The
good: Incremental updates to the CPU help keep the MacBook Pro line a step above the now-mainstream MacBook
Air. The trackpad and gesture controls are still the best of any current
laptop.
The
bad: Unless you need an optical drive, the MacBook Air may be a better
fit for most, and the Pro still lacks things we'd like to see, such as HDMI,
Blu-ray, and USB 3.0.
The bottom line: A MacBook Pro is a significant investment, especially when adding
in optional upgrades. Cost aside, there's not a better choice (there are,
however, some close ties) for an all-around powerhouse that will work in the
home, the office, and in between.
The latest round of updates to Apple's
popular MacBook Pro line were modest enough that they simply appeared on the
Apple Web site with little fanfare beyond a basic press release. Rather than a
generational jump as we saw in February 2011 (when the Pro moved from Intel's
original Core i-series CPUs to the latest second-generation chips, formerly
code-named Sandy Bridge), this is perhaps better described as minor
housekeeping.
In the 15-inch MacBook Pro, we
previously reviewed the more high-end of two starting configurations. That
$2,199 unit had a 2.2GHz quad-core i7, whereas the $1,799 model had a 2.0GHz
CPU. The biggest change is that the $1,799 model now has that 2.2GHz quad-core
i7, and the $2,199 model moves up to an even faster 2.4GHz CPU. The GPU options
are now a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M in the lower-priced version and a 1GB AMD
Radeon HD 6770M in the more expensive one. Default storage remains the same for
the 15-inch models, but the 13- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have their own set of
CPU, GPU, and HDD updates.
Note that this time around we tested the new
$1,799 15-inch MacBook Pro, whereas our previous 15-inch MacBook Pro review
sample was the $2,199 version, so we're effectively looking at the same CPU in
both cases.
The iconic unibody aluminum construction
remains the same, as does the large glass multitouch trackpad. Thunderbolt,
Intel's new high-speed powered port for data transfer and displays, remains an
interesting extra, but its promise is still hypothetical, with few available
Thunderbolt-compatible peripherals.
This 15-inch MacBook Pro, at
$1,799, follows the usual Apple trajectory of keeping the price steady but
adding faster, more powerful components. The latest round of upgrades, while
not revolutionary, helps give the Pro line a boost at a time when the
less-expensive MacBook Air has become such an excellent
mainstream laptop that it could easily substitute for the Pro for many
potential MacBook buyers who don't need an internal optical drive or bigger
screen.
Price as reviewed
|
$1,799
|
Processor
|
2.2GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core
|
Memory
|
4GB, 1,066MHz DDR3
|
Hard drive
|
500GB 5,400rpm
|
Chipset
|
Intel H67
|
Graphics
|
AMD Radeon HD 6750M / Intel HD 3000
|
Operating system
|
OS X 10.7 Lion
|
Dimensions (WD)
|
14.4x9.8 inches
|
Height
|
0.95 inch
|
Screen size (diagonal)
|
15.4 inches
|
System weight / Weight with AC adapter
|
5.5 pounds / 6.2 pounds
|
Category
|
Midsize
|
Apple MacBook Pro (Fall 2011, 15-inch)
|
Average for category [midsize]
|
|
Video
|
DisplayPort/Thunderbolt
|
VGA plus
HDMI or DisplayPort
|
Audio
|
Stereo
speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
|
Stereo
speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
|
Data
|
2 USB 2.0,
SD card reader
|
4 USB 2.0,
SD card reader, eSATA
|
Networking
|
Ethernet,
802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
|
Ethernet,
802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
|
Optical drive
|
DVD burner
|
DVD burner
|
By now, the shape and size of the MacBook Pro
should be very familiar. Even more recent designs, such as the
second-generation MacBook Air, are variations on it. The basic building block
remains the same: a solid chunk of aluminum, which is carved down into a shell
with support struts. This unibody chassis has the benefit of being thin (for a
15-inch laptop), but strong and flex-free at the same time.
The touch philosophy that informs the
iPad/iPhone line of devices can be said to have its roots in the large
multitouch clickpad-style trackpad that's been a staple of the MacBook Pro for
years. The multitouch gestures, slightly revamped recently for OS X Lion, are
incredibly useful. Once you get used to them, going back to a regular touch pad
is difficult. Several Windows laptops have added larger clickpads over the past
year or so, with somewhat similar multitouch gestures, but we can easily say
that none can yet compete with the MacBook's implementation.
The 1,440x900-pixel display is still
higher-resolution than many 15-inch laptops (which are 1,366x768 pixels), and
two screen upgrades are available: a 1,680x1,050-pixel version for an extra
$100, or a 1,680x1,050-pixel "antiglare" version for $150. Of the
current MacBook lineup, only the 11-inch Air has a 16:9 display; Apple is
otherwise the only major computer maker still widely using 16:10 displays.
The big difference between MacBooks and other
laptops in the ports and connections category is the recent port based on
Intel's Thunderbolt high-speed I/O technology. If it looks a lot like the Mini
Display Port connection on older MacBooks, that's because it is the same,
except for the tiny lightning bolt logo next to it. It still functions as a
DisplayPort output, and in fact, you're able to daisy-chain up to six
Thunderbolt devices or displays to that single port.
Thunderbolt is technically capable of 10Gbps
bidirectional transfer, and if Intel and Apple have their way, it may replace
many other kinds of ports and connections in the future, but there are only a
handful of peripherals that work with it currently.
Also notable on the 2011 MacBook
Pro (including the version we tested earlier this year) is a 720p Webcam, which
works with the new Mac version of FaceTime, the same video-conferencing app
found on the iPhone and iPod Touch. With a solid Wi-Fi signal, jumping into
full-screen mode was clear and mostly stutter-free. There's also an onscreen
button for changing the video window from portrait mode to horizontal, and
video calls can be made between MacBooks and iPhones as well.
But while Thunderbolt and FaceTime are
interesting extras, the real muscle behind the new MacBook Pro is the quad-core
Intel Core i7 CPU and AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU. These parts were previously
found on the higher-end 15-inch Pro, and now are the default loadout for the
less-expensive base model. In our CNET Labs benchmark tests, the new MacBook
Pro performed impressively, and was almost exactly matched with the Winter 2011
MacBook Pro we tested. Keep in mind that we're comparing the April 2011 high-end
configuration with the October 2011 entry-level configuration.
The AMD Radeon HD 6750M in our review unit is
a solid GPU, and a nice jump over the Radeon 6490M previously offered with the
$1,799 15-inch Pro. As with the previous few generations of MacBook Pros, the
discrete graphics swap out with the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics as
needed, saving battery life as you go.
Mac gaming, no matter what anyone says, is still a pretty
fallow field, with many big games still only available for Windows systems. In
our older Modern Warfare Mac gaming benchmark, we got 41.3 frames per second at
1,440x900 pixels, which was not quite as good as the 51.8 frames per second we
got with the high-end $2,199 version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro earlier this
year, which also had a 6750M card.
MacBooks are also known for offering long battery life,
even in larger systems such as the 15-inch Pro. In this case, the system ran
for 6 hours and 54 minutes in our video playback battery drain test,
essentially the same result as the previous version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro
we tested, which ran for 7 hours and 5 minutes. In comparison, Dell's XPS 15z,
clearly aimed at the same audience, ran for only 3 hours and 30 minutes in the
same test. Service and support from Apple has always been a mixed bag. Apple includes a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, but only 90 days of telephone support. Upgrading to a full three-year plan under AppleCare will cost an extra $349 and is pretty much a must-buy, considering the proprietary nature of Apple products and their sealed bodies. Support is also accessible through a well-stocked online knowledge base, video tutorials, and e-mail with customer service, or through in-person visits to Apple's retail store Genius Bars, which, in our experience, have always been fairly frustration-free encounters.
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