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Apple MacBook Pro 2008 Edition (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD)

Manufacturer: Apple Part number: MB133LL/A

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$1,429.00 - $1,999.00 at 10 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
4.0 stars Excellent
Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 28 reviews

Mar 2008

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Product series; Manufacturer info

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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CNET editors' review

Apple MacBook Pro 2008 Edition (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD)

price range: $1,429.00 - $1,999.00

Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman
Reviewed on: 03/04/2008
Released on: 02/26/2008

The good: Updated CPUs, improved battery life, adds touch pad gestures from the MacBook Air.

The bad: Small performance premium over the cheaper 13-inch MacBook; only 90 days of toll-free technical support; still no SD card reader.

The 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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Apple has made its first update to the venerable MacBook line since the introduction of the MacBook Air. Regular 13-inch MacBooks get the usual CPU upgrade, but the MacBook Pro line gets a notable internal overhaul--including new Penryn-class Intel CPUs, new touch pad gestures (lifted from the MacBook Air), and finally a backlit LED option for the 17-inch models, something already standard for 15-inchers.

As we've come to expect, the new configurations hit the same price as the now-discontinued ones. More power for the same money is always welcome, but at $2,499 (we looked at the higher-end of two 15-inch configurations), we still think the cheaper 13-inch MacBook is a better overall value, outweighed only if you need either the larger screen or Express card slot, or you can't live without the touch pad gestures.

Price as reviewed / Starting price	$2,499 / $1,999
Processor	2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300
Memory	2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive	250GB 5,400rpm
Chipset	Intel GM965
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT
Operating System	Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Dimensions (WDH)	14.1 x 9.6 x 1.0 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	15.4 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	5.4/6.0 pounds
Category	Mainstream

Physically, the refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro is identical to its predecessors, still only 1 inch thick, but now that we've had time to get used to the thinner, lighter MacBook Air, it feels positively huge in comparison.

By now we're very familiar with the minimalist layout--open the lid and inside you'll find only a power button, a full-size keyboard, stereo speakers, a sizable touch pad with a single mouse button, and a built-in iSight camera. Despite our love for a clean look, we've also become used to having at least a few media control keys--attractive touch-sensitive media controls now regularly pop up on even the cheapest laptops.

Possibly the biggest change is how the revamped trackpad is now works with multitouch gestures, much like the MacBook Air. Originally, you could do things like use two fingers to scroll through documents--now Pro users can use three fingers to go forward and back in Safari's browser history, and use a thumb and forefinger to zoom in and out of documents and photos--much like on the iPhone. We hope Apple will roll this out for the 13-inch MacBooks sooner rather than later.

The move to backlit LED displays happened in the last MacBook Pro revision, at least for the 15-inch models. This time around, the 17-inch models have it, too--but only as a $100 add-on. The 15-inch display is 1,440x900, while the 17-inch is either 1,680 x 1,050 (standard) or 1,920x1,200 (LED). Apple touts the backlit LED displays as being both energy efficiency and mercury-free.

	MacBook Pro	Average for mainstream category
Video	DVI video out	VGA-out, S-Video
Audio	Stereo speakers, line-in/line-out jacks, built-in mic	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	Two USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800	Four USB 2.0, mini-FireWire, multiformat memory card reader
Expansion	ExpressCard/34 slot	PC Card slot
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Modem, Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth
Optical drive	DVD burner	DVD burner

The MacBook Pro remains the only laptop we can think of with a FireWire 800 jack (along with the more common FireWire 400), useful for digital video fans, but we still think adding a simple SD card slot would be a huge plus for the Pro (and let's get that on the regular 13-inch MacBook, too, while we're at it).

With the newest Penryn CPUs, the MacBook Po offers an excellent boost in performance over the previous mid-2007 Pro revision in our benchmark tests, although a pre-Penryn 13-inch MacBook from late 2007 was nearly as fast, reinforcing our opinion that Intel's Penryn CPUs, while more energy efficient, don't offer much of a performance boost. The MacBook Air was well behind--its custom Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, designed to fit into the Air's extra-thin chassis, is slower than the typical Core 2 Duos found in most laptops.

The Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card allows for some basic gaming--although if you plan on playing games on the MacBook Pro, you'll probably want to install Windows on a separate partition through Boot Camp. Running Quake 4 at 1,024x768, we got 88 frames per second, compared to only 65 frames per second from the 2007 version of the MacBook Pro. Both systems had identical graphics cards, so we credit the CPU.

Despite some initial concerns that the revamped MacBook Pro offered less battery life, we got an impressive 4 hours and 23 minutes with our battery drain test--that's 47 minutes more than the older version of the MacBook Pro, and 20 minutes more than the MacBook Air.

We're still not fans of Apple's nearly obligatory extended warranty upsell (so much so that we've simply copied this complaint from our last MacBook review). The default warranty for the MacBook is one year of coverage for parts and labor, but toll-free telephone support is limited to a mere 90 days--well short of what you'd typically find on the PC side--unless you purchase the $349 AppleCare Protection Plan, which extends phone support and repair coverage to three years.

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 15.4 inch - 2.5GHz

469

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3 inch - 2.2GHz

545

Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz

875

Dell XPS m1530

949

Apple MacBook Air

960

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 15.4 inch - 2.5GHz

126

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3inch - 2.2GHz

144

Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz

240

Dell XPS m1530

273

Apple MacBook Air

274

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 15.4 inch - 2.5GHz

155

Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz

163

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3inch - 2.2GHz

184

Dell XPS m1530

186

Apple MacBook Air

251

DVD battery drain test (in minutes)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 13.3inch - 2.2GHz

270

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 15.4 inch - 2.5GHz

263

Apple MacBook Air

243

Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz

215

Dell XPS m1530

129

Find out more about how we test laptops.

System specifications:
Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo - 2.5GHz / 15.4 inch
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT; 250GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo - 2.2GHz / 13.3 inch
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 160GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm

Apple MacBook Air - 1.6GHz / 13.3 inch
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 80GB Samsung 4,200rpm

Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz / 15.4 inch
OS X 10.4.8; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 ; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT; 160GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Dell XPS M1530
Windows Vista Home Premium Edition; 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT; 160GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 28 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 28

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9 stars

Convert--I did

by covolor on March 26, 2008

Pros: Graphic's, speakers, processor, and nice display

Cons: Battery doesn't last long enough

Summary: I'm a PC user and have been since I was born. But here's the reason why I'm making the switch:

1. The hardware for Mac is now

...

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Summary: I'm a PC user and have been since I was born. But here's the reason why I'm making the switch:

1. The hardware for Mac is now the same as PC. What this means to me, I can run any OS (within reason) that I want and OS X. This is by far the biggest seller for me.

2. OS X is what Vista is trying to be.

3. Apple is currently coming out with better innovations in all most every product line they produce.

4. I'm sick of PC's after working all day with them and the end users.

5. I want to be able to work and not have to trouble shoot the computer while working.

6. OS X is stable and vista isn't.

7. OS X is a much faster then Vista.

The reason I choose the Macbook Pro (over the Macbook model) is they are using the new Intel processor, better graphics card (Macbook uses the RAM for its graphics, meaning if you have a 1GB in the computer and your sharing it with the video card, you have less ram to run applications and such.), and lastly the larger screen size.

Go Apple---you won?t regret it.

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8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

Every detail is designed with user in mind

by Falcora on April 23, 2008

Pros: Battery actually lasts 4-5 hours in real life use, Multitouch trackpad makes internet surfing a breeze, built in isight, backlit keyboard, LED screen backlight, beautiful screen colors, quiet

Cons: Computer sleeps when lid is closed, you can't turn that off. It runs warmer than my previous laptops, but i guess that is normal for macs.

Summary: An excellent buy. Don't kid yourself into buying a PC just to save $500 on a similarly speced laptop. I switched from PC's with this laptop and I'...

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Summary: An excellent buy. Don't kid yourself into buying a PC just to save $500 on a similarly speced laptop. I switched from PC's with this laptop and I've never looked back. Very solid performance, never crashes or freezes. period. The screen is so bright that the text is readable in direct sunlight! The speakers are excellent and get surprisingly loud.

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5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

This is an awesome product!

by ShaneDebayo on April 11, 2008

Pros: Beautifully designed as it is powerful

Cons: Would have liked a media card reader

Summary: I don't recall ever being this excited about owning any gadget before.
Being a long time windows user I finally took the plunge and got myself a macbook pro.
...

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Summary: I don't recall ever being this excited about owning any gadget before.
Being a long time windows user I finally took the plunge and got myself a macbook pro. I thought it might take some time getting used to the operating system but I actually started to get confused and somewhat feeling like a fish out of water when I tried to use a windows machine after just a few days with my macbook pro.
Installations were a breeze on the mac- even for very large files.Not to mention that Leopard seems to be a very fast and smart OS unlike Vista which annoyed the crap out of me.
Love the multi-touch trackpad (who needs a right mouse key?)and the display is unlike anything I have ever seen before-- simply beautiful (get the anti-glare).
And I guess it's true-- once you go mac you can't go back!!

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3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

An awesome product for the same price

by Braun23 on March 2, 2008

Pros: Better graphics card, more ram, bigger hard drive, multi-touch, and new intel processors

Cons: no magnetic closure, still only in 15 and 17 inch models, more usb ports

3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

A desktop of power, disguised as a laptop.

by christianportwine on November 1, 2008

Pros: Fast: Crushes audio/video apps even with heavy realtime FX.
Easy Expansion: Fast HD swapping, PCI Expansion.
Portable: Light, solid, great battery life.
Looks Great: Beautiful screen, aluminum unibody is flawless.

Cons: Only 2 USB ports.
7200 HD has to be custom ordered.

Summary: If your in the market for a laptop, PC or Mac, you owe it to yourself to check out the new MacBook Pro. Great performance in both Leopard and in ...

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Summary: If your in the market for a laptop, PC or Mac, you owe it to yourself to check out the new MacBook Pro. Great performance in both Leopard and in XP: Vegas, ProTools, Final Cut, Aperture, Photoshop... for breakfast. Bootcamp makes it easier than ever to run a dual boot machine. Check it out yourself, you may just poo in your pants.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Powerful, Intuition, Sex Appeal, Innovative

by soulchild375 on September 27, 2008

Pros: thin and fairly lightweight, keyboard and media outlets make for no clutter, loud speakers, larger trackpad than before, sexy aluminum finish everywhere, clear and sharp displays, OS X Leopard is TOO easy to learn and use (easier than Vista)

Cons: would like to have seen at least an additional USB Port, limited initial coverage (purchase of 3-year warranty a must), battery can get very warm

Summary: This is only my second generation of an Apple computer. I finally upgraded from my first computer which was the iBook G4 1.42 Ghz PowerPC at 14.1 inches. ...

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Summary: This is only my second generation of an Apple computer. I finally upgraded from my first computer which was the iBook G4 1.42 Ghz PowerPC at 14.1 inches. This is a very welcome upgrade and I have not been disappointed at all since upgrading.

The keyboard is very ergonomic. All of the media options that have their own sections on other PC Laptops come integrated into the F-row keys of the keyboard, requiring only the simple press of a button to operate (no shortcuts necessary). I chose a Matte over Glossy display because I only require simple multimedia use. Either way, this display is bright, crystal clear, and very sharp. Keys on the keyboard are large enough for big fingers, stress-less to press, and relatively quiet. The laptop itself is only several pounds in weight and is about the size of your average college textbook, yet is only one inch thin all the way around. As a doctoral student I carry it around quite often and can easily fit in my backpack . The exteriors of these high-level laptops are also made entirely of durable aluminum (not plastic), given their surface a very smooth, satisfying, and classy feel to them.

Only thing I personally felt apple could have probably done to make this machine even better was to add an additional USB port. Only having 2 USB ports makes it picky when I choose to hook up my peripheral devices.

Overall, this machine left this user extremely impressed with just about every expectation met. It is a much more costly machine, but the quality and support you get for what you pay will not leave you feeling ripped off - very much worth it!

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

Simply Wonderful

by jmcalli on September 12, 2008

Pros: Beautiful display. Durable shell. Rock solid performance from both the hardware and OS X Leopard. Runs over 4 hours on a charged battery. Excellent speakers.

Cons: A minor learning curve for me with OS X and the Apple keyboard (I'm a former Thinkpad/Windows user).

Summary: A beautifully engineered laptop. After a month of using my MacBook Pro several hours a day, haven't had a single lockup or crash. I certainly don't miss the ...

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Summary: A beautifully engineered laptop. After a month of using my MacBook Pro several hours a day, haven't had a single lockup or crash. I certainly don't miss the Windows XP crashes. I installed Office 2008 and have had no problems accessing my old Windows documents. Added a 1TB Time Capsule and now have transparent, automatic backup as well as ultra fast wireless. I highly recommend this laptop. If you are hesitant to cut the cord from Windows because you have applications that only run under Windows, you can run Windows on this computer using Boot Camp or installing it on a virtual drive.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

Great desktop replacement

by ryank82 on August 31, 2008

Pros: Dedicated graphics ,OSX, Led lcd, Great keyboard

Cons: Can get expensive

Summary: The Macbook Pro is my only computer. It can handle anything I need it to do. The LED backlit lcd is a joy to look at. I have my wireless, ...

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Summary: The Macbook Pro is my only computer. It can handle anything I need it to do. The LED backlit lcd is a joy to look at. I have my wireless, webcam and mic built in. This makes it very easy for contacts online. Then there are the features that really make this laptop shine. Items such as backlit keyboard, magsafe power adapter, usb2,firewire 400+800, Gigabit ethernet, dedicated graphics. But the knockout punch comes from the operating system MAC OSX. No spyware , No Virus's, Good security. The same company that makes your hardware "Apple" makes the software as well. This makes integration as good as it gets.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Powerful, sexy and efficient!

by jay2712 on April 5, 2008

Pros: High speed multitasking, multitouch gestures, good battery life

Cons: Still heats up a bit

Summary: This is serious hardware, unbelievable speed for a laptop, or for any machine. Now, by speed i mean with OSX. with windows its a little glitchy.

In short, i would

...

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Summary: This is serious hardware, unbelievable speed for a laptop, or for any machine. Now, by speed i mean with OSX. with windows its a little glitchy.

In short, i would willingly pay more than i did for this thing!!

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

I have been a PC user all my life...

by compstuft on November 15, 2008

Pros: The Macbook Pro is easy to use, has great battery life, and the tactile touchpad is very convenient.

Cons: It does not have a memory slot, and that is all that I can think of for now.

Summary: I have been using a PC all my life, and I needed a laptop for college; I just needed something I could surf the web with, use a word processor ...

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Summary: I have been using a PC all my life, and I needed a laptop for college; I just needed something I could surf the web with, use a word processor on, and use photoshop, illustrator and dreamweaver on. The Macbook not only has a beautiful, sleek design, but the GUI is very attractive and easy to use. It took my about an hour to figure everything out. I like how I can just "drag" an application to the trash can and it's gone. Unlike Windows where one application has a folder on the main disk drive, then inside the folders there are more folders, than inside those there are more and, sometimes uninstalling something does not necessarily mean that there are not folders still in the computer somewhere. With the Mac OSX, an application is still made up of many files, but they are "compressed" into a single icon (most of the time). If an application has more than one file lying around, I can just easily do a search and delete.

Compared to the ASUS G1S I was using before, the battery life on the Macbook Pro is truly amazing. On average, I get about 4 hours on here.

I'm glad I bought a Macbook Pro and I love it.

Note: I will still be using the PC extensively in the future; PC rocks!

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Apple MacBook Pro 2008 Edition (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD)

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