Replacing my 15" MBP (2006) with 13" MB or MBP (2010) .. recommendations?

I currently use a 15" MBP that I bought in late 2006. I only use it for surfing the web and word processing. maybe watching a couple of videos here and there but no where near any graphics related tasks. I do not play any games on it (as I got a PS3 for that).

I am thinking of getting a new laptop with the highest possible battery life. it seems that the new 15" MBP does not "really" last for 8-9 hours even on light work, but the 13" does reach the 10 hours target. that is mainly why I have chosen to go with the 13" version.

now I'm down to two options, the white MB and the MBP. technically, they both got the same price (if you compare both with 4gb ram). the main questions that I need people around here to answer are the following:

1. First, can the 15" MBP really reach the 8-9 target?

2. is there a difference between 13" MB and 13" MBP other than the material which they are built from? (polycarbonate vs aluminum).

3. is there a difference between them in wifi reception?

4. is it possible to increase the MB's ram memory to more than 4gb?

5. is the white case of the MB a 'dust magnet' ?


I appreciate your help.

 

1. It can, but Apple achieves those numbers under ideal (ie, unrealistic) conditions. So you'd need to have the brightness way down, bluetooth off, etc. etc. Your actual usage will dictate your battery life, but I would expect more like 6+.

2. The MBP has an SD card reader and 4GB of RAM (vs. 2GB) in addition to being constructed from aluminum.

3. I'm not sure - you could probably find some forum posts about this over at macrumors. I have a 13" MBP and my wifi reception is excellent, but I have nothing to compare it to. Logic would tell you the plastic should be better for reception over the aluminum, but it may be negligible. Maybe someone else can provide firsthand knowledge about this.

4. According to a few sources, the polycarbonate unibody MacBook can take up to 8GB of RAM.

5. It's more of a scratch magnet. It scratches pretty easily. My roommate has one and it scratches easy, but you can only really see them if you're staring. Keep a magic eraser handy and they stay pretty clean/shiny.

Good luck.

 

2. MBP has aluminum case, slightly better screen, backlit keyboard, 2GB more RAM, SD reader and Firewire 800.

 

As stated above I bought a 2010 13" mbp and I never get around those hours that it states. I would say my average with web browsing is 7+ and I ususally have the backlit keyboard off with the screen at medium brightness.

This is my first mac but I can say I could not imagine going to a cheaper model, just the little touches of the pro were very much worth it.

 

I have pulled close to 9 hours before on my MBP 13" .... but it depends what I am doing. Normally the things I do from day to day I only pull like 6 or 7.

 

This is what I did as well. I had a earlier 15" Macbook Pro and got a new 13" Macbook Pro. Much happier with the new Macbook Pro though I do miss the speakers on the 15" model.

 

check out a CULV-based laptop for max battery life. it would mean switching to windows though (but you can get 12+ hours on some of them, and in actual usage, not just idling)

 

Is it would be better off for you to have a netbook?

 

Again, battery life depends on what you're doing with it. Wifi and bluetooth are a killer, so if you plan on JUST taking notes on it, you'll probably come close as long as you turn off those things, and run low brightness.

It's definitely going to be better then the 2-3 that the old 15"s had.