PRODUCT REVIEW
New MacBook vs. First-Gen MacBook: What's the Dif?

Previously, I owned a Titanium PowerBook, followed by an iBook G4, which I replaced with a first-generation MacBook. In all three instances, each new acquisition resulted in a major upgrade experience -- noticeable and appreciable speed gains in most every aspect of use, new form-factors, versions of applications, if not the OS, and better battery life. Now, however, with Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) processors being so wicked-fast, and with only a slightly sooner-than-normal upgrade cycle on my part -- 21 months vs. 24 months -- how does the new, fifth-generation MacBook compare to the old first-generation MacBook?

The Premise

Rather than comparing an old stock MacBook with a new stock MacBook, my first MacBook has been upgraded along the way -- which is what I would expect most prosumers or heavy-use Mac customers to do. If you've upgraded your MacBook along the way, you might want to hold out before opening your pocketbook now.

When the first MacBook was introduced in May of 2006, it came in three flavors, just like it does currently -- a low-end US$1,099 white model with a slot-load Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive model, a mid-level $1,299 model with a slot-load SuperDrive (DVD-RW/CD-RW) that's capable of burning DVDs, and a upper-end black MacBook for $1,499, also with a SuperDrive. The original black MacBook shipped with 80 gigabytes vs. the white model's 60 GB, which meant that the simple color -- black -- cost a whopping $200 more for 20 extra GB. At the time, I thought the black looked cool, but not $200 cool. I passed and put in my order for the mid-level white MacBook, opting to upgrade the hard drive to 80 GB for a whole lot less than $200. I also upgraded to 1 GB of RAM (random access memory).

The Specs

The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, as it shipped, upgraded:

• 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1,280 by 800 display
• 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor
• 667 MHz front-side bus
• 1 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (double-data-rate two synchronous dynamic random access memory) (expandable to 2GB)
• 80 GB Serial ATA (advanced technology attachment) hard drive running at 5,400 RPM, with Sudden Motion Sensor
• Slot-load SuperDriv (DVD+RW/CD-RW) optical drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Mini-DVI (digital video interface) out
• Built-in iSight video camera
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (enhanced data rate)
• Two USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port
• One audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog
• Scrolling TrackPad
• Infrared Apple Remote
• 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter

As for OS X, it shipped with 10.4.6 Tiger. After a few months of use, RAM (random access memory) prices dropped and I installed Parallels to run Windows XP in a partition, leading me to buy 2 GB of RAM from NewEgg.com, along with a 120 GB 5,400 RPM Serial ATA hard drive.

As you might expect, when Leopard came out last year, I promptly upgraded to Leopard also upgraded to iLife '08 and iWork '08.

My Everyday Work

I'm a writer and technology enthusiast, so I spend a lot of time with multiple applications open at any one time: Safari -- with dozens of windows and tabbed pages loaded -- iWork and MS Word, Excel, and more recently Numbers, iTunes, Mail, TextEdit, Windows Media Player, and sometimes other apps like iPhoto, QuickTime or DVD Player, with some occasional DVD ripping or burning (though I'd usually time the burning to occur during off-hours). However, during a general work day, my dock at the bottom of my screen spreads fully across with tiny little icons, and I'm constantly using Exposé to select new applications and open documents and Web pages.

One more thing: I use screen spanning with an external 17-inch monitor, which vastly increases the size of my working Mac OS X desktop. I can't imagine not having it, but it also means that I'm working the built-in Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 chipset harder than most MacBook customers.

Why the New Black MacBook?

Despite my increasing workload, I was still getting fantastic results on my first-generation MacBook. Exposé was snappy, though I would occasionally see a spinning "beach ball" mouse pointer and graphical hesitation while switching between applications and screens. Still, the performance was good. While I was teased by the new 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a larger hard drive, I wasn't convinced that I'd see any major speed gains or productivity improvements during my everyday work.

No, what happened is that my old iBook G4 finally bit the dust with unpredictable screen freezes, application crashes and deep sleeps that required hard reboots to wake it up -- despite a freshly installed version of Tiger. As a backup machine, in the event of a catastrophic failure on my primary work MacBook, it couldn't be trusted. Plus, because it ran on the older PowerPC processor, my bootable backup FireWire external hard drive wouldn't boot with the G4. So it was only a half-baked backup anyway -- I was one late-night cup of cocoa spill away from being out of business until I could find and buy a suitable replacement.

As I spec'd out the new MacBooks, I found that Apple still charges a premium for the black MacBook -- a custom white MacBook with an upgraded hard drive prices out $100 cheaper. However, customizing a MacBook usually delays the shipment a bit and has to be done through Apple. I found I could get a stock black MacBook from Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) with overnight shipping immediately, and the shipping would only set me back $3.99 since I'm an Amazon.com Prime member. Between the time and favorable shipping costs -- not to mention a $100 Amazon.com rebate -- the black MacBook got the nod.

The Specs - and Differences

The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook:

• 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1,280 x 800 display
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3 MB shared L2 cache
• 800 MHz front-side bus
• 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4 GB
• 250 GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5,400 RPM, with Sudden Motion Sensor
• Slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW) optical drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• Mini-DVI out
• Built-in iSight video camera
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• Two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port
• One audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog
• Scrolling trackpad
• 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter

The most obvious differences come from the Intel processor -- a faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3 MB of L2 cache instead of 2 MB of L2 cache found in the original MacBook, which also had a slower 667 MHz system bus. The new MacBook has an 800 MHz frontside bus and L2 cache that runs at the same speed as the processor. The integrated graphics processor -- the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 on the original vs. the X3100 on the new -- is also an obvious change, as well as the double-layer support in the SuperDrive.

Plus -- and this is a critical difference -- the new MacBook comes with 802.11n wireless networking vs. the original's 802.11g. If you've got an 802.11n Airport Extreme wireless router and you're interested in using an Apple TV or Time Capsule, the extra wireless speed will be quite handy.

The obvious increase in base RAM at 2 GB and the larger 250 GB hard drives are cool, too, but they are also the most upgradeable components. A 7,200 RPM stock drive sure would be nice, of course, but as for the remaining components, consumers are pretty much stuck with them.

Speed Differences

On paper, Apple claims an approximate performance boost of 25 percent in the move from the first-generation MacBook's Intel Core Duo processor to the second-generation Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The new fifth-generation MacBook, running at a faster 2.4 GHz on an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, also has a performance boost as well as a trick up its sleeve: This generation of the Intel Core 2 Duo, while retaining the same marketing name, is based on the smaller/f, ster, more efficient 45 nanometer Intel microarchitecture (vs. 65 nm from the previous generation).

This new clock speed and 45 nm architecture has also resulted in significant gains over the original 2.0 GHz MacBook. According to Apple, core Mac OS X applications run much faster: iPhoto runs up to 58 percent faster, iTunes up to 41 percent faster, iWeb runs 29 percent faster, and GarageBand runs 26 percent faster.

Yeah, 'On Paper'

OK, these tests cover processor-intensive activities like importing and exporting application files -- they aren't a good measure of everyday, moment-to-moment usage. Furthermore, Apple is comparing its brand new MacBook, which ships with 2 GB of RAM, with its oldest MacBooks, which didn't ship with as much RAM. Apple doesn't provide the exact specs, but it's possible Apple's comparison is to the original configuration -- 512 MB RAM running Tiger with old versions of iLife '06, etc. Even if Apple installed Leopard on an old MacBook, the company doesn't point out how much RAM the old MacBook was configured with for the tests.

As for performance differences between the new MacBooks vs. the previous fourth-generation MacBooks, most third-party tests are reporting about a 10 percent performance boost. That's still respectable, of course -- after all, this is just a refresh that takes advantage of Intel's latest processors. However, it's also hardly jaw-dropping.

Basically, only customers who engage with sustained, processor-intensive activities will really appreciate or need the speed boost. I must note, though, that I'm thrilled with the snappier performance in iPhoto, where I keep about 10,000 large photos.

Minor Changes

What about the missing Apple Remote? It's now a $19 add-on for the new MacBook and MacBook Pro, but it's not an issue for me -- I still have an old one lying around.

The keyboards are slightly different, too, though all MacBooks use the "Chiclet" style square keys. The identification of the keys is slightly different. For instance, gone is the Apple icon on the command key, which now reads simply, "command." The arrow keys that used to be labeled with "home," "page," or "end" are now simply directional arrow icons. The old right side "enter" key is now the another option/alt key that matches the one on the bottom left.

The top row of keys has some handy changes that I'm already using. Apple shifted the mute and volume keys to top right side and dropped in an Exposé hot key in the F3 space; a Dashboard hot key in the F4 spot; empty F5 and F6 spots; and multimedia rewind, play/pause and fast forward keys in the F7, F8 and F9 spots. These multimedia keys reflect similar dedicated keys on most every new Windows-based PC keyboard, and I like them on the new MacBook.

The Result?

Overall, after banging away on my new black MacBook for a week, it just isn't appreciably faster than my original MacBook. Sure, the finder is slightly snappier, applications run slightly faster, and Exposé is a bit smoother, especially when I've got a lot of applications active. However, it's not the kind of speed boost that's going to make me much more efficient. For owners of a second-, third- or fourth-generation MacBook, I'm sure the differences are even less noticeable.

Still, with 2 GB standard RAM, bigger hard drives and faster processors, the MacBooks are a better buy than they were just a few months ago. Savvy consumers, however, might be better served by looking for a new fourth-generation MacBook that's still available at marked-down prices online rather than shell out for the brand-new model. The savings could go toward an iPod ... or straight into a savings account.

While the older MacBook performance is still so good, it's tempting to say the new MacBooks just aren't worth an upgrade. In fact, the more important point is that older MacBooks, especially those with Leopard and a RAM boost, remain astoundingly viable even under heavy usage nearly two years later.