My One Day Experience With A Macbook Pro

Ok so I was lucky enough to be able to try out a 15 inch Macbook Pro for a day just to see how it felt (2010 model and I did not use Mac OS X PLEASE DON'T ASK WHY!!!!!). I just wanted to give a quick little runthrough of how I felt using the laptop, hardware, not software wise:

Sound: I did not know there was a subwoofer in this and I PRAY its still around because it made the sound experience that much better.

Keyboard: The chicklet style feels really good and I absolutely LOVE the backlight on the keys. For those who say that there's backlight bleed, If you mean that it bleads from under the keys, I honestly like the way that works.

Touchpad: Smoother than what I'm use to, which is a good and bad thing. Overall the whole button design takes getting use to but its really nice.

Display: Only 1440x900, but not too bad. Not gonna get a lower res display when I upgrade but for a day I was able to deal with it.

Heat: The Achilles Heal to the laptop, yes it does heat up under use like everyone says. I see the issues with that on a hardware standpoint, however at home I always have my system hooked up via. external monitor plus I'm barely touching the laptop. Unless plugged in and on a desk I don't ever do extensive tasks CPU/GPU wise so it shoulddn't bother me.

Overall Design: It didn't strike me as amazing since I have see it and used it many times before, but compared to my Inspiron 1525, I really appreciate the metal build and slim form factor. In my bag with a binder & some notebooks I didn't notice it as much as my laptop, nor did I worry about something happening to the screen/case. While the edges seem to dig into my wrists a bit, it isn't too bad to the point where it's a problem.

Overall I really like having this experience with the Macbook Pro. Seeing and using it in person beyond in store really strengthens my choice of upgrading to one. Again I really do appreciate the lower weight, slimmer, and sturdy design that it offers compared to other laptops. It's a nice way to see what I'd get myself into if I go the Mac route and was a good experience overall.

PS: I have used Mac OS X extensively so the fact that I didn't use Mac OS X on this Macbook is irrelevant, FYI.

 

It will run cooler in OS X most of the time because it can use the integrated GPU.

 

The laptop might run cooler, but the aluminum still would heat up much more than the plastic frame of other laptops. Get a feel by touching the place where the screen meets the vent and you would see how hot it can get right above the back air vents. Heck, I almost burned myself on a 2007 model so there is an * improvement * there !

 

Just wait to see what happens next week at wwdc, you will receive your answer then.

 

By default, the trackpad and heat are much better under OS X than Windows due to poor driver implementations from Apple. There is nothing you can do to get around the hear but there are some 3rd party solutions to the trackpad under Windows. That being said, it is actually relevant whether or not you use OS X on a Mac as that changes the experience. You get better battery life, less heat, better trackpad, and an overall better experience when using OS X over Windows on a Mac. After all, Apple has designed their software (including drivers) and hardware to work together. The whole experience is better under OS X and, if you are trying to review the "hardware" from a non-standard viewpoint, it is going to come out flawed. There are some things (keyboard, sound, screen, CPU performance, and GPU performance) that can be looked at regardless of what OS you run but there are other aspects (trackpad, heat, battery life, overall system performance considering every aspect including the IGP, etc.) that can only be properly reviewed under OS X.

Your past experiences with OS X are irrelevant but the use of the OS is required if you want to do a proper review, even of just the hardware.