Shopping for MacBook Pro & iPad ahead of arrival

[sxc]

Apple put the price down when the 2 was relesaed for about 4-5 days then duly put them back up! You could have saved $1000 on all versions but now with shortages and delays I think they have raised the price again.

btw the price of ipad1 is back down to the discounted price. but the 16GB wifi is sold out throughout the city.

[Stoob]

Macbook v Macbook Pro

I am completely clueless on Apple computers having never even used one, however I need to buy soon for my son (Bit of a 'WTF' moment when I found out it was required for school!!)

So, what is the difference between the normal versus the Pro; hardware spec, software?

Any help is much appreciated

[gilleshk]

If you have to buy soon, there's no doubt you should go with the MacBook Pro as it has just been updated. The Macbook is at the end of its run so you are seriously overpaying for what you are getting.

For around 1500HK more, you will be getting the much sharper looking and sturdier aluminum unibody casing as opposed to the white plastic one. Back lit keyboard, much better processor and the choice of upgrades if you are prepared to pay more. You can also get a larger screen for more money. The hard drive is slightly bigger, you get double the RAM and there's also an extra card reader. Software is the same on all Macs. It's an absolute no brainer.

Go to the HK Apple Education store and you will also get the discount. Check with the school because some of them get even better pricing than the education store.

Go there to make a comparison

Compare Macs - Apple Store (HongKong)

[Stoob]

Thanks, I normally go for the more expensive option if there are good reasons for it....

....justifying to the missus is the only real obstacle now. ;-)

How about graphics capabilities between the 13" and 15"/17" models? The 15/17" models have a built in radeon graphics processor for 3D games etc. but is there any real life difference?

[gilleshk]

Well the upgrade from Macbook to Pro is easy to justify. In my opinion, dumping more money on a laptop that will be going back and forth from school every day and most likely receive a fair bit of abuse and have greater risks of being stolen is not a wise move. If you were looking at a desktop replacement that you would occasionally move then it might be different.

I don't play games so I don't really know if it would make a big difference. However, there's more than enough computing power in even the Macbook to be able to handle everything including fairly extensive image and video editing.

It's funny how we get sold faster and bigger computers when 95% of the population uses only a fraction of it... Most people could use the same computers they had 15-20 years ago and have no problems if it wasn't for the fancy and mostly useless upgrades that are being done everywhere.

[wayland]

How about graphics capabilities between the 13" and 15"/17" models? The 15/17" models have a built in radeon graphics processor for 3D games etc. but is there any real life difference?

Unless you're going to play games, you won't need it.

[Stoob]

Unless you're going to play games, you won't need it.

Is it a case of the 15/17" models letting you play the games at 12,000 x 8,000 pixels at 1000FPS and the 13" playing at acceptable settings or that the 13" models are no use at all with recent 3D games?