Anandtech thoroughly reviews the new MacBook and MacBook Pro

[Pressure]

Apple's Redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro: Thoroughly Reviewed.

Enjoy and discuss

Batttery life seems partially unchanged for the MacBook Pro but they seem to stumble upon some of that magic that makes Mac OS X last longer on battery than their Windows counterparts

So take note if battery life is important to you and are currently looking for a new notebook.

EDIT: I can't help but feel my first generation MacBook Pro (2.16Ghz Yonah) feels a bit long in the tooth comparing to all the newer models but I can manage so far.

 

[Eidorian]

I liked the Company of Heroes performance in the general 9300/9400 desktop article. I still wish the new MacBooks had dedicated VRAM though.

The new "glassy" screens have terrifying glare.

 

[MowingDevil]

The new "glassy" screens have terrifying glare.

All depends on who's looking into them I suppose.

 

[Tex-Twil]

Thanks for the link. I'll read the review ... when I'm at work


Yeah the glossy is really scaring me wtf have you done Apple

cheers

 

[ghettochild]

thanks for the link. Anand's recommendation is exactly what I planned on doing: waiting until Nehalem comes out in 2009 and the quirks of Rev. A are worked out (hopefully).

 

[ipponrg]

good read.. mirrors alot of what people have been saying.

 

[Skyldig]

Great review. Seems very honest and fair to both the MB, MPB and the potential buyers.

I'm upgrading to the new MBP from a crappy LG Vista laptop, but I'm sure I would have waited until Nehalem if I were upgrading from a C2D MBP.

 

[Pressure]

thanks for the link. Anand's recommendation is exactly what I planned on doing: waiting until Nehalem comes out in 2009 and the quirks of Rev. A are worked out (hopefully).

That is currently my plan as well.

My current first generation MacBook Pro seems to do fine, especially since I upgraded the harddrive to a much faster 320GB 7.200RPM one.

Plenty of performance for my mobile needs.

The review has a few mistakes here and there (the most glaring being where he says the MacBook has no backlit keyboard) but otherwise a good review.

 

[kis]

Interesting to see that the MBPs are equally unusable in bright sunlight (due to the glossy screens) than previous models. People have been claiming that the new screen is much better in sunlight. That's not the case, obviously.

peter

 

[emotion]

Interesting review.

I've decided to wait until next year now for my MB.

There's no one reason but all the little ones (rev a.,no firewire, MB screen not quite good enough, no big jump in CPU performance etc, high price) have all mounted up to a no sale.

I also want to show Apple that the decision to drop FW is something consumers will react badly to (I use FW audio interfaces and HDs). The RDF is strong but not that strong.

At the price the MB is, it should be a full Pro with all the features.

 

[Timur]

Interesting to see that the MBPs are equally unusable in bright sunlight (due to the glossy screens) than previous models. People have been claiming that the new screen is much better in sunlight. That's not the case, obviously.

peter

They don't mention which brightness setting was used though. Question is if maximum brightness is able to make up for the reflections in bright sunlight.

 

[glocke12]

Interesting to see that the MBPs are equally unusable in bright sunlight (due to the glossy screens) than previous models. People have been claiming that the new screen is much better in sunlight. That's not the case, obviously.

peter

To be fair, I have yet to find a laptop that is usable in sunlight...My dell inspirion with a matte screen certainly wasnt...

 

[Abstract]

^^^I think AnandTech is smart enough to test outdoor screen visibility using only the brightest setting.

 

[Timur]

I'd like to think so, yes. So the screen is not bright enough.

 

[sangosimo]

I liked the review. osx killer power management ftw.

 

[kis]

To be fair, I have yet to find a laptop that is usable in sunlight...My dell inspirion with a matte screen certainly wasnt...

I agree - but there are plenty of people who are trying to justify the lack of a matte option by claiming that the glossy ones work a lot better in sunlight.

peter