Let me preface what I'm about to write that this is a "I didn't like my purchase" post. If you don't want to read it, you can stop yourself now. Also, let me say I currently own a MacBook Pro (the first of the Core 2 Duo series). 2.33 Ghz processor, 2 GB RAM, etc. I also own the latest model of iMac, Time Capsule (1 TB option) and iPhone 3G.
I bought the new, low-end MBP Wednesday night. It arrived today. After struggling to justify my purchase since I started using it, I've decided to send it back. Most of my reasons revolve around comparing it to my current machines and trying to justify the $1840 price tag (I get a company discount).
First, benchmarking it. I used Xbench, Geekbench, PCMark and 3DMark06. While the new machine outperformed the old, in almost every test besides 3DMark06's graphics mark the difference was negligible. I don't know if it's because the processor has less L2 cache or what (4MB on the old vs. 3MB on the new) but the CPU scores were consistently within a hair's edge of each other. I know that Ghz-wise they're about the same, but the chip is 2 years newer -- you'd expect at least a minor speed increase. The memory score was very slightly higher due to the better memory speed. HD tests were about the same (despite the new model using faster SATA). The only benchmark in which the new model considerably outperformed the old was on the graphics mark. However, beating an ATI 1600 that's not saying much.
Beyond benchmarking it, I was surprised by how little I liked the overall design. I've always argued that I like glossy screens (I love the one on my iMac. I do no photography or graphics work and they look great with movies and video games. However, comparing the glossy screen of the old model to the new one, the new one was considerably "blurrier". I checked in at a local Apple store just to make sure I didn't get a bum laptop and saw the same thing. The older glossy screen is sharper and crisper. The only reason I can think for this is the glass in front of the new model. (Which is odd, considering how clear my iMac screen looks -- maybe it's the LCD panels they used)?
There's some questionable design decisions. The machine gets noticeably warmer than my older MacBook Pro -- uncomfortably so. It's almost impossible to open the machine without smudging your fingerprints over the camera. Even small things like the USB ports were oddly placed. On the new model, both USB ports are on the left. On the old model, one was on the left, one was on the right. For right-handed users, this made attaching a mouse a lot easier. Now I have to completely wrap the wire around the back of the machine (again, minor, but irritating). Even the Magsafe cable seems more likely to break off (not at all helped by running a USB mouse wire around it).
On top of this, the software adds another layer of frustration. On more than one occasion the machine slowed to a crawl (I'm guessing this is more the current 10.5.5 build than anything -- I've seen it on other machines). However, unique to the new MacBooks (and the existing Air, I assume), is the trackpad software. Now, don't get me wrong -- I like the idea of the trackpad and after having used the iPhone for several years now I can't imagine using another phone without multi touch. That said, on more than one occasion I cursed the various gods when I'd accidently start turning an image, or would shrink the size of text in Safari because I accidently left an extra finger on the trackpad. This is a shame, because some of the multi touch features (such as opening Expose) work great. Software can always be updated, but it's kind of disheartening that the time they put into designing the new case obviously didn't go into designing decent multi touch features as well.
Last but not least, subjective performance. Less impressive than I expected. I really wanted to be wowed by a completely new machine with a fresh OS build on it, solid graphic hardware, etc. However, more often than not I was underwhelmed. Even playing a game like Wow (which I was sure would run much much better on the nVidia card) was not as impressive as I thought it'd be (and yes, I had the 9600 switched on). It wasn't that the machine wasn't running well -- it was. It just wasn't running much better than my 2 year old MBP, which is disheartening for a $1800 "upgrade".
So, it goes back to Apple tomorrow. I'm going to eat the open box penalty, but at this point I really don't care. To anyone buying the new model, all I've got to say is to be very sure of your purchase before plunking down the money. I think the white Macbook is a steal right now, but the new MBP, if anything, is stealing from the consumer as far as I'm concerned.
I bought the new, low-end MBP Wednesday night. It arrived today. After struggling to justify my purchase since I started using it, I've decided to send it back. Most of my reasons revolve around comparing it to my current machines and trying to justify the $1840 price tag (I get a company discount).
First, benchmarking it. I used Xbench, Geekbench, PCMark and 3DMark06. While the new machine outperformed the old, in almost every test besides 3DMark06's graphics mark the difference was negligible. I don't know if it's because the processor has less L2 cache or what (4MB on the old vs. 3MB on the new) but the CPU scores were consistently within a hair's edge of each other. I know that Ghz-wise they're about the same, but the chip is 2 years newer -- you'd expect at least a minor speed increase. The memory score was very slightly higher due to the better memory speed. HD tests were about the same (despite the new model using faster SATA). The only benchmark in which the new model considerably outperformed the old was on the graphics mark. However, beating an ATI 1600 that's not saying much.
Beyond benchmarking it, I was surprised by how little I liked the overall design. I've always argued that I like glossy screens (I love the one on my iMac. I do no photography or graphics work and they look great with movies and video games. However, comparing the glossy screen of the old model to the new one, the new one was considerably "blurrier". I checked in at a local Apple store just to make sure I didn't get a bum laptop and saw the same thing. The older glossy screen is sharper and crisper. The only reason I can think for this is the glass in front of the new model. (Which is odd, considering how clear my iMac screen looks -- maybe it's the LCD panels they used)?
There's some questionable design decisions. The machine gets noticeably warmer than my older MacBook Pro -- uncomfortably so. It's almost impossible to open the machine without smudging your fingerprints over the camera. Even small things like the USB ports were oddly placed. On the new model, both USB ports are on the left. On the old model, one was on the left, one was on the right. For right-handed users, this made attaching a mouse a lot easier. Now I have to completely wrap the wire around the back of the machine (again, minor, but irritating). Even the Magsafe cable seems more likely to break off (not at all helped by running a USB mouse wire around it).
On top of this, the software adds another layer of frustration. On more than one occasion the machine slowed to a crawl (I'm guessing this is more the current 10.5.5 build than anything -- I've seen it on other machines). However, unique to the new MacBooks (and the existing Air, I assume), is the trackpad software. Now, don't get me wrong -- I like the idea of the trackpad and after having used the iPhone for several years now I can't imagine using another phone without multi touch. That said, on more than one occasion I cursed the various gods when I'd accidently start turning an image, or would shrink the size of text in Safari because I accidently left an extra finger on the trackpad. This is a shame, because some of the multi touch features (such as opening Expose) work great. Software can always be updated, but it's kind of disheartening that the time they put into designing the new case obviously didn't go into designing decent multi touch features as well.
Last but not least, subjective performance. Less impressive than I expected. I really wanted to be wowed by a completely new machine with a fresh OS build on it, solid graphic hardware, etc. However, more often than not I was underwhelmed. Even playing a game like Wow (which I was sure would run much much better on the nVidia card) was not as impressive as I thought it'd be (and yes, I had the 9600 switched on). It wasn't that the machine wasn't running well -- it was. It just wasn't running much better than my 2 year old MBP, which is disheartening for a $1800 "upgrade".
So, it goes back to Apple tomorrow. I'm going to eat the open box penalty, but at this point I really don't care. To anyone buying the new model, all I've got to say is to be very sure of your purchase before plunking down the money. I think the white Macbook is a steal right now, but the new MBP, if anything, is stealing from the consumer as far as I'm concerned.
