Unibody Macbook vs. Early 2008 MBP vs. Windows Notebook

[nicksan]

Apologies if this has been discussed already. I've searched but couldn't not find this topic.

I can't make up my mind when it comes to choosing!

I already have a Quad Core PC I use for photo editing so this is more like for when we travel and when I actually do any photo work while I am on the go, which isn't too often, but it happens.

My wife asked me about the latest Unibody Macbooks. We went to check them out at the Apple Store and liked them a lot. We have a old Sony Vaio itching to be replaced by something more modern.

I noticed that the the older generation Macbook Pro's are being sold cheaply. For the same price as the entry model Unibody Macbook(C2D 2Ghz 1066mhz FSB, recent video card but integrated memory) I can get a 15.4" MBP (C2D 2.4Ghz...slower FSB, 8600MT Video card but also has 256MB dedicated memory). Whatever I get, I'd be replacing the 5400rpm HDD with a 7200rpm one just like I did with the Vaio!

So I was wondering which would be the better option. The only thing that bothers me about the Unibody Macbook is the lack of FireWire. My wife mentioned that she wants to get into making DVD's out of home videos (no, not those kinds...these are rate-PG13 thank you very much:lol:;)), etc so that might be important. (Timeto dust off that V-cam!)

I've also been looking at Windows equivalent laptops (Sony, Dell, HP) because I have an option of getting a Blueray player for it while keeping the price in the same ballpark keeping the rest of the specs pretty much the same as the Macbook/MBP. It might not look "designer" nice as the macbooks but I certainly like the feature set, especially the Blue-ray player. We've been watching Blueray movies for months now so we rarely get regular DVD's anymore. (Though I could always watch x264 encoded files I suppose...)

As for OS X, she's looking for a change, telling me how bored she is with Windows. But I don't care. I'm not like that. My Wintel box gets the job done. I used to be a Mac user a long time ago, but now use Windows exclusively. As far as reliability is concerned, I am not worried. I go several months without rebooting. Plus, I can completely support Windows as I do that for a living and build my own PC's.

But I have to admit, the grass is always greener...and wouldn't mind getting back into the Mac game! I mean damn, Macbooks look so sexy!!!

This is like choosing L lenses...it's fun and not fun at the same time.:lol::(

Thoughts/opinions are welcomed!

[Tony-S]

Right now, the MBP is the better choice. But with Snow Leopard and its extensive use of gpu cores and Open CL the new MB may really shine with its NVida chipset. If you have to have fw, then the MBP is the only option, unless you can import with another fw computer first, then transfer the DV to the MB. Both will drive 30" external displays at native resolutions. Tough call.

[nicksan]

Yeah, it's a tough one.

Is the GPU chipset that much better on the unibody Macbook even though it doesn't have dedicated memory? I can see how the faster FSB (1066 vs 800) would make a little bit of difference. DDR3 vs. DDR2 shouldn't matter too much.

Man, I am all lost. Snow Leopard? Huh?:lol:

Honestly, email, surfing, photoshop, home video editing is what we'll do on the laptop...I keep on telling my wife you don't need a Mac for home video stuff, but she has it in her mind that it would be easier on the Mac.:rolleyes::lol:

But then there's teh Blue ray thing. I heard the BR drive eats up battery life and as I already mentioned, I can always watch movies via x264 encided files.


Right now, the MBP is the better choice. But with Snow Leopard and its extensive use of gpu cores and Open CL the new MB may really shine with its NVida chipset. If you have to have fw, then the MBP is the only option, unless you can import with another fw computer first, then transfer the DV to the MB. Both will drive 30" external displays at native resolutions. Tough call.

[René Damkot]

Snow Leopard = OSX 10.6 (http://www.apple.com/macosx/snowleopard/)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_v10.6

[Tony-S]

Is the GPU chipset that much better on the unibody Macbook even though it doesn't have dedicated memory? I can see how the faster FSB (1066 vs 800) would make a little bit of difference. DDR3 vs. DDR2 shouldn't matter too much.

Man, I am all lost. Snow Leopard? Huh?:lol:

CUDA (for OpenCL) was introduced in the NVidia 8800 series, so the 8600 in the previous iteration of the MBP will not support it, while the 9400M chipset does. Based upon what I've read about SL's ability to use those gpu cores, there will likely be a dramatic performance increase in the MB.

Honestly, email, surfing, photoshop, home video editing is what we'll do on the laptop...I keep on telling my wife you don't need a Mac for home video stuff, but she has it in her mind that it would be easier on the Mac.:rolleyes::lol:

Sometimes you have to do things to keep the peace around the home. :)

But then there's teh Blue ray thing. I heard the BR drive eats up battery life and as I already mentioned, I can always watch movies via x264 encided files.

I don't see Apple adopting Blu-ray anytime soon. Jobs has made it pretty clear he doesn't want to abide by the studios' rules; but I think it's because he views Blu-ray as a competitor to the iTunes Store video purchases. Apple's success with the iPod and music has the studios very nervous, and I think that's why you cannot buy high-def movies from iTunes yet - the studios make more off of their Blu-ray discs than they would with HD downloads from Apple. Plus, they have control of the distribution.

[nicksan]

At least speaking for myself, that would be the clincher, but again, I am not the ones making decisions so...:lol::(

I think having a BR-ROM drive plus similar/same specs on a Windows Laptop at the same price point as the Unibody Macbook or even the MPB (Legacy/Unibody) is a very attractive thing.

So here's the jist of it:

OS X. My wife likes it. I don't believe in the hype...in fact either way actually, OS X or Vista. They both will work for me. But my wife likes it. Oh, did I mention my wife likes it?:(
Build and looks. OK, so The Macbook's got this won...I think. I like the Aluminum build rather than the cheap plastic ones. There's no getting around this. Macbooks just look and feel sexier. End of story. My wife is a "looks" type of gal. That's why she picked me as a husband.;):rolleyes:
Bang for the buck. Call me crazy, but it seems like Windows laptops have more bang for the buck. No? Blue-ray, C2D 2.4Ghz, 4GB DDR, 250GB HDD, dedicated V-RAM, web cam, etc...sounds pretty darn nice to me!
OK, Windows is getting boring. Time to get something new? Perhaps.
Oh god...I am getting nowhere.

Did I mention my wife likes OS X? Just in case I didn't...my wife likes OS X.;)

Oh, and as for the Open CL thing...not going to pretend I understand it, but it's good to know that there is indeed a cutoff point as far as the GPU chipset is concerned. So the 8600 won't support it. Check. That was very useful information...

CUDA (for OpenCL) was introduced in the NVidia 8800 series, so the 8600 in the previous iteration of the MBP will not support it, while the 9400M chipset does. Based upon what I've read about SL's ability to use those gpu cores, there will likely be a dramatic performance increase in the MB.

Sometimes you have to do things to keep the peace around the home. :)

I don't see Apple adopting Blu-ray anytime soon. Jobs has made it pretty clear he doesn't want to abide by the studios' rules; but I think it's because he views Blu-ray as a competitor to the iTunes Store video purchases. Apple's success with the iPod and music has the studios very nervous, and I think that's why you cannot buy high-def movies from iTunes yet - the studios make more off of their Blu-ray discs than they would with HD downloads from Apple. Plus, they have control of the distribution.

[jbergdoll]

Unibody macbooks have a 9 pin firewire port.

I was going to go the original pro route, but instead went for the 2.53 GHz unibody because I wanted to run with up-to-date hardware.

[Tony-S]

Unibody macbooks have a 9 pin firewire port.

According to Apple, they do not.

[jbergdoll]

According to Apple, they do not.
MacBook Pro, I mean.

[René Damkot]

From here (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/stats/macbook-core-2-duo-2.0-aluminum-13-late-2008-unibody-specs.html) and here (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/stats/macbook-core-2-duo-2.4-aluminum-13-late-2008-unibody-specs.html):
It does not include a Firewire "400" port.

Edit: ah. MBP. Yes.

But only FW 800: Click (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/stats/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.53-aluminum-15-late-2008-unibody-specs.html)

one Firewire "800" port,

[jbergdoll]

What is the real difference between FW 400 and 800?

[TheHoff]

Go with the new unibody MBP -- you get Firewire and a killer screen over the MB. Base model is fine just have them up it to 4G of RAM (and your drive swap).

[jbergdoll]

I agree with thehoff, the display is ****ing fantastic.

[TheHoff]

What is the real difference between FW 400 and 800?

Twice the bandwidth. Not a huge difference if you look at the card readers but I'd assume you want it for video transfers.

[jbergdoll]

Twice the bandwidth. Not a huge difference if you look at the card readers but I'd assume you want it for video transfers.
Yeah, I just ordered a new firewire cable last night for capturing MiniDV tapes since the new MBP's are lacking the 6 pin that I originally used, and was curious about the "800."

[pragan4]

I agree with thehoff, the display is ****ing fantastic.

Is the display really better in the new Unibody MBPs than it was in the previous generation? I just used a friend's older MBP and the screen looked great and even with 2GB of RAM it was definitely fast enough for me.

I'm not exactly in the same situation, but I'm pretty sold on the older generation MBP as winning in the price/performance category. I don't play games, so will open CL really improve graphics performance markedly?

Edit: Either way, it's a gigantic upgrade over our 1Ghz G4 iBook. :)

[TheHoff]

The new MBP display is noticeably better than the new MB display. I'm not sure it is better or any different than the previous MBP, except for the glass. If cost is a concern over design, I'd stick with the slightly older MBP rather than the new one.

[rehpotsirhC]

I don't play games, so will open CL really improve graphics performance markedly?

I doubt it. That's not the purpose of OpenCL (as I understand). OpenCL allows the GPU to be utilized for non-graphics purposes when not busy with graphics related tasks. In other words, it is supposed to effectively add another processor to a machine.

What is less clear about Open CL is if it will allow unibody MacBook Pros to also utilize the processing power of the second GPU, since, at least with Leopard (OS X 10.5), both GPU's cannot be utilized simultaneously for graphics.

I don't see Apple adopting Blu-ray anytime soon. Jobs has made it pretty clear he doesn't want to abide by the studios' rules; but I think it's because he views Blu-ray as a competitor to the iTunes Store video purchases.

I have to respectfully disagree. Jobs is a major (largest?) shareholder of Walt Disney Company, so he stands to make money from their movies regardless of distribution method.

I think Apple has refrained from offering Blu-Ray because, currently, only the 17 inch MacBook Pro and the 24 inch iMac support 1080p resolution without an external monitor. (IMO it defeats the purpose of including Blu-Ray drives in laptops with displays that aren't capable of displaying 1080p resolution.)

What is the real difference between FW 400 and 800?

FireWire 400 (and iLink, which is FW 400 without bus power) has a maximum throughput of 400 Mbit/s, while FireWire 800 has a maximum throughput of 800 Mbit/s. FW800 is backwards compatible with FW400 devices, requiring only a 9-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable.

If one is to believe benchmark testing, the Nvidia 9400m chipset offers superior USB implementation compared to the Intel chipsets used in the previous generation MacBooks, boosting the real world USB performance much closer to, but still slightly slower than, real world FW 400 performance. The motherboard on the unibody MacBooks is very small, only about one-fourth of the area of the laptop's footprint, and there is simply not enough room for power, ethernet, Mini-Display Port, 2 USB ports and a FireWire port. Apparently it was decided by the powers that be at Apple that if a port had to be eliminated, it would be FireWire.

[TheHoff]

I think Apple has refrained from offering Blu-Ray because, currently, only the 17 inch MacBook Pro and the 24 inch MacBook support 1080p resolution...

That is a BIG Macbook.

[rehpotsirhC]

That is a BIG Macbook.

Oops. Sorry. That should have read "iMac" instead of "MacBook." Thanks for catching that.