Apple MacBook Pro 2008 Edition (Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 17-inch) Laptop
Price range:
$2,099.95
-
$2,403.28
Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.5 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 6.8 lbs, 17 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Silver, Apple MacOS X 10.5
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Review Source: CNET.com
Editor's rating:
8.2
Good:
Updated CPUs, improved battery life, adds touch pad gestures from the MacBook Air.
Bad:
Small performance premium over the cheaper 13-inch MacBook; only 90 days of toll-free technical support; still no SD card reader.
Bottom line:
A solid, if predictable, upgrade to the MacBook Pro line, but noteworthy for stealing the MacBook Air's best feature--expanded gesture controls for the touch pad.
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Top Reviews Around the World from alaTEST
alaSCORE™:
95
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Review Source: stuff.tv Editor's Rating: 100 Pros: Can run PC programs. Excellent built-in software. Cons: Some PC software might not run so well if you don't upgrade. Runs hot. Read full review |
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Review Source: computerarts.co.uk Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Impressive performance with Universal software, Lightweight, slimline design, Built-in iSight camera Cons: Many key apps still waiting for Universal update, Lack of FireWire 800 and video output Verdict: If your most commonly-used programs have been updated to run on the new Intel processor, the MacBook Pro offers a definite improvement in performance over the old G4 PowerBook. However, you may prefer to wait until Photoshop gets a Universal update Read full review |
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Review Source: computershopper.com Editor's Rating: 83 Pros: Excellent design; LED-backlit display; Front Row multimedia software; good battery life Cons: No media-card reader; quick to heat up Verdict: The MacBook Pro is a great mix of high specs and high style. Its iconic design is matched only by its superior performance. Read full review |
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Review Source: whatlaptop.co.uk Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Superb display, Good power Cons: Expensive Verdict: Stunning design, screen and performance, but the price is high Read full review |
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Review Source: pcworld.com Editor's Rating: 84 Pros: Thin and light for a big notebook Cons: Hard drive isn't user-accessible Verdict: Lightweight 17-incher has a beautiful screen and comes loaded with useful software. It's fast, too. Read full review |
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Review Source: pcplus.co.uk Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Powerful, Five-hour battery, Keyboard, Two-finger touchpad Cons: Limited graphics Verdict: More of the same from Apple, but boy, that same is ever so good! Read full review |
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Review Source: gadgetguy.com.au Pros: Beautiful design and build quality. Extra software with OSX. Runs Windows XP. Cons: More expensive than equivalent PCs. Difficult to upgrade. Custom power plug. Verdict: The MacBook Pro is a little bit slower than a PC costing the same amount. But it's much more fun to use. It feels expensive and well put together, it has an unobtrusive built-in camera and a keyboard that lights up when the room goes dark. Thanks to unoff Read full review |
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Review Source: macintouch.com Pros: excellent display color, brightness and clarity; won't fade over time., 2 GB of memory standard, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good expandability (FireWire 800, Express/34, 30" Display support), very good battery life Cons: noisy audio, hard drive inaccessible, won't run classic Mac OS software Verdict: Historically, Mac laptop performance has been irregular. The PowerBook 500 series offered nearly the performance of a Quadra, but its PowerBook 5300 successor was a dud. The PowerBook G3 "Wallstreet" and "Pismo" offered performance on par with their deskt Read full review |
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Review Source: digitaltrends.com Editor's Rating: 85 Pros: LED based LCD display; improved battery life; quiet operation Cons: RAM pricing is expensive; overall price is expensive Read full review |
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Review Source: pocket-lint.co.uk Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Dual-core, power to spare, classic look, LED backlit, bigger graphics card, more battery Cons: iSight not upgraded, no next-gen DVD players, remote will get lost and doesn't fit into the design Verdict: Yet more hardware tweaks keeps the MacBook Pro one to consider Read full review |
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Review Source: t3.com Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: >Iconic looks, Fast processor, Great bundled apps and webcam , Cons: Price Some pro apps run slow Verdict: Not the machine to cause mass defections by PC users to Apple, but a great laptop for high-end users who value style Read full review |
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Review Source: macworld.com Pros: Better battery life; supports trackpad hand gestures; double the video RAM of previous models. Cons: Hardware remote no longer free; trackpad a bit narrow for hand gestures. Verdict: MacBook Pros were designed with the multimedia artist in mind, which means it's the laptop of choice for people who work with audio, video, or large images as well as high-end applications. The new MacBook Pro, as usual, comes in three configurations: a 1 Read full review |
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Review Source: personal computer world Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Attractive design; good performance and features Cons: Expensive, but still comparable to PC laptops Verdict: It may not be Apple's most high-profile product, but the Macbook Pro is a top-of-the-range laptop Read full review |
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Review Source: videomaker.com Pros: Very fast, Energy-efficient, Versatile with Windows compatibility Cons: Minor Windows oddities if running Boot Camp Read full review |
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Review Source: camuser.co.uk Editor's Rating: 100 Pros: Great design, Magsafe power connector, Connectivity, Clear display Cons: Standard hard drive size could be larger, Expensive Verdict: Users looking for a new laptop to run their portable edit suite on should put the MacBook Pro at the top of the list Read full review |
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Review Source: biosmagazine.co.uk Pros: Market-leading design; dual-core; excellent software; RC & Web camera Cons: Needs software support; single-button mouse; only two USB ports; no DL burner Verdict: Looks & runs great, but design pros don't yet have the software support Read full review |
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Review Source: goodgearguide.com.au Editor's Rating: 70 Pros: Slim and sexy, Magnetic Power connector, iSight Webcam, Faster than previous models Cons: Expensive, Poor Screen Resolution, Graphics need work Verdict: It's expensive, but the MacBook Pro offers better performance and speed than its predecessors and ships standard with a whole range of intuitive features Read full review |
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Review Source: digitalartsonline.co.uk Editor's Rating: 80 Pros: Fast dual-core processor. Small. Light, Elegant design. Great price. Cons: Still held back by non-native applications from Adobe, Autodesk and others. Fewer screen and hard drive elements than we'd like. Verdict: There was also a huge boost in performance for older applications still running in Mac OS X's Rosetta emulation mode - which may be due to enhancements in the 10.4.8 operating system as much as the new chips. Photoshop ran almost twice as fast on the Core Read full review |
User Opinions |
Average rating: 9.3 out of 10 Add your own opinion at CNET Reviews |
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Summary: Amazing , Fast , Stable by latella - October 19, 2008 Pros: Very fast and runs Windows as well. Very expensive but worth it. Cons: The Price |
User Rating 10 out of 10 |
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Summary: Expensive but worth every penny. by powermacvt - May 17, 2008 Pros: Large Screen, Modest Power Consumption, Excellent Virtualization Support Cons: High Price, Limitied Customizaion, Short "free" support window |
User Rating 9 out of 10 |
Despite the hight cost, the 17" Macbook Pro is the nicest computer that I've ever owned. A recent convert to Mac, I've found it to be a welcome change to my Windows machines.
Trying to save a few bucks I originally purchased the previous model, 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, but it ran very hot. So I returned it for this upgraded model with the 2.5 processor and gesture support. Again, worth every penny. There is a noticeable difference with regards to the heat generated by the 2.5 vs the 2.4, or I should say the lack of heat generated.
The 2.4's fan ran about twice as much and was fairly loud, something that I did not expect from a Mac. The 2.5 was much better. The fan seldom comes on, where you can hear it anyway, during normal use. When it does come on, it is fairly quite.
I know $2800 is a fairly high price tag, but price out an equally equipped "business class" laptop and you'll find Apple's price in the ballpark.
Whether you get the 15" or the 17" Macbook Pro, you won't be disappointed, but spend the extra couple of hundred dollars and get the newest model. The more efficient CPU is worth the price alone.
Trying to save a few bucks I originally purchased the previous model, 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, but it ran very hot. So I returned it for this upgraded model with the 2.5 processor and gesture support. Again, worth every penny. There is a noticeable difference with regards to the heat generated by the 2.5 vs the 2.4, or I should say the lack of heat generated.
The 2.4's fan ran about twice as much and was fairly loud, something that I did not expect from a Mac. The 2.5 was much better. The fan seldom comes on, where you can hear it anyway, during normal use. When it does come on, it is fairly quite.
I know $2800 is a fairly high price tag, but price out an equally equipped "business class" laptop and you'll find Apple's price in the ballpark.
Whether you get the 15" or the 17" Macbook Pro, you won't be disappointed, but spend the extra couple of hundred dollars and get the newest model. The more efficient CPU is worth the price alone.
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Summary: Absolute best laptop on the market! by Guy Snodgrass - March 19, 2008 Pros: Spacious glossy screen, Leopard OS, minimalist styling, solid construction, cool running temperature Cons: Price, price, price... No standard LED option, no in-house docking station option |
User Rating 9 out of 10 |
Purchase of the 17" MBP with glossy screen was intended to replace a first gen 15" MBP with matte screen. The biggest holdback was the cost (at $2799 from the Apple Store not exactly the most affordable option). Another slight disadvantage was the decision (at the retail store) to purchase the standard glossy screen over the hi-res glossy because the store does not carry this option (evidently photographers and those that work with media require the color balance of the matte (or anti-glare) display.
The laptop has easily surpassed my expectations for the 17". Moving up from the 15" 2.16GHz MBP (with Colo processor) was seemless thanks to the Migration Assistance included in Leopard. I'm in the middle of a move overseas, and was concerned at purchasing the new laptop since my software CDs and DVDs are in a box somewhere on a truck. Migration Assistant copied all my files, most of my settings, but more importantly my applications such as Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Microsoft Office.
The glossy screen in gorgeous, and I've yet to experience any significant issues with glare. Since I do not require 100% accurate color matching I'm able to take advantage of this screen which really makes colors pop and photos/videos more enjoyable. At this point my only question is whether or not I should purchase a Crystal Shield product for the screen so I won't be concerned with scratching it during routine cleaning/dusting.
Bottom line: If you're looking to step up from a first-gen Macbook Pro or earlier machine, you're in for a pleasant surprise. The update may simply be more of an incremental step up for others. If you feel you need LED backlighting (vice the CCFL tubes) you should consider either 15.4" MBP option or the hi-res screen with the 17".
The laptop has easily surpassed my expectations for the 17". Moving up from the 15" 2.16GHz MBP (with Colo processor) was seemless thanks to the Migration Assistance included in Leopard. I'm in the middle of a move overseas, and was concerned at purchasing the new laptop since my software CDs and DVDs are in a box somewhere on a truck. Migration Assistant copied all my files, most of my settings, but more importantly my applications such as Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Microsoft Office.
The glossy screen in gorgeous, and I've yet to experience any significant issues with glare. Since I do not require 100% accurate color matching I'm able to take advantage of this screen which really makes colors pop and photos/videos more enjoyable. At this point my only question is whether or not I should purchase a Crystal Shield product for the screen so I won't be concerned with scratching it during routine cleaning/dusting.
Bottom line: If you're looking to step up from a first-gen Macbook Pro or earlier machine, you're in for a pleasant surprise. The update may simply be more of an incremental step up for others. If you feel you need LED backlighting (vice the CCFL tubes) you should consider either 15.4" MBP option or the hi-res screen with the 17".
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