2.53 Unibody Macbook Pro Review (with pics)

Hey guys, so I know it's a little late, and I got the computer back in October '08, but I'm on vacation now, and I thought I'd write up a 2.53 Unibody Macbook Pro review of my own



So after the whole debacle with my old '07 Macbook Pro (Santa Rosa) and the nVidia chip dying -- which Apple eventually repaired for free -- I decided to buy the new Unibody.

I got it from an Apple Store in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, configured as follows:

2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache
1066MHz frontside bus
4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor 512MB of GDDR3 memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Total price with tax: $2,671.

Build Quality and Display



The aluminum enclosure is VERY sturdy. The new unibody case feels strong to the touch, while light when picked up. Having both the new and the old Macbook Pro, I must say the new one is much more robust and feels lighter even though it's a bit heavier than the old generation at 5.5 pounds.

My unit has no build flaws whatsoever. There's no screen wobble, there's no uneven battery casing, the only thing that kind of bothers me a bit is the screen hinge which feels much more loose than its predecessor. If you pick up the computer with the screen open and tilt it, the hinge will not hold and the screen will move. The whole screen is very heavy though, it's much heavier than the previous generation. You can feel that when picking up the computer with it open.





I love this screen with all my heart. It's even brighter, more crisp, more colorful than the previous Macbook Pro generation. And yes, I am a glossy fan. I don't really use the computer outside, so I don't mind reflections when I can't really see them inside.

The glass on top of the display itself is a very nice touch, but it does make for thicker bezels and thus a larger computer all together. I still prefer the old thin bezels on the previous iteration, but hey, what can you do. I'll learn to cope with it

New Stuff



All the ports have been moved to the left side of the chassis, just like the Macbooks. From left to right we have:
Magsafe, Ethernet Port, Firewire 800 port, 2x USB 2.0 ports, Mini Display Port, Audio In/Out, Express Card /34 and the battery indicator (not shown in the above picture, but other pictures include it).
Apple's decision not to include Firewire 400 didn't affect me one bit. I just don't use it. I haven't used it in one year and a half with the old Macbook Pro, I'm sure I'm not going to use this one (800) at all either. That port could have very well been another USB -- now that I'd really like.

I also got a Mini Display Port > VGA adapter for $29 to hook up my 22" LG display (1680x1050). Works like a charm both in OS X and Windows.

Apple moved the Superdrive to the right side of the chassis along with the lock slot. They also moved the IR sensor and the sleep LED to the front:



I really like how you can open the bottom casing and have access to the battery, RAM and now HDD. I don't think I'm planning to upgrade to 8GB of RAM and 256 (maybe even bigger) SSD until the prices cool down a little, they're still ridiculous. But it a definite great feeling to know I won't have to void my warranty when I eventually do it.

The stereo speakers are definitely louder than the previous gen, and the grill is different too, they've laser cut all these small holes, which look awesome and sound great:



There's also a built-in microphone, which has the same great quality as the one in the previous Macbook Pro, only the input level is much higher, the sensitivity that is.

The keyboard is new as well. You can see from the above picture how the key slots are actually carved into the body, and the LEDs light up from beneath. Great quality, there's a satisfying click with each and every key, there's no lag, no wobble, nothing. The keys are a bit heavier (to type) than the wired Apple keyboard (for comparison's sake).

Performance and Heat

I can really feel the boost from 2.4GHz 800FSB to 2.53Ghz 1067FSB in my work projects (audio sequencing) and the DDR3 RAM is also a lot faster than the previous 800Mhz DDR2. OS X is really snappy, so is iPhoto and iMovie, there's almost no hang-time even with gigantic libraries being handled.

I've installed Windows Vista x64 with SP1 for the couple of games I play once in a while, and with Boot Camp and the 2.1 drivers, I'm very pleased with the gaming performance.

I'm not a numbers freak (at least I don't want to become one) so I didn't install 3DMark06 or anything like that. The only time I installed FRAPS was to run Dead Space, maxed out, native resolution (1440x900) and saw the FPS never dipping under 30. That's pretty much cinema quality, and I'm very pleased with that.

I also play Fallout 3, Mirror's Edge, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect and PES 2009 maxed out at native resolution. With PES2009 I even indulge myself with 1680x1050 on the external display from time to time.

GTA IV runs quite acceptable in the 27-35FPS range depending on whether it's raining or time of day at 1024x768, medium textures, highest render, 25 draw distance, 25 detail distance, 25 vehicle density and 1 shadows.

The new unibody doesn't get as warm as the old Macbook Pro. Again, I'm not a numbers freak, but after playing Mass Effect for 4-5 hours, the GPU and CPU were in the 70 Degrees Celsius range. It does however still feel hot to touch in the upper-left area of the chassis, right under the display.

Final Thoughts

I travel a lot since I work overseas, and I need a machine to do the two things I've always did on computers: handle my audio projects and game occasionally. The new Macbook Pro fits me like a glove. Yes there are down-sides like only two USB ports, and I'm sure they could have fitted the computer with a better GPU than the 9600m GT and all that. But the bottom line for me is -- and always will be -- a greatly built machine with solid components, great screen and an awesome OS. The new Macbook Pro takes the cake for me.

And now, for the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Great build quality
- Great screen (glossy fan here, remember?)
- Great keyboard and speakers
- Thin and light
- Aluminum of high quality
- OS X (I consider this a pro in my line of work)
- Good battery life
- More than decent gaming performance

Cons:
- Could use at least one more USB port
- Screen hinge a little loose. Not that it's worrying me, but still, it's looser than the previous Macbook Pro
- 9400M. I consider this a con because they could have fitted the computer with a better dedicated GPU instead of this whole integrated+dedicated jazz.

Well, there we have it folks. Thanks for reading if you got all the way down here. If there's any questions about the machine, what-so-ever, please don't hesitate to ask, and I'll do my best to answer.

Cheers!

 

great review.. i love mine

 

+1 VERY VERY NICE. I love the pictures too!

 

Awesome review!! +1

 

i still think you should post some benchmarks to "complete" your review

 

Thanks everyone!

@boypogi: I don't believe in benchmarks. I know what you're saying, but if I start Dead Space and it's smooth, and then I've got 3 aliens on me and I'm fighting and the FPS doesn't drop at all, that's enough for me

Something around 6,000 for 3DMark06. How's that?

 

Top notch pics there cdnalsi. +rep.

 

Everything is perfect except the HDD.

I am sure you can afford a 7200rpm one. Replace the 5400rpm with the 7200rpm and then... you will have a monster...

 

thanks plasma

@ramgen: I'm waiting for SSD prices to go down. The difference between 5400 and 7200RPM isn't that critical for me yet...

 

Could you post some comparison photos with the old MacBook Pro?

 

Nice review cdnalsi, we have the exact same computers. How often do you carry yours around?

Honestly, after paying so much for it I don't even want to take it with me because i fear it will get damaged!!

 

, get a nice case or bag to carry it around, i carry my around through campus with no problems whatsoever.

I recommend getting the incase nylon backpack, really nice backpack

 

Thanks guys,

@ToshibaDude, I carry mine around almost every single day.

As StrongerThanAll also suggested, I do recommend getting a nice carrying bag or backpack.

I spent $100 on this STM backpack and I don't regret it one bit. Also has the rain cover, great quality, and look, it lasted me a year and a half already with no tears or anything. I'm sure it'll last me another year at least...

 

link to your wallpaper?

 

thanks i always like this kind of review

nice sharp photo. i agree that more USB is better. 3 usb is a minimum for me. although, for just web browsing and typing work, and note taking, etc. the 2 usb will do.

 

Here are some comparison photos.

 

StrongerThanAll - you have two nice machines there! A Sony Z and a MacBook Pro ... can I ask how you like the Mac experience and what do you use each notebook for. (I'd like to try both too

 

Take a look at WilliamG's review

 

Actually I returned the Z for the MacBook..
Both are great machines
The mac obviously rose the bar in terms of build quality.

But the main reason i got the Mac was due to its battery life and the gaming capability (TF2, warcraft and etc). The Z was a bit lacking in that area. But the Z's screen is the best i've seen, i really miss it cause it was gorgeous and it trumped the Mac's screen. (Z's: 1600 x 900, Mac: 1440 x 900)

All in all, if you don't game, and you want your laptop to be mobile and business, go with the Z, IMO its a better laptop in terms of business and etc..
but if you are an average consumer, that play games and dont mind portability, id take the Mac, thats what i did. So the main dealbreaker for me was the Z's weak graphic performance in games, (TF2 i got around 20-30 fps with medium settings)

I will not go in to windows vs. OS X discussion as there is plenty out there.

 

Hmmm... as a multimedia machine, would you recommend the Macbook over the Sony? Also, is the Macbook PRO screen a lot better than the regular Macbook? Do you find the glare bad?

 

I don't mind the glare at all actually. As I said in my review, I don't use the computer much outside, and inside I can always control the lighting situation.

As a multimedia machine, I'd definitely recommend the Macbook. OS X itself is just built for that, and the unibody build quality is much higher than Sony's.

 

great review cdnalsi Can't wait to get mine..

Lynn

 

Hey Lynn, when are you supposed to get yours? It seems like it's been on hold for forever.

 

were is the wallpaper link?

 

you should have went for the 7200rpm hd but what youve got is fine

 

The difference between 5400rpm and 7200rpm isn't really that different, simply because of the platter density, and that makes it hard to feel the difference on some drives.

 

Thanks guys, I don't mind the 5400RPM drive at all. And I didn't want to wait for a BTO anyways. I just wanted to walk in the store and pick it up.

@Xirurg: I knew I forgot something, here you go mate
http://www.sebastianspanache.com/storage/nbr/new_york_top.JPG

It's a picture I took in New York on the Top Of the Rock tour. Rockefeller tower and NBC Studios.

 

Gee I just might get on in a couple of months and to the heck with trying to get my credit cards paid down

Lynn

 

Well I hope it comes soon enough for ya!

 

That is a really cool picture cdnalsi. I just had to look

Lynn

 

can the 15" MBP support 8gb of ram?

 

Yes it can, nVidia says so here:
http://blogs.computerworld.com/nvidia_says_new_macbook_pro_can_do_8gb_of_ram

The machine itself can see the whole 8GB and OS X reports them correctly, but it seems there's some kind of invisible wall at 4GB:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=588423

This being said, a lot of people consider this a software barrier, since Snow Leopard is supposed to provide support for even more ram:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/snowleopard/

 

great review!

 

It should, as the 17" does.

 

Nice review! I love mine!!
But I don't see the 9400 as a con, actually it's very usefull (for battery terms) when you are traveling and you can't plug your computer... I got around 3.5 hours watching DVD's with the 9400

 

I would have loved to see a better GPU. At least the very first 256bit one, 9700M GTS.