My employer just upgraded my MacBook Pro from the old 2006 model to the latest 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 with 8GB or 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM. I’ve noticed some pros and cons about it so far…
Pros
- High-def screen is crystal clear 1680×1050 compared to my old 1440×900.
- Glass screen has eye popping brightness and contrast.
- After Effects is blazing fast compared to my old machine. This machine is actually worthy of video and 3D work!
- SD Card slot!
- Uses the same power adapter!
- Side-loading CD/DVD
- True multi-touch pad
- Body casing design is much better. If you need to upgrade you can access the critical components much easier.
- New mini-display port supports HDMI although there are lots of complaints about different adapters not supporting audio through it.
- It’s heavy! Not sure if this is a pro or a con. Noticeably heavier than my old machine. Maybe it just feels heavier because it’s so frickin’ solid?
Cons
- Glare. I opted for the glass screen with the expectation that it would have better color. It does have much better color but I already miss my old matte screen because the glare is unbelievable on this thing. I can definitely work with it but I’m constantly adjusting the screen angle.
- Crappy speakers! The biggest problem is that these speakers will tire your ears in a matter of a few minutes. I can’t believe how bad these speakers sound compared to my old MacBook Pro! I can’t believe they are part of an Apple product! They are undeserving of the name. They are very tinny and harsh sounding. That said, I am a big time audiophile so I’m probably more sensitive to this than most people. I tried tweaking the EQ in iTunes and discovered that these speakers have little to no response below about 115 Hz. Horrible bass response.
UPDATE: I finally got around to plugging this in to my TV via HDMI. I was very disapointed to find that the sound quality was just as crappy as the speakers on the laptop itself. Interestingly it sounds like it has the exact same issues, tinny and harsh sounding. I know that my TV sounds great most of the time so I can now eliminate the Mac speakers as the issue. It’s got to be either software or hardware processing because the headphone jack spits out great quality sound. - Ultra light sensitive. The screen is constantly adjusting brightness based on ambient light. The variations are dramatic to where it bothers my eyes. I will probably have to disable this feature in the preferences.
- It has a mini-display port instead of a direct DVI. This means that you have to purchase the new adapters. Yes that’s plural. If you hook up to a DVI in one location and a VGA or HDMI in another you’ll need 2 or 3 adapters at $30 a pop! That really sucks.
- It’s heavy! Not sure if this is a pro or a con. Noticeably heavier than my old machine. Maybe it just feels heavier because it’s so frickin’ solid?
- Keyboard arrows aren’t labeled with home, end, page up and page down (although they still work as expected). This is helpful when remote controlling a windows machine with RDC.
