Specs:
| Processor | 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 |
| Cache | 3MB shared L3 cache |
| Memory | 4GB (two 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with automatic graphics switching |
| Hard disk drive1 | 320GB Serial ATA, 5400 rpm |
| Optical drive | 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) |
| Wireless | AirPort Extreme (802.11n)4 Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) |
| Expansion | Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, one SD card slot |
| Video and Audio | iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI, and HDMI (requires adapters, sold separately) Stereo speakers with subwoofers, omnidirectional microphone, audio line in minijack (digital/analog), audio line out/headphone minijack (digital/analog) |
| Size and weight | Height: .95 inches (2.41 cm) Width: 14.35 inches (36.4 cm) Depth: 9.82 inches (24.9 cm) Weight (standard configuration): 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg)3 |
Here's how im going to break down this review. Starting with the list on top and then my own added things.
Processor:
A 2.4 GHz intel core i5 is a very basic processor. Sufficient for most things like gaming with low graphics and decent at rendering things, problem is when rendering videos the computer heats up really fast. Pretty standard stuff. From a gamer's perspective this likely wouldn't work out for you. Processing power is at the bare minimum to run Starcraft 2 on lowest graphics settings possible and live streaming on Xsplit. It laggs quite horrendously when I'm live streaming. So from here you can roughly judge how much power does the processor has. But for work wise it is more than sufficient to run things like Java or flash player and internet browsers with multiple tabs on. Additionally with probably music and anti-virus running it still runs smoothly.
Memory: 4GB of RAM is pretty much the norm nowadays and its sufficient for most things except gaming. Accompanied along with a 540GB (mine is 540 GB) hardrive that is sufficient for more non-gaming uses.
Graphics: Currently mine has only the intel HD 3000 graphics card and that will run Starcraft 2 on low with about 60+ FPS which is alright. The moment you crank up one notch it drops to about 20-30 FPS quite a dramatic drop. Software like photoshop and such can run smoothly on the mac but start to really eat up the processor when it comes to rendering things as mentioned earlier.
Additional info: Comes with a pretty standard optical drive but when inserting some CDs into the drive for installing software sometimes it doesn't read which is pretty damn annoying.
Wireless wi-fi capability is pretty impressive with me being able to upload videos and play multiplayer plus live stream almost as fast on LAN, although of course LAN would still be faster.
A HD built in webcam at the top is sufficient to see clear enough for skype calls and such but lacks in being able to adjust to lighting conditions and focus.
Side ports only has 2 USBs which is enough for a mouse and possibly your phone connector for general use. For gamers that is completely insufficient. I had to buy a USB 4 port splitter for my mouse, keyboard (my keyboard uses 2 USB ports), my USB mixer, webcam and sometimes my HDPVR video recorder. So of course its not enough. For gamers thou I'd advise you get an external keyboard and attach it to the mac instead of playing on the mac keyboard itself, its really small and really hard to play on. Also one headset/mic port so you need an integrated headset with a mic and headset port in one single 3.8mm jack for it to work. One standard LAN port and Apple's side port of thunderbolt integration plus a port that you can plug into with a converter to allow for an additional HDMI or VGA port out to another monitor. Standard port for charging and that's about it. All in all, for work its sufficient as mentioned so many times before, for gaming its a pain to use.
One cool but in significant thing is that the keys on the mac are a bit backlit so you can use them easily in the dark or low light conditions.
Display wise its really nice with HD movies and all playing really nicely on the 13inch 1280x800 display. Not exactly the standard size ratio for typical monitors.
Comes with also Apple's Lion OS which is a breeze to use for even inexperienced users and you can partition the hardrive and run windows. I wouldn't recommend running in parallel as the computer's processors and such wont be able to handle it and you sacrifice alot of the performance for running in parallel.
Battery wise it lasts for approximately 2 hours and running games on it will lower the battery life to about an hour so do find a socket if you plan to game.
Portability wise its relatively light and can be easily carried around no problem, a good plus for work.
Price:
It cots 1.6k USD. Yep. That is very expensive. Although it will last you a pretty long time still i dont think the investment is worth. I might consider buying it for 1.2k at most. The reason why I own and use and play on a macbook pro is because I got mine for 800 dollars SGD which is by far a steal. Not everyone is this lucky so seriously, even if you do have the money to burn, you should get the 15 inch macbook pro which has i7 quad core processors along with a Radieon graphics card that can run alot of games on pretty high graphics smoothly along with also engineering software as such that require large amounts of processing power and a powerful graphics card.
Conclusion:
Would i recommend this? For work? Maybe, the price is a bit too high. For gaming? A complete no.
Hope this review helps you guys out there and if you like it do support me and the Clan by subscribing to the Youtube at the side of the Blog! Thanks!
