Product Reviews

Apple's entry-level laptops have always been very compelling propositions, from all the way back to the PowerBook Duo right up to the MacBook's predecessor, the iBook G4. Its first Intel-powered consumer laptop is no different. Indeed, describing it as a 'consumer' laptop is actually a little demeaning: this is a powerful beast and there's little to differentiate the three MacBooks in the line from their MacBook Pro brethren.

Let's look at the processor. All three models are powered by the Core Duo processor, with the top two models boasting a 2GHz clock speed and the entry-level model running only slightly slower, at 1.83GHz. With the MacBook Pro line running from 2GHz to 2.16GHz, it's clear there's little to differentiate the two lines on raw processing power alone.

The Core Duo chip is a transitional chip - almost a stop-gap solution - in Intel's roadmap, released before the true 64-bit Core microarchitecture Core 2 Duo variants were ready for prime time, but they're good, meaty chips by anyone's standards. As the name suggests, they're dual core, effectively cramming the performance of two single-core processors into one, enabling your Mac to distribute and complete the tasks you give it more efficiently. And they're fast, too. Provided the applications you're using are compiled as Universal Binaries to run natively on the Intel hardware, you'll get very good performance indeed.

As such, the main practical difference between the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines is in their graphics abilities. While the MacBook Pros all boast a dedicated mobile graphics card, the MacBooks have integrated graphics systems that share Ram with the main system. This shared graphics system means the MacBook isn't ideally suited to anything above ambitious lightweight gaming, but it also has two knock-on effects on Ram. Most obviously, it takes away some of the Ram that's available to the rest of the system. In practice, although the shared graphics system uses 64MB for its processing space, you lose 80MB from the total installed Ram. As such, it's worthwhile upgrading the default 512MB from the off. And since installing Ram is joyously easy - simply remove the battery and use the levers to pop out the existing chips - we recommend buying from third parties such as Crucial, as the £350 Apple charges to max out the system to

ADVERTISEMENT

2GB can be cut to £220 by choosing the DIY approach. The other effect is that Ram should be installed in matched pairs - since the default 512MB configuration comprises two 256MB chips, avoid, say, replacing one with a 1GB chip to give yourself 1.25GB.

The hard disk is similarly easy to upgrade. In fact, it's a real boon, and the system is one we think PC laptop manufacturers should adopt (actually, it's one Apple should adopt with the MacBook Pro as well). Just remove the battery, unhook a plastic tab, slide the hard disk out on its caddy and replace the existing drive with a larger-capacity model. You can buy a 120GB model for £73, which represents a significant saving over the £180 Apple charges, and you'd still have the 60GB hard disk from the MacBook to put into an external enclosure.

You're limited to 5400rpm drives, though, as the faster 7200rpm models apparently generate too much heat for the MacBook's plastic case to dissipate. This doesn't translate into sluggish performance, however, and unless you're regularly performing very disk-intensive tasks, this shouldn't be a concern. If you're shuttling large chunks of video around, for example, the extra edge the MacBook Pro gives you with its support for 7200rpm drives would be worth your while.

The 13.3in widescreen display (1280 x 800 pixels) was the first in an Apple laptop to boast a glossy finish, and although reflections can become distracting with very bright light sources, you normally don't even notice them, and the boost to saturation and deep blacks is a real plus. It's not perfect for very demanding design work - the angle of view for consistent colours is surprisingly narrow - but it draws admiring comments from anyone who sees it.

Until Apple moves the MacBook Pro to Intel Core 2 Duo chips, the MacBook is a genuine competitor to its apparently more advanced siblings. Don't be fooled into buying the Pro just because you regard yourself as a professional: the MacBook can drive external monitors up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, features the built-in iSight webcam, Front Row, optical audio in and out, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2, the scrolling trackpad and the same processor architecture.

The only area where the MacBook falls behind is in gaming. The GMA 950 shared graphics chipset happily powers Core Image effects such as the ripple you get when you place a Dashboard Widget, but it's not really up to playing modern 3D games.

Of course, there's always the possibility that Apple will move the MacBooks to Core 2 Duos alongside the MacBook Pros, but this would again close the gap between the lines.

The high-end MacBook is pricey and you're effectively paying £90 for the matt black finish. Our recommendation is to go for the middle model - that way, you get a little more processor power plus the ability to burn DVDs - and increase the Ram or hard disk specs to suit with third-party products.