Would a macbook with 4GB RAM be better than base level Pro model?

Hey guys, this is my first post, so i hope i'm obeying all of the rules.

Anyways, I am going to college this fall and am looking for my laptop to bring. I plan on using it for basic web, email, text docs etc. as well as some basic recording (no more than 4 tracks simultaneous). I fall right in between the Macbook and Macbook Pro models because of this I feel and wanted to know what mac would be best:

Option 1: 2.4GHz 13.3" Macbook for $1600
Option 2: 2.4GHz 13.3" Macbook with upgraded RAM for $1700
Option 3: 2.4GHz 15" Macbook Pro

I want to know if the upgraded Macbook would be better than the Pro model. I wish the Macbook had firewire, so I might upgrade just for that, but also I am slightly concerned about the shared memory that Macbooks use compared to the dedicated memory the Pro's have. Is this a noticeable difference? Let me know what you guys think is best! Thanks!

Main difference between the Macbook and Macbook pro is screen size once you add the appropriate amount of RAM to the Macbook. Plus if you don't get the white one, you don't have firewire of any kind.

Speed wise unless you're gaming (and I only play UT2004, the rest I leave to my shiny new PlayStation 2) or editing HD video, the Macbook will be fine. It's a pretty speedy little machine. I run a lot of applications along with a Parallels VM and this little machine is a real workhorse.

From a portability standpoint, the Macbook wins nicely. From a power/upgrade perspective, well, they're both good choices. A Macbook is very good price/power point that unless you're going to be doing heavy crunching with numbers or video will serve you well.

It's a really easy choice to me. If the price difference is not an issue you simply have to go pro. The pro will stay at a competitive level (for future needs that are bound to come up) for many years and longer than the MB. Its powerful graphics card is considerable. I have both a MBP and a MB and the screen size on the MB for daily use can drive me crazy. The lack of firewire on the MB is also rather maddening.
Go Pro dude. You can add ram, if you need to-but you probably wont, down the line.

Based on what you are going to be doing a MB will serve your needs.

However if you are doing gaming or any intensive renderings then obviously you need a better GPU, and the MBP would be the way to go.

CrimsonRequiem said:

Based on what you are going to be doing a MB will serve your needs.

However if you are doing gaming or any intensive renderings then obviously you need a better GPU, and the MBP would be the way to go.

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Actually, the new macbooks scored relatively similar in 3d gaming benchmarks, differing by only 1-2 fps. If you are on a tighter budget, and gaming is a consideration, the 2.0 ghz with the 4 gigs of ram is a much better option than the 2.4 ghz with 2 gigs of ram.

Reliance said:

Actually, the new macbooks scored relatively similar in 3d gaming benchmarks, differing by only 1-2 fps. If you are on a tighter budget, and gaming is a consideration, the 2.0 ghz with the 4 gigs of ram is a much better option than the 2.4 ghz with 2 gigs of ram.

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This isn't entirely true. You're looking at the benchmarks for the MBP using the 9400m (integrated) and the MB using the 9400m (integrated). If you compare the MBP's 9600M GT (dedicated) to the MB's 9400M (integrated) the numbers are in favor of the MBP, but yes, the MB can hold its own with many games, but it doesn't sound like he wants to do much of that...

Trent out