[Pierre B.]

Continuing the discussion in the other thread (about expensive Macbooks), let me say that I schedule to soon buy a Macbook. And no, my question is not if an update is coming ... nor how much of non-Apple memory should I put in.

I am asking for opinions/experience on the following points.

(1) Which color should I go with and why (partially answered in the other thread, but feel free to contribute).

(2) Is a Macbook capable to happily handle the iLife and iWork package? For example, it seems that Keynote has some animations requiring probably a hefty GPU to run fluidly. Or all this is handled by the CPU? Slightly off topic but in a related note: what are the limitations when exporting a Keynote presentation to PDF or PowerPoint? (it can do that, right?)

(3) The machine is not going to be used for any serious 3D work. The 3D operations will most probably be limited to what the OS eventually commands. But what about 2D performance (for example heavy PDF's)? Any differences between the low and high end models?

Thanks for your input.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by Pierre B. 

(1) Which color should I go with and why (partially answered in the other thread, but feel free to contribute).

Black - its the only way to go. You look at a White MB and a Black MB side by side, and the black one is an eye catcher. It's worth the extra $$ imo.

(2) Is a Macbook capable to happily handle the iLife and iWork package? For example, it seems that Keynote has some animations requiring probably a hefty GPU to run fluidly. Or all this is handled by the CPU? Slightly off topic but in a related note: what are the limitations when exporting a Keynote presentation to PDF or PowerPoint? (it can do that, right?)

Yes, definitely. The GPU's Achilles heel is 3d, all other graphic tasks the integrated graphics chip is fine. I owned the first gen of MB and I thought the performance in those areas were more then adequate. Where it fell down for me, was the Aperture and its heavy reliance on the GPU. Everything else was fine

(3) The machine is not going to be used for any serious 3D work. The 3D operations will most probably be limited to what the OS eventually commands. But what about 2D performance (for example heavy PDF's)? Any differences between the low and high end models?

There going to be a difference between the high end and low end, but not that much. If you're talking low end MB, and high end MBP you'll notice an even larger delta. If you're talking about the difference between the MB, then you're not talking about a discernable difference

[Pierre B.]

Thanks MacosNerd.

So, anyone else on the performance questions? I know more or less what the Core 2 Duo inside a Macbook is worth of, but I would like to hear about some specialised use: iLife/iWork, especially the presentation part, and some rather heavy PDF's. Are Intel's integrated graphics a deal breaker for these? I remember vaguely that the first MBP had some issues with large PDF's. If so then the MB is probably worse? Probably a driver issue? Anyone knows?

And here is an example to test rendering speed and scrolling.

EDIT: another random example.

[analogika]

Black MacBook 2 GHz - some loading delay on both, but scrolling is fine.

[Pierre B.]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Black MacBook 2 GHz - some loading delay on both, but scrolling is fine.

Thanks analogika. You have the GMA 950, right?

[amazing]

You can always put a Speck see-thru case on the white MB, and display your own artwork, etc. Black really shows smudges. By the time you pay the black tax, you're getting closer to the MBP pricing, especially if you're OK with a refurbished MBP.

Surely you're not going to guided by others preferences, rather than your own opinion?

[Pierre B.]

Originally Posted by amazing 

Surely you're not going to guided by others preferences, rather than your own opinion?

On the aesthetics I am of course guided from what I want based on what I see. And the white Macbooks I see in the Apple stores look really awful... from accumulated dirt. As I have the habit to keep computers for many years, this is a "no" for me. Nevertheless, I would like to hear what the others say.

For the other questions I have to rely more on the experience of people posting here.

[MacosNerd]

I had the white, and it really didn't get dirty. I kept care of the unit and it looked as nice the day I sold it as when I first purchased it. That said, the Black MacBook looks sharp, no two ways about it.

Yes it does show fingerprints more readily then the white one, but a damp, cloth quickly wipes away those smudges

I never really became a fan of the speck case. Many people swear by them, but when I was looking at them there were enough reports that some were ill fitting and worse they scratched the case. I opted not to go for the case for that very reason.