| Reviews : Apple MacBook Pro MA897LL/A 17-inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) |
Apple MacBook Pro MA897LL/A 17-inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) Product By Apple Computer Available From 0 Sellers |
Technical Details
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 MB shared L2 cache, Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
- 2 GB RAM (two SO-DIMM) 677 MHz DDR2 SD-RAM (PC2-5300), 160 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, slot load 8x Super Drive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- 1 FireWire 400 port, 1 FireWire 800 port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard/34 slot, DVI output with support for VGA
- Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit); built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
- 17-inch (diagonal), 1680 by 1050 resolution, TFT widescreen display with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor
Product Description
Presenting the world's most advanced notebook computer. MacBook Pro is built on the latest Intel mobile architecture, which features the power of two processing cores on a single chip, along with a faster frontside bus, and up to 4GB RAM capacity for incredible performance with high-end creative applications. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with up to 256MB of dedicated memory delivers leading-edge graphics processing. And AirPort Extreme with 802.11n provides up to five times the performance and up to two times the range of 802.11g, as well as compatibility with 802.11a/b/g networks for ultimate Wi-Fi access. Yet with all of its advances, the sleek aluminum MacBook Pro is just one inch thin. So it's a joy to handle as well as to use. Slot-loading optical drive - 8x SuperDrive (DVD+-R DL/DVD+-RW/CD-RW) Expansion - One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, three USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot Video - Built-in iSight camera, DVI, VGA (DVI to VGA adapter included) Audio - Combined optical digital input/audio line in, combined optical digital output/headphone out, stereo speakers, microphone Ethernet - Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Wireless - Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Inputs - Apple Remote; full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; scrolling trackpad Footprint - 15.4 by 10.4 inches / Thickness - 1.0 inch / Weight - 6.8 pounds Software - Video accessories - DVI to VGA adapter included Hardware accessories - 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery - 60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery providing up to 6 hours of battery lifeAmazon.com Product Description
Stylishly and intelligently designed for mobile professionals, Apple's MacBook Pro gets a serious speed bump with the new, powerful Intel chipset (dubbed Santa Rosa), which provides a faster Core 2 Duo processor, longer battery life, and native support for 802.11n wireless connectivity. This model (MA897LL/A) also includes a TFT display measuring 17 inches and a state-of-the art NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card for more realistic graphics for animation and gaming. This MacBook Pro is powered by the new 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo T7700 processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 memory--the fastest portable computer memory currently on the market (June 2007). But some things haven't changed: the trademark stunning aluminum enclosure that's is just one-inch thin, built-in iSight video camera, and Apple's magnetically connected MagSafe power adapter, which safely disconnects when under strain.
 This MacBook Pro measures just 1 inch thin and weighs 6.8 pounds. |
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
The Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor has a 2.2 GHz processor speed, super-fast 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an enormous 4 MB of Smart Cache, an L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
The Intel Core 2 Duo's 128-bit SSE3 vector engine handles 128-bit computations in a single clock cycle, accelerating data manipulation by simultaneously applying a single instruction to multiple data. And its two execution cores are designed to share resources and conserve power, helping it to achieve higher levels of performance since it uses fewer watts
 Get more screen real estate with the 17-inch screen, featuring a 1680-by-1050-pixel resolution. |
The 17-inch widescreen TFT display offers a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels and an antiglare widescreen display (non-glossy) that's perfect for color-minded professionals. Note that this is not an LED-backlit screen.
Video and graphics are powered by the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT card, which is boosted by 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM. GDDR3 (Graphics Double Data Rate, version 3) is a graphics card-specific memory technology that's better able to deliver fluid frame rates for even the most advanced games and applications. The GeForce 8600M GT brings a new level of realism to the MacBook Pro with its 16-lane PCI Express architecture, 16x full screen anti-aliasing, 128-bit High Dynamic Range rendering, and a texture fill rate of up to 8.2 billion per second.
Hard Drive and Memory
The 160 GB Serial-ATA (SATA) hard drive (5400 RPM) provides more than enough space to store business-related documents and presentations, as well as offers space for a large digital audio and video library. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0. The 2 GB of PC5300 DDR2 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 1 GB) have an industry-leading 667 MHz speed, and the RAM capacity can be increased to a whopping 4 GB.
Wireless Connectivity
The built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it's also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the new AirPort Extreme with 802.11n. Use the built-in Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.
Video Conferencing with Built-in iSight
Artfully placed in the display bezel is an iSight camera, which enables easy video conferencing as well as allows you to snap pictures of yourself and create video podcasts. Using the iChat AV application, video conferencing is integrated into your iChat buddy list, so initiating a video conference is a breeze. iChat also lets you hold audio chats with up to 10 people and provides high-quality audio compression and full-duplex sound so conversation can flow naturally. For video podcasting, you can record a short clip using the iSight camera, then use iWeb to create a video blog entry or post your GarageBand-recorded podcast.
Apple Innovations
 The magnetically connected MagSafe power adapter breaks cleanly away, without damage to either the cord or the MacBook Pro, if you trip over the cord.. |
 Using two-fingered scrolling, you can easily scroll around your documents or open contextual menus with one hand. |
The MacBook Pro has battery life that rivals most notebooks in its class. If you'd like to make that battery last even longer, Mac OS X has a few tricks up its sleeve. Go to System Preferences, click Energy Saver, and change battery optimization from Normal to Better Battery Life. Or tell MacBook Pro to reduce its screen brightness and give yourself a little more time untethered.
And with the included Apple Remote and Front Row software, you can show off your latest photos and access your iTunes music and playlists from across the room. You can also use it to watch downloaded movies and TV episodes as well as control playback of DVD movies. The Apple Remote features a minimalist six buttons--just press the Menu button to activate Front Row and begin to navigate through your media. You can even use the remote to control Keynote presentations in iWork '06.
Other Features
- Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, ExpressCard/34 slot
- DVI output port; VGA output using included DVI to VGA adapter
- 8x slot-loading SuperDrive with the following write speeds: : 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW; 6x DVD-RW; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer); 24x CD-R; 16x CD-RW
- Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness
- Internal omnidirectional microphone and built-in speakers
- Combined optical digital output/headphone out (minijack)
- Combined optical digital input/audio line in (minijack)
- 68-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 5.75 hours of battery life
- Kensington cable lock slot
- Measures 15.4 x 10.4 x 1 inches (WxDxH) and weighs 6.8 pounds (including battery)
Included Software
Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools), iLife '06 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, a 30-day trial of iWork '06, Comic Life, FileMaker Pro Trial, OmniOutliner, Photo Booth, and Front Row.
What's in the Box
MacBook Pro (17-inch, 2.4 GHz); 85W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord; lithium-polymer battery; Apple Remote; DVI to VGA adapter; install/restore DVDs; printed and electronic documentation. It's backed by 90 days of telephone support and a one-year limited warranty.
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Customer Reviews
By Omar Noguera (Caracas, Venezuela)
Don't have too many words for this but EXCELLENT.
Got it working with dual boot using Leopard and Win XP for a long while and it's simply excellent. Now I'm using Leopard and Win 7 Beta and it still works like a charm.
By ez2dj
I have no complaints except the hot body. The laptop gets up to 100 c while using the processor and it will burn your skin. Overall its a mac get what u paid for
By Rev. R. Windlinx
Windows Vista was the last straw so I went Mac hunting. I bought a MacBook Pro last May after using windows systems for years and years. Total frustrated by windows lack of processing simple jobs with out locking up and having to ctrl-alt-del or completely restart. The MacBook Pro was a little more than I wanted to spend, but after hours of convincing my wife I made the switch to Mac. It has been the best computer I have ever owned!
It is flawless in booting up and being ready to go.
Easy compatibility with my digital camera I did not even need to install the Kodak software iPhoto reads the pictures just fine and away we go. IMovie makes it just as easy take your video and edit and make really cool movies out of what you have shot on camera or camcorders. The word processing with pages works very well and there are other great free open source word processing programs for Mac like open office.
From ITunes to being able to bluetooth my Cel phone and quickly get all my contacts off address book has been great. My wife has been so impressed she now has a Macbook and we have a Mac mini at home.
Every area of the MacBook Pro has exceeded my expectations.
By Dorothy Taube
My grandson likes his apple macbook pro laptop a great deal,but it would be nice to get the promised rebate!!All paper work was acknowledged,but no check as yet!!
By Sebastian Beca (Santiago, Chile)
I must say that this is an excellent notebook. It's build is solid. I've traveled with it around the Chilean Patagonia and had no problems (be sure to have one of those nice silicon cases if it rains!). I've been a PC fan for the past 20 years and used Linux as an alternate to windows in many cases. But the MacOSX is really a nice operating system. If your going to spend many hours of your day in front of a computer, you'll really appreciate the aesthetics and usability of this Mac. The screen is the best I've ever seen.
Also, if you still need windows or Linux (you won't for the majority of apps), you can install Parallels or the excellent, and FREE, VirtualBox. Both work great with Windows and Linux (try Ubuntu).
As a computer scientist I'm seeing many MANY people making the switch from PC to Mac these days. Personally I'll be sticking to the mac for a long time!
Some downsides on this mac:
- Only 2 usb ports
- They keys quickly get shiny in high usage places and look opaque on others. (not too nice)
- Track pad right-click doesn't seem to work well sometimes.
(I hear those new large ones that work like the iphone touch screen are pretty awesome though)
If you're thinking about switching from a PC to this notebook, it's really a great option. No regrets at all.
Sebastian Beca
Computer Engineer and Optimization Consultant
www.fenixconsulting.cl
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