Core 2 Duo comes to the MacBook
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Where the MacBook Pro goes, the MacBook is sure to follow. Like its big sibling, Apple's low-end laptop has ditched its Core Duo processor in favor of Core 2 Duo. The MacBook page at the Apple Store is currently in the midst of an update, but AppleInsider reports that pricing will remain at $1,099 for the baseline model. That price nets you a white MacBook with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 512MB of DDR2 memory, a 60GB hard drive, and Intel GMA 950 graphics--plus all the other Apple goodies you've come to expect, such as a slot-loading Combo Drive, an iSight camera, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, and a tiny remote. The $1,299 model upgrades you to a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, and the DVD-burning SuperDrive. The black MacBook is the same as the upscale white model but costs $1,499 and includes a larger (120GB) hard drive.
Apple is touting a 25 percent increase over the older Core Duo-based MacBooks. Fear not, recent MacBook buyer: we're seeing a performance boost with Core 2 Duo-based laptops but nothing approaching 25 percent. The big gains thus far have been on the desktop side, where the Core 2 Duo chip is showing that it's leaps and bounds better than Intel's previous dual-core desktop efforts. We'll run the new MacBook through our Labs as soon as we're able, but up to this point, the Core Duo mobile chip is proving to have some legs. Don't get us wrong, we openly welcome the move to Core 2 Duo; it's comforting to know that you're getting the latest technology in your technology purchases.
board.
Apple states they are "up to 25% faster." It then states the test suite and
benchmarks it ran to make this claim at the bottom of the MacBook page.
If Ferrari advertises that a car can "reach speeds of 200 mph", do you
interpret that to mean that the people will drive the car around at top speed
all the time?
Probably less than 0.01% of the population will ever drive a car at that speed,
and only on a closed race track given the general condition of the U.S.
highway system these days.
So what's with the (seeming) implication that when Apple says the MacBooks
are "up to" 25% faster, it is somehow lying because the MacBooks are not 25%
faster all the time? Clearly, there are certain tests in which the Core 2
MacBooks ARE 25% faster (or more), which makes Apple's claim perfectly
valid.
In any case, it seems that with this update, Macs will soon be an all 64-bit
platform. Wonder if that has anything to do with Leopard?