Uni Body Polycarbonate Macbook

I am thinking of picking one of these up for "temporary" main computer and then use it mainly just for a university laptop once I get an iMac or desktop early January. How is this laptop compared to the Macbook Pro? The performance/battery life all seems to be almost identical. The only thing pro sems to be giving me is a bit better hardware quality. The most important part is, how is the screen on it now? Is it better than before? comparable to the Pros?

Personally I think it's a very good bang for the buck...what do you guys think?

 

Almost all aspects of the MBP are better than the Macbook except for the price. If you use SD cards, I'd go with the MBP. If you're willing to buy refurbished, I believe the Apple store has the 13.3" MBPs for $999.

 

The new MB is pretty close to the current 13" MBP base model except for the lack of SD card, firewire, and polycarbonate vs. aluminum. The screens on the MB and 13" MBP are similar, but the MBP has better color range/contrast and viewing angles (you gotta get something for the price difference ). The new unibody MB screen is much better than the old MB if that matters to you though. To the "average" consumer, they probably wouldn't notice any difference in screen quality between any of the Macbooks' screens.

 

During a visit to my local Apple Store, the sales guy told me the main difference was the video adapter; integrated vs. discrete. I did not know it at the time but this is not true, they both have the same video adapter. At least the 13.3" models.

 

Macbook Pro has back-lit keyboard too. Very useful when in the dark.

 

Actually It depends on the model that you buy. The MBP at 1199.99 has almost the same specs as the MB, except for the Sd slot and body. He would have to upgrade in size and specs for it to be significantly different. You also can't get a better graphics card unless you go to the 15" which starts at 1499.99.

 

I'm no Macbook expert, but I think I remember reading a Gizmodo or Engadget article about how it scratches and dents/chips/whatever easily. That's the main reason I went for the MBP.

 

The cheapest 15" model has the same graphics card as the macbook and 13"MBP. Its the $2000, and $2200 MBP models that have the 9600M GT Discrete graphics cards.

 

Well my White Macbook is 9 months old, TONS of scratches even though i've kept it away from harm. No dents so far, I remember on some mac forums people reported common chips in the case that seem to come out of nowhere occured. But no such problem with mine *crosses fingers*

 

I read the same thing. Engadget went as far as saying that they hated the MB. The MB uses a pretty soft plastic that is very prone to stratches.

IMO, go for the MBP for the aluminum alone.

 

This is only a factor of the lesser of two evils. Structurally the plasticbook is still probably more robust, although I can't say for sure - as I have no idea how the transition to unibody has crippled the original design. The unibody alubooks are bendy as hell, while the plasticbook would likely perform better in this respect.

I've dropped machines in laptop bags from knee to waist height to suffer serious denting or (in the case of the unibodies) bending - in some cases, bending to a level that prevented me opening the machine. Compared to that level of utter ridiculousness, I'm thinking the plasticbooks probably fare better.

You can protect against everyday handling abrasion by applying an Invisibleshield, either way.

 

For the bang for the buck go for the Macbook, you are only looking for a temporary main computer, save yourself the time and money now and go for the cheaper Macbook. Sure the aluminum and backlit keyboard are nice but go for the budget if you want a temporary machine.

Also personal preference, would rather have scratches than dents. Chips are tough call though.