Apple MacBook Pro MB986LL/A 15.4-Inch
Apple MacBook Pro MB986LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop is Featuring a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, the MacBook Pro is thinner and lighter than its predecessor as well as stronger and more durable. But Apple didn’t stop innovating with the body’s design. The MacBook Pro also includes a new 15-inch, LED-backlit glass display (instead of an LCD panel) as well as a glass trackpad that doesn’t include a button (for larger tracking area) that features Apple’s Multi-Touch technology.
This 15-inch MacBook Pro (model MB986LL/A) also now includes Apple’s innovative built-in notebook battery for up to 7 hours of wireless productivity on a single charge without adding thickness, weight or cost. Using Adaptive Charging and advanced chemistry first introduced with the 17-inch MacBook Pro the built-in battery delivers up to 1000 recharges before it reaches 80 percent of its original capacity–nearly three times the lifespan of conventional batteries.
Under the hood, the MacBook Pro is powered by a powerful 2.80 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (with 6 MB L2 cache and 1066 MHz front-side bus), which runs applications faster and more efficiently as well as helps to reduce power requirements and save on battery life. And this MacBook Pro includes two video processors for ultimate flexibility: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics for great everyday performance and NVIDIA 9600M GT discrete graphics (512 MB of GDDR3 memory) for fast, smooth video–perfect for 3D gaming.
Other hardware features include a 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB of installed RAM (which can be upgraded to 8 GB), an 8x combo Superdrive (for burning dual-layer DVDs as well as CDs), built-in Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), FireWire 800 port, Mini DisplayPort video output (for DVI and VGA connections), and a Secure Digital card slot for easy access to digital photos and audio stored on SD and MMC memory cards.
It comes pre-loaded with Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, and is ready to run the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system. It also comes with the iLife ’09 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.
Helpful consumer’s review
Coming from a troubled Nvidia 8600M GT MacBook Pro – let me say that I was very skeptical buying another Apple Laptop with nVidia chip in it.
However, one weekend I decided to visit the nearest Apple Retail Store and check out the newly released models. My decision was mostly influenced by the reduced prices and increased battery life.
After some debating over buying the older model for same price or getting the latest one we settled on the newest mid end $1999 model with 2 GPUs. As is common I got a very nice resale price for my older MacBook Pro as it had AppleCare.
This generation is an all around improvement over the past generation unless you happen to be using ExpressCard on 15″ model that is. In our case we never used the ExpressCard after attempting to use a eSATA card that did not work really well. And we have a few SD Cards that we figure we can easily use.
So on to the specific improvements over its predecessor -
1) Battery Life – I was very doubtful that the battery would last any longer than 4 hours at the maximum but was pleasantly surprised to find that for surfing/email type and the occasional CNN/Youtube flash videos getting 6+ hours was quite easy.
2) Prices – No doubt prices are the most reasonable Apple laptops have ever had. If you have no need for the dual GPU you can get the $1699 model which comes with a respectable 2.53Ghz Processor, 4GB RAM and a very capable 9400M GPU.
3) Operating Temperature – I have owned my share of laptops (Apple and non-Apple) and I have to say this one is the coolest – it never gets too warm and I can use it on my lap all the times – even encoding videos using the HandBrake application did not make it uncomfortably hot. However if I switch it to use the 9600M GPU it gets warmer even on regular use. It also runs very quiet – the fans may be coming on but I never notice.
Initially there was a lot of furor over Apple’s downgrade of the Serial-ATA interface speed (used to transfer data to and from the hard disk) to 1.5Gbps but Apple quickly restored the speeds to 3Gbps – I do not however notice any difference with the 5400RPM hard disk.
About the display – it is gorgeous and colors are vibrant. I had the opportunity to use a calibrated color profile to make it look even better. However I find the display to be a little too much reflective but I am coming from almost always using matte display so I figure it’s a matter of getting used to it.
Apple’s use of Mini DisplayPort is ahead of its time – not many displays support it and so I had to buy a $30 DVI adapter – not a big problem but Apple should at the very least re-start bundling the adapter with the Pro machines. Also, another USB port in lieu of the SD Card Reader would be quite welcome – people can use the SD Card Reader for only SD Cards, but a USB port can be used for SD Cards as well as other peripherals.
That said, this generation is overall a very nice improvement – the great battery life itself is enough to convince one to upgrade.