MacBook
i really love apple's design but i refuse to pay their pricing in most cases. i've been assembling computers for about 10 years now, i could never get myself buy a MacPro (desktop), because i know i can build something of superior quality for a fraction of the cost and if i really want to, load the mac OS through other means. in all my years using computers, i've never owned a laptop. initially because they were too expensive, but as the prices continue to drop, the cost/benefit seems more realistic. the possibility of sitting on my bed or the couch, even taking it with me on my next trip. i realize some apple fans may disagree with me on some of my earlier points, i'm not here have a debate i just want to give a little background into what i'm looking for.
that being said, these new MacBooks look beautiful and the aluminum unibody design sways me in the Apple direction even more. since assembling laptops is not really an option at this point in time, in my opinion Apple has the best quality compared to it's competitors. so here i am, thinking about paying a hefty premium for an Apple laptop.
i'm looking for something portable and for general use, the most demanding things i might do is HD movie playback. the lack of an expansion slot is the only downfall for me, but i refuse to pay Pro pricing to get it. the OS is another huge draw for an everyday use computer, especially the added battery life from using OSX over Vista/7.
i'd like to hear some real technical feedback about this laptop. the motherboard they use, the included HD and RAM performance, the type of mounting they use for components. how's the cooling on these things? i've read dozens of reviews, but most only seem to cover briefly about the interior. has anyone really gutted one of these things and done a detailed review?
that being said, these new MacBooks look beautiful and the aluminum unibody design sways me in the Apple direction even more. since assembling laptops is not really an option at this point in time, in my opinion Apple has the best quality compared to it's competitors. so here i am, thinking about paying a hefty premium for an Apple laptop.
i'm looking for something portable and for general use, the most demanding things i might do is HD movie playback. the lack of an expansion slot is the only downfall for me, but i refuse to pay Pro pricing to get it. the OS is another huge draw for an everyday use computer, especially the added battery life from using OSX over Vista/7.
i'd like to hear some real technical feedback about this laptop. the motherboard they use, the included HD and RAM performance, the type of mounting they use for components. how's the cooling on these things? i've read dozens of reviews, but most only seem to cover briefly about the interior. has anyone really gutted one of these things and done a detailed review?
Comments
i really love apple's design but i refuse to pay their pricing in most cases. i've been assembling computers for about 10 years now, i could never get myself buy a MacPro (desktop), because i know i can build something of superior quality for a fraction of the cost and if i really want to, load the mac OS through other means. in all my years using computers, i've never owned a laptop. initially because they were too expensive, but as the prices continue to drop, the cost/benefit seems more realistic. the possibility of sitting on my bed or the couch, even taking it with me on my next trip. i realize some apple fans may disagree with me on some of my earlier points, i'm not here have a debate i just want to give a little background into what i'm looking for.
that being said, these new MacBooks look beautiful and the aluminum unibody design sways me in the Apple direction even more. since assembling laptops is not really an option at this point in time, in my opinion Apple has the best quality compared to it's competitors. so here i am, thinking about paying a hefty premium for an Apple laptop.
i'm looking for something portable and for general use, the most demanding things i might do is HD movie playback. the lack of an expansion slot is the only downfall for me, but i refuse to pay Pro pricing to get it. the OS is another huge draw for an everyday use computer, especially the added battery life from using OSX over Vista/7.
i'd like to hear some real technical feedback about this laptop. the motherboard they use, the included HD and RAM performance, the type of mounting they use for components. how's the cooling on these things? i've read dozens of reviews, but most only seem to cover briefly about the interior. has anyone really gutted one of these things and done a detailed review?
Mike, if you've read "dozens of reviews" then you must have read some of them several times and didn't know it.
The motherboard is what most would likely call a semi-custom NVIDIA product. The memory is DDR3.
RealMike, a question for you.... what is your Real question???
Mike, if you've read "dozens of reviews" then you must have read some of them several times and didn't know it.
i see we have a troll here, nice to meet ya.
The motherboard is what most would likely call a semi-custom NVIDIA product. The memory is DDR3.
being an Nvidia chipset does not mean it's an Nvidia board. Intel and Nvidia are the major chipset manufacturers for many different motherboards like ASUS and Gigabyte. DDR3 specifics the type of RAM, it does not tell me anything about timings or who makes it.
RealMike, a question for you.... what is your Real question???
i'll just quote myself, hopefully this time reading won't be such a chore for you.
i'd like to hear some real technical feedback about this laptop. the motherboard they use, the included HD and RAM performance, the type of mounting they use for components. how's the cooling on these things? i've read dozens of reviews, but most only seem to cover briefly about the interior. has anyone really gutted one of these things and done a detailed review?
normally i'd thank you for at least attempting to answer my question, but since you're being such a ******bag.... let me just explain to you that my question is obviously way over your head and you should probably quit while your ahead.
back on topic. if anyone knows any detailed information about the hardware, cooling, and mounting being used i'd really appreciate an explain or a link. as of yet, i've only been able to find reviews with vague coverage of the MacBooks internal hardware.
normally i'd thank you for at least attempting to answer my question, but since you're being such a ******bag.... let me just explain to you that my question is obviously way over your head and you should probably quit while your ahead.
back on topic. if anyone knows any detailed information about the hardware, cooling, and mounting being used i'd really appreciate an explain or a link. as of yet, i've only been able to find reviews with vague coverage of the MacBooks internal hardware.
You've resorted to name-calling at post #3? I'm not sure who would want to help you at this point.
You've resorted to name-calling at post #3? I'm not sure who would want to help you at this point.
RealMike, a question for you.... what is your Real question???
like i really would have called you anything, had you not been a condescending little child. go troll somewhere else, i have a legitimate question.
like i really would have called you anything, had you not been a condescending little child. go troll somewhere else, i have a legitimate question.
your looking at it from the wrong direction...
forget what you know about pcs.. all the macbook range are able to run all there osx apps with no problems..
the hardware is custom its not made by any one else like gigabyte or Asus.. its all apple design..
upgrade for things like firewire on the macbook 13" can be done using xpress 34 card.
the 15" pro is worth the extra cash.. the second GPU will speed things up with open CL under snow when it arrives
ram upgrade is easy.. normal 1066mhz sodims.. hard drive is SATA so again you could chuck a 500gb Seagate/western digital in there with out a problem...
optical drive upgrade to blueray im sure will be here in the next year or so...
the thing is 95% of apple users dont know or dont care whats in the laptop as long as it performs well and gets there work done... and that the main reason for going apple it just works.. no problems in most cases..
takes some getting used too but once your on a mac you wont be going back to windows you wont want too or need too..
the hardware is custom its not made by any one else like gigabyte or Asus.. its all apple design..
Bzzzt. Macbooks are manufactured by two companies, ASUS and Quanta. The Mac Pro and iMac are made by Foxconn. I'm not sure which of the above makes the Mac mini. They are "designed by Apple in California," but Apple owns no factories.
i'd like to hear some real technical feedback about this laptop.
Lucky for you Archipellago has turned up. He's your man!
upgrade for things like firewire on the macbook 13" can be done using xpress 34 card.
That is not possible as the MacBook (13") has no Express Card slot, only the MacBook Pros (15" and 17") do have them.
Bzzzt. Macbooks are manufactured by two companies, ASUS and Quanta. The Mac Pro and iMac are made by Foxconn. I'm not sure which of the above makes the Mac mini. They are "designed by Apple in California," but Apple owns no factories.
does one make the MacBook and the other make the MacBook Pro.... or is it more complicated than that?
Bzzzt. Macbooks are manufactured by two companies, ASUS and Quanta. The Mac Pro and iMac are made by Foxconn. I'm not sure which of the above makes the Mac mini. They are "designed by Apple in California," but Apple owns no factories.
Yah, but the motherboard layout is custom given the way it's gotta fit in the casing. So no one else is going to be using this particular motherboard.
Part numbers in the iFixit teardown. You can see the fan location in the teardown and how it's put together (nicely according to iFixit). The MBP looks like it uses a heat pipe and they say that the overall design is similar so my guess it's pretty much the same only they didn't have a picture in the MB teardown. Given the fan design is similar, there's just fewer chips (2 vs 3) and only one fan.
MacBook Pro Logic Board w/heatsinks still attached.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Lo...-Unibody/589/3
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Lo...-Unibody/590/3
Google finds this pretty easily BTW. "Macbook teardown" are the keywords. They look like very tight machines, well designed and well done. Not the run of the mill PC lappy normally made by ASUS/Quanta/Foxconn for other brands.
Any design issues or kudos rightly belongs to Apple.
does one make the MacBook and the other make the MacBook Pro.... or is it more complicated than that?
I think only Quanta makes the Macbook Pro. Or used to, that information is a couple of years old. Both make the Macbook, to keep up with production.
Yah, but the motherboard layout is custom given the way it's gotta fit in the casing. So no one else is going to be using this particular motherboard.
I'm as impressed with Apple's design engineering as anyone, I really am, but you realize that this is true of every notebook. They all have "custom" motherboards designed to fit their casing, and are not interchangeable. You can't take the guts out of an HP and stick them in a Dell.
That's not true of desktops, though, which by and large follow the mATX or BTX standards.
I'm as impressed with Apple's design engineering as anyone, I really am, but you realize that this is true of every notebook. They all have "custom" motherboards designed to fit their casing, and are not interchangeable. You can't take the guts out of an HP and stick them in a Dell.
That's not true of desktops, though, which by and large follow the mATX or BTX standards.
Yah, but these are also EFI so that makes them at least another chip different. I don't think we disagree. They certainly use many of the same parts as any other notebook but I think we both agree that the sum is greater than the parts.
I'm as impressed with Apple's design engineering as anyone, I really am, but you realize that this is true of every notebook. They all have "custom" motherboards designed to fit their casing, and are not interchangeable. You can't take the guts out of an HP and stick them in a Dell.
That's not true of desktops, though, which by and large follow the mATX or BTX standards.
mATX and ATX are really the standards. BTX failed to get any sort of following. maybe some major computer companies tried using BTX... but if you head over to Newegg.com you'll see almost all the motherboards being produced at this point in time are largely ATX and mATX.
thanks for your replies about the MB, they were really helpful. i take some comfort in knowing, ASUS may be building the motherboard inside.
cheers!
Yah, but these are also EFI so that makes them at least another chip different. I don't think we disagree. They certainly use many of the same parts as any other notebook but I think we both agree that the sum is greater than the parts.
i like apple quality, but i still have a difficult time completely trusting a company based on reputation. i've read quite a few things about VSync issues that Apple refuses to fix on iMacs, to faulty hinges on the new 17" MacBook Pro. other things too, Apple certainly has a smaller list of complaints than other companies.... but all this brings me to my point. i really want to know what's inside a MacBook before i go buying one.
thanks for the links, i'm gonna do some digging around, see if i can find some more detail on the innards.
mATX and ATX are really the standards. BTX failed to get any sort of following. maybe some major computer companies tried using BTX... but if you head over to Newegg.com you'll see almost all the motherboards being produced at this point in time are largely ATX and mATX.
You'd be surprised... although BTX is a failed standard, the major manufacturers are all getting their money's worth out of it. It is still used on most business computers, like the Dell Optiplex and those HP Compaq microtowers every company uses. Business service contracts mean they have to keep making those computers, unchanged, for a very long time. They all got redesigned when BTX came out years ago, and it might be a few more years before they get replaced.
And while ATX is popular with computer enthusiasts, it isn't used in very many PCs sold at retail. Excluding companies like Falcon and Cyberpower that sell to "gamers," Dell, Gateway, HP, etc. use mATX for nearly all of their desktops. They do it to cut costs (smaller case = less shipping) and so they can offer entry-level integrated graphics options. They don't use full-size ATX very much.
In other words: Yes, most of the mobos sold on Newegg are ATX. That's what I buy when I build a system. But retail box sales to system builders represent only a tiny fraction of motherboards made.