Apple MacBook Pro Will Blow You Away

MacBook Pro has a brain of a Intel Core Duo Processor

I have been using a new Intel Core Duo powered Apple MacBook Pro as my main computer for the past few weeks, and let me say this: It was wicked fast, and I have no major complaints.

Apple MacBook Pro Specs:

Apple stacked the deck it is favor with the MacBook Pro model I have. It includes:

  • The fastest processor: an Intel Core Duo running at 2.16 GHz
  • The fastest hard rive: 100 gigabytes running at 7,200 rpm.
  • The maximum RAM: 2 gigabytes.

That being said, this was the fastest Apple laptop that I have ever used. As a matter of fact, it is the fastest laptop (PC or Apple) that I have ever used. It ran Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Mail, Safari, and the iLife applications as fast as or faster than my dual processor Power Mac G5.

Even programs that have not been updated to take full advantage of the Intel processors, including Microsoft Word, Quicken 2006 and RapidWeaver, ran briskly during my testing. And Universal programs that have been upgraded to run natively on Intel processors, such as Pages, Keynote and Logic Pro, absolutely screamed. Photoshop on the other hand, still ran somewhat sluggishly.

I was very impressed by how Apple engineers squeeze so much performance out of the MacBook Pro. By looking at the specs, almost all components and subsystem in the MacBook Pro, including the front-side bus, L2 cache, Ram and graphics subsystem is significantly faster than in a PowerBook. Furthermore, it has perhaps the best notebook display I have ever seen. Apple says it is 67 percent brighter than the Apple PoweBook.

There are only a few caveats. First, many third-party System Preference panes, including keyboard, mouse and tablet drivers don't work on Intel based Macs nor does Microsoft's Virtual PC. There is on support for Classic (Mac OS 9) software. The Apple MacBook Pro does not come with an analog modem; it will cost you an additional $49 for the Apple USB modem. Finally, there is no FireWire 800 port, so if you have FireWire 800 devices, you will have to buy a third-party ExpressCard/34 expansion card that is not available yet.

The Apple MacBook Pro is a 5.6-pound, 1 inch-thick marvel that outperforms dual processor Power Mac G5 workstations. It may seem expensive but it is worth every penny.