The latest update to Apple ’s MacBook line provides an impressive , if not dry land - shaking , boost to the popular consumer laptop . Credit the jump in functioning over the previous edition of the MacBook to Core 2 Duo processor with slightly fast clock speeds as well as new hard drives .
uncover a calendar week ago , the refreshed MacBooks volunteer only pocket-size changes from their predecessor ; for example , the MacBook continue to run on a Core 2 Duo chip or else of a processor from Intel ’s newly released “ Santa Rosa ” chipset . Still , the Macworld Lab isalwaysexcited to test any new Mac hardware — after all , it has been nearly six months since we ’ve had the opportunity to run Speedmark on any Modern Mac system of rules .
As a admonisher , the update MacBooks come with the same 13.3 - inch screens as before ; the monetary value tags on all three form are also unaltered . So what ’s new ? The high - ending model now lark a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor , up from 2GHz . The 2GHz CPU now find itself in the entry - level MacBook , which used to run on a 1.83GHz central processor . Hard drive mental ability also increased — the entryway - grade MacBook now has an 80 GB drive ( up from 60 GB ) , while capacities on the faster blank and black models are now 120 GB and 160 GB ( up from 80 GB and 120 GB , respectively ) .
What we found
These change translate to faster machine . The 2.16GHz blackness MacBook post a Speedmark score of 202 , about 12 percent quicker than the previous lily-white 2GHz MacBook Core 2 pair . ( In the last generation of MacBooks , the 2GHz white manakin edged out the black version and its comparable central processing unit due to a well - performing , though smaller , hard drive . This time it ’s the black manikin that involve top honors , with a Speedmark score just timid of 4 - percentage higher than the update white 2.16GHz MacBook ’s score of 195 . )
Updated MacBooks Tested
Best outcome inbold . mention system initalics .
Speedmark 4.5 scores are relative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac miniskirt , which is assigned a score of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , iTunes , and Zip Archive score are in minutes : seconds . All organization were run Mac OS X 10.4.9 with 1 GB of RAM , with mainframe carrying into action lay out to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane when applicable . The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 15 scripted project using a 50 MiB file cabinet . Photoshop ’s memory was set to 70 percent and chronicle was coif to Minimum . We recorded how long it take to render a view in Cinema4D. We used Compressor to encode a 6 - minute , 26 - second DV file using the DVD : Fastest Encode 120 moment – 4:3 scene . In iMovie , we apply the elderly video effect to a 1 - hour movie . We convert 45 minutes of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality place setting . We used Unreal Tournament 2004 ’s Antalus Botmatch medium - frames - per - arcsecond mark ; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 - by-768 pixels at the Maximum mount with both sound recording and artwork enabled . We created a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1 GB folder . To liken Speedmark 4.5 scores for various Mac systems , visit our Apple Hardware Guide .—MACWORLD LAB TESTING BY JAMES GALBRAITH AND BRIAN CHEN
The entrance level MacBook got the most out of this update — not only does it see addition to its processor pep pill and storage capacity , it also features 4 MB of L2 stash and 1 GB of establish RAM ( just like the other two configurations ) . We test all models with 1 GB of RAM , but even with the memory advantage remove , the young role model ’s zippier operose drive helped it turn in a Speedmark score of 192 . That ’s not too far off from the updated white 2.16GHz MacBook ’s Speedmark score ; it ’s a 7 - pct improvement over last twelvemonth ’s fastest 2GHz model which make a 180 in Speedmark .
Graphic observations
Of the many specifications to persist unchanged in this cycle of updates , the one certain to have the most grumbling among would - be MacBook owner is the continued trust upon the build - in Intel GMA 950 graphics chipset . That integrated computer graphic circle - up does n’t have any discrete VRAM ; rather , it shares with the system ’s main memory , which can moderate to some one-horse carrying out on graphics - intensive game . Indeed , as you may see in the Unreal Tournament figure , the MacBooks average about 18 frame per secondly in our tests . That compares to more than 77 frame per second in the 2.33GHz MacBook Pro , which use ATI Mobility art . The end resultant role : Apple ’s pro laptop heaps nearly 77 percent gamey than even the best - performing MacBook on this one test .
Even though the MacBook is still not a gamer ’s machine , it ’s no snap when it come to dumbfound work done . The MacBooks held their own imposingly against the dissolute 15 - inch MacBook Pro model at all non - gaming tasks , including our Photoshop CS3 test suite , Cinema 4D setting renders , Zip Archives and iMovie test .
We ’ll have more depth psychology of these update MacBooks ’ intensity and weaknesses in our full review , which will be published soon at Macworld.com .
[ James Galbraith is Macworld research lab director . ]
