Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Laptop Review
Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Laptop Review from Benjamin D Wei B Wei. pretty darn good, i maybe one of the few users out there that had to chance to own both the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo within 2 weeks. i bought the Core Duo first but after a week the keyboard and track pad stopped functioning so i took it to the Apple guys to see if they could fix it and they couldn’t. they told me that they would swap it out for free (normally they charge a 10% re-stocking fee) and it just so happened that the Core 2 Duo was released…so that’s what i ended up getting. lucky huh?
CD = Core Duo: older Intel processor
C2D = Core 2 Duo: newer Intel processor
PB = Power Book: older Apple laptop
MBP = MacBook Pro
MB = MacBook
physical build…this machine is perfect. it’s about the same size as the G4 PB’s but thinner. first thing i couldn’t wait to try was the magsafe power adapter cause i can’t count how many times i’ve tripped over my old PB’s power cord. works as advertised! besides that, there isn’t much of a design change from previous PB’s except that they switched the battery placement, the ram slots are located by the battery, and the air vents that were located on the side of the old PB’s are now gone. CD’s and C2D’s have the exact same body and build. same full sized keyboard with wayyyy brighter backlighting, so bright that i kind of hurts to look at it sometimes. there was only one magnetic latch to close the laptop now on the MBP’s there are two. makes it more secure i think? can’t really tell the difference. you get the standard two usb 2.0 slots (located left and right), a two fire wire slots (located on the right) one fire wire 400 one 800 (located both on the right) and the usual ethernet, headphone jack…etc. only gripe i have is that i wish they put more usb slots on there…
operationally sound…unlike the first release of MBP’s that moo-ed and mysteriously shut off the new C2D’s (at least mine and what i’ve heard so far) are problem free. this baby is quiet, in fact, you’d really have to prop your ears next to the air vents to hear the fans whir. i’ve only heard the fans kick on once when i had it on my lap playing a dvd and photoshopping at the same time. there were some issues with the CD’s not being able to sleep when you closed the screen, well this one plops to sleep like a kid who had a big day.
performance is great…if you’re coming from a PB to a MBP like i did then the performance gain can be measured in leaps and bounds. start up is amazingly fast, there is no more lag when due to the significant increase in processor speed and ram speed. C2D’s can be upgraded to 3 gigs of ram only due to chipset limitations but i’m pretty sure 3 gig’s would cover over 95% of what people need. (ie: Photoshop, internet surfing, music playing, dvd burning…etc) the new video is great as well, ati x1600 with 256 mb ram pretty much ate everything i threw at it. supported dual monitors (your laptop screen + another monitor) right out of the box without a hiccup. i ran a dvd on one screen, photoshop on the other and everything purred along fine, no screen lag. if you’re comparing C2D’s to the CD’s then the performance gain isn’t really noticeable…trust me, don’t feel bad if you’re one of those that was just outside of the return period when the C2D’s came out. Apple also stuck a new wireless card in there that has the new n-wireless standard…ironically, it’s not usable yet on OSX but if you have bootcamp, Windows is able to use it’s n-capabilities. battery consumption is pretty good too me but your mileage may vary. i take notes in class, chat and surf the internet when i can’t understand the professor…overall i get around 4 – 4.5 hours of usage.
software is elegant…this is probably just something you have to experience for yourself. Mac users will know what i’m talking about. literally everything, well everything that i’ve tried, have worked without a hitch. MS Office is a must if you’re a college student otherwise everything you need is pretty much pre-loaded in the box.
overall…if i didn’t get this upgrade for free i wouldn’t be quite as happy as i am now. it was painfully obvious that the first release of the MBP with CD processors was pretty much just a MacBook with a bigger screen (1 inch bigger) and a dedicated video card. i didn’t think then such minor details would command a $1500 premium. it was literally a battle between how long before Apple incorporated the C2D and how long the consumer was willing to wait. that in my opinion was a low blow. if they tout the MBP’s as their top of the line notebooks then they should have made it so that it was significantly different from the regular MacBooks in the first place. i mean, if Toyota started making their sedans in Lexus quality…who’d wanna get a Lexus?
it get’s only 4 stars due to the following reason…
- inadequate chipset that can’t utilize 4 gigs of ram. just seems like they’re cranking out whatever they can for the holidays to rake in the cash. hardware doesn’t seem as meticulously thought out as it used to be. i mean, a month down the line when they have the new chipset that CAN use 4 gigs of ram you can bet there will be a lot of customers complaining again.
- the video card, while very decent, is hardly anything to write home about. again, for a top of the line notebook you’d think they would have used something better. to be fair, they probably were thinking about battery consumption on this one. but still…
- i wish they had some sort of extended battery pack included or as an option. i mean, the 4 hours of usage is good but on a day where i have 8 hours worth of classes…well you get the picture. starting to sound like a broken record but again, for a laptop that is around $2600 when everything is said and done, is that too much to expect?
To check price or purchase Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Laptop.