<p>I was wondering which Macbook or Macbook Pro would be ideal for college. I'll be using it for typing documents, opening multiple tabs for the internet, minimal editing of photos, watching videos, movies, etc. It won't be used for gaming though. I will also be using Apple's Education Store student discount.</p>
<p>I'm stuck between the Macbook and the Macbook Pro.</p>
<p>If I were to get the 13-inch Macbook with a 2.26 ghz Intel Core Duo processor, I would upgrade the RAM to 4 GB and the harddrive to 320 GB. </p>
<p>If I were to get a Macbook Pro, I would stick with 13-inches bit either chose 2.4 ghz or 2.66 ghz.</p>
<p>My question is would I notice a significant difference between a 2.26, 2.4, or 2.66 ghz processor? Also, for the type of work I would be doing on it, what would be an ideal processor? </p>
<p>Also, any suggestions or reviews on either of the computers is welcome!
Thanks in advance!!</p>
<p>EDIT: Also, I'm not too sure what an Intel Core Duo processor is, if someone can explain?</p>
<p>You’ll be just as happy with either one. Never hurts to have more RAM, go for a bigger hard drive if you want, but I doubt you’ll even notice any difference among the processor speeds in day-today work. My advice: Save some money with the lower specs. Use the savings to get a nice messenger bag (e.g., STM bags from Radtech in Missouri), software (some universities give discounts on software to students, so check), peripherals, etc.</p>
<p>I too am looking at the same choice, and I think that I am going to go with the MacBook. There is going to be very little performance difference between the MacBook’s 2.26 GHz and the Pro’s 2.4 GHz processors. They are both Core Duos, which just means that the chip contains two processor ‘cores’ - many operations can sped up by having both cores working on tasks in parallel. </p>
<p>For $200 more than a MB, you get a MB Pro with twice the RAM, an aluminum case, and some extra ports. If you buy RAM from Apple, you would pay $100 to upgrade the MB to the same RAM as a MB Pro, making the extra cost for an MB Pro only $100 more. Of course, you can purchase RAM much cheaper than the prices charged by Apple.</p>
<p>You could get the 2.66 GHz MB Pro for $500 more than an MB. To upgrade the MB’s RAM and hard drive to the 4 GB and 320 GB of that MB Pro would cost $150 from Apple, and that seems to be a much better deal than the premium you would pay for the case, ports and slightly faster processor.</p>
<p>So, it seems to be that the MB is the way to go, and I will upgrade the RAM at some later time, using a 3rd party source that lets me trade in the original DIMM card. </p>
<p>The back-to-school specials usually start in July - I will definitely wait 'till then.</p>
Unliklely.
Intel Core <em>2</em> Duo (what 13" MBPs have) is just an older processor. Many new laptops have i5 or i7 chips, which were released several months ago. If you’re a typical user though, you won’t need an i5 or i7. Also, having one reduces battery life, and I’ve heard reports of MBPs with the new chips insanely overheating. A processor is a bit like a computer’s brain btw.</p>
<p>The back to school specials start early June (usually the first week). The apple developers conference starts June 7th and they will probably announce some new software or hardware upgrades at that time. Don’t expect an major hardware upgrades. Probably processor spec bumps and maybe lower prices but I doubt the latter.</p>
<p>If you have followed most of apple’s product releases, upgrades to software and computer hardware have almost always been available right after they announce it. Meaning if they announce iwork 2010 or 2011, you will be able to go into the apple store day of or day after announcement to pick it up. I’m not expecting any major upgrades to the computers though since there really is no major upgrades they could do to the insides (they already offer the fastest core i series processors). Hopefully we will see an upgrade to core i series in the 13inch macbook pro and the macbook air.</p>
<p>You should get the 2.4 ghz Macbook Pro. Invincible aluminum case. Better graphics card. Better battery life. It also has an SD card slop essential for uploading pictures fast.</p>
<p>No, the 2.66 ghz version is NOT WORTH THE UPGRADE from 2.4 ghz. You won’t see the difference surfing the internet, watching youtube vids, typing essays. You will see a slight difference if you do math calculating, engineering apps, etc.</p>
<p>FYI, the Macbook was just upgraded to a slightly faster 2.4 GHz CPU and the same graphics processor as in the 13" MB Pro - Nvidia GeForce 320M. Apple also claims that the battery has been upgraded from 7-hr capacity to 10 hours. So, now it is even closer to the specs for the 13" MB Pro, making the decision a little harder.</p>
<p>My daughter just looked them both over at an Apple store, and really wants me to spring for the MB Pro 13", because of the aluminum enclosure, the backlit keys (she thinks that this would be a big plus for her), and the photo card slot. Certainly the 4MB RAM is a plus as well. So, I’m re-thinking my earlier plan to buy a MB, even with the slightly improved specs.</p>
<p>I just noticed that the education price for the new MacBook is $949, a savings of only $50, while the 13" MacBook Pro is $1099, a savings of $100. So, if these prices stay as they are, there is only a $150 difference between the two machines.</p>
<p>I would get the Pro after this newest update. if you upgrade the ram on the white MB to 4gb, the difference is only 60 dollars, which I believe is worth the extra features you get with the pro.</p>
<p>Just brought one home, 13" MB pro. It feels much smaller than our old MB. So far very happy with it. My daughter got it at an Apple Store. They had a hand held cash register(?). No standing in line.</p>
<p>Great choice on the Macbook pro! The difference between the macbook pro and macbook is only 150$ and in my opinion it’s a no brainer to buy the macbook pro. The aluminum case itself is worth 150. Work extra hours to afford it if you must. I work two jobs for crying out loud and I’m still in High School!!!</p>