PC Magazine: Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo Earns Editors' Choice Award As Best Mainstream Laptop

Nov
09

By: switchtoamac at: 10:06 AM on November 9, 2006 | Comments (0)

In a November 3, 2006 post, Cisco Cheng of PC Magazine provided an in depth write up the new 15-inch Core 2 Duo Apple MacBook Pro and has given the system with it's noteworthy Editor's Choice award with a 4.5 out of 5 rating.

The article first starts out by describing how Apple released a Core 2 Duo laptop much later than it's PC competitors. Cheng then states:

"I can confidently say that its excellent performance and features, tied to a very solid operating system, were worth the wait. The new Core 2 Duo-equipped MacBook Pro has earned the Editors' Choice award in the mainstream laptop arena."

Cheng goes on to describe how the 2.33 GHZ T7600 processor is the same processor found in competing PC laptops:

"To put that in context, the MacBook Pro 15-inch carries the same processor as some of the most powerful, built-for-speed gaming laptops on the market today; it's the same one found in both the Alienware Area-51 m5550 and the Editors' Choice for gaming laptops, the Dell XPS M1710 (Core 2 Duo). The system also carries 2GB of RAM, for those planning to load Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Parallels Desktop virtualization software—two key applications that rely heavily on system memory—and the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card. If you have Microsoft Windows loaded, you'll see some performance gains in 3D gaming because of the improved processor."

Other noteworthy quotes from the article:

"Thanks to the MacBook Pro 15-inch's 2GB of RAM and fast processor, my Photoshop scripts finished in 1 minute 25 seconds in Windows OS. Video editors will get the most out of the new Core 2 Duos, which show improvements of up to 25 percent over the previous Intel Core Duo processors. In the case of the MacBook Pro 15-inch, my video-encoding tests ran their course in 5 minutes 35 seconds, edging out the Alienware m5550 (5:43),"

"Temperatures, which I measured using an infrared thermometer, topped out at 106 degrees Fahrenheit. And there are still other, hotter systems out there; the Alienware m5550 and the WinBook T231—both of which are Windows-based—reached an alarming 114 degrees and 120 degrees, respectively. Apple attributes this temperature consistency to a System Management Controller firmware update that dynamically regulates the speed of the cooling fans."

"As usual, you don't have to worry about viruses and spyware with the OS 10 operating system, and you get some of the best bundled software out there with the iLife '06 suite. The familiar Front Row interface and remote, the magnetic MagSafe power adapter, and your choice of a glossy or matte screen are all still there,"

"The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo) offers the performance and features of the best laptops on the market."

It's a highly recommended read that can be found here.

Switch To A Mac Commentary
Chalk up another positive review from a PC based publication. This review continues to demonstrate that the switch to Intel processors has made it easier to compare Macs to PCs. No longer can it be stated that Macs are slower and/or less affordable than PCs as the article demonstrates that a Mac running Microsoft Windows via Boot Camp holds it's own against similarly configured laptop PCs. This review should help those who are considering a switch to a Mac because it lays to rest those misconceptions.