The last laptop you'll ever need (for 3 or 4 years anyway)
Pros:
Beautiful, fast, Windows and OS X on the same system, OS X stability
Cons:
Gets very hot running XP, expensive
The Bottom Line:
After 5 months, I feel more satisfied with this computer than any other system I've owned.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
As a write this, Apple has just upgraded their MacBook Pros with the latest intel processor Peryn (sp?). So, everything I say is true without regard to any speed, stability and temperature gains.
I bought my MacBook Pro back in October of 2007 for around $2,500 (student discount) at the Mac store. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the knowledge of the so-called genius bar. They really couldn't tell me, a lifelong computer user much about the MacBook but that it was "sexy and cool". Anyway, here are my specs:
-Model Name:MacBook Pro
-Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
-Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
-Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
-Number Of Processors: 1
-Total Number Of Cores: 2
-L2 Cache: 4 MB
-Memory: 2 GB
-Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Got it home, opened the box and gleamed as the awesome Apple set-up process began. It's really the way all computer out-of-the-box set-ups should go. I was up and running on my wireless network in less than half-an-hour.
The first thing I did was update the thing, then I began to install Windows XP. This was a little more tricky, but nothing to fret over. The key is to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. I didn't have my printer hooked up (stupid Dell laser printer has no Apple drivers), so I couldn't print out the handy guide. Nevertheless, Windows was installed. Bootcamp worked seamlessly.
The first thing I noticed once I finished all of the preliminary updating and such: this thing is fast. Not much faster than a regular MacBook (which my wife bought a few months before I bought my Pro) unless you are playing games. I popped in my Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and wham - 70 frames per second!
I have had absolutely no trouble with the OS X side of this thing. OS X should not be judged along side other OSs. First of all, this is an OS that does sacrifice a little speed in exchange for outstanding reliability. However, at the time of this post, OS X 1.5 is still a little green. My wife refuses to upgrade until another service pack comes out. My experience has been an 8 out of 10. As soon as the new updates come out, I'm confident OS X 1.5 will dominate.
About Windows: XP seems to run faster on my Pro than on other new XP systems. It's really quite remarkable to have both OS's on one system. If there was ever a reason for someone to buy a Mac, this is it.
To summarize: the machine is beautiful, tough and fast. The screen is gorgeous. It can do whatever you need, and do it in style and with speed. It even features LCD backlighting that adds 45 minutes or so extra battery life compared with the previous MacBook Pro. It has 2 USB ports, an express card (for mobile broadband, hooray!), 2 firewire ports, bluetooth, a superdrive, and it can connect directly to any plasma/lcd display so you can watch youtube movies on your 42-inch LCD tv. Oh, and it's very thin and lightweight - much better than my old Dell desktop replacement.
Now for the negatives:
The machines gets hot. And it gets even hotter running Windows - I don't know why. However, if your office isn't dominated by two thin-blooded women who insist on keeping the temperature above 80 degrees, then you really don't have to worry about the laptop getting hot with OS X. But Windows likes it hot. After an hour or so of TW PGA Tour, you can fry eggs.
For another $600 or $700, you could get a laptop that rivals the upper midrange gaming systems.
Bottom line folks: I really think this laptop is going to last me about 4 or 5 years - where normally no laptop lasted me more than 3 years. I spent more on a computer than I ever have. But I'm satisfied. And there is something to be said about a computer that keeps me quiet and satisfied day after day.
