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Hatsubai « Apple's budget laptop »
Published on 06/05/11 at 18:15The Apple Macbook is the lower tier laptop that Apple seems to be phasing out at the moment of this review. There are tons of different ones, but I’ll be reviewing the 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo version of this computer. It features 2 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 250 GB hard drive, a SuperDrive and an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics card.
The computer itself is not bad, but it’s pretty overpriced given that it’s using yesteryear’s hardware. The body itself is quite a bit thicker than the Macbook Pro, and it’s not as strong since it’s a Polycarbonate body instead of a unibody aluminum design. The screen itself is pretty nice, and it’s on par with the Macbook Pro. However, it starts to go a bit downhill from here.
While the processor is older, it doesn’t mean it’s slow. It’s still fairly fast and can handle most tasks at hand. The issue occurs once you start running a professional 64-bit DAW and pushing the processor. It’s during this time that you realize the Macbook Pro with its newer processor is faster and snappier.
Given its price point and hardware, this laptop is soley focused at those who are on a tight budget. The people that own these are generally entry level Apple users who either cannot afford the newer ones or can’t be bothered with the latest hardware. These are extremely popular on school campuses, but it’s kind of ironic that Apple doesn’t offer as big of a student discount on these as they do their other computers.
If you’re in the market for an Apple laptop, I recommend trying to save up for the Macbook Pro as it’s a nicer machine, has the latest hardware and will be a better investment in the long run. If you don’t have to have the latest and greatest, the Macbook might work for you.
The computer itself is not bad, but it’s pretty overpriced given that it’s using yesteryear’s hardware. The body itself is quite a bit thicker than the Macbook Pro, and it’s not as strong since it’s a Polycarbonate body instead of a unibody aluminum design. The screen itself is pretty nice, and it’s on par with the Macbook Pro. However, it starts to go a bit downhill from here.
While the processor is older, it doesn’t mean it’s slow. It’s still fairly fast and can handle most tasks at hand. The issue occurs once you start running a professional 64-bit DAW and pushing the processor. It’s during this time that you realize the Macbook Pro with its newer processor is faster and snappier.
Given its price point and hardware, this laptop is soley focused at those who are on a tight budget. The people that own these are generally entry level Apple users who either cannot afford the newer ones or can’t be bothered with the latest hardware. These are extremely popular on school campuses, but it’s kind of ironic that Apple doesn’t offer as big of a student discount on these as they do their other computers.
If you’re in the market for an Apple laptop, I recommend trying to save up for the Macbook Pro as it’s a nicer machine, has the latest hardware and will be a better investment in the long run. If you don’t have to have the latest and greatest, the Macbook might work for you.