White or Black. Which is Cleaner

sandaddiction · Feb 22, 2008

Im getting ready to buy a macbook and cant decide which will stay cleaner. I used to have a sony vaio with a white keyboard and they keys and trackpad always got dirty. Also will I notice much of a difference in speed between the 2.0ghz and 2.2. I will be upgrading to 4gb ram

JuanGuapo · Feb 22, 2008

I've had both, and now have the White MB. The White MB will not show scratches/fingerprints and generally has a "cleaner" look to it. However, when cleaned, the black MB is very sexy.

Noxian · Feb 22, 2008

JuanGuapo said:
I've had both, and now have the White MB. The White MB will not show scratches/fingerprints and generally has a "cleaner" look to it. However, when cleaned, the black MB is very sexy.

I find the white MacBook also screams HEY LOOK AT ME I AM USING A MAC. Where as the Black one is abit more subdued.

mathogre · Feb 22, 2008

sandaddiction said:
Im getting ready to buy a macbook and cant decide which will stay cleaner. I used to have a sony vaio with a white keyboard and they keys and trackpad always got dirty. Also will I notice much of a difference in speed between the 2.0ghz and 2.2. I will be upgrading to 4gb ram

The one that will stay cleaner is the one you don't use. Get the one you want and you'll be fine. The white one cleans pretty well.

On the difference between 2.0GHz and 2.2GHz, you will notice no difference whatsoever unless you're doing real number crunching and lots of it. (There's an invitation for argument. -_^) In clockspeed alone, you're looking at a 10% clock speed increase of the 2.2 over the 2.0. Some may say they can tell the difference between the two, but a perceived speed difference can be the result of many things, some of which aren't even real. Frankly if the 2.2GHz adds more than 10% to the price and you have to ask if you'll notice the difference, you'd be better going for the 2.0GHz and using the money you save elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

elma · Feb 22, 2008

If you play outdoors a lot, like me, the white keys and trackpad really show the dirt.
It was ok though, just needs wiping every day or so.

Never seen a black one myself, I don't know which I'd have if I got another.

JuanGuapo · Feb 22, 2008

Noxian said:
I find the white MacBook also screams HEY LOOK AT ME I AM USING A MAC. Where as the Black one is abit more subdued.

Hehe, that too... ;-)

Noxian · Feb 22, 2008

JuanGuapo said:
Hehe, that too... ;-)

Yeah I used to have a White MacBook at the time I bought it because the the premium price on the black but I did find it got noticed alot more, The Black one looks like any other Laptop except for the glowing Apple on the back (which I might add looks awesome on black).

dauber · Feb 22, 2008

The guy at Best Buy told me the black one tends to build up a lot of grease. Also, from what I could tell in person, the black one is actually a very dark gray...big turn-off for me.

From the experiences with mine, the white one is pretty easy to dust clean...

MissMurder · Feb 22, 2008

Noxian said:
I find the white MacBook also screams HEY LOOK AT ME I AM USING A MAC. Where as the Black one is abit more subdued.

here in brazil, macs are considered rich people's whims.
i haven't used my black MB anywhere except my bedroom yet.
because i live in a small town, i can see people looking at me with the "who-do-you-think-you-are" vibe...

also, i still don't have a case/sleeve, so i can't see this baby leaving the house anytime soon

but to stay on topic, i am SO GLAD i choose the black one. i can't see myself taking care of the white one, i would probably want to clean it daily...
and there are so many stories of cases/sleeves staining it...

kial · Feb 23, 2008

i have the white macbook and number one you aren't going to be able to tell in the speed between 2.0 and 2.2ghz. the dirty palmrest was a big problem in the older macbooks but the newer ones don't have that problem nearly as bad. with any computer it requires some cleaning. if you want to spring for the extra cash for the blackbook then go ahead it looks great and is a little faster but if you don't want to spend that much then all you need to do is take care of your computer the way you should and everything should be fine

Kial

tmorgan1689 · Feb 23, 2008

I like my black one a lot better than the white one. It does show fingerprints really well tho, but I bet the white one gets dirtier.

TamiRene · Feb 23, 2008

I have a black one. It does show fingerprints and such (easily wiped away with a microfiber cloth). In my experience (I'm the only on I know with a blackbook), my friends with white Macbooks all have dingy mousepads. I think the white one shows dirt more, while the black one just gets a little shiny in places. Doesn't bother me... Having a white one and cleaning it everyday to keep it bright white would probably bother me more.

Oh, and I definitely get noticed for having a Blackbook. People don't just think "oh, another black laptop." Macbooks look more elegant (black or white), and stand out clearly among its pc competitors no matter what color.

.jb · Feb 23, 2008

i have a black one and my roommate has a white one.

i do have to say both are pretty clean, tho the black one will show finger prints and such on the lid alittle easier, the white one overtime shows dirts on where your palms and wrists sit after awhile. common keys aswell.

and when the black is clean, it is very very sleek and professional looking

fiveightandten · Feb 23, 2008

The black will be easier to keep it looking new over time. All it takes to clean it off is a good wipe with a damp cloth. The white, like anything white gets stained and discolored over time, and you don't notice it much until it's caked on dirt that's difficult to get off (particularly the keys, trackpad, and where your arms rest).

I have the black and it shows fingerprints very easily. I just take a damp cloth to it whenever it starts to bother me and it looks brand new again...for about 5 minutes, LOL.

-Nick

a4 abt · Feb 23, 2008

I prefer the white MB. The black isn't bad, but it doesn't look as good as the white model.

fleurya · Feb 24, 2008

There's no way I would get the white one. Every time I go to the Apple store and see people at the Genius Bar with their white Macbooks, they look absolutely horrible with the discolored palm rests and trackpad. Even if they only get slightly discolored, anything discolored against pure white just looks bad!

Noxian · Feb 24, 2008

fleurya said:
There's no way I would get the white one. Every time I go to the Apple store and see people at the Genius Bar with their white Macbooks, they look absolutely horrible with the discolored palm rests and trackpad. Even if they only get slightly discolored, anything discolored against pure white just looks bad!

I had that problem with mine it was a rev 1, even after using the laptop over a year after the replacement I didn't have the problem again.

kgeier82 · Feb 24, 2008

mathogre said:
The one that will stay cleaner is the one you don't use. Get the one you want and you'll be fine. The white one cleans pretty well.

On the difference between 2.0GHz and 2.2GHz, you will notice no difference whatsoever unless you're doing real number crunching and lots of it. (There's an invitation for argument. -_^) In clockspeed alone, you're looking at a 10% clock speed increase of the 2.2 over the 2.0. Some may say they can tell the difference between the two, but a perceived speed difference can be the result of many things, some of which aren't even real. Frankly if the 2.2GHz adds more than 10% to the price and you have to ask if you'll notice the difference, you'd be better going for the 2.0GHz and using the money you save elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

be fair...at least mention that the only thing you get with the 2.2 is not the extra mhz, but a dvdburner, and a 160gb HD. and the color.

that is worth the price difference to most people.

i still went for the high level whitebook

Eric559 · Feb 24, 2008

I have no problem with discolored palm rests on my MacBook. It may get a little bit dirty but it's nothing a mr clean magic eraser can't clean.