MBP 13": Speck Satin Shell vs Macally BookShell2 vs XGear Silhouette?

I am trying to decide which one of these cases to get for my new MBP13 (2010). They all look very similar and are very close in price.

Speck Satin Shell ($40) vs Macally BookShell2 ($25) vs XGear Silhouette ($30)
Sort of leaning toward the Macally Bookshell2 atm since its the cheapest

Has anyone tried or seen these cases in action?
Is there any one you guys prefer over another?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...f?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272150010&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Macally-BOOKS...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272207485&sr=8-14
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Macally/BOOKSHELL2/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/XGea...medium=shoppingengine&utm_campaign=productads

 

My suggestion is to not get any kind of hard case at all. What happens is that microscopic dirt will get trapped between the case and MBP and the dirt would be like sandpaper to the aluminum case.

I would get a sleeve instead and if you want more protection, get one of those clear films that stick to the body of the laptop.

 

not really for protections (except for the palmrest) but I love the stuff at Macstyles. Can protect the top a bit and add some really cool looks... and make the palmrest look really nice too while protecting it.

A little hard to apply right (if you totally screw it up, they'll give you a free replacement), but looks awesome when done.

I prefer using black and silver in the colors on everything, matches with the laptop well. Black palmrest.... mostly black with some silver for a Mactatt, or just black for one with a design cut out of it.

The hard full covers I find very annoying... and ruins the look of the machine.

 

Wouldn't a hardshell also cause some heat problems?

 

i am mainly concerned with scratches on the bottom of the case. maybe i should just go with the incase neoprene sleeve. when using the macbook i guess i can just put the sleeve under the macbook.

 

One bad thing about neoprene is that it scars easily.

 

Get a sleeve, just make sure you put the laptop in there whenever your not using it.
and dont put anything else in there.

 

Although that may very well be true, I have a friend that used no hard shell case at all and accidentally bumped his MBP(15" unibody) into a desk and it dented on the back of the screen. He was pretty unhappy with that and ended up getting a speck hard shell case to ensure it doesn't happen again.

So while it may scratch your computer it does protect to an extent against falls and abrasions. Also, you are supposed to take off the case every so often to wipe off any debris that get caught in between the case and the MB.

I have also heard that it increases the system's temperatures as well and that makes sense. But currently using it on the new 13" MBP my CPU is at 48C and the 15" runs at around the high 60C-low 80C and that has no sort of case at all(AND it has two fans!-go figure...).

 

As long as you're not doing anything heavy on the MBP 13, I don't think you'll have heating issues. I believe air isn't sucked form the bottom but from the keyboard area? The aluminum unibody in most cases won't do much in terms of serving as a heat sink since much of the hot air that would make a difference is being sucked out continually.