MacBook
From Mac Guides
The MacBook is Apple's consumer notebook line. It was first released on May 16, 2006. The MacBook replaced Apple's previous low-end laptop line, the iBook, and also the 12" PowerBook G4. The original Rev. A MacBook was Apple's first consumer notebook to use Intel processors.
In October, 2008, Apple introduced a unibody version of the MacBook but retained a low-end polycarbonate version. At WWDC 2009, an improved unibody version was merged into the MacBook Pro line. Now Apple offers only a single MacBook model, and it has a polycarbonate enclosure.
Contents |
Rev. H
Overview
On May 27, 2009, Apple quietly tweaked the polycarbonate MacBook once again. CPU speed increased to 2.13 GHz. RAM speed increased to 800 MHz DDR2. The standard hard disk was increased to 160GB. The unibody MacBooks remained unchanged, but less than two weeks later Apple upgraded all the unibody MacBooks and rebranded them to join the MacBook Pro line. That leaves only a single MacBook model.
| Rev. F (Late 2008) Polycarbonate | Rev. G (Early 2009) Polycarbonate | Rev. H (Mid 2009) Polycarbonate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.1 GHz | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.0 GHz | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.13 GHz |
| 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache | 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache | ||
| Memory | 1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2 GB (2x 1GB) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2 GB (2x 1GB) 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| Storage | 120 GB with BTO options for up to 250 GB at 5,400 rpm | 120 GB with BTO options for up to 320 GB at 5,400 rpm | 160 GB with BTO options for up to 500 GB at 5,400 rpm |
| Graphics | Intel GMA X3100 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M | |
| 144 MB shared memory | 256 MB shared memory | ||
| Battery Life | 4.5 hours | 5 hours | |
| Wireless | Bluetooth 2.0 | Bluetooth 2.1 | |
Rev. G
Overview
On January 20, 2009, Apple quietly tweaked the polycarbonate MacBook. The FSB speed increased to 1066 MHz, and Apple replaced the Intel GMA X3100 graphics chipset with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. Both these changes matched the low-end unibody MacBook. In addition, Apple slightly reduced CPU speed to 2.0 GHz (matching the low-end unibody) but kept the 667 MHz DDR2 RAM while increasing standard RAM to 2GB. The unibody MacBooks remained unchanged.
Rev. F
Overview
After several months of rumors, accurate predictions and real photographs, the Rev. F MacBook was finally released at Apple's notebook event on October 14, 2008. Although Apple still sold the polycarbonate model, the new mid-range and high-end models included a new "unibody" aluminium enclosure. This design allowed Apple to produce a slightly slimmer and lighter notebook. Although a slower processor clock speed is used on the low-end unibody compared to the polycarbonate model, the faster FSB and RAM more than compensates for the difference.
After listening to the complaints about Intel's GMA X3100 being too slow, Apple decided to include the 9400M GT with 256 MB shared VRAM running on a NVIDIA chipset in the unibody MacBooks. According to Apple, the 9400M is up to 5x faster than the GMA X3100. DDR3 RAM was also included for the first time and RAM upgrades were made much more affordable through Apple than they have been in the past.
Controversially, Apple dropped the FireWire port in the unibody MacBooks, while the polycarbonate MacBook continued to offer FireWire 400. Also in the unibodies (only) Apple replaced the Mini-DVI port with a new Mini DisplayPort.
The single Revision F polycarbonate model is identical to the Revision E low-end white MacBook, but with a SuperDrive upgrade. Apple dropped the U.S. price for this polycarbonate model to $999, making it the lowest priced MacBook ever.
Specifications
| Polycarbonate | Low-end Aluminium | High-end Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (USD) | $999 | $1,299 | $1,599 |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.1 GHz | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2 GHz | Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.4 GHz |
| 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache | 1066 MHz, 3 MB L2 cache | ||
| Memory | 1 GB (2x 512 MB) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2 GB (2x 1GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM | |
| Supports up to 4 GB (2x 2 GB) (Unofficially up to 6 GB) | |||
| Storage | 120 GB Serial ATA at 5,400-rpm | 160 GB Serial ATA at 5,400-rpm | 250 GB Serial ATA at 5,400-rpm |
| BTO options for up to 250 GB at 5,400 rpm | BTO options for up to 320 GB at 5,400 rpm or 128 GB SSD | ||
| Graphics | Intel GMA X3100 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M | |
| 144 MB shared memory | 256 MB shared memory | ||
| Media | 8x Double-layer SuperDrive | ||
| Wireless | Airport Extreme (802.11n) and Bluetooth | ||
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) (Unofficially up to 6 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) (Unofficially up to 6 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 3 GB (1x2 GB, 1x1 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. The aluminum MacBook was replaced with a cheaper 13 inch MacBook Pro at WWDC 2009. ]
See Also
Links
| Models with Intel processors | |
|---|---|
|
iMac | Mac Pro | Mac mini | MacBook | MacBook Air | MacBook Pro | Xserve | |
