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MacBook Wows, Woes
Published 2 years ago, at the end of May under Reviews
Yesterday, after pleading my friend to drive me to the Apple store, and a narrowly averted SunTrust Check Card debacle, I drove home with a brand new 13.3″ MacBook - in black. I was a bit concerned over the rumors of thermal goop mishaps in the MacBook/Pro lines, but rationality couldn’t restrain me from this purchase. After using it for several hours quite extensively, I’m glad I took the plunge. I can’t give it a perfect review due to some tropical case temperatures, but it’s damn close to laptop nirvana.
Back in Black
The new MacBook comes in both iBook white and now black, yet the black model remarkably costs $150 more than the same specs in white. This is outrageous, un-necessary, and downright ridiculous. So did I pay the $150 black tax? Of course I did. Have you seen how jaw-droppingly gorgeous the matte black finish is? Rationality never entered my mind in this decision - I was too filled with nostalgia over the old Wall St PowerBooks. Nevertheless, it’s tough to justify the extra bucks for a mere paint job. You pissed off a few people with this one Apple, but you’re far too lovely to stay mad at.
iSauna
The MacBook runs about as hot as my friend’s PowerBook G4. It’s not blisteringly hot as many Digg trolls would have you believe, rather it runs warm. I used it with and without AC power through tasks such as DVD playback, iPhoto, and iDVD. It will get warm, but it never became anything that concerned me. If you’re watching a DVD with the MacBook on your lap, it’ll get warm. Now, If you’re rendering a feature film while riding shotgun, you’ll really start to feel the heat -just think of it as your personal sauna.
The MacBook runs about as hot as my friend’s PowerBook G4. It’s not blisteringly hot as many Digg trolls would have you believe, rather it runs warm. I used it with and without AC power through tasks such as DVD playback, iPhoto, and iDVD. It will get warm, but it never became anything that concerned me. If you’re watching a DVD with the MacBook on your lap, it’ll get warm. Now, If you’re rendering a feature film while riding shotgun, you’ll really start to feel the heat -just think of it as your personal sauna.
Integrated Graphics
Integrated Graphics means this puppy is not a gaming machine. If you want a gaming laptop, go Pro (although, I’d bet the X1600 only adds to the heat issue). However, the Intel 950 in the MacBook is awesome for HD playback all the way to 1080P, handles the OS rendering effects without breaking a sweat, and can even throw down for a little gaming action now and then (think World of Warcraft instead of F.E.A.R.).
Speed Demon
I upgraded from a 1 GHz iBook G4, and Apple claims a 5X speed increase over the 1.42 Ghz iBook - so by Apple’s measure, I’m getting about 7x better performance. They aren’t kidding either. I can finally enjoy the joys of instantaneous Spotlight searches, 20-25 second boot times, and GarageBand is actually usable. I’ve got 2 GB of memory on order from Newegg, which should blow the roof off performance, but even with a miserable 512 MB of memory this thing screams.
I upgraded from a 1 GHz iBook G4, and Apple claims a 5X speed increase over the 1.42 Ghz iBook - so by Apple’s measure, I’m getting about 7x better performance. They aren’t kidding either. I can finally enjoy the joys of instantaneous Spotlight searches, 20-25 second boot times, and GarageBand is actually usable. I’ve got 2 GB of memory on order from Newegg, which should blow the roof off performance, but even with a miserable 512 MB of memory this thing screams.
Other Niceties
The package of loot that comes standard on the MacBook is very impressive. Front Row and the Apple Remote are unbelievably slick, the glossy screen is spectacular - the glare is not as bad as suggested elseware, and I’ve had a bit too much fun with the cool MagSafe power adapter. The bundled software is fantastic, and of course un-paralleled in the Windows world. Overall this is an amazing machine for the price I paid - I would easily recommend it to others.
The Bad
Overall Rating:
9/10
9/10
My experience hasn’t been perfect with my brand new MacBook. About 30 minutes after first turning it on it decided to randomly shut itself off. After a few hours of stubbornness where the computer would refuse to turn on (the sleep light would turn on but the display would not), it magically began working correctly and has continued to be reliable since. Zapping the pRAM or some other tomfoolery I tried when attempting to revive my slumbering notebook may have fixed the issue, but if I encounter even the slightest problem over the next week, this machine goes straight back to the Apple store.
Out with it!
Is the problem that happens to you dangerous?
How about running Apps like Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, Adobe Photoshop 8 or other non-Universal Apps?
Non-universal apps have been slightly sluggish compared to their universal counterparts, although I imagine when I upgrade the RAM to 2 GB that gap will close considerably.
I own and use my 14″ iBook daily… I am still not sure if I want to replace it with a Macbook or the Pro version. The 15″ sounds tempting so I ask you… what do you think of the the 13,3″ screen? Prise difference is almost a 1000 dollars an inch!?
I bought the base model MacBook in white. Like you, I upgraded to 2Gb of RAM from NewEgg and this thing screams. It gets a bit warm, but that’s what I’d expect for such a powerful CPU crammed into something not more than 1″ thick. I’m a PC convert (still need to get rid of the Athlon 64 3500+ 2Gb “beast” I built for photo editing) and love it. I’ll probably replace the A64 box with a top of the line Pro.
I totally love Macs. In fact, I am thinking of buying myself a MacBook. I own a PowerBook G4 Ti that I got perhaps mid 2002-ish. There’s nothing really wrong with it, except I sent it in for a cosmetic repair because paint was chipping off. It’s running somewhat slow. I’m a designer, but I’d hope the MacBook could suit my needs.
I’m not sure about the prices/specs at the Apple stores because I have never gone, but after looking at the specs comparison chart on Apple I can see that the black model also comes with a larger HD. Thus, the higher price is not the result from just a dark candy shell. Nice write up, though. It makes me want the Macbook even more.
hi…Price does not matter for the quality products. I am using the Iphone though it is costly but it is excellent by design and by functionality…So I am quite happy with the price.