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White & Black MacBook Q&A - Published June 14, 2009
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What are the differences between the White "Mid-2009" MacBook Core 2 Duo and the "Mid-2009" 13-Inch MacBook Pro models?
Please note that the White "Mid-2009" MacBook has been discontinued. It was replaced by the White/Unibody "Late 2009" MacBook on October 20, 2009.
Externally, there is no mistaking the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.13 13-Inch (White - Mid-2009) -- which has a white polycarbonate case -- from the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (SD/FW) and "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 13" (SD/FW) -- which have aluminum cases.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (MacBook Pro - Left, White MacBook - Right)
The White polycarbonate model weighs 5 pounds, and the aluminum 13-Inch MacBook Pro models use a 4.5 pound black and silver case milled from a single block of aluminum that provides greater strength.
The White system has a "scrolling Trackpad" with "two-finger click" -- compared to a more advanced "no button" glass "multi-touch" trackpad with support for "four finger" gestures and programmable "zones" on the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models. The White model also does not have a backlit keyboard or an LED-backlit display as the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models do. In addition to the LED-backlight, the display in the 13-Inch MacBook Pro is of considerably higher quality, providing at least "60% greater color gamut" as Apple reports.
The battery design of the two models is quite different. The White model has an easily swappable battery whereas the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models have a battery that is non-swappable and not designed to be removed or serviced by end users. The battery life of the White model is officially 5 hours and the 13-Inch MacBook Pro is 7 hours. Some may find an increase in battery life to be better than easy swapping/replacement, but some may not.
Connectivity is quite a bit different between the two models. Both have AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 2.0 ports. The White model, however, has a Mini-DVI port that supports an external display at 1920x1200, a single Firewire "400" port, and optical digital/analog audio in/out, and the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models have a Mini DisplayPort that supports an external display at 2560x1600, a single Firewire "800" port, and an SD card slot, but lack optical audio in and instead have the same "combined optical digital output/headphone out (user-selectable analog audio line in)" port used by the iPhone.
Internally, there are a number of similarities between the White MacBook and MacBook Pro 13-Inch models. Both have the same 1066 MHz frontside bus and the same NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256 MB of RAM shared with main memory. Memory, however, is slower on the White model -- 800 MHz PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM compared to 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM, and the maximum capacity is only 4 GB compared to 8 GB on the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models.
These differences, as well as configuration differences, are summarized below:
| Mid-2009 13" | MacBook 2.13 (White) | MacBook Pro 2.26/2.53 |
|---|---|---|
| Processor: | 2.13 GHz "Core 2 Duo" | 2.26, 2.53 GHz "Core 2 Duo" |
| System Bus: | 1066 MHz | 1066 MHz |
| L2 Cache: | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Standard RAM: | 2 GB | 2 GB, 4 GB |
| Maximum RAM: | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| RAM Type: | PC2-6400 DDR2 | PC3-8500 DDR3 |
| Int. Graphics: | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M |
| Shared VRAM: | 256 MB* | 256 MB* |
| Display Size: | 13.3" | 13.3"† |
| Native Resolution: | 1280x800 | 1280x800 |
| LED Backlit: | No | Yes† |
| Ext. Display: | 1920x1200 | 2560x1600 |
| Hard Drive: | 160 GB | 160 GB, 250 GB |
| Optical Drive: | 8X DL Write "SuperDrive" | 8X DL Write "SuperDrive" |
| USB 2.0: | Yes (2) | Yes (2) |
| Firewire 400: | Yes | No |
| Firewire 800: | No | Yes |
| Display Port: | Mini-DVI | Mini DisplayPort |
| SD Card Slot: | No | Yes |
| Backlit KB: | No | Yes |
| 4 Finger Trackpad: | No | Yes |
| Battery Life: | 5 Hours§ | 7 Hours§ |
| Battery W/Hr: | 55 W/Hr | 58 W/Hr |
| Battery Swap: | Yes | No |
| Weight: | 5.0 lbs (2.27 kg) | 4.5 lbs (2.04 kg) |
| Apple Part No: | MC240LL/A | MB990LL/A, MB991LL/A |
| Original Price: | US$999 | US$1199, US$1499 |
* All of these systems have a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M "graphics processor with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory".
† The display in the "Mid-2009" MacBook Pro models is considerably higher-quality.
§ Battery life as estimated by Apple in a "wireless productivity" test.
Site sponsor OWC sells memory upgrades for the MacBook and MacBook Pro models (and other Macs) for substantially less than what Apple charges.
Please refer to the Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare any MacBook or MacBook Pro model to any other G3 or later Mac.
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