Apple MacBook MA254, 13" TFT, White, 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo, 512MB, 60GB HDD, Combo Drive
Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
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(5 out of 5)Excellent Quality Apple Hardware
I have purchased a Macbook, to go with my G5 Tower.
I have been using Macs for 7 years, and I find that OSX is just so far ahead of WinXP.
OSX never crashes, no virus problems, and it just works. Everything is so simple.
The screen on the Macbook is of the glossy type, which concerned me a bit, but I have found that in use, it delivers vibrant colours, and the reflection is minimal. The screen is also very bright, and in most situations I end up turning the brightness down, even when outdoors.
Unfortunately Apple ship all the Macbook models with only 512MB of RAM, which really does not show off what this amazing machine can do. I would recommend upgrading to 1GB as soon as possible to get the best from this machine.
Applications run quickly, even those running under rosetta (non intel apps).
The graphics is based on a limited graphics chip sharing system RAM, compared with the Macbook Pro, which has a dedicated graphics card with its own RAM. I was concerned that this may be a problem, but unless running very intensive 3D games it is not. Photos display quickly, even large RAW images. Video plays smoothly, and overall I have seen no problems with the grapphics.
The are many reviews stating how hot this machine gets in use. It does get hot underneath, but even after several hours use the CPU temp is only 53C. Really not a problem.
The magsafe power connector is a superb design. I only wonder why is has taken so long. It is far better than those on any other laptop I have owned. The risk of accidentally pulling the computer on the floor is massively reduced.
Battery life is really good. I am getting around 4hours, with WiFi on.
Overall this is a laptop well worth the money. I am really enjoying owning it.
(4 out of 5)A great upgrade product - even from older PowerBooks
There's a reason the MacBook took a few months to be released by Apple after releasing the MacBook Pro - because if they'd released this little stunner first no-one would have bought the MacBook Pro!
I received my MacBook two days ago and it's been running great all the time. It's replacing my 15month old 1.5Ghz Powerbook 15" and consistently puts in a good 2x performance with real world applications despite having half the memory (My Powerbook ran with 1Gb but my MacBook is a stock 512Mb)
The speed increase aleviates the need to upgrade to 1Gb for every day work but power users will need the extra memory, especially if they use PowerPC applications as the Rosetta technology steals a little from the main memory.
The same is true of the built in Intel 950 graphics chipset. Alot of scare mongering has been going on regarding Apple's choice to use Intel's latest integrated graphics chipset but this new system can happily resize HD video on the fly while minimizing a window where my PowerBook struggled to even play the HD video properly.
If you're a curent PowerBook user and don't need the huge screen res or express card (And don't want to use Aperture) then take good look at this as it's replacement. If you're a Windows user and want a high powered laptop wih great build quality and specification then you may find the Apple is also for you - it's currently almost £300 cheaper than other laptops with the same chipset and processor!
(5 out of 5)I love my MacBook!!
I have been a windows user for years and years (for ever actually!) then 4 months ago i switched to a Mac (with the assurance from my computer geek hubby that it would all be 'ok'!) .. I am a complete convert! - it took me about 3 days to feel totally at home with the new set-up .. it's sleek and instinctive (<-- this one is VITAL for me!) ..
My first machine was the G4 12" iBook but once I saw the MacBook 13" was being relased I had to upgrade .. the screen is awesome, much clearer than the iBook, I love the slightly different keyboard set-up and the whole machine works well together .. it is noticeably faster than my iBook (I wasnt sure if I'd notice it or not) ..
The only 'slight' problem I have at the moment is that it's not totally at ease with some java and macromedia flash applications but I'm assuming they will sort that out fairly soon (hopefully!) ..
All in all I am completely satisfied .. I LOVE that I dont have to reboot and that a program hasnt frozen up on me in months!! (a distinct impossibility with my windows machine!)