This review is from: Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) (Personal Computers)
When I purchased this MacBook Pro, most reviews seemed to be from existing Mac users who were comfortable with the device. There are a lot of reviews talking about the technical specs of this Mac, so I’ll spare those coz I myself am still coming up the curve on them. My review is based solely on my experience from the perspective of a PC user for the past 16+ years. Hopefully if you, like me, are considering making the switch, you will find this at least partially useful. I mostly use the Mac for Office and Adobe applications and don’t know much about computers beyond that as far as technicals are concerned.
Set up – Set up is as straight forward as it is with any Apple device. They make it intuitive and a breeze to set up their devices. Absolutely no issues there.
Updates – One thing that really bothered me about Windows was that it was constantly updating itself – I mean I bought a brand new PC and Windows took a good 10 minutes to “update” (huh?). This slowed down my PC, and shutting it down took several minutes as Windows did its thing. No such complaint with the Mac. Even if it does automatically update, the process is not visible and does not slow down the speed of the Mac.
Compatibility – I really only need the Adobe Suite and MS Office on a daily basis. I purchased these 2 suites and setting them up was easy. Transferred all files from my PC through a shared network and the process was seamless. Apple’s interface is terrific for the entire initial set up process.
Programs – I have been able to run pretty much all programs that I ran on my PC. The only two programs I am currently having problems with are Google Talk and WINRAR. Google Talk seems erratic in iChat. It will log in at times, while most of the time it will give a username/password error. This is an issue Google seems to be aware of but haven’ fixed it yet. WinRar doesn’t work on Mac as far as I know. Stil looking for a compatible file compressing software that can open RAR files. Other than that, all MS Office applications run the same. The differences are minor – Excel has a very sparse shortcut key menu on the Mac, one of the main things I greatly miss about having a PC. Same applies for Outlook as well – I could work in both programs without having to touch my mouse, but with the Mac, I really need to rely on the mouse.
TouchPad and keyboard – Plain and simple – Mac’s touchpad and keyboard is the BEST. Typing on the Mac is such a better experienced – the quality of the material and overall layout of the keys is more ergonomic and well thought out. Toshiba, Dell and HP laptops that I have used in the past have a more crammed keyboard. Scrolling on the Touchpad is phenomenal. Even if I did consider going back to a PC, this feature alone would probably keep me glued to the Mac. It’s hard to use a regular mouse after using this touhpad. With my previous HP laptop, the TouchPad was problematic because the left click would get pressed even if I was simply scrolling. Haven’t had a single accidental click on my Mac for over a month of use.
Browser – Safari works great, but I was so used to Firefox, I just downloaded Firefox for Mac and it runs absolutely fine. One thing I am still trying to figure out is how to switch between various Firefox Windows on the Mac (similar to ALT+TAB on the PC). If any one know the answer, please let me know!
Goodbye Norton!! – No more pop-up windows, no more slowing down of the browser as websites try to gather information about you (happened on my PCs every single time), no more worries about crummy viruses that have on one ocassion rendered one of my prior PCs useless, no more buying expensive Norton software and having to renew every year!
Support – I had to call Apple’s support line only once for some basic questions. I was on hold for about 5 minutes and all my questions were appropriately answered by the reps. Excellent overall support.
Downside – the one downside of owning an Apple product is the list of accessories and their expense. A PC doesn’t require a case or screen protective film. With a Mac, you can choose to leave it bare, but given how beautiful this device is, you will likely be tempted to accessorize it for protection. Any other Apple accessory you might need (power adapter, software, superdrive, etc) are all expensive. I have only bought a case, keyboard cover, and a screen film, and I am already out a $100! I need to buy another AC charger for my office and that will run I think another $75-80 right there.
Upside – well, a Mac does have a cool factor to it!
Online forums are a beautiful thing. If I had any questions or doubts about using the Mac, some previous user had already posted them and others had already answered them on the forums. I found all answers with a few searches on those forums (MacForums is fantastic!).
This review is from: Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) (Personal Computers)
I stopped by my local Apple Store the morning this MacBook Pro was made available to the public and bought one, replacing my over two year old unibody MacBook. These are premium computers, and well made. My old computer, which looks very much like this one, still looked great after two years, with a little scratching on the bottom, and an unfortunate denting of one corner. I do not regret for one minute paying more for a device I use several hours a day, and from which I derive my living.
The strong point of this computer over previous 13 inch unibody MacBooks is the processor. It is noticeably faster at computationally intensive tasks. For example, I have a large application written in the C++ programming language which Xcode on my late 2008 vintage MacBook could compile in 16.5 minutes, this MacBook can do the same task in 8.5 minutes, a nearly doubling of speed. Similiarly, converting a 10 minute MP3 file to AAC in iTunes used to take 21 seconds, now it takes 14 seconds. Unsurprisingly, computer processors have gotten faster. The new processor does tend to heat up fast under full load, so be prepared for more frequent fan noise.
The weak point is the stock hard drive, a 320GB 5400 RPM Hitachi laptop drive. Any operation depending on hard drive throughput is not going to be much faster on this computer than in years past. If you do not have large capacity needs, you may be better served special ordering a model with a smaller but much faster solid state drive (SSD), they do not come cheap, but will result in a much more balanced computer that does not leave its high performance CPU idling awaiting data. I would do so, but the higher capacity SSDs cost as much as the computer alone.
If you were to upgrade to an SSD, be aware that while this model has one type III SATA port, you might have trouble using one of the new type III SATA SSD drives in it. [Update: online reports indicate Apple has started shipping these laptops with the optical bay also using an SATA III port.] I tried to install a 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 into the hard drive bay and the operating system installer failed to install. Online forums indicate people are having troubles with type III drives, and whether the problem is with the drive used, a bad cable, or firmware is in dispute. You might want to wait on a type III upgrade until this settles out. In the meantime, I’ve purchased a bracket allowing me to replace the optical drive and put the SSD on the type II port formerly used by the SuperDrive.
This and the new MacBook Air are the only laptops Apple sells without a discrete graphics processing unit (GPU), instead relying soly on the Intel integrated 3000HD GPU. Intel has previously not been known for its GPU prowess, but space constraints and Intel’s design restrictions, and improvements in performance finally pushed Apple into going integrated only. I would have preferred a discrete GPU, especially in a premium laptop, but I am not a gamer, and will make do with the much better CPU. I’m sure Apple would have preferred a discrete GPU, as their strategy for performance improvements is to use the GPU for general purpose computing using the OpenCL framework.
New to this year’s models is the Intel Thunderbolt connector superseding the Mini Display Port connector. This flexible port will likely become more and more useful as hubs and peripherals become available to make use of its fantastic speed. Adaptors and docks will be available to use this one port as a USB, DVI, Firewire, Ethernet port simultaneously, making one data cable for easy desktop docking. But, I don’t have any use for it now. Media reports indicate Apple will have this port to itself this year, although Intel is insisting that other motherboard manufacturers could start to include it, and I hope they do. Whether the port is a marketplace success is not a foregone conclusion, but I look forward to syncing and charging a future iPad over this speedy port; sadly the iPad 2 does not have this port, but someday.
I am glad to have a standard FireWire 800 port, and an SD Card reader, neither of which were found on my previous non-Pro laptop. I’ll be able to charge my iPad at maximum speed with the 2 Amp USB ports, something I couldn’t do before. The FaceTime app for OS X comes pre-installed, you don’t have to buy it from the Mac App Store.
Little luxuries include the backlit keyboard, the MagSafe power cable, the firm responsive keyboard, and the big multitouch capable trackpad. The display is bright and has a good, but not great range of viewing angles, certainly worse than an iPad, but better than most cheap laptop monitors Yellows are a bit saturated while using the default color profile. I’m sure many would prefer a higher resolution than 1280×800, but I’d prefer a jump to very high resolutions combined with support for…
This review is from: Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) (Personal Computers)
Apple always knew the way of maximizing profit: 2010 model were a step up but drawn back on the CPU, 2011 model had a huge step up on CPU, but drawn back on its graphic.
2010 model overview: 2.4ghz Core 2 duo, gt320m 2011 model overview: 2.3ghz Core i5, Intel HD3200
The graphic card went from a discrete graphic card to a on board graphic, which is a huge let down for me, as a fan.
All the new thunderbolt technology is a step up, but think about this. USB 3 or Thunderbolt, I’d say USB 3 will be more popular and more useful. Another let down is the limited connectivity of Thunderbolt.
Verdict: If you are using this for school, word, internet surfing, general school work. Go for it.
If you are using this for designing, I’d say you get the 15″ or above since the graphic card boost in PS and other designing software really do take effect.
If you are using this to show off, GO FOR IT! You will receive envious looks when you take it out.
If you are using this to Game, save your money and get a gaming laptop, not this
If you are using this for music, save your money for HP Envy Beats(although it is recently sold out, but you can get it on ebay). Envy Beats is almost like a MBP copy, its got the feel to it. And the Black-and-Red design grants it a new style. The CPU, graphic, and sound is more well balanced on it.
PS: Yes, I did buy this. The OSX is very well optimised, it is much better than Windows, but there is too many program that I use that does not support OSX, which compels me to dual boot with boot camp.
Side notes: Look into the program called “Crossover”. It virtually emulate windows for certain programs to work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Authors bio is coming up shortly. 
Switching from PC to Mac,
When I purchased this MacBook Pro, most reviews seemed to be from existing Mac users who were comfortable with the device. There are a lot of reviews talking about the technical specs of this Mac, so I’ll spare those coz I myself am still coming up the curve on them. My review is based solely on my experience from the perspective of a PC user for the past 16+ years. Hopefully if you, like me, are considering making the switch, you will find this at least partially useful. I mostly use the Mac for Office and Adobe applications and don’t know much about computers beyond that as far as technicals are concerned.
Set up – Set up is as straight forward as it is with any Apple device. They make it intuitive and a breeze to set up their devices. Absolutely no issues there.
Updates – One thing that really bothered me about Windows was that it was constantly updating itself – I mean I bought a brand new PC and Windows took a good 10 minutes to “update” (huh?). This slowed down my PC, and shutting it down took several minutes as Windows did its thing. No such complaint with the Mac. Even if it does automatically update, the process is not visible and does not slow down the speed of the Mac.
Compatibility – I really only need the Adobe Suite and MS Office on a daily basis. I purchased these 2 suites and setting them up was easy. Transferred all files from my PC through a shared network and the process was seamless. Apple’s interface is terrific for the entire initial set up process.
Programs – I have been able to run pretty much all programs that I ran on my PC. The only two programs I am currently having problems with are Google Talk and WINRAR. Google Talk seems erratic in iChat. It will log in at times, while most of the time it will give a username/password error. This is an issue Google seems to be aware of but haven’ fixed it yet. WinRar doesn’t work on Mac as far as I know. Stil looking for a compatible file compressing software that can open RAR files. Other than that, all MS Office applications run the same. The differences are minor – Excel has a very sparse shortcut key menu on the Mac, one of the main things I greatly miss about having a PC. Same applies for Outlook as well – I could work in both programs without having to touch my mouse, but with the Mac, I really need to rely on the mouse.
TouchPad and keyboard – Plain and simple – Mac’s touchpad and keyboard is the BEST. Typing on the Mac is such a better experienced – the quality of the material and overall layout of the keys is more ergonomic and well thought out. Toshiba, Dell and HP laptops that I have used in the past have a more crammed keyboard. Scrolling on the Touchpad is phenomenal. Even if I did consider going back to a PC, this feature alone would probably keep me glued to the Mac. It’s hard to use a regular mouse after using this touhpad. With my previous HP laptop, the TouchPad was problematic because the left click would get pressed even if I was simply scrolling. Haven’t had a single accidental click on my Mac for over a month of use.
Browser – Safari works great, but I was so used to Firefox, I just downloaded Firefox for Mac and it runs absolutely fine. One thing I am still trying to figure out is how to switch between various Firefox Windows on the Mac (similar to ALT+TAB on the PC). If any one know the answer, please let me know!
Goodbye Norton!! – No more pop-up windows, no more slowing down of the browser as websites try to gather information about you (happened on my PCs every single time), no more worries about crummy viruses that have on one ocassion rendered one of my prior PCs useless, no more buying expensive Norton software and having to renew every year!
Support – I had to call Apple’s support line only once for some basic questions. I was on hold for about 5 minutes and all my questions were appropriately answered by the reps. Excellent overall support.
Downside – the one downside of owning an Apple product is the list of accessories and their expense. A PC doesn’t require a case or screen protective film. With a Mac, you can choose to leave it bare, but given how beautiful this device is, you will likely be tempted to accessorize it for protection. Any other Apple accessory you might need (power adapter, software, superdrive, etc) are all expensive. I have only bought a case, keyboard cover, and a screen film, and I am already out a $100! I need to buy another AC charger for my office and that will run I think another $75-80 right there.
Upside – well, a Mac does have a cool factor to it!
Online forums are a beautiful thing. If I had any questions or doubts about using the Mac, some previous user had already posted them and others had already answered them on the forums. I found all answers with a few searches on those forums (MacForums is fantastic!).
Hope this helps. This is no way meant to…
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|A Solid Computer Gets Faster,
I stopped by my local Apple Store the morning this MacBook Pro was made available to the public and bought one, replacing my over two year old unibody MacBook. These are premium computers, and well made. My old computer, which looks very much like this one, still looked great after two years, with a little scratching on the bottom, and an unfortunate denting of one corner. I do not regret for one minute paying more for a device I use several hours a day, and from which I derive my living.
The strong point of this computer over previous 13 inch unibody MacBooks is the processor. It is noticeably faster at computationally intensive tasks. For example, I have a large application written in the C++ programming language which Xcode on my late 2008 vintage MacBook could compile in 16.5 minutes, this MacBook can do the same task in 8.5 minutes, a nearly doubling of speed. Similiarly, converting a 10 minute MP3 file to AAC in iTunes used to take 21 seconds, now it takes 14 seconds. Unsurprisingly, computer processors have gotten faster. The new processor does tend to heat up fast under full load, so be prepared for more frequent fan noise.
The weak point is the stock hard drive, a 320GB 5400 RPM Hitachi laptop drive. Any operation depending on hard drive throughput is not going to be much faster on this computer than in years past. If you do not have large capacity needs, you may be better served special ordering a model with a smaller but much faster solid state drive (SSD), they do not come cheap, but will result in a much more balanced computer that does not leave its high performance CPU idling awaiting data. I would do so, but the higher capacity SSDs cost as much as the computer alone.
If you were to upgrade to an SSD, be aware that while this model has one type III SATA port, you might have trouble using one of the new type III SATA SSD drives in it. [Update: online reports indicate Apple has started shipping these laptops with the optical bay also using an SATA III port.] I tried to install a 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 into the hard drive bay and the operating system installer failed to install. Online forums indicate people are having troubles with type III drives, and whether the problem is with the drive used, a bad cable, or firmware is in dispute. You might want to wait on a type III upgrade until this settles out. In the meantime, I’ve purchased a bracket allowing me to replace the optical drive and put the SSD on the type II port formerly used by the SuperDrive.
This and the new MacBook Air are the only laptops Apple sells without a discrete graphics processing unit (GPU), instead relying soly on the Intel integrated 3000HD GPU. Intel has previously not been known for its GPU prowess, but space constraints and Intel’s design restrictions, and improvements in performance finally pushed Apple into going integrated only. I would have preferred a discrete GPU, especially in a premium laptop, but I am not a gamer, and will make do with the much better CPU. I’m sure Apple would have preferred a discrete GPU, as their strategy for performance improvements is to use the GPU for general purpose computing using the OpenCL framework.
New to this year’s models is the Intel Thunderbolt connector superseding the Mini Display Port connector. This flexible port will likely become more and more useful as hubs and peripherals become available to make use of its fantastic speed. Adaptors and docks will be available to use this one port as a USB, DVI, Firewire, Ethernet port simultaneously, making one data cable for easy desktop docking. But, I don’t have any use for it now. Media reports indicate Apple will have this port to itself this year, although Intel is insisting that other motherboard manufacturers could start to include it, and I hope they do. Whether the port is a marketplace success is not a foregone conclusion, but I look forward to syncing and charging a future iPad over this speedy port; sadly the iPad 2 does not have this port, but someday.
I am glad to have a standard FireWire 800 port, and an SD Card reader, neither of which were found on my previous non-Pro laptop. I’ll be able to charge my iPad at maximum speed with the 2 Amp USB ports, something I couldn’t do before. The FaceTime app for OS X comes pre-installed, you don’t have to buy it from the Mac App Store.
Little luxuries include the backlit keyboard, the MagSafe power cable, the firm responsive keyboard, and the big multitouch capable trackpad. The display is bright and has a good, but not great range of viewing angles, certainly worse than an iPad, but better than most cheap laptop monitors Yellows are a bit saturated while using the default color profile. I’m sure many would prefer a higher resolution than 1280×800, but I’d prefer a jump to very high resolutions combined with support for…
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|Well “balanced” release,
Apple always knew the way of maximizing profit: 2010 model were a step up but drawn back on the CPU, 2011 model had a huge step up on CPU, but drawn back on its graphic.
2010 model overview: 2.4ghz Core 2 duo, gt320m
2011 model overview: 2.3ghz Core i5, Intel HD3200
The graphic card went from a discrete graphic card to a on board graphic, which is a huge let down for me, as a fan.
All the new thunderbolt technology is a step up, but think about this. USB 3 or Thunderbolt, I’d say USB 3 will be more popular and more useful. Another let down is the limited connectivity of Thunderbolt.
Verdict:
If you are using this for school, word, internet surfing, general school work. Go for it.
If you are using this for designing, I’d say you get the 15″ or above since the graphic card boost in PS and other designing software really do take effect.
If you are using this to show off, GO FOR IT! You will receive envious looks when you take it out.
If you are using this to Game, save your money and get a gaming laptop, not this
If you are using this for music, save your money for HP Envy Beats(although it is recently sold out, but you can get it on ebay). Envy Beats is almost like a MBP copy, its got the feel to it. And the Black-and-Red design grants it a new style. The CPU, graphic, and sound is more well balanced on it.
PS: Yes, I did buy this. The OSX is very well optimised, it is much better than Windows, but there is too many program that I use that does not support OSX, which compels me to dual boot with boot camp.
Side notes: Look into the program called “Crossover”. It virtually emulate windows for certain programs to work.
Was this review helpful to you?
|