4 ms·

Ask HN: Suggestions for Mac Laptop

11 points by matt1 18y ago

I'm interested in purchasing a Mac laptop, but have very little knowledge about them. My prior experience is limited to a few brief tristes in various Apple stores. I don't need anything fancy as far as graphics or gaming. I'd mainly use it for Rails and web development. What do you guys recommend?

Hates_ 18y ago
The answer depends on your budget :) Personally, I would go for the 2.4Ghz MBP and buy my own extra memory for it. Saying that though the cheaper 2.4Ghz MB also looks like a good machine. Question is if you really need a laptop. I really wanted one, but ended up getting an iMac instead. Looking back I'm very happy I got a desktop rather then a laptop.
- matt1 18y ago
  Thanks for the tips. Why are you happy about the desktop?
markbao 18y ago
Developers are often seen with MacBook Pros. For example, RailsConf: http://flickr.com/photos/twylo/173895378/ http://flickr.com/photos/twylo/173895378/ With the new MacBook/Pros, it's basically whether you want a bigger screen or not, and if you want more GHz of processing power. There are 2.0 and 2.4GHz MacBooks available, $1300 and $1600, respectively, and MacBook Pros start at 2.4 up, starting at $2000. To put things in perspective, here is what you're getting for $400 more in the MacBook Pro 2.4GHz than the MacBook 2.4GHz: - bigger screen - extra NVidia <strike>8600M</strike> 9600M GT graphics card - FireWire port and ExpressCard port - and of course, 2" more of real estate. Or, you might be okay with the 2.0GHz MacBook, if all you are doing is Rails work, in which case you would save another $300. So the question basically is, 1) do you want 2.0 or 2.4GHz (suggest 2.4), and 2) do you want the bigger screen, and if so, if that is worth $400 to you (along with the other stuff.)
- silencio 18y ago
  To be picky, whether or not you want/need the bigger screen with you all the time. I have only a MacBook and I use it with a 20" lcd at home, which is where I do the majority of my work. (I also have more than one desktop, so if the laptop is going to be a sole machine, yet another thing to take into consideration.) I couldn't justify the additional cost, size/weight and fragility of a MBP over a regular MB, having owned one previously. My productivity doesn't suffer with Spaces and Expose on the 13" widescreen (although this is personal preference), and the external display is a cherry on top of the cake. Of course, you could also do the same thing with a MBP, but assuming that budget may be a limiting factor and all..
- chrisbroadfoot 18y ago
  Not 8600M, but 9600M GT. Also, the screen is not only bigger, but much much higher quality in the MBP. No one is mentioning the MBA?
- tptacek 18y ago
  In 2008, does anything use the ExpressCard port that you care about? Isn't it basically obsolete? You'd say the same about Firewire --- except: * Losing Firewire also costs you "target disk mode", which lets you mount another Mac as an otherwise inert external hard drive, which is hugely helpful for backing up and restoring machines. * Firewire is the standard remote debugging interface for the Windows kernel, and is an all-around great debugging interface (Firewire itself is basically nothing but a network protocol hooked directly up to a DMA engine); there's no perfect replacement for it that I know of.
  - markbao 18y ago
    ExpressCard is obsolete, and I don't care about it. That's just a list of the differences between MB and MBP. It's only useful if you have an old EVDO/3G card that relies on ExpressCard.
mattmaroon 18y ago
You've got like 3 choices, it's not that complicated.
- zacharydanger 18y ago
  But there's the stylish one, the other stylish one, and the other other stylish one.
  - tptacek 18y ago
    There's 4 at the moment: * The super thin, relatively expensive, stylish one that's limited and hard to expand. (Air) * The super cheap, relatively unstylish white all-purpose machine. (Original Macbook) * The cheap, flashy, glassy new one. (Macbook) * The expensive, flashy, glassy new one with the big screen. (Macbook Pro).
    - adr 18y ago
      The old 17-inch Macbook Pro is still available.
      - tptacek 18y ago
        Did not know that. See? It is more complicated than Matt Maroon said.
        mattmaroon 18y ago
        You got me. Lack of choices is simultaneously their biggest weakness and strength.
tptacek 18y ago
Easy: buy whatever the cheapest laptop Apple sells, at any point in time. The 2ghz white Macbook is standard issue at our company; we use 'em like a chef uses a Global chef knife: software development, C code compilation, running Windows tools under VMWare, and running custom VM's for target software during analysis. There's no feature of the Macbook Pro anyone on my team ever misses. The larger screen is a liability when traveling; at the office, you want a monitor anyways. You're almost never going to be CPU bound, and even if you were, the difference in processor performance is negligible. Just get the cheapest Macbook and spend the rest of your money on more important things.
- bjclark 18y ago
  Pretty much. Use the $$ you save to buy a big monitor, more ram (coastmemory.com is my fav for the last decade, don't buy from apple), or a better chair.
- dnaquin 18y ago
  CPU's a big help if you're compiling a lot. Then again most projects are small enough where it doesn't matter. But my MBP's a necessity when it comes to compiling Firefox.
  - tptacek 18y ago
    Even compilation is mostly IO bound. I'd be interested in an off-the-shelf benchmark on compiling Firefox, MB vs. MBP. I haven't seen one. Regardless, you're paying a lot for what may be a nominal difference; you could spend that money better.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
- babul 18y ago
  The cheap one does not have VT support on the CPU which means that virtual machines run much slower than on the CPUs that do have VT where they run at native or near native speeds (depending on the VM software you use). This becomes particularly important if you want to run a virtual Windows under heavy load or run many virtual machines.
gtani 18y ago
Anything with an Intel core duo or up. G4 powerbooks are slow, always thrashing the hard drive. Also would avoid 1st gen MB pros, from early 2006, they were blazingly hot, and you'd get just a few months apple care right now. avoid Airs, i don't think they've solved core shutdown problem: http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/26/hopping-on-the-new-macbook-pro-bandwagon http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/26/hopping-on-the-new-macbo... for inbox specials, refurbs, look at apple store. Also http://www.smalldog.com/ http://www.smalldog.com/ http://www.powermax.com/ http://www.powermax.com/
- tptacek 18y ago
  Apple doesn't sell a laptop with anything less than a Core 2 Duo at this point. Having burned through at least 4 Macbooks in the last couple years, I wouldn't buy one used or refurbed.
  - rw 18y ago
    Are you using a Lenovo now?
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    I have a 17" MBP, refurbed, and a macmini, refurbed. Never had a problem. I used to have a 15" MBP, bought new through work, nothing but problems.
charlesju 18y ago
Buy the least expensive new Macbook. I am in love with this machine. It plays World of Warcraft at 40-60 FPS, I have 4 spaces at all times, it never lags on anything I do. With all my windows on full screen, 13 inches is enough space to do everything comfortably, including gaming. The aluminum casing is truly revolutionary, there are no screws at all on the entire case, it's incredibly sturdy and light. I am currently developing on it on a daily basis, 12 hrs at a time (Ruby on Rails too). Macs are really good for Ruby on Rails because they have Ruby built in, and it's easy to use gem to get Rails and all those other goodies. But if you want to keep yourself up-to-date, you should probably ditch the Ruby that comes with your Mac and use Macports to get the newest Ruby, some new programs are dependent on it, ie. Capistano.
- tptacek 18y ago
  Strongly advise rebuilding Ruby (or for that matter Python) yourself. You should be developing on a build of your runtime that you understand; for both Ruby and Python, I've run into incredibly annoying problems in the built-in versions.
wenbert 18y ago
Get a maxed out 13-inch macbook pro! it will run for years with no problems. And you won't get pissed off ;P
brm 18y ago
Go for the refurb's from the apple store... cheaper and through more testing than your normal mac
alecco 18y ago
As a Macbook owner I had to admit the Toshiba Protege latest ultraportable leaves it biting the dust. The current Macbooks look a decade older. Compare it with the Macbook Air: - Weight 1kg (vs 1.35kg) - Slim (even more) - 3G modem built in. - It has a DVD player. - Removable battery. Apple needs to catch up fast or they are going to loose on this one. Unless something changes, next year I'll be buying my first Toshiba. Apple can't charge prime and under-deliver. Oh, and asking to pay full price on new OS version that came out only three months after laptop purchase didn't help. This is probably bye bye Mac for me, unless something major changes.
- tptacek 18y ago
  How do you not see paying for the next OS X coming? Each OS X release date is one of its year's most hyped computing events.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Apple's really far behind on ultra-portables because they tried too hard to make the Air thin. Nobody sticks a laptop in their pocket, and any bag is designed for a much thicker one than that, so there's really no use for it. What there is use for is a spindle and multiple USB ports.
davidmathers 18y ago
I recommend the one I just bought, the previous generation 2.5 GHz Macbook Pro. Was $2500 a few weeks ago, now selling on Amazon for $1650: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013FLTNS/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013FLTNS/ In many ways it's better than the new version. IMO it's the best laptop ever made.
- davidmathers 18y ago
  I also upgraded it with this RAM from Newegg for $55: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231... Not only is it 4 GB, but it's lower latency than the stock RAM so it's a little bit faster.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  I've been meaning to say the same about my 17" (hires video, 7200 rpm drive).
keven 18y ago
I have my eyes on the 13" 2.0GHz Macbook w/ 4GB Ram and SSD. The price adds up to be a little more than entry-level MBP. What do you guys think?
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
MaysonL 18y ago
Consider replacing the HD in one of the aluminum Macbooks with one of the new Intel SSDs (about $600 now for 64GB) which will speed up IO drastically. Or wait half a year and do it substantially more cheaply.
- christefano 18y ago
  Here are two reviews of the X25-M SSD you're talking about: http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/29/review-intel-x25-m-80gb-ssd http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/29/review-intel-x25-m-80gb-... http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-i-got-one-of-new-intel-ssds.html http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-i-got-one-of-... I'm waiting a few months until the 160GB version is available (and costs about the same as the current 80MB version).
markessien 18y ago
I'll tell you one thing: a white macbook is not a good laptop for travelling a lot. Mine is busted along the seams, the hard drive failed after 5 months, and the plastic above the hard drive has now turned yellow, I assume because of the heat. Also, the keyboard is missing a lot of standard keys for my language. I wish I had gone for the IBM x series instead. They look like they can handle the travel much better.
- hugs 18y ago
  Agreed. White does not travel well. I've learned there's a reason most travel gear is sold in black -- it hides the dirt and scratches! To keep my white MacBook looking clean, I bought a ProTouch keyboard cover from iSkin, and a "PalmGuard" wristpad covers from Moshi -- and even then, I try to use an external keyboard and mouse as much as possible to reduce wear and tear on the laptop. I'm glad Apple's brief flirtation with white laptop design is over.
  - royalpineapple 18y ago
    the first ibook came out in '99, i would hardly call the last 9 years a brief flirtation.
- christefano 18y ago
  I recommend a thin hardcase like the ones from Incase and Speck. The one I use is the clear one from Incase (they call it "frost"), and while it protects against the usual stains, scrapes, etc. it has the unexpected side effect of making the glowing Apple logo on the lid look absolutely amazing in the dark.
- m0digital 18y ago
  Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will return the yellow to white. My MB of 2 yrs still looks brand new.
jhancock 18y ago
It really depends on your price point. I do ruby dev work (merb, postgres, nginx) on Mac Air and absolutely _love_ it. Its by far the best laptop experience I've ever had. I have not run into any problem with performance for my dev work or for testing using VMWare Fusion running Windows XP and Ubuntu server.
wehriam 18y ago
I can't afford a Ferrari, but I can get the best laptop on the market. And that's the Macbook Pro. You may be able to find a better value, but you won't be able to find a better machine. If you have the money, get one.
ashleyw 18y ago
I still have my first gen Macbook Pro (Core Duo 1.83Ghz) and its still running great for me. Although I play WoW on it so I wish it was a little faster, and Photoshop takes its time to open, its great for web development! :) Screen size is what you should be looking for, I wouldn't want the Macbooks screen — so you have 2 choices, the new Macbook Pro 15", or the old Macbook Pro 17". :)
travisjeffery 18y ago
MacBook
unalone 18y ago
I'd say the new MacBook, if you've never got one before and don't need graphics. It means you have the advantage of the newest design - I disliked the older MacBooks a lot, personally - and you're not paying for the MBP, which is double the price and offers a lot of things you don't exactly need. Then you can customize it with whatever RAM and graphics updates and hard drives you need.

11 points by matt1 18y ago

Hates_ 18y ago

The answer depends on your budget :) Personally, I would go for the 2.4Ghz MBP and buy my own extra memory for it. Saying that though the cheaper 2.4Ghz MB also looks like a good machine. Question is if you really need a laptop. I really wanted one, but ended up getting an iMac instead. Looking back I'm very happy I got a desktop rather then a laptop.

matt1 18y ago
Thanks for the tips. Why are you happy about the desktop?

markbao 18y ago

Developers are often seen with MacBook Pros. For example, RailsConf: http://flickr.com/photos/twylo/173895378/ http://flickr.com/photos/twylo/173895378/ With the new MacBook/Pros, it's basically whether you want a bigger screen or not, and if you want more GHz of processing power. There are 2.0 and 2.4GHz MacBooks available, $1300 and $1600, respectively, and MacBook Pros start at 2.4 up, starting at $2000. To put things in perspective, here is what you're getting for $400 more in the MacBook Pro 2.4GHz than the MacBook 2.4GHz: - bigger screen - extra NVidia <strike>8600M</strike> 9600M GT graphics card - FireWire port and ExpressCard port - and of course, 2" more of real estate. Or, you might be okay with the 2.0GHz MacBook, if all you are doing is Rails work, in which case you would save another $300. So the question basically is, 1) do you want 2.0 or 2.4GHz (suggest 2.4), and 2) do you want the bigger screen, and if so, if that is worth $400 to you (along with the other stuff.)

silencio 18y ago
To be picky, whether or not you want/need the bigger screen with you all the time. I have only a MacBook and I use it with a 20" lcd at home, which is where I do the majority of my work. (I also have more than one desktop, so if the laptop is going to be a sole machine, yet another thing to take into consideration.) I couldn't justify the additional cost, size/weight and fragility of a MBP over a regular MB, having owned one previously. My productivity doesn't suffer with Spaces and Expose on the 13" widescreen (although this is personal preference), and the external display is a cherry on top of the cake. Of course, you could also do the same thing with a MBP, but assuming that budget may be a limiting factor and all..
chrisbroadfoot 18y ago
Not 8600M, but 9600M GT. Also, the screen is not only bigger, but much much higher quality in the MBP. No one is mentioning the MBA?
tptacek 18y ago
In 2008, does anything use the ExpressCard port that you care about? Isn't it basically obsolete? You'd say the same about Firewire --- except: * Losing Firewire also costs you "target disk mode", which lets you mount another Mac as an otherwise inert external hard drive, which is hugely helpful for backing up and restoring machines. * Firewire is the standard remote debugging interface for the Windows kernel, and is an all-around great debugging interface (Firewire itself is basically nothing but a network protocol hooked directly up to a DMA engine); there's no perfect replacement for it that I know of.
- markbao 18y ago
  ExpressCard is obsolete, and I don't care about it. That's just a list of the differences between MB and MBP. It's only useful if you have an old EVDO/3G card that relies on ExpressCard.

mattmaroon 18y ago

You've got like 3 choices, it's not that complicated.

zacharydanger 18y ago
But there's the stylish one, the other stylish one, and the other other stylish one.
- tptacek 18y ago
  There's 4 at the moment: * The super thin, relatively expensive, stylish one that's limited and hard to expand. (Air) * The super cheap, relatively unstylish white all-purpose machine. (Original Macbook) * The cheap, flashy, glassy new one. (Macbook) * The expensive, flashy, glassy new one with the big screen. (Macbook Pro).
  - adr 18y ago
    The old 17-inch Macbook Pro is still available.
    - tptacek 18y ago
      Did not know that. See? It is more complicated than Matt Maroon said.
      - mattmaroon 18y ago
        You got me. Lack of choices is simultaneously their biggest weakness and strength.

tptacek 18y ago

Easy: buy whatever the cheapest laptop Apple sells, at any point in time. The 2ghz white Macbook is standard issue at our company; we use 'em like a chef uses a Global chef knife: software development, C code compilation, running Windows tools under VMWare, and running custom VM's for target software during analysis. There's no feature of the Macbook Pro anyone on my team ever misses. The larger screen is a liability when traveling; at the office, you want a monitor anyways. You're almost never going to be CPU bound, and even if you were, the difference in processor performance is negligible. Just get the cheapest Macbook and spend the rest of your money on more important things.

bjclark 18y ago
Pretty much. Use the $$ you save to buy a big monitor, more ram (coastmemory.com is my fav for the last decade, don't buy from apple), or a better chair.
dnaquin 18y ago
CPU's a big help if you're compiling a lot. Then again most projects are small enough where it doesn't matter. But my MBP's a necessity when it comes to compiling Firefox.
- tptacek 18y ago
  Even compilation is mostly IO bound. I'd be interested in an off-the-shelf benchmark on compiling Firefox, MB vs. MBP. I haven't seen one. Regardless, you're paying a lot for what may be a nominal difference; you could spend that money better.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
babul 18y ago
The cheap one does not have VT support on the CPU which means that virtual machines run much slower than on the CPUs that do have VT where they run at native or near native speeds (depending on the VM software you use). This becomes particularly important if you want to run a virtual Windows under heavy load or run many virtual machines.

gtani 18y ago

Anything with an Intel core duo or up. G4 powerbooks are slow, always thrashing the hard drive. Also would avoid 1st gen MB pros, from early 2006, they were blazingly hot, and you'd get just a few months apple care right now. avoid Airs, i don't think they've solved core shutdown problem: http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/26/hopping-on-the-new-macbook-pro-bandwagon http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/26/hopping-on-the-new-macbo... for inbox specials, refurbs, look at apple store. Also http://www.smalldog.com/ http://www.smalldog.com/ http://www.powermax.com/ http://www.powermax.com/

tptacek 18y ago
Apple doesn't sell a laptop with anything less than a Core 2 Duo at this point. Having burned through at least 4 Macbooks in the last couple years, I wouldn't buy one used or refurbed.
- rw 18y ago
  Are you using a Lenovo now?
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  I have a 17" MBP, refurbed, and a macmini, refurbed. Never had a problem. I used to have a 15" MBP, bought new through work, nothing but problems.

charlesju 18y ago

Buy the least expensive new Macbook. I am in love with this machine. It plays World of Warcraft at 40-60 FPS, I have 4 spaces at all times, it never lags on anything I do. With all my windows on full screen, 13 inches is enough space to do everything comfortably, including gaming. The aluminum casing is truly revolutionary, there are no screws at all on the entire case, it's incredibly sturdy and light. I am currently developing on it on a daily basis, 12 hrs at a time (Ruby on Rails too). Macs are really good for Ruby on Rails because they have Ruby built in, and it's easy to use gem to get Rails and all those other goodies. But if you want to keep yourself up-to-date, you should probably ditch the Ruby that comes with your Mac and use Macports to get the newest Ruby, some new programs are dependent on it, ie. Capistano.

tptacek 18y ago
Strongly advise rebuilding Ruby (or for that matter Python) yourself. You should be developing on a build of your runtime that you understand; for both Ruby and Python, I've run into incredibly annoying problems in the built-in versions.

wenbert 18y ago

Get a maxed out 13-inch macbook pro! it will run for years with no problems. And you won't get pissed off ;P

brm 18y ago

Go for the refurb's from the apple store... cheaper and through more testing than your normal mac

alecco 18y ago

As a Macbook owner I had to admit the Toshiba Protege latest ultraportable leaves it biting the dust. The current Macbooks look a decade older. Compare it with the Macbook Air: - Weight 1kg (vs 1.35kg) - Slim (even more) - 3G modem built in. - It has a DVD player. - Removable battery. Apple needs to catch up fast or they are going to loose on this one. Unless something changes, next year I'll be buying my first Toshiba. Apple can't charge prime and under-deliver. Oh, and asking to pay full price on new OS version that came out only three months after laptop purchase didn't help. This is probably bye bye Mac for me, unless something major changes.

tptacek 18y ago
How do you not see paying for the next OS X coming? Each OS X release date is one of its year's most hyped computing events.
mattmaroon 18y ago
Apple's really far behind on ultra-portables because they tried too hard to make the Air thin. Nobody sticks a laptop in their pocket, and any bag is designed for a much thicker one than that, so there's really no use for it. What there is use for is a spindle and multiple USB ports.

davidmathers 18y ago

I recommend the one I just bought, the previous generation 2.5 GHz Macbook Pro. Was $2500 a few weeks ago, now selling on Amazon for $1650: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013FLTNS/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013FLTNS/ In many ways it's better than the new version. IMO it's the best laptop ever made.

davidmathers 18y ago
I also upgraded it with this RAM from Newegg for $55: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231... Not only is it 4 GB, but it's lower latency than the stock RAM so it's a little bit faster.
ojbyrne 18y ago
I've been meaning to say the same about my 17" (hires video, 7200 rpm drive).

keven 18y ago

I have my eyes on the 13" 2.0GHz Macbook w/ 4GB Ram and SSD. The price adds up to be a little more than entry-level MBP. What do you guys think?

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]

MaysonL 18y ago

Consider replacing the HD in one of the aluminum Macbooks with one of the new Intel SSDs (about $600 now for 64GB) which will speed up IO drastically. Or wait half a year and do it substantially more cheaply.

christefano 18y ago
Here are two reviews of the X25-M SSD you're talking about: http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/29/review-intel-x25-m-80gb-ssd http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/10/29/review-intel-x25-m-80gb-... http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-i-got-one-of-new-intel-ssds.html http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-i-got-one-of-... I'm waiting a few months until the 160GB version is available (and costs about the same as the current 80MB version).

markessien 18y ago

I'll tell you one thing: a white macbook is not a good laptop for travelling a lot. Mine is busted along the seams, the hard drive failed after 5 months, and the plastic above the hard drive has now turned yellow, I assume because of the heat. Also, the keyboard is missing a lot of standard keys for my language. I wish I had gone for the IBM x series instead. They look like they can handle the travel much better.

hugs 18y ago
Agreed. White does not travel well. I've learned there's a reason most travel gear is sold in black -- it hides the dirt and scratches! To keep my white MacBook looking clean, I bought a ProTouch keyboard cover from iSkin, and a "PalmGuard" wristpad covers from Moshi -- and even then, I try to use an external keyboard and mouse as much as possible to reduce wear and tear on the laptop. I'm glad Apple's brief flirtation with white laptop design is over.
- royalpineapple 18y ago
  the first ibook came out in '99, i would hardly call the last 9 years a brief flirtation.
christefano 18y ago
I recommend a thin hardcase like the ones from Incase and Speck. The one I use is the clear one from Incase (they call it "frost"), and while it protects against the usual stains, scrapes, etc. it has the unexpected side effect of making the glowing Apple logo on the lid look absolutely amazing in the dark.
m0digital 18y ago
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will return the yellow to white. My MB of 2 yrs still looks brand new.

jhancock 18y ago

It really depends on your price point. I do ruby dev work (merb, postgres, nginx) on Mac Air and absolutely _love_ it. Its by far the best laptop experience I've ever had. I have not run into any problem with performance for my dev work or for testing using VMWare Fusion running Windows XP and Ubuntu server.

wehriam 18y ago

I can't afford a Ferrari, but I can get the best laptop on the market. And that's the Macbook Pro. You may be able to find a better value, but you won't be able to find a better machine. If you have the money, get one.

ashleyw 18y ago

I still have my first gen Macbook Pro (Core Duo 1.83Ghz) and its still running great for me. Although I play WoW on it so I wish it was a little faster, and Photoshop takes its time to open, its great for web development! :) Screen size is what you should be looking for, I wouldn't want the Macbooks screen — so you have 2 choices, the new Macbook Pro 15", or the old Macbook Pro 17". :)

travisjeffery 18y ago

MacBook

unalone 18y ago

I'd say the new MacBook, if you've never got one before and don't need graphics. It means you have the advantage of the newest design - I disliked the older MacBooks a lot, personally - and you're not paying for the MBP, which is double the price and offers a lot of things you don't exactly need. Then you can customize it with whatever RAM and graphics updates and hard drives you need.