PRODUCT PROFILE
MacBook vs. MacBook Pro: The Agonizing Choice

For consumers looking for basic portability and basic computing, there's no problem: the MacBook fits the bill. For professional graphic artists, photographers or on-the-go video editors? Again, no problem: The MacBook Pro (MBP) is the only way to go.

But for prosumers -- the kind of customers who do far more than Web surfing and e-mail , but aren't manipulating massive graphic and video files (like me) -- the deciding factors between the increasingly powerful MacBook and its larger sibling are as cloudy as a spring day in early March.

Massive Power

Traditionally, the core difference between laptops in any company's lineup is the processor and RAM (random access memory). When Apple refreshed its MacBook and MacBook Pro lineup last week, that core difference was blurred. The mid-level white and black MacBook versions both sport a 2.4 GHz Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo processor with 3 MB shared L2 cache, an 800 MHz front-side bus, and 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (double-data-rate two synchronous dynamic random access memory), expandable to 4 GB -- the exact same processor configuration that's in the base model MacBook Pro.

Of course, you can scale down to a 2.1 GHz MacBook and scale up to a 2.6 GHz MacBook Pro, but those are just outside of the prosumer territory. If basic, everyday computing will generate similar performance in both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, what's the difference? Isn't it mostly about a bigger screen and the US$500 to $700 extra for the MacBook Pro?

Money Not the Only Factor

For some, it's easy to say that cost is the basic factor -- you either have the dough for the Pro or you don't. However, sometimes that's not the whole case -- in fact, the "case" is the issue too. When Apple removed its 12-inch PowerBook from its lineup, the MacBook stepped in to fill the role for many customers who preferred its tidy size over big screens.

Right now, the choice is over two widescreen designs -- the MacBook's 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1,280 by 800 display or the low-end MacBook Pro's 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1,440 by 900 LCD display. Both are pretty nice, but the MBP's LED-backlit screen will stay bright longer and consume less energy. Personally, I look for two solid years of banging away on my laptop keyboard before I either sell my laptop or move it to the side for backup and recreational use, so the extra life from the LEDs in the MBP aren't critical.

No, screen real estate is far more interesting to me. With more pixels on the screen, I can see more text, manipulate more windows, and generally clutter up my desktop with more files and folders. At first glance, the MacBook Pro gets the nod here. But 90 percent of the time my laptop is connected to an extra monitor anyway, with screen spanning enabled, so the extra MBP screen space isn't that critical -- and definitely not worth an extra $500.

But Wait -- the Graphics!

There is one critical difference between the MB and MBP, and that's the graphics processor. With the MB, it's built into Intel's Core 2 Duo, and it's called the "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100." With the MBP, it's a separate processor with its own memory, and in the MBP, it's the Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB GDDR3 memory. To contrast, the MB's X3100 steals 144 MB of your MB's RAM, so not only is the graphics processor not as inherently powerful, it potentially takes a nick out of your MacBook's overall performance.

Obviously, graphic professionals will skip the MacBook because of the graphics processor, and hard-core gamers will too because the MacBook's built-in processor doesn't handle 3-D very well, nor does it give you a high frame rate for moving graphics. Some games and graphics applications won't run on it all. However, I'm not a gamer, so I'm not concerned.

Still, on a typical day, I'll have dozens of Web browser windows open and at least a half-dozen applications running with iTunes playing in the background. I'll switch a lot between them. For my purposes, the MacBook Pro might let me switch more smoothly and a bit faster. However, I'm constantly impressed by the MacBook -- it's amazingly fast, and here's the crazy thing: My first-generation MacBook was pretty darn good, too.

So while I hunger for additional speed, I'm not seeing how the MBP could improve everyday use to the tune of $500 extra. But those extra pixels sure do call out for use ...

The Black MacBook

The black MacBook actually ships with a default hard drive that's 50 GB larger than the MBP's base of 200 MB. To upgrade it to 250 on the MBP will cost you an additional $50 -- not a terrible price, but still, it's $50 more in the wrong direction.

As for other key features, both the MB and MBP feature the same slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support, the same built-in iSight video camera, the same Gigabit Ethernet port, the same built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking, two USB ports and one FireWire 400 port. What you get extra in the MBP is an additional FireWire 800 port, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (over the standard Bluetooth 2.0+Enhanced Data Rate), and an ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot, which is handy if you're going to use your cellular service carrier to provide you with roaming Internet access.

The trackpad on the MBP now also supports the same Multi-Touch trackpad finger swipe features as the new MacBook Air -- but the trackpad is still the standard smaller size, so the finger gestures aren't quite as easy to use anyway. Handy? Yes, but not worth the premium price.

The Fading Looks

Some consumers think the aging silver aluminum case of the MBP is still hot, and some prefer the keyboard over the new "Chiclet" style MacBook and MacBook Air keys. Personally, I don't care about the keys so much as I care about the computer I'm sitting in front of day in and day out. I certainly enjoy it more when it's stylish, and to me, the MBP is fading and due for a refresh -- maybe something along the lines of the MacBook Air.

Still, I'm pounding on my keyboard for work 90 percent of the time, so does it really matter if the MacBook's newer lines are much cooler? Not really. My eyes are on Leopard and Leopard applications, so it's not a big deal. The MBP is still more elegant than most every other new PC laptop gracing the shelves of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) .

How about build quality? The MBP has a better build quality, but have you seen the MacBook up close and personal? Gone are the ill-fitting components and case design of the iBook ... the MacBook is tight, too.

What I'm Typing on Right Now

The graphics and the promise of a bigger, brighter screen were pretty alluring -- and it's really still the key difference for most users. However, it wasn't enough for me to shell out an extra $500-plus. Right now, I'm typing on a new 2.4 GHz black MacBook ... and I've got no regrets.

Still, in two years, I'm guessing I'll find myself agonizing over a very similar choice.