MacBook Review - Although the MacBook is a nice little computer, it might be a little to slow for gaming
Writing the MacBook review began with me asking my spouse:
I am trying to write a review of the white macbook you use, what would you say if someone asked you what you like about it and dislike about it?
She said: I like the size, it is small enough to take with me in our apartment. I also like the looks and the operating system, Mac OS X Leopard. it is so much easier to use compared to Windows, and the dock, dont forget the dock!
I also asked her what she dislikes about it, at first she told me that there isn't anything she dislikes with it. I asked her again and said: It must be something you dislike ?
Ok she said: I cant see anything on the screen if i am outside in the sunshine and the DVD reader doesn't work.
The DVD player is a hardware issue, and we havent really bothered fixing it because we almost never use CDs or DVDs anyway.
So I asked her again, anything else you dislike and want me to write in the MacBook Review? Her answer: No. Are you sure? yes!.
What you get when you buy the machine is not just some piece of good looking hardware. You get a system that is tailor made to work seamlessly with the provided software. For me much of the value lies in just that. You could argue about the technical specifications and that you might get a PC with better specifications at a lower price. Sure enough that might be true sometimes but then you lack the great software that make up the mac.
It is possible to install Mac OS X on a standard PC, but that is not covered by this review and the process is quite complex for someone not used to computers. It could also be illegal, i am not 100% sure about that though.
I use the machine to everything but almost never gaming. I use the Xbox 360 for that purpose. Although gaming is more accesible on Mac now than before if you want a dedicated gaming computer you might want to choose a PC instead. Depending on what games you want to play of course. Some games work just fine on a MacBook. Games that doesn't require that much graphics horsepower.
Then again if you really want to play games and still use a Mac you might want to take a step up to MacBook Pro instead where you have a better graphics card and a bigger display. If you want a laptop. Else there is the iMac, or Mac Pro.
The MacBook is quite cool too, it can get hot if you do CPU intensive tasks but overall i can have the laptop in my lap without burning myself. When the charger is connected i can feel the casing getting hotter though, compared to when the charger is disconnected.
The battery time depends on what you are doing with your laptop. If you just write text and disconnect from the wi-fi network, bluetooth and set down the screen brightness to 50% you get a good amont of battery time. Apple themselves claim around 5 - 6 hours.
In my opinion if you use your machine like it should be used ... you get around 3 - 4 hours depending on how much the CPU needs to work. Acceptable for me.
A little view of my setup:
In this setup you see the latest revision of the MacBook, as of this writing the 2,4GHz Core 2 Duo model. With upgraded 200GB 7200rpm hard drive. As you can see in the picture i mostly use my laptop as a stationary computer. With the bigger external display connected. This setup works really well for me, i have everything i need to get my job done. If i am on the road i just disconnect the cables and take the computer with me.
MacBook Review - Pros:
MacBook Review - Cons:
Conclusion: Extremely good for all every day uses except gaming.
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