hoodmulti Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Hi there all, I am in the cross road on deciding either to buy a MacBook or a Pro. I sees that the only real difference is the X1600 graphics card between the two. Does this card make the machine runs a lot faster for Photoshop, etc? Why is it cost so much more than the MacBook? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboss Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Hi there all, I am in the cross road on deciding either to buy a MacBook or a Pro. I sees that the only real difference is the X1600 graphics card between the two. Does this card make the machine runs a lot faster for Photoshop, etc? Why is it cost so much more than the MacBook? Thanks it seems that the macbook pro's graphics card has been intentionally underclocked because of heating issues and less reliance on fans so it wont be a true x1600. second, the graphics card does speed up 3d applications but the gma 950 is fine for most users. the interface runs perfectly fine w/ a gma 950 from what i've seen (its even supposed to be support by aero glass for vista). for running photoshop, you could have an 8mb ati rage pro and it would still run fine so thats not an issue, hell even for running final cut studio, the gma is fine. the only thing you'll need a really powerful card for is maybe for playing games (get a pc for that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnya Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 100% agreed I bought the non-Pro for cost, but my only gripe was the GFX chip. I realised tho, as bigboss says, it's not a gaming machine. My AMD64 is tho, so the MB is an ace laptop choice for the non-gamer (at least mobile non-gamer ) Anyway, dont think that the Pro is head over heals better - its nearly the same, but with a better GFX card, which affects nearly nothing on a normal users system. Go for the MB if you want a small, portable, sexy laptop for development, email, internet, skype etc. The pro is for portable OpenGL development + the above. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietglow Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 There is a pretty good bit of difference besides the card: screen res, size, build etc. I just spent an hour messing with both at an Apple store yesterday and I HIGHLY recommend doing so before buying. I went in all ready to love the Macbook and was very underwhelmed. Check them out before buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Nonny Moose Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Macworld's testing shows not a whole hell of a lot of difference between the 2.16 MacBook Pro and the 2.0 MacBook not pro. The only tremendous difference between the two systems seemed to come from the 3D game test, where any graphics card will kill an Intel GMA. So it appears that if you're going to play games, a MacBook Pro would be best, but there isn't a significant difference to justify a Pro over the not pro. In an interesting tale, MacBooks seem to beat MacBook Pros at Photoshop (clock for clock), but they still get mauled by the G4 processors in that task (darn Adobe for not having Universal apps). Even more interesting is there isn't a hell of a lot of difference in Speedmark scores between the two MacBook models. So perhaps getting the one at a slower clock speed won't be such a hideous burden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoodmulti Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 Thanks so much for the input. I ain't gonna play games on the Mac, and I didn't actually know there is any games released for the Mac, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackt283 Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 keep in mind that all the machines at an Apple Store generally only have 512 ram - 512 ram makes OS x run really awfully. I went in and tried an imac and it made me want to shoot myself. I have since seen them running with 1GB ram, and it's much nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnya Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 I think that going to look in-shop is a good idea. In the UK we are limited for Apple stores (4 I think) but the US is more plentifull I love the MacBook, the smaller screen, weight, battery life are all top notch. For what I wanted - it covers all the bases. So I would say go with what you know. The pro isnt gonna be head over heals faster, so its a case of "do I want 13.3", 15.4" or 17" screen size" and "do I want white,black or silver" Thats how I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SockToy Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 My understanding is that some of the Pro apps like aperture, final cut pro, etc, wont run on the GMA either. Pro gets larger physical screen + resolution, option of faster disk, more graphics card, matt screen option, express card expansion port, and backlit keyboard. Non pro gets lighter weight, better battery life, and like 700 pounds in savings I have the pro and I'm very happy with it, but the macbook wasnt out when I bought it and I like games. 700 pounds is a lot to pay for a graphcis card and a bit of screen estate though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOFUeric Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 hoodmulti, I'm in the same bind as you. I do a bunch of photoshop work as well as coding. I currently have a 15" pb and its time to upgrade. I've been to the apple store an played with both and i'm still kinda stumped as to which one I want. I love the portabilty of the macbook and would have loved to have been able to take it with me when i went out of town this week. I love the mbp because of the power and that i'm used to the 15" screen. I don't play pc games anymore, so thats not even a factor. I've probably looked at every review and benchmark out there and I'm not seeing much of a difference (other then screen res) between the two. A friend of mine suggested I just buy the macbook and use the difference in price from the mbp (about 400$+) to upgrade the ram and buy a 21" dell widescreen monitor, and I'm pretty sure thats what I'm gonna do. So I hope this helps some gl on the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboss Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 i really like the macbook.. my gripe (and everyone else's gripe) is that i just dont think i could live with the graphics card. i would gladly pay $150 more for a Go 7400 than live with the GMA 950. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnya Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 hoodmulti, I'm in the same bind as you. I do a bunch of photoshop work as well as coding. I currently have a 15" pb and its time to upgrade. I've been to the apple store an played with both and i'm still kinda stumped as to which one I want. I love the portabilty of the macbook and would have loved to have been able to take it with me when i went out of town this week. I love the mbp because of the power and that i'm used to the 15" screen. I don't play pc games anymore, so thats not even a factor. I've probably looked at every review and benchmark out there and I'm not seeing much of a difference (other then screen res) between the two. A friend of mine suggested I just buy the macbook and use the difference in price from the mbp (about 400$+) to upgrade the ram and buy a 21" dell widescreen monitor, and I'm pretty sure thats what I'm gonna do. So I hope this helps some gl on the purchase. Your results in Photoshop will get worse on a new Intel machine. Photoshop isn't a Universal binary. Secondly, the "power" your used to on a PB will be dwarfed by the MacBook, the Pro just has a better GFX card. If your looking to get a big-ish screen, then go for the 17" - the MacBook is on 13.3 @ 1280x800 - The size in inches is almost irrelevant. I own the MB and I can tell you then its no harder to read than my older laptop's 15.4" screen. So, I would do as your friend said, use the money to get an external monitor and the MacBook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dippyskoodlez Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Does this card make the machine runs a lot faster for Photoshop, etc? Why is it cost so much more than the MacBook? Thanks In photoshop, it is only the cpu and ram the effect performance. it is not accelerated by the GPU in any way. It costs more because of the bigger screen, being all aluminum, faster GPU, and ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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