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White & Black MacBook Q&A (MacBook FAQ) @ EveryMac.com
With the "White & Black" MacBook Q&A you can get answers to all of your questions about the MacBook models that have either white or black polycarbonate cases. Questions range from "How do you upgrade the RAM in the MacBook? How much RAM of what type does it support?" to "What are the capabilities of the optical drive provided by the MacBook models? Which can read and write dual-layer DVDs?" and include everything in between.
Please note that the "pre-Unibody" white and black polycarbonate MacBook models were introduced on May 16, 2006 and discontinued on October 20, 2009. This Q&A was "archived" on December 29, 2009.
For answers about the "Unibody" white MacBook -- molded as one piece of white polycarbonate (introduced October 20, 2009) -- see the White Unibody MacBook Q&A.
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The answers to some of these questions may no longer be up-to-date. Please refer to the date published, updated, or revised.
Most Frequently Asked White & Black MacBook Q&As:
How do you upgrade the RAM in the "White and Black" MacBook? How much RAM of what type does it support?
Are there any adapters or "hacks" that make it possible to connect a second external display to a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air model?
How do you upgrade the hard drive in the "White and Black" MacBook?
What type of video processor is provided by the MacBook? Is it upgradable?
What is the "White and Black" MacBook battery life in "real-world" tests? How does the battery life of different MacBook models compare to one another?
What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the "Mid-2009" 13-Inch MacBook Pro models?
What exactly is a glossy display? Is the glossy display used in the MacBook better or worse than the previous iBook display?
How does the MagSafe power connector on the MacBook work?
What are the capabilities of the optical drive provided by the MacBook models? Which can read and write dual-layer DVDs?
What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the White "Early 2009" MacBook that it replaced?
Software Compatibility Q&As:
What version of the MacOS is pre-installed on the MacBook?
Can the MacBook run existing MacOS X applications?
Can the MacBook run MacOS 9/Classic applications?
Can the MacBook run Windows?
Can the MacBook run Linux?
Does the MacBook run Aperture?
Comparison Q&As (Early 2009 & Mid-2009 Core 2 Duo):
What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the White "Early 2009" MacBook that it replaced?
What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the "Mid-2009" 13-Inch MacBook Pro models?
What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook models?
What are the differences between the "Early 2009 NVIDIA" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the MacBook that it replaced?
What are the differences between the "Early 2009 NVIDIA" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook models?
How fast is the "Early 2009 NVIDIA" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo models? How fast is it compared to the "Late 2008 Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
How fast is the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the White "Early 2009" MacBook that it replaced? How fast is it compared to the "Late 2008 Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
Comparison Q&As (Early 2008/Penryn Core 2 Duo):
What are the differences between the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
What are the differences between the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo models and the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook notebooks that they replaced?
What are the differences between the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook and MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models?
What are the differences between the MacBook Air and the "regular" MacBook?
How much faster is the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo?
How much faster is the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor in later MacBook models compared to the Intel GMA 950 in earlier models? Is gaming performance improved?
Comparison Q&As (Late 2007/Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo):
What are the differences between the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
What are the differences between the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo models and the "Mid-2007" MacBook notebooks that they replaced?
How much faster is the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo?
How much faster is the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor in later MacBook models compared to the Intel GMA 950 in earlier models? Is gaming performance improved?
Comparison Q&As (Mid-2007 Core 2 Duo):
What are the differences between the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
What are the differences between the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo models and the "Late 2006" MacBook notebooks that they replaced?
What are the differences between the "Mid-2007" MacBook and MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo "Santa Rosa" models?
How much faster is the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo? How fast is the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the MacBook Pro "Santa Rosa"?
Comparison Q&As (Late 2006 Core 2 Duo):
What are the differences between the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
What are the differences between the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo models and the original MacBook notebooks that they replaced?
What are the differences between the "Late 2006" MacBook and MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models?
How does the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo compare to a similar Core 2 Duo Windows notebook?
Comparison Q&As (Original Core Duo):
What are the differences between the three original MacBook models?
What are the differences between the original MacBook and the MacBook Pro?
How does the original MacBook compare to the iBook model it replaced?
How does the original MacBook compare to a similar Windows notebook?
Performance Q&As:
How fast is the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the White "Early 2009" MacBook that it replaced? How fast is it compared to the "Late 2008 Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
How fast is the "Early 2009 NVIDIA" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo models? How fast is it compared to the "Late 2008 Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models?
How much faster is the "Early 2008 Penryn" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo?
How much faster is the "Late 2007 Santa Rosa" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo?
How much faster is the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo? How fast is the "Mid-2007" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the MacBook Pro?
How much faster is the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the original MacBook Core Duo? How fast is the "Late 2006" MacBook Core 2 Duo compared to the MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo?
How fast is the original MacBook compared to the MacBook Pro?
How fast is the original MacBook compared to the iBook that it replaced?
How fast are the MacBook models running Windows?
What is the overall gaming performance of the MacBook?
How much faster is the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor in later MacBook models compared to the Intel GMA 950 in earlier models? Is gaming performance improved?
Battery, Power & Function Q&As:
What is the "White and Black" MacBook battery life in "real-world" tests? How does the battery life of different MacBook models compare to one another?
Is there software that can monitor the temperature of the Intel-based MacBook or MacBook Pro?
How does the MagSafe power connector on the MacBook work?
How is the MagSafe power connector designed to not cause data loss?
Does the MacBook have a ROM or BIOS?
What is the "Sudden Motion Sensor" in the MacBook? How does it work?
What exactly is a glossy display? Is the glossy display used in the MacBook better or worse than the previous iBook display?
Expansion Q&As:
What kind of expansion slots are provided by the MacBook?
Can you upgrade the processor in the MacBook?
How do you upgrade the RAM in the "White and Black" MacBook models? How much RAM of what type do they support?
How do you upgrade the hard drive in the "White and Black" MacBook?
What type of video processor is provided by the MacBook? Is it upgradable?
Does the MacBook support monitor mirroring? Dual displays?
What is the maximum resolution for an external display?
Are there any adapters or "hacks" that make it possible to connect a second external display to a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air model?
What are the capabilities of the optical drive provided by the MacBook models? Which can read and write dual-layer DVDs?
Storage, Peripherals & File Transfer Q&As:
How can I transfer files from my old Mac to my MacBook?
What removable storage is available for the MacBook?
What ports are provided by the MacBook?
What printers and scanners are compatible with the MacBook?
Networking & Communication Q&As:
How do I network the MacBook to another Mac?
What is AirPort? What is AirPort Extreme?
Does the MacBook support 802.11a?
What is the difference between 802.11a and 802.11g (AirPort Extreme)?
Does the MacBook support 802.11n?
What is 802.11n? How is it different from 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a?
Does the MacBook come with a modem?
Design, Configuration & Purchasing Q&As:
Who designed the MacBook?
How does the MacBook keyboard "feel"?
What kind of "latch" system does the MacBook use?
Where can I buy a MacBook?
What are the default configurations?
Were custom configurations available?
What are the "pros and cons" of the MacBook? Is it right for my needs?
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