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MacBook Worth a Look

Our notebook expert appraises the latest Apple MacBook, with its Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

Narasu Rebbapragada

How good is the latest Apple laptop?

sumanthreddy28 via PCWorld.com Forums

Macbook photo courtesy of Apple.

Photograph: Courtesy of Apple

Senior Editor Narasu Rebbapragada responds: Apple's MacBook with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor is a good buy not only for Mac lovers but also for PC users who are in the market for an Apple portable. A midrange model with a 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, a double-layer DVD±RW drive, full wireless, and a Webcam costs $1299. Our $1774 (as of January 3, 2007) test unit with 2GB of RAM earned a WorldBench 5 score of 98--one point higher than the 97 earned by a Gateway M285-E with the same processor but only 1GB of RAM and a discrete graphics chip. (The MacBook has only integrated graphics.)

Windows runs smoothly on the Mac, but software and driver kinks will remind you that you're not on a PC. I use Apple's free Boot Camp utility to work in programs such as Office 2007. The $80 Parallels Desktop for Mac is another great alternative for running both OSs simultaneously.