Overview & Introduction Apple laptop

Well be taking a look at Apples MacBook Pro, to be specific the most recently updated model as of June 5th, 2007. The MacBook Pro line is aimed at the professional market, including those who do heavy amounts of video and photo editing. The MacBook Pro is best described as a mid-size desktop replacement, or performance laptop.

Apple MacBook Pro (view large image)

Before I go to far I should say this is not only my first laptop review, but also my first Mac computer. Thus, this review will be geared more toward people considering the MacBook Pro as an alternative option to a Windows based laptop, including some things that would seem trivial to the veteran Mac owner.

MacBook Pro machine specs as purchased

• Screen: 15.4" LED Backlit Screen @ 1440 x 900 Native Resolution
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 CPU at 2.2ghz (4MB Shared L2 Cache)
• Memory: 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667mhz RAM
• Hard Drive: 120GB HDD @ 5400RPM (Fujitsu)
• Graphics: Nvidia 8600M GT with 128MB VRAM GPU
• Optical Drive: Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVDRW/CD-RW)
• Wireless: Apple Airport Extreme Wireless B/G/N
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Mac OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger)
• Dimensions & Weight:
  • 14.1" x 9.6" x 1.0" (35.7cm x 24.3cm 2.59cm)
  • 5.4lbs (2.45kg)
• Cost: $1,999 USD ($1,799 with Education Discount)

Everything in the box: you get the power cord and adapter, two OS discs, one remote control and an instruction manual (view large image)

Reasons for Purchasing

Few other laptops can compete with the sexiness of the MacBook Pros looks. Designed for the professional market, its considered a premium product for the power user. It offers dedicated graphics and the most recent mobile processor platform. The most recent MacBook Pro update to the Intel Santa Rosa platform narrowed the price gap between similar spec PCs closer than Ive seen before, and drove me to take the challenge to be a "switcher". Other laptops that I felt were in a similar market were the ASUS G1S, Compals HEL-80, and HP Pavilion dv6500t series.

I purchased my Macbook Pro at an Apple Retail Store in Nashville, TN at the education discount of $1799 -- a great $200 dollar discount for students and teachers.

Build & Design

The MacBook Pro (hereafter abbreviated as MBP) keeps the same gorgeous design as its predecessors, using an aircraft grade anodized aluminum chassis that provides a sturdy build to the laptop, as well as a sleek, refined and sexy look.

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With the lid closed the MBP has a side width of only one-inch. Opening the lid reveals the gigantic one button track-pad, along with the full size back-lit keyboard, and power buttons, all keeping with the shiny silver look of the outside. On the front
placed right beside the latch release is a slot-loading Super Drive, adding even more to the sex appeal of not having the usual tray based drive. The laptop chassis has almost no flex to it, even around the port buttons. The screens hinges are thick and firm, pushing back on the screen from the front shows no visible wobble. Giving a strong push and tap on the back of the screens enclosure doesnt ripple the LCD either, this is impressive and demonstrates a strong lid cover. The case feels extremely sturdy, and doesnt have any signs of give.

Thinner than three CDs stacked (view large image)

I was a little hesitant at first about the MBPs girth, as I originally wanted a much smaller laptop. Weighing in at 5.4lbs, the MBP isnt so bad on the muscles, but its not a lightweight by any means (relative to some thin and lights). The general size is as expected from a 15" laptop. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone that will move constantly with it, and wants it to go unnoticed. But if youre like me and carry a messenger bag around with all your hi-tech toys, the MBP is fine. Its easy to use in your lap, and carrying it around doesnt feel awkward.

Screen

A big improvement for this generation of the MacBook Pro over the last is the introduction of the LED back-lit screen. LED back-lighting is touted to provide a more evenly lit screen with sharper images and colors without sacrificing battery life. All these I find to be true, the screen is without a doubt the best ive ever seen on a laptop, and better than a lot of desktop monitors I use. With the brightness up to full, even in the most well lit rooms, solid whites are almost blinding, which allows you to turn down the brightness and use less battery. In dark rooms, its so bright that it illuminates the keyboard, making it unecessary to use the keyboard lighting! I selected the Matte style screen as opposed to a reflective glossy scree. Im pleased with that decision, the screen is so crisp it makes up for the lack of the higher saturation from the glossy. One other perk is the ambient light sensor, which will adjust the screens brightness according to the lighting in the room.

Showing the excellent dark levels in the screen (view large image)

Color and detail are rich and full (view large image)

Very impressive viewing angles from the side (view large image)

Speakers

You cant expect too much from laptops in the audio category, small spaces dont make for great speakers. The MBP manages to do fairly decently, having plenty of volume, and a clean sound. The optical mini-jack out is a real plus though, allowing you to hook directly up to your surround sound systems that support optical for a great media experience.

Performance

The processor in the model of the MBP I have is Intels Core 2 Duo T7500, with a speed of 2.2GHz on two cores, a front-side bus speed of 800MHz, and 4MBs of L2 cache shared across both cores. This MacBook Pro has an updated GPU in the form of Nvidias brand new 8600m GT, our particular version supporting 128MBs of dedicated VRAM. This version is slightly underpowered compared to the next model up in the MBP series, which has 256MBs of VRAM. Our hard drive is a Fujitsu 120GB drive, spinning at 5400RPMs. The stock amount of RAM included is 2GBs of DDR2 PC5300 clocked at 667MHz.

Following are some benchmarks taken within Mac OS X:

Windows Vista Experience Index

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Impressive scores for the MacBook Pro, in Windows or OS X!

Battery

Battery Life on high powered laptops is usually quite dismal, but the MacBook Pro makes some leaps to change that. The new Santa Rosa platform, NVidia graphics chip, and LED backlighting all are touted as being better on the battery. With full brightness, and my usual array of applications going (iTunes, Firefox, Adium, Mail, etc.), I was able to see about 3-hours of battery life, which is okay. Cutting back the screen brightness to half resulted in about 4 hours of battery life. These numbers are achieved when you set OS X to run on "Better Battery Life" operation. Luckily, for the long battery life lovers out there (like myself), there are options for 3rd party extended life batterys.

You can see theres a battery meter on the physical battery as well (view large image)

Heat & Noise

Another situation where powerful laptops usually see a downfall is in generating a lot of heat. The HDD on the MBP can get pretty hot to the touch when under a heavy load such as a 30 gigabyte file transfer, but other than that the case remained mostly cool, only picking up a good bit of warmth when I did my benchmarking. It wasnt enough to have me take it off my lap though. The average temperature after 2.5 hours use on battery while drafting this review with iTunes, Firefox, and installing a couple of packages is below:

Noise levels were almost non-existent on the MBP, you only get a short hum when first booting. I was even suprised to see no increase in noise when benchmarking, this is a very quiet machine.

Keyboard & Touchpad

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The MBP has a full size keyboard, and a jumbo size touchpad with, in true Mac fashion, a single large button. The keyboard has a soft feel to it, but still gives excellent feedback when pushing keys. The single massive button touchpad took some time for me to get used to, I am now used to using the "double finger click" though, a technique in which the usual right click can be done by putting two fingers on the touch-pad and tapping. Scrolling can also be done with two fingers, just place them on the touch pad and pull down, up, right or left. The only real issue Ive had is Apples swapping of the Function and Control keys on the bottom-left. The F1-F10 keys are mapped to do various functions such as adjusting the brightness of the screen, volume, numlock, DVI-out control, and managing the keyboard backlights. On the end beside the F12 is a easy eject key for the slot-loading drive.

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Input & Output Ports

The MBP comes swith a wide array of ports. Lets look :

Left side ports (view large image)

On the left hand side we find Apples MagSafe power adapter, one of the two USB2.0 ports, optical audio in & out ports, and Express Card slot. Quarter Not included.

Right side ports (view large image)

And on the right, a Kensington Notebook Lock hole, the second USB2.0 port, Firewire 400, Firewire 800, Gigabit Ethernet RJ45, and DVI out.

Wireless & Bluetooth

Apple has built-in Airport Extreme to this MBP, featuring wireless connectivity to 802.11 b/g/n networks. The signal strength and range it acquires is excellent, picking up networks I didnt even know were near my house, along with my own. Bluetooth is also built-in, but I have yet to find a use for it, but probably will find a mouse for it in the next few days to continue to keep the limited USB ports free.

Operating System & Bundled Software

The MBP comes preloaded with Apples latest version of OS X, Tiger (10.4.9). I must say, its a welcome feeling to see something new. OS X is very responsive, and a much easier adjustment than I originally thought. Other software included is Apples iLife suite, bringing alot of great software to you for free. Some of these include iPhoto, iDVD, iTunes, iCal, GarageBand and many many more.

Packaged with your MBP are 2 OS X installation discs, and a manual.

Customer Support

Being early in my switch to the Mac OS and using Apple hardware, Ive yet to to use any Customer Support. Included with the MBP was 90 days of toll free service by phone, and a 1 year standard warranty covering basic hardware issues. The extended warranty, known as AppleCare, runs an extra $340 dollars, but extends your coverage and telephone service by 3 years. You do however, have an entire year to purchase the AppleCare, something I will consider in the next few months.

Buying Choices for the Apple MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz, 17-inch) Circuit City | $2,459.96 Amazon.com | $2,799.99 MAC Connection | $2,349.00 view detailed pricing from 8 stores starting at $2,349.00 89.7% of people recommend this product - view 155 opinions | rate product

Final Conclusions

This is an excellent upgrade to the MacBook Pro, Im extremely satisfied with it so far. Im new to Mac computers, new to OS X, but I am one happy switcher. The MBP would be an excellent choice for anyone looking to purchase a performance laptop, or even desktop replacement. Combine that performance with Apples sexy design, and the MBP is a great purchase.

( From http://www.notebookreview.com )

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The Dell Studio 15 is a fittingly named 15.4" screen multimedia notebook targeted at those who want a nicely designed system that can dual as a very capable computer for work needs and as an entertainment system during those times you want to unwind and enjoy something like a movie. The Studio 15 has a large enough screen to make watching movies on it comfortable, yet its not so big that you couldnt take this around campus. Since the Studio 15 can be had for around $1,000 nicely configured or under $1,000 for a more budget model it can fit either a tight budget or one with a bit of room to spend.

Buying Choices for the Dell Studio 15 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo T8100/) Dell, Inc. | $1,124.00 100.0% of people recommend this product - view 2 opinions | rate product

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The Studio 15 has multiple lid color selections available. If you choose a painted lid such as red, blue, orange, black, green or purple the paint job is very durable and will not scratch. An optional glossy finish lid with varying designs is also available if you prefer the shiny look (although beware of the fingerprints the lid will attract with such a design).

The Studio 15 we obtained has a Ruby Red colored lid. It was purchased from Staples where they offer set configurations of the Studio 15, our budget configuration cost $799. If you want to completely customize a Studio 15 then the best route to go is via Dell.com. In our full review well also be featuring a Dell.com custom ordered Studio 15 machine with an orange colored lid - well give feedback on the order and shipping that occurs with that process. The specs of this particular Studio 15, the S1535-113P from Staples, are as follows:

• Screen: glossy 15.4" WXGA 1280 x 800 display
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2MB Cache)
• Memory: 3.00 GB RAM
• Storage: 250GB HD
• Optical Drive: Slot loading DVD+/-RW
• Wireless: 802.11b/g
• Graphics: Integrated Intel X3100
• Built-in 2.0MP web camera
• Ruby Red color lid
• Ports: 4 USB 2.0, HDMI connector, 15-pin VGA video connector, Ethernet 10/100/1000 LAN (RJ45), AC adapter connector, Audio jacks (1 line-in, 1-line out, 1 Mic-in), 4-pin IEEE 1394 port, 54 mm ExpressCard slot, Consumer IR
• Dimensions: Width: 14.0" (355.6mm), Height: 1.0" (25.3mm) front / 1.3" (33mm) back, Depth: 10.3" (261.5mm)
• Weight: Starting weight of 6.11 lbs

Staples only had a couple of different color options for the lid, either Ruby Red or Midnight Blue, and only two different set spec configurations were available in the store. However, if you prefer to purchase in a retail store for the ability to more easily return a product and not deal with any shipping waits, then Staples is available for that. So far our custom ordered Studio 15 from Dell.com has taken 20-days to move into "production" and shows no signs of shipping soon. We think thats a little bit long. Its definitely worth comparing the price of retail models to those on Dell.com as there can be quite a variation and you might find that going to a bricks and mortar store can be a better deal, even if you have to sacrifice on a couple of upgrades you might have liked.

The box you get when buying the Studio 15 in a retail store is different from the usual all brown iconic Dell box were used to seeing. From box to out of the package, heres what it looks like:

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Design and Looks

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As we mentioned before, the Studio 15 comes with varying color options so you can make the notebook "Yours". But the design features dont end there. Dell has followed in the footsteps of HP by having an inlaid design pattern on the casing. Around the keyboard and palm rest area youll find a sort of topographical map design, Dell calls this "Graphite Gray". This design feature is ok, its not as subtle or well integrated as the type of designs HP is using, but given the choice between just a plain old grey color case like weve seen on recent Inspirons versus this design we do prefer whats in place. The brushed aluminum look you get with the XPS series is still better, but thats why you pay more for an XPS laptop.

The drop hinge design on the Studio 15 is borrowed from the XPS line (view large image)

Speaking of XPS design, the Studio 15 actually borrows quite a few design elements from the equivalent sized XPS M1530. The drop hinge design is almost exactly like that of the XPS M1530. The lid paint job finish is also the same as that youll get on the XPS series. The touch sensitive media buttons are very similar to the XPS, though their backlit with white instead of the blue on the XPS. The slot loading optical drive is yet another feature that has been borrowed.

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Overall the Studio design is very nice, you can even get a backlit keyboard that makes it look better than the XPS, so in some ways the slightly cheaper Studio 15 looks nicer than the XPS M1530. Unfortunately, with the Staples configuration the keyboard backlight option is not there.

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Build Quality

The build quality of the Studio 15 is good. It does have more plastic to it than the XPS design does, but it is in no way flimsy. There arent any glaring weak spots; the feel is quite firm all over. With that said, this doesnt feel quite as rock solid as the old Inspiron 1520 - but that notebook was way too chunky and we prefer the lighter weight of the Studio 15 even if it means its not quite as durable.

Processor and Performance

The Dell Studio 15 line right now only offers the "old" Intel Core 2 Duo inside, not the new Montevina everybody is talking about. Dell launched this laptop a month before Intel updated their processor family, so for the moment the Studios are shipping with the Santa Rosa processor platform. This is of little concern though, the T5750 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo that this budget priced Studio 15 came with is more than adequate enough for any normal work related tasks and can handle most any multimedia work thrown at it as well. The newer Intel processors might get 5 - 10% better processor performance, but you wont notice this change for anything but the most demanding of applications, such as gaming. And since the Studio 15 was not intended as a gaming machine (thats where the XPS comes in), theres not much benefit the new Montevina platform can really provide, though its always nice to have the latest technology of course.

To give an idea of processor performance we ran wPrime, a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once. Below is an example of how this budget T5750 processor holds up relative to other processors (lower scores mean better performance.)

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Dell Studio 15 (Core 2 Duo T5750 @ 2.00GHz)	46.238s
HP Pavilion dv2700t (Core 2 Duo T5450 @ 1.66GHz)	49.793s
HP Pavilion dv6700t (Core 2 Duo T5450 @ 1.66GHz)	50.480s
Dell Inspiron 1525 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)	43.569s
Dell XPS M1530 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.485s
Sony VAIO NR (Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.5GHz)	58.233s
Toshiba Tecra A9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	38.343s
Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	42.385s
Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.705s
Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)	42.947s

The Screen

The Studio 15 widescreen display is not the LED variety available as an option on the XPS line, its just your regular CCFL style of display that uses a couple of traditional backlights to illuminate the screen. The screen is nice though, its very bright at around 200-nits. The glossy finish helps to make colors really pop and is especially nice for watching movies. The Studio 15 we have is just a regular 1280 x 800 XGA resolution, you can get higher resolution displays that will allow you to fit more content on the screen and enjoy movies in a higher-defintion format.

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If you wanted it to the Studio 15 could double as a PC/Entertainment center for a small area such as a dorm room. The screen is big enough that if youre within 10 - 15 feet viewing is comfortable.

Heat and Noise

The Studio 15 doesnt get too hot, nor is it overly noisy, so youre not going to really distract others in a quiet library like setting when using it. The fans only get audible if they rev up to full speed when youre doing things like light gaming or running benchmarks. By far the loudest characteristic of the Studio 15 is the slot loading drive, which generates a lot of mechanical noise whenever you load in a disc.

(source http://www.notebookreview.com)

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