Windows 7 on MacBook Pro: Nice, but still has poor battery life
Windows 7 rates my unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro at 5.3, which is very high for a laptop.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)I have had Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (release to manufacturer) for a few days. This is, of course, a legitimate copy, not the leaked copy that you can download from the Internet. That's the good news.
The bad news is I have had to test it, which has been lot of work. We tested the new operating system against Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3. Overall, Windows 7 offers a much more pleasant experience than Windows Vista. Everything works more smoothly. The new OS takes less time to launch applications, and it's nice just to browse around its functions and features. It's also very pretty. However, it is slower than Windows XP, except for the boot and shutdown times, where XP has always been a drag.
Version 2.0 of Boot Camp (included on the Mac OS X Leopard DVD) wouldn't run unless you make it run in Windows Vista/XP compatibility mode.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)You can read a lot more about the new operating system via our official review done by my colleague Seth Rosenblatt. I want address something here that's not very mainstream (yet): running Windows 7 on Intel-based Mac hardware, specifically on a unibody 15" MacBook Pro.
Setting up Windows 7 on a Mac is easy, just as it is with Windows XP or Vista. First, you use the Boot Camp Assistant (which is found in the Applications\Utilities folder). The application helps you resize the hard drive to create a new partition for Windows. (Pick the size carefully, as you can't resize this partition again without having to reinstall Windows from scratch). After that, the installation starts and goes on just as it would on a PC.
(If you have been using Windows XP or Vista on your Mac, you can just start the installation of Windows 7 from within the existing OS. You will have the option to do either an upgrade or a clean installation on the same partition).
It took about 30 minutes for me to get Windows 7 Ultimate RTM installed on the second partition (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions took about the same amount of time). Now the trick is to install Boot Camp, which includes all the drivers and the Boot Camp control panel, and lets you control other functions of the laptop such as mouse, shortcut key, and the multitouch trackpad.
Apple includes Boot Camp on the OS X Leopard DVD; however, I ran into an error stating that it required Windows XP or Windows Vista to run. This could be fixed simply by changing the properties of the installer file to make it run in Windows XP or Vista compatibility mode.
Once Boot Camp has installed, you will need to update it to the 2.1 version that can be downloaded here for Windows 32-bit and here for Windows 64-bit.
Boot Camp 2.1, despite the message, works fine with Windows 7; just make sure you run Windows Update after installing it.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)When I ran Boot Camp 2.1's installer, a message appeared, saying that there were known compatibility issues, but I decided to install it anyway. After the installation, when the computer restarted, Windows 7's Action Center appeared and pointed me to download the update for Nvidia chipset. (Alternatively, if you run Windows Update, that would have downloaded from there, too). The update seemed to fix the incompatibility, and the Action Center was happy at the next boot.
But I wasn't very happy yet, though, as the right-click function, which is one of the most important features when using Windows, didn't work with the laptop's muiltitouch trackpad (it worked fine with a USB mouse). After doing more research, I found a multitouch trackpad update that solved it. The right-click function was now the two-finger tab on the pad. And that was it; I now have myself a Windows 7 machine running on a nice piece of Mac hardware, and everything seemed perfect.
The two-finger tab right-click takes some getting used to but works great.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)It was almost perfect, that is. What's missing has been a known issue with Mac laptop running Boot Camp: the battery life. According to Apple, the MacBook Pro offers about eight hours of battery life (in my experience it's more like about five hours, which is still very impressive). However, when running Windows XP and Vista, this reduces the life to just merely an hour and a half. And you guessed it: it's the same with Windows 7. The battery somehow drains really fast, even when the screen brightness turned down, I couldn't get two hours out of a full charge, even when just doing regular work on the machine.
While I don't know the exact reason, my best guess is this is because the Mac hardware is not optimized for Windows drivers. I hope that Apple (or Microsoft or hardware vendors) would look into this and make the MacBook, or any other Mac laptop, a truly great platform for Windows 7.
Other than that, Windows 7 has been working great on my MacBook Pro. After some anecdotal testing, it felt faster than the machine's original operating system. It looks good, too, even prettier than when it is installed on PC hardware.
I believe that Windows 7 will work fine on other Intel-based Macs, too, though some tweaking might be necessary. My colleague Ina Fried tried the release candidate of the OS on the Mac Mini and it worked fine. Considering the fact that the OS is not even out to the public, this level of support is really encouraging.
When the battery life issue is resolved, if ever, I cannot see myself having a computer that can only run just either Windows or Mac. Windows 7 on a Mac might be the solution that unites both schools of fanboys.
Windows 7 doesn't help improve the battery life of MacBook Pro laptop, which is about 90 minutes on the 15-inch version, as opposed to about five hours when running Mac OS X.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)
Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong. 
Adaptive Display Brightness automatically reduces display brightness after a certain period of inactivity similar to cell phones. Less power is required to watch a DVD because Windows 7 requires less processing power which leads to a more efficient way to spinning the disk, this leads to benefits such as watching a full length movie on a single battery charge.
Windows 7 automatically turns off power to the network adapter when the cable is disconnected and restores power when the cable is connected. Making users aware of the battery life status is key in Windows 7 for a better; the Battery Life Notification Area applet provides prominent, timely information to ensure that you can use your notebook in tight situations where there is no power. A new utility called Power Config detects problems across devices, policies, firmware, system settings, applications, and other common areas where settings can reduce power efficiency delivering that information to you in an easy to understand report.
actually Adaptive Display Brightnes is based from light sensors so when the ambient light dims/goes out/get brighter windows 7 will adjust the brightness of the screen so it won't be a strain on the uers eyes and helps with battery life.
he knows macs have had that feature for awhile I cant remember when they started i think during powerbook era? but i know for sure the G5 imac had them (Ambient Light Sensor Model)
He said that pc had it a long time before mac did, i just cant remember when and which model
E.A.W.
performance rating 5.3 ahahahahahaha i wonder what it is on those $3500 towers,anybody?
"...it felt faster than the machine's original operating system...."
and it has a 4200rpm hard drive right?lol
dont get me wrong,microsoft sucks just like apple,but they dont PRETEND they r cool,and apple r thiefs,yes charging 200 bucks for a 640gb hd is theft ,so if u really need that osx go here :http://www.insanelymac.com/ and for parts newegg.com
In about 3 seconds, you should realize that you just laugh at the only computer that can run Crysis with that kind of settings without using 3 GTX295 in SLI.
Go back to Xbox Live. Your lamer buddies are waiting for you.
If you will remember, this conclusion was from a number of PC oriented magazines and sites who actually tested Windows on a Mac. Of course Apple used this to their own advantage, just as anyone would.
As for Windows 7, as far as I know Apple only claims compatibility with XP and Vista. At least wait for Win7 to actually be released before going off about this. But I doubt if it will initially make that big difference, unless Apple really deems it important enough to devote resources to. They have a number of irons in the fire as it is.
I figure that if Microsoft can treat Mac users who purchase their software as second class citizens, then why should Apple bend over backwards. OK, fire away.
Did you read the article?
Did you ever think for once that he may be talking about XP when speaking of "an OS designed for 2001 hardware"
An older OS with lower system reqs and less features will run smoother than a newer OS with more features and higher system reqs on the same hardware configuration, brilliant revelation.
"As a typical Apple fan I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about when it comes to how hardware actually works"
If Windows 7 has poor battery life it's because Apple have not written working drivers for their hardware, I say their hardware, it is in fact Nvidia reference design with Intel CPUs, Apple designs the cases, and boy they design nice cases when they are not splitting and cracking.
anodized aluminum does not split or crack. maybe you were thinking about your last girlfriend."
I agree about the aluminum casings but you should really keep your comments civil for once.
Tell that to the scores of MacBook Air users who have experienced screen hinges cracking and eventually snapping off like twigs. The MacRumors forum is swamped with reports on that topic. Apple never learn, it seems ? the hinges on the Titanium PowerBook were notorious for cracking and breaking. Different metal, same design philosophy (="as long as it looks cool we can't be arsed to make it withstand normal wear and tear").
oh come on.. .I'm always civil... it was obviously a joke. At worst.. I call someone a "dolt" now and then.. and only when it's obvious that they are.
"keep your comments civil for once"
oh come on.. .I'm always civil... it was obviously a joke. At worst.. I call someone a "dolt" now and then.. and only when it's obvious that they are."
I understand the humor, I just believe that there is a time and a place for that stuff and it is not when you are trying to make a point or counterpoint.
I know it's wrong but I thought your comment was hilarious!! Thanks for the laugh!! :-)
So all of this windows/osx difference is apple ingenuity :)
MIcrosoft is known to create false error messages:
http://windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8045
In the Caldera case, Microsoft deliberately created fake error messages, to create the impression of a discrepancy between the MS product and the OS, which in this case was DR DOS. One wonders if something similar is going on here?
They should follow apple tactics and just sabotage the install in apple branded hardware.
And frankly, there is hardly a need to run Boot Camp. Fusion works flawlessly in Vista and XP for anything but apps that require heavy GPU acceleration, and W7 will be the same once the "enablers" are updated.
ikramerica--2008: Fusion causes mayhem if you use any call/response-activated software, because such software often uses the network adapter's MAC address as part of the machine's fingerprint. I have a dozen or so audio software plugins that work like that. Fusion insists on making up its own MAC addresses which triggers re-activation, and the next time you launch BootCamp it will demand re-activation again. Two days later you have to mail various software vendors and say "Sorry, I ran out of the 7 activation codes, could you give me about 200 more so I can make it through this month?" For this reason I've been told by numerous audio professionals to stay far away from Fusion and use Parallels, or better yet just stick to BootCamp.
After all, Macs *are* Windows PCs now, MS supplies tens of thousands of OEM drivers out of the box for other PCs so why not for these PCs from Cupertino?
Apple on the other hand have made it their job to support Windows. Oddly, they've also made it their job to make Windows look horrible, mostly through their ads, but I wouldn't put it past them to deliberately make it run extra poorly in BootCamp.
And why on earth would Windows run faster on a Mac than on a PC with similar specs? If they use the same Intel CPU model, the same bus speed, the same Hitachi (or whatever) hard drive spinning at the same RPM, the same NVidia GPU and the same size and type of RAM with the same speed, they will have the same performance. There is no magical Apple voodoo speed boost built-in, despite what Steve Jobs told you on his hypnosis tape. Unless of course you're suggesting that the aluminum and glass exterior makes the data travel faster?
ikramerica--2008: I can't agree with you regarding crappy battery life. I have a 2-year old Dell 15" notebook with a battery that only has half of the capacity of the one on my unibody MacBook Pro 17", but when the Dell's battery was fresh it would easily run Vista for 4 hours in power saver mode. When the same OS bleeds the MBP's battery dry in half the time (also in power saver mode), the math suggests that Windows has roughly 4 times the power draw when running on the Mac. Windows itself is hardly the culprit. The BootCamp power management is all shot to hell, if there even is any.
Apple on the other hand have made it their job to support Windows. Oddly, they've also made it their job to make Windows look horrible, mostly through their ads, but I wouldn't put it past them to deliberately make it run extra poorly in BootCamp.
And why on earth would Windows run faster on a Mac than on a PC with similar specs? If they use the same Intel CPU model, the same bus speed, the same Hitachi (or whatever) hard drive spinning at the same RPM, the same NVidia GPU and the same size and type of RAM with the same speed, they will have the same performance. There is no magical Apple voodoo speed boost built-in, despite what Steve Jobs told you on his hypnosis tape. Unless of course you're suggesting that the aluminum and glass exterior makes the data travel faster?
ikramerica--2008: I can't agree with you regarding crappy battery life. I have a 2-year old Dell 15" notebook with a battery that only has half of the capacity of the one on my unibody MacBook Pro 17", but when the Dell's battery was fresh it would easily run Vista for 4 hours in power saver mode. When the same OS bleeds the MBP's battery dry in half the time (also in power saver mode), the math suggests that Windows has roughly 4 times the power draw when running on the Mac. Windows itself is hardly the culprit. The BootCamp power management is all shot to hell, if there even is any.
"And why on earth would Windows run faster on a Mac than on a PC with similar specs? "
Drivers, Drivers, Drivers....
It's the difference between MS's generic hardware drivers and Apples focused drivers. Apple has the luxury of knowing exactly what hardware the OS/Software will use.. so it can optimize it' s drivers. That's why 10.5 can run perfectly on a single core G4 processor.
When Apple put together the boot camp drivers.. they simply did a decent job.. because they knew exactly what they were writing the drivers for.
One of the benefits of a closed ecosystem.
Apple's 'focused' drivers? Just how many gallons of kool-aid have you gulped down today? You do realize that 95% of them come straight from OEMs like Broadcom (WiFi/BT), NVidia (Ethernet/GPU/chipset) and RealTek (soundchip), right? Apple simply bundled them for batch installation. They're identical to drivers I can download from these OEMs, except the ones I download aren't from 1979. Everyone who installs BootCamp has to replace the RealTek driver because the one Apple installs is broken. "Focused drivers"... you should do stand-up.
"That's why 10.5 can run perfectly on a single core G4 processor."
Ha!! Right. I tried replacing Tiger with Leopard on my old Mini G4, it was so slow and laggy it couldn't even animate dock icon magnification properly. You'd place the mouse on a cursor an instead of a slick zoom effect it went *cough* draw *cough* *ugh* *kill me* uhhhhh.... OK done. I reverted to Tiger after 15 minutes of choppy graphics and spinning beachballs.
"When Apple put together the boot camp drivers.. they simply did a decent job.. because they knew exactly what they were writing the drivers for. One of the benefits of a closed ecosystem."
Again, they barely wrote anything themselves except the trackpad driver, the keyboard driver and the power management, because those are the custom Apple parts, and do you know what those three drivers have in common? They're crap. Read up on the trackpad and bluescreening... Read up on kbdmgr.exe and DPC spikes... read up on the tons of complaints over the worthless fan control and the related overheating problems with the NVidia 9600M.
As for "closed ecosystem", that term refers to OS X running on a Mac. Windows on a Mac is no more "closed" than a PC running the same system, except a brand PC doesn't come with drivers as awful as Apple's keyboard/trackpad/power management stuff.
ckh1272: Microsoft doesn't HAVE native software since they don't manufacture it."
So Microsoft doesn't make Office?? I think you missed my point entirely and since you seem to think that I am some Apple nut (trust me, I am not), it won't do a whole lot of good to explain it to you.
Your post only addressed the one sentence that featured a typo so I don't know what to respond, really.
It was supposed to read "Microsoft doesn't have native HARDWARE since they don't manufacture it". I tried to edit but this forum felt like making it into a duplicate post instead (see above). It was a typo, I thought that would be fairly obvious given that we were discussing native hardware.
Your post only addressed the one sentence that featured a typo so I don't know what to respond, really."
I am not going to sit here and tell that no user ever have problems but the thing is that some of you like to cherry pick the one in one hundred people who have problems. How about the 99 people who didn't. Well, you won't see them post of non-problems with their systems or software. Just like every other "seller of goods" website, you are only seeing the ones who have problems and are looking for answers. All of these things you reference you are just pulling from that (often) minority of complainers. I have a 1st gen. MacbookPro with Vista and 2 GB RAM and the only issue is with the keyboard backlight coming on at weird times. Solution?? There is a button on the keyboard to turn that off. Gee, that was simple. Other than that, it runs pretty quick. Heck, most of the times, Vista starts up faster than 10.5.7 Once again, I AM NOT SAYING MAC USERS DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS, just use a little common sense when reading some of these posts. There, is that clear enough for you?
Sorry for the bad grammar. I meant to say "I am not going to sit here and tell you that no Apple user ever has problems"
As for the release date... yeah, after 25 years of observing Apple I know them well enough to second guess the manners in which their disdain for Windows might manifest itself at any given time. Official Win7 support will arrive no earlier than December. Before that there will be an annoying batch of Emperor's New Clothes-themed ads where Hodgman unsuccessfully struggles to convince Long that Win7 is an entirely new product, but the facade keeps crumbling (figuratively speaking) to reveal Vista underneath.
The lack of BIOS emulation should improve performance. In a BIOS install of Windows the BIOS handles a lot of the power saving features.
thats very funny,it was 5.3,i think u shouldnt try to hide it dong...
- by jessiethe3rd August 1, 2009 9:09 AM PDT
- I have one Mac and One PC with Windows 7 RTM (the OSX partition keeps getting smaller and smaller :). The Macbook's display doesn't dim like it does with OSX. The Lenovo does on battery power. The battery power for both is noticeably better.
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