MacBook

From Mac Guides

The MacBook is Apple's consumer notebook line. It was first released on May 16th 2006, and replaced Apple's previous low-end laptop line, the iBook, and also the 12" PowerBook G4. The MacBook was the Apple's first consumer notebook to use Intel processors.

The MacBooks come in three models; the two cheaper ones are white, while the high end MacBook comes in a black enclosure.

Contents 1 Rev. E 1.1 Overview 1.2 Specifications 2 Rev. D 2.1 Overview 2.2 Specifications 3 Rev. C 3.1 Overview 3.2 Specification 3.3 Notes 4 Rev. B 4.1 Overview 4.2 Specifications 5 Rev. A 5.1 Overview 5.2 Specifications 6 History 7 See Also 8 Links

Rev. E

Overview

The Rev. E MacBook was released on February 26, 2008. It was updated to the Penryn chip and the processor speed was increased by 100 to 200 Mhz across the board. Additionally larger hard drives were added as standard to all models, and the two high end models now come with 2 GB RAM as standard.

The L2 cache is now 3 MB (down from 4 MB), but higher clock speeds and more efficient architechture make sure performance is still improved over the previous revision.

Specifications

	Low-end (White)	High-end (White)	High-end (Black)
Price (USD)	$1,099	$1,299	$1,499
Color	White		Black
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.1 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.4 GHz
	800 MHz system bus, 3 MB shared L2 cache
Memory	1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	2 GB (2x 1 GB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
	Supports up to 4 GB (2x2 GB)
Storage	120 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	160 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	250 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm
	BTO option of up to 250 GB 5,400-rpm
Graphics	Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Media	24x Combo Drive	8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display	13.3" glossy widescreen TFT - 1280x800 resolution
Audio	Optical digital input/line in and Optical digital output/headphone out
Ports	One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wireless	Airport Extreme (802.11n) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Weight and Dimensions	5.0 lb (2.27 kg), 1.08 inches thick (2.75 cm)
Other	Front Row and built in iSight

Rev. D

Overview

Released on November 1, 2007, the Rev D Macbook was a modest update. It was updated to the Santa Rosa architecture, the processor speed was increased slightly in the two high end models, and the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor was added.

Specifications

	Low-end (White)	High-end (White)	High-end (Black)
Price (USD)	$1,099	$1,299	$1,499
Color	White		Black
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.2 GHz
	800 MHz system bus, 4 MB shared L2 cache
Memory	1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
	Supports up to 4 GB (2x2 GB)
Storage	80 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	120 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	160 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm
	BTO option of up to 250 GB 5,400-rpm
Graphics	Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Media	24x Combo Drive	8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display	13.3" glossy widescreen TFT - 1280x800 resolution
Audio	Optical digital input/line in and Optical digital output/headphone out
Ports	One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wireless	Airport Extreme (802.11n) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Weight and Dimensions	5.0 lb (2.27 kg), 1.08 inches thick (2.75 cm)
Other	Front Row, built in iSight and Apple remote

Rev. C

Overview

Released on May 15, 2007, the Rev. C MacBook was a modest update. The MacBook now came with faster processors, larger hard drives and more RAM as standard. However, it still included the GMA 950 which meant that despite the processor upgrade, a MacBook Pro would still be substantially better at graphic intensive applications.

Specification

	Low-end (White)	High-end (White)	High-end (Black)
Price (USD)	$1,099	$1,299	$1,499
Color	White		Black
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.16 GHz
	667 MHz system bus, 4 MB shared L2 cache
Memory	1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
	Supports up to 2 GB (2x1 GB)
Storage	80 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	120 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	160 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm
	BTO option of up to 200 GB 4,200-rpm
Graphics	Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Media	24x Combo Drive	8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display	13.3" glossy widescreen TFT - 1280x800 resolution
Audio	Optical digital input/line in and Optical digital output/headphone out
Ports	One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wireless	Airport Extreme (802.11n) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Weight and Dimensions	5.2 lb (2.36 kg), 1.08 inches thick (2.75 cm)
Other	Front Row, built in iSight and Apple remote

Notes

• Most non-US countries received a price drop alongside this revision.

Rev. B

Overview

Released on November 8, 2006, the Rev. B MacBook included Core 2 Duo processors and featured larger hard disks in the two 2.0 GHz models.

Specifications

	Low-end (White)	High-end (White)	High-end (Black)
Price (USD)	$1,099	$1,299	$1,499
Color	White		Black
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo at 1.83 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.0 GHz
	667 MHz system bus, 2 MB shared L2 cache	667 MHz system bus, 4 MB shared L2 cache
Memory	512 MB (2x 256 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
	Supports up to 2 GB (2x1 GB)
Storage	60 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	80 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm	120 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm
	BTO option of up to 200 GB 4,200-rpm
Graphics	Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Media	24x Combo Drive	6x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display	13.3" glossy widescreen TFT - 1280x800 resolution
Audio	Optical digital input/line in and Optical digital output/headphone out
Ports	One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wireless	Airport Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Airport upgradable to draft-N spec with firmware upgrade
Weight and Dimensions	5.2 lb (2.36 kg), 1.08 inches thick (2.75 cm)
Other	Front Row, built in iSight and Apple remote

Rev. A

Overview

The original MacBook was released on May 16th, 2006. This revision sported an Intel Core Duo processor, which was touted as a major improvement over the G4 used in its predecessor, and came in a 13.3" widescreen enclosure. Front Row and an Apple remote were now included along with Apple's Photo Booth software.

The MacBook was the first portable Mac to use integrated graphics, following its use in the Intel based Mac mini. Integrated Graphics can often lead to less performance when compared to the dedicated graphics cards such as those found on the MacBook Pro. 3D performance was found to be worse than that of the last revision of iBook G4 which included a dedicated graphics card.

Being a first generation machine, it suffered from some issues such as fan and heat issues which were later fixed with firmware updates. Pieces of plastic were also found to be blocking the MacBook's rear vents on a few models which greatly increased operating temperature.

Specifications

	Low-end (White)	High-end (White)	High-end (Black)
Price (USD)	$1,099	$1,299	$1,499
Color	White		Black
Processor	Intel Core Duo at 1.83 GHz	Intel Core Duo at 2.0 GHz
	667 MHz system bus, 2 MB shared L2 cache
Memory	512 MB (2x256 MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
	Supports up to 2 GB (2x1 GB)
Storage	60 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm		80 GB Serial ATA at 5400-rpm
	BTO option of up to 120 GB
Graphics	Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Media	Combo Drive	4x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display	13.3" glossy widescreen TFT - 1280x800 resolution
Audio	Optical digital input/line in and Optical digital output/headphone out
Ports	One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wireless	Airport Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Weight and Dimensions	5.2 lb (2.36 kg), 1.08 inches thick (2.75 cm)
Other	Front Row, built in iSight and Apple remote

History

Main article: History of MacBook Rumors

On June 6th, 2005, Apple announced that they would be transitioning the Macintosh to Intel Processors. The news came as a surprise to many. In the months prior to Macworld San Francisco 2006, an Intel based iBook was expected to be announced at the expo, however it was not until May that the renamed line was released.

See Also

• MacBook Pro
• Which Apple notebook should I buy?
• History of MacBook Rumors
• MacBook Buyer's Guide

Links

• MacBook website
• Recent MacBook rumors
• Macworld: "MacBook: What you need to know"