Apple quietly upgrades its MacBook line

by Stevie Smith - Jan 22 2009, 06:00

If you’re a prospective MacBook buyer interested in purchasing one of Apple’s more ‘entry level’ systems then you’ll be pleased to learn that the Cupertino-based technology titan has this tweaked the specifications of its basic 13-inch model.

Arriving without fanfare, the little white MacBook has received a selection of internal upgrades that most notably include a welcome graphics boost in the form of NVIDIA’s more oomph-worthy GeForce 9400M GPU.

The graphic enhancement replaces the white 13-inch model’s previous dependence on Intel’s GMA X3100 and brings it in line with its significantly more expensive aluminium MacBook counterparts

Beyond the graphics overhaul, Apple has also seen fit to bump up the system’s memory allocation, increasing its DDR2 performance ceiling from 1GB to 2GB, while on-board Bluetooth connectivity shifts from v2.0 to v2.1.

Interestingly, the spec alterations have left the computer’s Intel Core 2 Duo processor reduced slightly in terms of clock speed, dropping from 2.1GHz to 2.0GHz. However, the marginal fall is still likely to translate into improved overall performance thanks to the 2.0GHz version being from a newer chip generation supporting an improved FSB of 1066MHz. 

And finally, and here’s where Apple is clearly showing its love during testing economic times, the white 13-inch MacBook remains unchanged on Apple’s pricing scale, which means all of the above, plus a 120GB hard drive, can be yours for $999 USD.

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