Help deciding between MB and MBP

I need to pick up a new notebook soon and I'm having a hard time deciding between the MB and the MBP. This will be my main computer and I do a good amount of traveling. Accordingly, I really want the portability of the MB, but I also really want the superior LCD of the MBP. Are there any other major differences I'm missing that might sway me? I'll be using this mainly for office applications and web surfing, but I'll also be doing occasional work in Adobe CS4 (I understand this would benefit from the MBP's dedicated graphics card).

 

You are missing the advantage of 9600M in the MBP. Snow Leopard will have an application to enhance the graphic and CS4 take good advantage of the graphic card. I dont think there is a difference between the screen of MB and MBP. I have checked them personally at BestBuy.
I suggest you to buy a macbook and use the rest of money to build a decent desktop .

 

The viewing angle on the MBP is simply /amazing/ - it's visible clearly from any angle except below - which shouldnt be a problem at all since there's no reason you should be looking at the screen from below to begin with.

For me the deciding factor between the MB and the MBP was the availability of the Firewire port on the MBP - which I needed as I'm a frequent video editor.

Ironically, in terms of being able to work on the go, the MBP gets slightly better battery life than the MB... Apple's concept of having bigger machines get better battery life (e.g. 8 hours on the 17" MBP) I really do not understand.

I love my MBP. I've calibrated the screen and everything looks simply amazing.

 

Yeah I concur on the screen. It's just amazing.

The 9600m GT and the screen, paired with the 4GB of RAM, and the 320GB HDD was the reason I bought the MBP over the MB.

 

CS4 being a graphics intensive application is a common misconception. It does however rely more on the CPU than the GPU. And there actually is a big difference in screen quality between the MB vs. the MBP which many people already agree on.

 

hands down mbp.

 

Thank you for correcting me.

 

Macbook Pro is still a very portable laptop, I am surprised with how small it looks and feels compared to other 15.4" laptops....if you feel comfortable with the price tag......definitely go with the Macbook Pro.

 

Macbook Pro is very portable in my eyes also. The screen also is what sold me on the Pro model. Besides the screen, the other things the Pro has over the Macbook --

Dual graphic cards 9400/9600M GT
Better LCD / 1440/900
Firewire 800
Express card / 34

 

the screen on the MBP is much much better in comparison to the macbook.

when snow leopard arrives the gpu will gives you speed boost on things like photoshop.

the mbp is not really noticably heavier than the macbook.

if this will be your main computer; i would certainly pick up the MBP.

down the road; the MBP is widely believed to have support for some sort of hybird SLI, eventually.

 

"occasional work in Adobe CS4" can run fine with 9400M. I don't think you really need 9600 for that. The screen on the MPB is much better though.

You may want to consider MBA. Sure it has some limitations but it has a screen similar in contrast and viewing angles as the Macbook Pro. The portability is a big pro.

 

Thanks everyone. I'm currently on a 15.4" notebook (Asus Z70VA) and I hate lugging it around. I also get to play around with my girlfriend's previous generation 15.4" MBP and I don't think it's much better in the portability department. To be honest, I was highly considering the Vaio TT until the boss came down with the order that I had to get an Apple. With all that said, since I don't have a powerful desktop, I think my day-to-day will really benefit from the MBP's extra power and superior LCD. Perhaps I can also pick up a cheap netbook for long-haul travel duties...

 

I'm in the same boat as you where I have had 17 inchers all the way down to the Vaio TZ with 11.1. I've spent a great deal amount of time deciding between the mb and mbp. I do like the smaller size of the mb, however, from the majority of opions and looking at them side by side, the mbp definitely has the better screen, and it didn't look that much bigger than the mb. I don't lug it around as much as I used to, so its nice to have more power on a laptop again.

 

I, also bought the MBP.

I like the dedicated video card, Firewire 800 port, the nicer screen.

It is only 0.1 lb heavier than the 5.4 lb MB.

 

I wish FW800 would be more prevalent.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the MB is 4.5 lbs.

 

Yeah, the Aluminum MB's are 4.5lbs, and the older white MB's are 5lbs.