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Everyone’s noted the graphics difference, but let me just put it plainly: for any 3d intensive applications, the macbook suffers heavily. It is not suitable for those types of applications. Using it with them requires Job like patience, or an enjoyment of pain, or both.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Well said Scott!
November 18th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Ordered my MacBook Pro online to the Apple Store while Steve Job was still on stage announcing it. My first production lot 2.0 GHz has kept on performing flawlessly throughout. Friends have MacBooks, but the feel and look (most importantly the look of the screen) is not up to MacBook Pro standard, despite that the processor speeds have crept up and passed my early Pro model. The MacBook Pro really is a Rolls Royce among laptop computers, and like Rolls used to do; you do not have to talk at all about the “horse power”, because the experience “driving it” is just in a different, higher class. Enough said!
November 19th, 2007 at 2:03 am
The OP won’t notice a dedicated graphics card for their uses of the Mac (audio, not video processing)
The chipset, processors (and now RAM capacity) are essentially equal, so the MacBook is a screaming value unless you spend the majority of your time in 3D apps (FCP, Aperture, etc.)
The MacBook Pro could use a redesign to make it as easy to upgrade the hard drive as in the MacBook (under 5 minutes to swap out the hard drive)
November 19th, 2007 at 3:47 am
I was wondering for people who have a MacBook! How fast do 3-D apps such as Photoshop CS3 or GIMP run on Macbooks?
November 19th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
I agree with you, Hans. I have the early 17″ MBP model. I really enjoy working on that big display. It has truly become a desktop replacement for me. However, I got a very good deal on it at the time ($1000 less than the retail). If I had paid the full price, I would be upset to see the value equation getting changing so quickly. My girlfriend just bought a MacBook and I am hard pressed to find any differece in performance, especially now that MacBook has 128MB of graphics memory and upto 4GB of RAM.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
While I agree that the MacBook is a very able machine and with the x3200 gfx card replacing the horrible GMA 950 I think it has become quite excellently composed in every technical aspect.
But I disagre with your point and I think you expose the flaw in your argument yourself within this section: “What amazed me was that the important specifications between the regular Macbooks and the Macbook Pros were nearly identical. At least in most of the ways that would effect performance for a casual user.”
That’s exactly the point… casual users is not the target segment for the MBP… so relating their price performance ratio based on casual usage is inherently flawed and makes little sense, yet this is basically your argument. With more advanced professional tasks the extra $1000 is peanuts compared to the vast increase in productive ability you would experience when comparing the two computers in this setting. Hence the pricing is quite fine… although it’s generally “high” with Apple - I reckon we as mac users are informed regarding the value beyond the specs.
The extra $2000 my 17″ MBP cost me compared to a MB got me 1920×1200 pixels vs 1280×800 that and a NON glossy screen - both are absolutely essential to my work. Beyond that there are benefits like a much better keyboard, faster harddrive (7200rpm), gfx card and so on… but really resolution is everything. I had a black MacBook for a year and I agree that it is a really nice portable computer for very trivial computer usage such as browsing, word processing and home-movie-editing etc… but it’s very limiting for the things I do - excruciatingly so in fact and triple the price for my 17″ is worth every penny.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
So, what exactly are people doing with their Mac Book Pros? I understand everyone’s point about the larger screen and better graphics handling but I assure you neither of these factors have made very much difference when recording, editing and mixing audio, which in my mind is a little below video editing which is probably far below 3D rendering in their demands on the computer. Processor speed, bus speed and hard drive speed are the greatest factors for audio. That said, I could max out the fastest Mac Pro no problem with audio. So while I understand that the choice of a Macbook Pro gets you farther, my question is doing what? And is the distance it got you worth the extra $1000-$2000?
November 30th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
A reasonable question
There is a number of tasks I perform within my field where screen size is not merely convenient but in fact nearly the most important spec of all. These tasks are in no way menial - and are not at all reason for the average user to go with a Pro as they would likely never have those needs. But for the sake of satisfying your inquiry I’ll give you a list of some of what I actually do with my MBP that would be really problematic on a MacBook:
Edit & preview HD video content in Final Cut Pro - source: Sony HDR-FX1 with 1440×1080 resolution
- Try that on a 1280×800 screen for starters… or a 5400rpm harddrive for that matter
Edit audio in Pro Tools with multiple modules open - this is such a clutter even on a 15″ MBP screen.
Design graphic website layouts in Photoshop for 1024×768 resolution - yes it can be done on a 1280×800 , but is a chore - you need to move things around constantly (I did have a MacBook for a while)
Work in multiple PHP documents simultaneously alongside browser previewing in both safari, firefox and IE (Parallels)
- I can have three full pages of text open at 100% and fully viewable in Word at the same time, while I don’t actually need this - it serves are a good benchmark for the degree to which it supports working with code in multiple windows at once.
Illustration and making digital artwork with my A4 size Wacom tablet is far more productive on a screen that can stomach its incredible resolution and actually contain the strokes I make. Also allows me to paint and draw without zooming in and out all the time… which is quintessential.
NON glossy screen! - while some view this as a matter of preference / taste, it does in fact tweak the colours you see, and it does strongly reflect the surrounding environment - making intriguing composites of the things behind you on top of the graphic design you’re doing on screen… not conducive in a professional environment at all. If one’s prioritised application for their MBP is watching DVDs at home - by all means they can pick a glossy screen for all I care; as long as I can avoid having one.
More screen size critical apps on my system:
Max/MSP, Adobe Flash, Indesign, Illustrator, Lightroom, Alias Sketchbook, Maya, Remote Desktop, Parallels, Excel, Cubase… and probably more
A list of less essential but still relevant factors of leisure and convenience that distinguish MacBook and MacBook Pro:
I appreciate photography and own a Digital SLR - thus benefiting greatly from the Pro models’ significantly better LCDs in terms of colour.
The 17″ has great clear and loud speakers with a lot of volume in their sound… so great in fact that paired with its screen size; two people can easily enjoy watching a movie on it together without feeling cramped in front of it at all and actually understand the dialogue… this has never been the case with any other laptop I have owned - and I now do this quite often with my girlfriend when we are away from home. - Also works for casually listening to music without headphones - this wasn’t particularly fun on my MacBook.
The glowing keyboard is not just a gimmick - it’s actually very convenient on occasion. And also a much better keyboard.
I have so many apps in my Dock that even 1920 pixels in width seems insufficient :o)
I still do enjoy a good 3D intensive video game from time to time - though not as often as I’d like.
…I hope this gave a bit of insight into the significance it has to some people whether the name says “Pro” or not… and what exactly those 100% to 200% increases in costs can give you - provided you actually need that functionality.
P.S. I wonder if not this comment is longer than your initial entry, my apologies if this is uncourteous.