MacBook or MacBook Pro: Newbie needs help ?

hi guys,

this is my first time i will be buying a mac book.
I have owned i macs before and the mac years year back. Currently using Dell and Asus notebooks.
I'm giving the Macs a chance again.
I'm having a hard time deciding between a macbook and macbook pro.

the macbook is a 2.4g, 2 gig ram, 160 HD
the macbook pro is 2.4g, 2 gig ram, 160 HD

I know the weight difference between the two is .4 lbs, the pro heavier.
the pro has 15 inch vs 13 screen.

Both of my current laptaps are 15".

1. my 1st concern is, if i go with the macbook 13", will it be harder to get used to since i started off with a 15" on my current laptaps ?
2. in terms of reliability, which of the two is more reliable ?
3. will the macbook pro with the same specs as the macbook be in any way faster when doing excel, word, photoshop and internet browsing ?
4. what other features does the pro have over the normal macbook ?

any other things i should know about ?

Thanks & regards

Ferd

i went from a 15.4" to the macbooks 13.3' there was a little bit of getting use to the screen size but with app spaces i find that it very easy to use the 13.3" screen.

i think both are very reliable. you shouldnt have to worry about either of them.

photoshop may be faster in the mbp due to the dedicated video card.

the pro has a dedicated video card, express card bay, firewire 800, backlit keyboard, multi touch track pad, and a LED backlit display.

(EDIT)

I am guessing if you are looking at the mbp with the 160gb hard drive you are referring to the previous gen mbp. the previous gen doesn't have the multi touch track pad, and uses a different intel chip

Personally I prefer all the screen real estate I can get when using Photoshop. For most apps I think the 13" monitor isn't a problem, but for Photoshop I think I would become a little frustrated with the lack of screen real estate.

I am guessing if you are looking at the mbp with the 160gb hard drive you are referring to the previous gen mbp. the previous gen doesn't have the multi touch track pad, and uses a different intel chip

"yes, you are right. Its the older one.-- with this in mind, would the newer Mac book regular 2.4gig, 2 gig ram, 160 HD be a better choice than the macbook pro of the same specs but older?

I switched to Mac laptops about 4 years ago. My first one was a G4 iBook, then I moved onto the black MacBook and two weeks ago I bought a MBP.

I use my mac mostly for web browsing, photo editing, media center, World of War Craft and web development.

IMO, for the money the MacBook is a good choice. I never had any problems with Photoshop, DreamWeaver or email/web browsing when using the MacBook. WoW is playable on the MB with an average frame rate between 20 - 30 fps.

Lately I've been doing more and more work with VMWare and running various virtual machines, Linux/Windows. And I found the extra real estate on the Pro to suit my needs just fine. WoW in the MBP averages 80 - 90 FPS. Which is a noticeable improvement.

The MBP has a dedicated video card which is necessary for gaming. However, if you're not playing games, you'd never know that the MB doesn't have it's own card. For the applications you mentioned, the video card in the MBP is completely unnecessary. For email, web surfing, word processing, the regular MB is lightning fast.

So it comes down to screen size. And that's a personal decision. But here's a thought. Instead of the $1999 MBP, buy (2) MB at $999 each off the Apple for Education site. When one 13" screen gets cluttered with too many applications, you can just switch to your second MB and open whatever other applications you need on it.

Sorry, I couldn't resist... But it kind of puts the price difference in perspective...

Can somebody tell me why the black MB costs much more then the white one?
The only difference is the size of the HDD right?

PS: by the white one I refer to the white one of 2 Gig RAM and 2,4 Ghz

Do a search for "black tax". I"m going through the same dilemma. I was all set on a white MB until I read about the repeated cracking of the case. So now I"m waiting till fall to get a MBP. Student discount

i reckon the black one costs more because its unique, and looks good. the black one does have the look, and they know that if you're rich enough to buy a macbook, you would go for the one that looks the best

If money isn't an issue go for the PRO. you will miss the screen real estate. I went from a 17 MBP to 15 MBP retina and to be honest I couldn't adjust to the lesser real estate. I went with a a 27 iMac in the end. Spend the money and buy the best. Must add the retina display on the 15 is awesome.

You responded to a thread which is over 5 and half years old. It's OK as long as you realize that......

LOL....we'll I've just freshened it up again.;D