13-inch MacBook Pro gets torn apart
By Nilay Patel 
posted June 10th 2009 5:27PM
posted June 10th 2009 5:27PM
posted June 10th 2009 5:27PM
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will i be able to finally play crisis on my mac im dying to do that cause you know macs are the greatest thing in the whole wide world : )
wth? who are you?
will i be able to play crisis on my new mac i would love to do that cause macs are the greatest thing in the whole wide world yay : )
I wish engadget would come up with the manufacturing costs of MacBooks/Pro's. But, I figure they probably won't. After all, who wants to know what it actually costs to make one....
Just to be clear, I'm not a MS Fanboy, just a curious realist!
Wow, that optical drive really takes up a lot of space.
Wouldn't it be great if you could custom build one on Apple's website to have a second HDD or a SSD instead of a optical drive?
I can't remember the last time I used a CD/DVD, but I guess they could change the MacBook Air SuperDrive to work with other MacBooks too, just incase you do need to load a disc.
The empire would never allow such a thing to take place, imagine that customers getting what they actually want pfft
I concur with your thoughts of an optical drive ... when I sold my Dell for a MacBook last August, I purchased one with just the basic combo drive. I later purchased a external slim drive in the rare times I've ever had to burn a DVD. External HDDs and flash media is just much more practical. Only things I've ever burned is rarely an extra backup, but DVD .isos of Win 7 etc.
Am I the only person in the world that actually prefers the tray CD/DVD loading mechanism than MacBooks/Dell/etc's slot-loading optical drives? They just appear that trays would last a heck of a lot longer, IMHO. :-/
13-inch Vaio Z has a much high quality 1600 x 900 16:9 screen than this poor 1280x800 mbp.
Agreed, although most consider 1280x800 acceptable for a 13" machine at present.
That said, this is a Macbook PRO...
Oh yeah, that Vaio Z is niiiiiiiiiiiiice. : )
The Vaio Z STARTS at $1800 without any options or upgrades, has a lower RAM limit, a lower HDD limit, worse battery life, it has a shittier graphics chip, doesn't have Firewire, it has a crappy plastic case and it's not any faster either.
Is that screen resolution worth the extra $600 and worse all around specs?
Zak @ Jun 10th 2009 6:50PM
The Vaio Z STARTS at $1800 without any options or upgrades, has a lower RAM limit, a lower HDD limit, worse battery life, it has a shittier graphics chip, doesn't have Firewire, it has a crappy plastic case and it's not any faster either.
Is that screen resolution worth the extra $600 and worse all around specs?
1. The newest model offers 8 Gb (Japan only though).
2. The hard drive, you can just replace it yourself. Not a problem.
3. No reports on the newest Macbook's actual battery life.
4. Graphics- 9400m is an integrated chip, while 9300m is a discrete chip. Basically, neither is much a winner.
5. No firewire? LOLRLY http://www.engadget.com/photos/sonys-vaio-z-series-reviewed/1013812/
6. Plastic, yes, with a carbon fiber option.
7. Faster? the newest Japan model offers a 3.06 Ghz C2D vs the MBP's 2.53 Ghz.
8. What about HDMI, Blu Ray, Expresscard as well as a multicard reader, EVDO/HSDPA via Gobi?
Personally for me, the extra money isn't worth it, especially since a top model could go for $5000. But that doesn't excuse your blatant lies about it in the name of Apple defending.
Blatant lies? I'm sorry, what clock speed is the $1800 Vaio Z again, dipshit? Oh and while you're looking that up, maybe you can tell me how the specs IN JAPAN mean anything when compared to US spec machines. Yes genius, I'm comparing to the US spec Vaio.
As far as HDMI and Blu Ray, what's your point? My point was that the Vaio is seriously more expensive than the Macbook Pro. Did you not understand that part? And that's the BASE model with no upgrades. The Blu Ray drive is a $500 OPTION, it's not included in the $1800 base price. And I didn't mention everything the Vaio is missing compared to the MBP either, such as:
- Unibody case
- Illuminated keyboard
- Firewire 800 (not 400)
- Magsafe power connector
- Multitouch track pad
- Mini DisplayPort
And even if you upgrade the MPB to the 2.53 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD (all of which beat the Vaio's base model, processor is the same) it's still only $1500.
So again, you're paying more money for a largely inferior machine. LRN2SPEC LOL.
13" MPB
$1499 + tax
2.5Ghz cpu
250GB 5400rpm
4GB DDR3
1280x800
Aluminum case
Vaio Z - Z46GD/B ( Hong Kong)
$1792 no tax (HKD$13980)
2.8Ghz cpu
320GB 7200rpm
6GB DDR3
1600x900
Carbon fiber case
The case is but not "crappy plastic case" but more durable carbon fiber. It does have worse gpu though.
http://www.sonystyle.com.hk/ss/product/vaio/index_2_e.jsp
and Made In China (MBP) vs Made In Japan (Vaio Z)
None of that makes any of what I said any less true. If you have to go to Hong Kong and compare prices to try to argue what I said, you already lost. I'm not in Hong Kong, I'm in the US, where the Vaio Z is a crapload more expensive than the MBP while lacking the things I've already outlined.
forget to mention, the MB or MBP is heavy like hell comparing to the vaio.
well zak, I did say it's more expensive and I personally don't think it's worth it to buy it. But largely, the Z *offers* better specs for (maybe a lot) more money. Also, about Japan, the potential buyer can wait until US spec models are updated. Sony is pretty crappy about keeping all the good stuff in Japan, lol. But regardless, you're comparing a model that hasn't been updated vs a just updated model. Kinda unfair, no?
Yes Jacob. Facts are unfair. That Vaio Z is a current model because it's on their online store for sale right now. Stop making excuses.
I didn't know the macbooks had a subwoofer.
Your mom has a subwoofer...
I know she has a deep voice but damn!
The robots of the future will see this and murder us all.
Thanks iFixIt. Thanks a fucking lot.
Could someone confirm that these new 13'' MacBook Pro use the same PRO LCD found in the 15'' MacBook Pro or the crappy LCD found on the white MacBook? Thanks.
Its the same LCD as the one on MB Air. You can confirm going to sys prefs> Display> Color> Open Profile> scroll to line item 13 Apple Display Model Number > 00009C9E
I changed my display profile, changed the color calibration gamma to 2.2 from 1.8 Damn... colors are awesome and screen just pops out.
Anyone have the same experience??
But how does it compare to the white macbook LCD and the 15'' macbook pro LCD?
MacBook Pro(n)
The question that this leaves me with is: other than the Unibody thing - how hard would it have been to split the back shell in a line just above the battery and hard drive (which essentially are flush along their top edges) and make it say, slide into a groove slot on either side?
It would almost as rigid, just as light and yet allow for easy replacement of the battery and hard drive. Sure, the battery wouldn't be as nice looking - but it sounds like it would be easy to swap and it wouldn't be any larger than the one in there.
I dunno - I just don't buy the whole 'we couldn't make it removable and small' thing.
I have read elsewhere there is one important difference. There is no digital audio in, they have merged the audio ports into one that accepts the triple plug like on iPhones etc. Still has digital out but only analog in.
This could matter if u are an audio professional.
Someone else asked, it goes up to 8gig memory.
I also read that the sd reader takes SD/mini/micro and maybe SDHC.
I just got my new 13 inch macbook pro. Love it, however i feel the colors on the new machine appear less saturated than that on my macbook white 2.4. Especially skin tones on photos look different. The contrast is much much better. If you have a friend who is a student get the free ipod touch! There is no wait on the rebate, just an instant discount, walk out with 100 bucks off the machine and a free itouch. I was not asked a single question, just showed the student ID and i was out of the apple store in 5 mins with the machine.
If you look at the manual, it clearly states that HDD and RAM are user replaceable. Confirmed by Genius Specialist at the Apple store!!
Ordered 4GB Corsair DDR3 for 52 bucks Newegg. Will replace HDD with a 7200 320GB from old Macbook and new RAM this weekend!!
Can you confirm what size itouch you get free? Is the 16gb.
Thanks
You get a $229 rebate. so get any size you want, and they'll take off $229. its only "free" if you get the 8GB
I have the 13" unibody macbook but I dont understand why they went "pro" with this. Perhaps because generally speaking it was about 10% slower than its 15" brother. I think they felt they could get away with adding "pro" to the name? Lame. I still love my macbook though.
So, is the RAM user accessible, or does one have to open up the whole thing just to get to the RAM/HDD?
@Nilay what is it with the unreflected ranting about the sealed in battery? Get over it already: It's not a BAD THING. Rather, it's a trade-off: 40% more capacity traded for swapping ability.
You may like this trade-off or not, but please stop the hating.
Apple got my $3000 _because_ of the sealed-in battery. That is, I only bought the 17" MBP because I wanted 7 hours battery life. If it didn't have that, I'd have gotten a 15" (that was before when the 15" still had the replaceable short-lasting battery). Good move on Apple's side to use the better technology in all laptops - it only makes sense.
Can you comment to how much of the "7 hours" you actually get when using the machine?
My HP is about done after 2 hours and it kinda defeats the purpose of having a notebook.
Yeah, 7 hour under 'Optimum conditions'
Which essentially means: Dedicated graphics, minimum brightness, Wifi/Bluetooth off, idling.
Honestly, get you head out of Apple's ass, the sealed in battery is a bad thing, no matter what angle you look at it from (except for mabye an Asthetics thing, but what the fuck).
@Nathan I have the 17, which Apple rates as "8 hours".
I should say I am never on dedicated graphic - I need the battery to last, and I don't play 3D games, so I have no use for it.
I get from 5 - 7 hours real world. 7 when I kinda watch my use, don't open too many programs, screen at 50%, watch out for stray programs that might suck a lot of CPU. Basically I can work and do stuff I normally do, but have to be aware of battey.
I get 6 hours easily when not doing anything special to either waste lots of battery or save lots of battery. Screen at whatever is best just now, not monitoring stray programs.
5 is when I do something that uses a lot of CPU, like encode a DVD, or I use peripherals that suck a lot of battery like my FW800 external hard drive and a EV-DO mobile internet USB modem. I have never gotten less than 5.
So realistic 6 - 6 1/2 hours is no problem. 7 is a bit of a stretch, and 8 is possible if you don't do anything except surf the web for 8 hours and have the screen on low brightness.
I got over 7 hours watching AVI movies from my hard disk on the plane, was pretty happy about that :)
@CJ
Have you even read ANY reviews of the 17" Macbook Pro before writing that statement? Because if you think you have to do all of that shit to extend the battery life to 7 hours, get your head out of your own ass.
@nikster
Thanks for the "real world" info. I'm thinking of selling my HP notebook and 20" iMac and going to a 15" MacBook Pro with a bluetooth keyboard/mouse and 20" display on my desk to get the best of both worlds.
My biggest draw to the updates to the line are the better battery and slightly decreased price. If I could get at least 4 hours real world (running the 9400m only) in my average usage I would be ecstatic. My basic usage is web browsing, light development in Smultron, and watching youtube/hulu/netflix. Full screen hulu with screen dimmed as low as it can go on the HP nets about 1.5 hrs on Windows 7 RC, less on Vista.
This design is a step backwards... you could slide out the hard disk and ram on the old 13" white MacBooks without taking the computer apart; hard disk replacement was easily a do-it-yourself job. Why purposely make it more difficult? Does Apple get a cut of any service done by resellers?
I myself dont see the BIG deal with the slightly harder batt replacement, though my experience the laptop itself become redundant well before I have a need to replace a batt. But then on the other hand I guess Apple leaves you with so little to complain about u gotta pick at what you can right?
okay, so you've torn it apart...great...any idea how much all the materials cost? let's see the so-called apple tax
does this mean they will release a 15" macbook? don't need the horsepower of the macbook pro but would never use anything smaller than 15" on a laptop
dam so my unibody Macbook i bought a 2 months ago is obsolete.
shoulda waited. gonna hock this bitch, i wanted the backlit keys, but back then 2months ago it was a pricey option
Does anybody know if this has the same display as the unibody MacBook 13"?
I thought the screen on that model was rather poor and hoping this has a "Pro" display?
Woah, subwoofers.. that new?
also, anyone else notice that they changed the "x4" better graphics with 9400m to "x5" or "x6.1"... wonder why/how..