Apple MacBook
The Apple MacBook has been around for a while, but it never stops being improved upon. With tons of extra features crammed into its 5.2 pound case, the MacBook delivers all the performance of a desktop Mac in a portable computer.

The chipset is the same one that’s found on most high-end Windows-based laptops – Intel’s Core 2 Duo. The clock speed comes in at 1.83 gigahertz, or for an extra 200 dollars on can move up to a 2.0 gigahertz processor. Each comes with a level 2 cache, which is a must for the fast processors on the market today, to avoid bottlenecks. The amount of memory is adequate as well, with a standard configuration of 512 megabytes and an option to install up to 2 gigabytes.

As for the display, the MacBook has a 13.3 inch glossy widescreen, which can show 1280 x 800 pixels. This is competitive with other laptops in this price range, although the MacBook Pro models have 15 inch screens with an option for a 17 inch one. The graphics hardware is also made by Intel, with a 950 graphics processor with 64 megabytes of memory, although it is shared with the main memory. Although this is a good amount of RAM, sharing it with the rest of the computer can often reduce the performance of the computer as a whole, as memory that is being taken up by the graphics hardware is not available to the processor.

It is the extras that really make the MacBook really stand out though. Each notebook comes standard with a built in iSight video camera mounted on the case. It has a Mini-DVI video output with support for DVI, along with VGA, S-video, and composite video output as well. The MacBook also comes with advanced wireless communication built in, via a 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme 802.11g wireless adapter, and also a Bluetooth 2.0+EDR adapter, for communication with devices such as printers and cell phones. And setting it apart from its PC competitors, the MacBook has an Apple Remote, for more control over multimedia applications such as watching movies and listening to music.

On the inside, the MacBook really is no different from a high-end Windows-based laptop. Now that Apple is using Intel components, the speed and performance is virtually identical to similar Dell or Compaq models. Apple devotees are more attracted to this brand because of the unique operating system and the sleek styling, and this model offers both.