Yea, that’s right. I’m reviewing a MacBook. Because I bought a MacBook. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?
Why did I cross over to the dark side (or is Apple considered the light side)? Well, the plastic unibody MacBook just received an updating, putting it on par with the MacBook Pro. Inside you’ll find a Core 2 Duo processor with Nvidia 320m integrated graphics and two gigabytes of RAM along with a small capsule which contains a piece of a burrito Steve Jobs once looked at.
Normally I would say “Looks good on paper…” but in all truth, the MacBook don’t look good on paper at all. Paying a cool grand for a laptop with a Core 2 Duo, integrated graphics and 2GB of RAM isn’t the kind of thing that makes tech-heads get all hot and bothered. Of course, I can always turn around and return the thing – so the question is, what do I think of the 2010 MacBook refresh, and will I keep it?
Design
The MacBook is made of plastic. Compared to the oh-so-fancy (and easily dented) aluminum of the MacBook Pros, this seems a little low-rent, but it certainly can be said that the MacBook isn’t a solid piece of kit. In fact, the MacBook is easily one of the sturdiest laptops you can purchase today.
Having lugged the MacBook around during a vacation it is with great surprise that I can say this thing feels more rugged than the two Thinkpads I’ve owned previously. Compared to my current R61i, the MacBook has some obvious advantages. The screen requires incredible force to flex and keeps the display well protected, while the lower chassis is as solid as the unibody design suggests.
When Apple say’s unibody they aren’t kidding. There are no seams to be found anywhere on the lower part of the chassis with the exception of the large, rubbery base plate which is covers the MacBook’s internal organs. Pick the baby up by any edge and be prepared to be amazed. There is no visible flex of any kind, nor is there any creaking or cracking noises. Even the area around the DVD drive – a traditional weak point in a laptop chassis – doesn’t budge.
The MacBook is beautiful, too. Yes, the pure-white glossy design has become a bit of a cliche, but I was surprised by how impressive it looks despite the fact that Apple has been using a similar aesthetic for a decade. The glossy exterior does catch fingerprints, but the white doesn’t show them too easily – you have to get up close and personal before such flaws become apparent. The white design probably will be a long-term dirt and grime concern, however, and while the rubbery base keeps the laptop from easily sliding it also picks up dust and grime easily.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The MacBook’s keyboard is, like the chassis itself, extremely solid. Flex can be introduced, but only by pressing down on one spot with a great deal of force – far more force than you’d ever use when typing, even when writing angry e-mails about your dick of a boss. There is little audible feedback, which is probably for the best, and decent tactical feedback. This is an island style keyboard, and honestly I would prefer a traditional beveled layout. As far as island style keyboards go, however, this is ties with the keyboard on the Sony Viao CW for the honors of being the best I’ve ever used.
The trackpad is also wonderful to use. It is absolutely massive. I find the sheer size of the trackpad to be one of the most refreshing features of the MacBook. So many of today’s laptops ship with measly little trackpads barely large enough to accommodate two fingers. Trackpads of this size sometimes cause mis-clicks if your palms rub the edges of the trackpad while typing, but I experienced no such problems here. I also appreciate the texture of the trackpad. It is smooth, but not sticky. My finger simply glides along the surface with only the slightest hint of resistance.
I was less than thrilled about the MacBook’s mouse-click functionality out of the box. By default you click the mouse by pressed down on the bottom of the trackpad. The trackpad is mechanical and will depress, simulating an actually mouse click. You can also press with two fingers instead of one in order to preform what would traditionally be a right-click if you were using Windows. However, the resistance of the trackpad is so great that my fingers became sore after just a couple minutes of browsing the web. This is a serious problem, and one which nearly caused me to return the MacBook. However, you can turn on tap-to-click functionality (it is off by default). Doing this resolved my issue entirely.
The trackpad on the MacBook is multi-touch, and you can use it to preform many useful gesture. Scrolling is done by dragging two fingers up, down, left or right on the trackpad. Scrolling through documents and web pages is buttery smooth. Another handy feature is the ability to display all open windows by swiping down with four fingers. This makes it much easier to multi-task between different windows. There are many multi-touch gestures, as well, and while I probably won’t use them all, the ones I do use make navigating the MacBook a pleasure.
Display
The MacBook has a 13.3 inch display with a resolution of 1200×800. This doesn’t sound like anything special, and it isn’t. The resolution is perfectly adequate for this size of a laptop, and I appreciate the fact that Apple is not jumping on the ridiculous 16:9 bandwagon which every other laptop vendor is already a part of. However, considering the price of the MacBook it would be nice to have had a higher resolution display. The MacBook could certainly handle it, as OS X does a good job of smoothing out smaller text so that it is easy to read.
In terms of visual quality, the MacBook display is above average. Graphic designers are still going to be shaking their fists at it, but most other users should be pleased. The viewing angles are better than most other laptops of this size. Colors are brilliant, although darker scenes in games and movies are noticeably washed out. The best rendition of black the MacBook can manage is a sort of murky gray.
The display of the MacBook is glossy, but bearable even in bright rooms and under indirect sunlight. The display is not as glossy as that found on the MacBook Pro because the MacBook lacks the additional edge-to-edge glass which is part of the MacBook Pro design. The MacBook also has a very bright backlight which can overpower most glare. As a result the MacBook’s display is usually easy to read. You’ll only run into trouble when trying to use the MacBook outside on a sunny afternoon.
Ports and Connections
Ports and connections have always been the traditional weak point of Apple’s laptops, and the MacBook is no different. In fact, it is one of the worst laptops every made when looked at from this perspective. For a grand you receive two USB ports, one headphone/mic combo jack, one Displayport, one Ethernet and the space for a Kensington lock.
That’s it. Seems kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it? No FireWire, no VGA, no USB 3.0, nothing. Hell, my Samsung NC10 netbook has better connectivity than this thing does. Students in particular should think about the lack of VGA. It isn’t uncommon for students to give presentations as part of a class, and most projectors in college classes rooms won’t support DisplayPort. The lack of FireWire is also a pain in the ass if you own a modern digital camera.
To be frank, the lack of ports on the MacBook is inexcusable. Apple is throwing down the gauntlet here. They are saying that you won’t mind buying a machine which is severely short on connectivity because their design makes up for it. And you can always fix things by purchasing a MacBook Pro for $200 more. The question is, how much do the ports matter to you? I use my laptop as a secondary mobile machine – my desktop is used 75% of the time. However, many readers are probably thinking of buying the MacBook as their only computer. If that is your situation you may find the MacBook’s terrible connectivity difficult to live with.
General Performance
The MacBook’s stock configuration includes a Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz processor, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB 5,200 RPM hard drive. These aren’t the kind of technical specs which anyone will be bragging about, and as a result the performance of the MacBook isn’t going to melt your face off.
The MacBook’s performance is predictably underwhelming if compared to other laptops of a similar price. For example, $1000 can buy you a high-end 15 inch laptop, such as the Dell Studio 15. You’ll end up with a Core i5 processor and a powerful discrete GPU. Compared to such a system, the MacBook hasn’t a chance in hell of keeping up.
When compared to laptops in its weight class, however, the MacBook is far more competitive. Remember, this is a 13.3 inch laptop weighing under five pounds, so it can be safely called an ultraportable. That puts it in the company of laptops which usually have slower Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processors, such as the ASUS UL30VT. These laptops are indisputably slower. The Lenovo X200 series can be had with a Core i5 for just $100 more than the MacBook, but it only comes armed with Intel integrated graphics, which is of course less than ideal.
Video and Gaming Performance
The GPU inside the MacBook is a rather special beast. Called the Nvidia 320M, it is an integrated graphics solution like the previous Nvidia 9400M. This means it shares video memory with system memory. However, the 320M also includes 48 shader units. What this all ends up meaning in reality is that the 320M is about 20% faster than the Nvidia 310M discrete graphics chip, which is quite an upgrade. My MacBook was able to achieve 4,742 3DMarks in 3DMark 06 in Windows 7. That is very impressive for a laptop of this size. The only laptop which is as small or smaller with better performance is the Alienware M11x.
This power, along with the recent release of Steam for OS X, means that you might want to be using the MacBook as a sort of mobile gaming laptop. Not so fast! While the MacBook has very impressive performance in Windows 7, the performance in OS X is sorta terrible. The problem is that OS X (of course) doesn’t support the popular Direct X graphics API which was created by Microsoft for Windows. Instead, OS X has to use Open GL 3.0, but OS X’s Open GL support isn’t anything to brag about. The result is terrible performance in games. We’re talking a performance hit which can range between 25% and 50% when compared to the same game in Windows.
Of course, Boot Camp makes it easy to installed Windows on your MacBook, and gaming is indeed enjoyable on the MacBook when you’re using Windows. I played several games, including Starcraft II beta and Portal, and found that they ran smoothly. Even so, I hesitate to call the MacBook a competent gaming laptop, as more recent games like Just Cause 2 just weren’t playable at any reasonable graphics settings.
Video playback was unsurprisingly smooth. The combination of the Core 2 Duo and the powerful integrated graphics proved easily capable of slaying 1080p YouTube videos with the updated Adobe Flash drivers, which enable GPU acceleration of Flash, installed.
Battery Life
The battery life of the MacBook is nothing short of astounding. Apple advertises the MacBook as having a “ten hour battery” and as usual, this projection is a bit over-zealous. You will only be able to achieve that much endurance if you use the laptop exclusively for word processing with the backlight on its lowest visible setting. However, in a more normal scenario – using the MacBook for web browsing with the backlight four of five notches away from the highest setting – you can achieve over seven hours.
This puts the MacBook on par with ultra-low voltage laptops, but as stated in the performance section, the MacBook is much faster than a ultra-low voltage equipped laptop. However, the MacBook’s battery is not user serviceable. You must have it replaced by Apple when it wears out. This is a bit of a pain for most users, but it can be a deal-breaker for true road warriors. If you often pack multiple batteries in order to extend battery life during a long trip the MacBook isn’t for you.
Verdict
I think I’ll keep it.
I was very surprised to find myself in the Apple store when I decided to replace my aging R61i, but the MacBook fits a very nice niche. I needed something which was durable and had a great keyboard and trackpad, as I often use my laptop for writing on the road. But I also wanted something with long battery life and the ability to play moderately demanding games. I also wanted a reliable laptop.
There are a lot of laptops, of course, which meet one or two of these requirements, but no other laptop is able to combine everything I want. So, should you buy the MacBook? Well, that depends. Are you looking for a long-lasting ultraportable with great design and the ability to play games and videos? If so, then yes, you should probably buy a MacBook.
Of course, many readers will want to know if they should buy a MacBook over a MacBook Pro. That is a question which actually isn’t too hard to answer. The MacBook is – in terms of hardware – identical to the Pro. So, the only reason you should buy the MacBook Pro is if you need something the Pro offers but the normal white MacBook doesn’t. The Pro is a bit more modern thanks to its silver aluminum design, and it does have better connectivity. It also has two more gigabytes of RAM standard. However, I don’t have any use for those extra features, so I don’t have any reason to spend $200 more. In fact, I prefer the standard MacBook’s display, which isn’t as glossy as that on the MacBook Pro.
So, there you have it. No, I haven’t suddenly turned into a Mac guy. But I do like the MacBook. It is a robust, well designed system, and anyone looking for a small laptop should give it a gander.
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 4 trackbacks }