At a Glance
Expert's Rating
Pros
- Integrated iSight camera
- Sturdy but elegant design
- Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
- Improved performance
- Great glossy screen
Cons
- No additional Level 2 cache, system memory, or hard drive capacity added since previous version
- No expansion card slot
- Mediocre graphics performance
- No SuperDrive
Our Verdict
As with the Intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro lines, the consumer MacBooks get a new processor in the form of the Intel Core 2 Duo chip, which promises better performance without any decrease in battery life. Little else has changed about this laptop, including the integrated graphics that share memory with the system’s RAM.
With no increase in RAM or hard drive capacity and a slower Core 2 Duo chip, this MacBook lags behind the more expensive 2GHz offerings. Still, it outperforms an iBook G4 in all of tests and a PowerBook G4 in many of our tests — like the other MacBook Core 2 Duo models, the 1.83GHz version is fast, sturdy, and versatile.