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since 2006-09-13
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2009-09-06 I did it again.
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Less than two years ago, I
replaced my old iBook with a second hand black MacBook. The first generation
MacBook is a lovely machine, but its major shortcoming - the infamous integrated
Intel video adapter - made me wish to replace it with one of the newer MacBooks
announced in late 2008 with a dedicated nVidia graphics adapter, which is
something like five times faster. Unlike the first generation, which were
available in white or black plastic, the newer ones were available in white
plastic or a "Unibody" made out of a block of aluminium. I didn't like the white
model - I find my older black model more pleasant and elegant - and the price for
the aluminium model was too high for my tastes. So I sat down waiting for them to
appear on the second hand market at better prices: my expectations were for the
first half of next year.
Then, early June, Apple refreshed the notebook lines, moving the aluminium
MacBook into the Pro line (at an even higher price) and leaving only the white
model in the plain MacBook line. Eventually, a few weeks ago, a Monday morning I
seen an advertisement from a local shop willing to sell off their remaining stock
of the previous MacBook Unibody quickly... at a 20% discount.
Later the same evening, my beloved MacBook got replaced. Read more to see how I
compare them.
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MacBook Black (Mid 2006 model) |
MacBook Unibody (Late 2008 model) |
| CPU |
Intel Core Duo T5200 2.0 GHz |
Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0 GHz |
| The new processor is 64 bit, the old one is a classic 32 bit. Doesn't make that much difference, but it allows for more RAM and it's more future proof. Neither of them have support for virtualization, which would make running multiple operating system smoother. |
| RAM |
2 GB, DDR2 667 MHz (maxed) |
4 GB, DDR3 1066 MHz (max 6 GB) |
| It shipped with 2 GB, and I updated it to 4. That allows to happily run Leopard, XP, and Haiku together. I plan to max out the memory as soon as the price of 4 GB DDR3 modules drops to an acceptable level. |
| Video |
Intel GMA 950 32 MB |
nVidia GeForce 9400M 256 MB |
| This is were things get interesting: the nVidia GPU is about 500% faster than Intel's. Games do get playable here, including my favorite: World of Warcraft, which was choking on my old MacBook. |
| Hard disk |
100 GB 5400 rpm (upgraded to 320 GB) |
160 GB 5400 rpm (upgraded to 320 GB) |
| I replaced the black MacBook's disk about one year ago, when it was getting full. The new MacBook shipped with a 160 GB unit, and of course I preferred to move the 320 GB disk in it. Fortunately, replacing the hard disk in these two machines is far easier than in the iBook. I expected it to boot immediately, but apparently Leopard is not Haiku and required a reinstall. I still have to try it with XP in its Boot Camp partition... |
| Body |
Black plastic |
Aluminium |
| The new chassis looks awesome, but it has a big shortcoming: it gets damn hot, to the point it's difficult to touch some areas of the computer. Furthermore, the finish of the plastic body of the previous MacBook gives a much better feeling to the touch. |
| Display |
13" 1280x800, glossy |
13" 1280x800, glass cover, LED backlight |
| Like the aluminium body, the display's glass finish looks awesome, but it is far from perfect: the glossy finish of the plastic MacBook had disturbing reflections, but the new one is even worse. |
| Connectivity |
Ethernet Gigabit, Firewire 400, 2x USB 2.0, audio line in, audio line out, Airport 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Mini-DVI (VGA, DVI, HDMI, S-Video) |
Ethernet Gigabit, 2x USB 2.0, audio line in + optical, audio line out + optical, Airport 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Mini-DisplayPort (VGA, DVI, DVI-DL, HDMI, DisplayPort) |
| We gain a faster Airport and support for 30" displays, but we lose FireWire and S-Video out. Damn it, I actually used S-Video to watch videos with friends. Now I need to find new friends with newer TV sets... |
After a month with my new friend, I can say I'm happy: the GPU speed difference is
impressive, and it counterbalances well the extra heat and display reflections. I'm
as happy as I was with the CPU difference when I replaced the iBook with the
black MacBook, when I switched from a 800 MHz single core to a 2.0 GHz dual core.
Now it's time to update the new baby to Snow Leopard: I'm eligible for a
free update!
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|
Less than two years ago, I
replaced my old iBook with a second hand black MacBook. The first generation
MacBook is a lovely machine, but its major shortcoming - the infamous integrated
Intel video adapter - made me wish to replace it with one of the newer MacBooks
announced in late 2008 with a dedicated nVidia graphics adapter, which is
something like five times faster. Unlike the first generation, which were
available in white or black plastic, the newer ones were available in white
plastic or a "Unibody" made out of a block of aluminium. I didn't like the white
model - I find my older black model more pleasant and elegant - and the price for
the aluminium model was too high for my tastes. So I sat down waiting for them to
appear on the second hand market at better prices: my expectations were for the
first half of next year.