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Laptop Trouble Tips
The good: Powerful updates to the CPU and GPU; excellent battery life; still the best touch pad and gesture controls of any laptop.
The bad: Upgrades can get expensive; Thunderbolt is an unproven technology with as-yet no compatible products; still no dedicated HDMI, Blu-ray, or other wished-for options.
The bottom line: It's a hefty investment, but the combination of new high-end Intel processor options and AMD graphics makes the 15-inch MacBook Pro an all-around powerhouse, with the new Thunderbolt I/O port as an added bonus.
After a now-customary period of rumors, leaks, and anecdotal evidence, Apple's new generation of MacBook Pro laptops has arrived. And though these new models may look the same as the ones they replace, the changes under the hood are some of the most far-reaching in the history of the MacBook Pro brand.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro moves from Intel's original Core i-series CPUs to the latest second-generation chips, formerly code-named Sandy Bridge. Not only that, you can forget about seeing an Intel Core i5 CPU in your 15-inch (or 17-inch) MacBook Pro--these use high-end quad-core Core i7 chips now. Our step-up $2,199 review unit had a 2.2GHz quad-core i7, with 4GB of RAM and a huge 750GB hard drive (at only 5,400rpm, however).
The biggest surprise is the 15-inch MacBook Pro's graphics processor. Instead of the Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card previously found in these systems, the GPUs now come from Nvidia's longtime rival AMD. The base 15-inch model has an AMD Radeon HD 6490M, and our review unit had an even faster 6750M. With Intel's improved integrated graphics in the 13-inch models, that means that Nvidia has been completely ousted from the MacBook Pro line.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro moves from Intel's original Core i-series CPUs to the latest second-generation chips, formerly code-named Sandy Bridge. Not only that, you can forget about seeing an Intel Core i5 CPU in your 15-inch (or 17-inch) MacBook Pro--these use high-end quad-core Core i7 chips now. Our step-up $2,199 review unit had a 2.2GHz quad-core i7, with 4GB of RAM and a huge 750GB hard drive (at only 5,400rpm, however).
The biggest surprise is the 15-inch MacBook Pro's graphics processor. Instead of the Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card previously found in these systems, the GPUs now come from Nvidia's longtime rival AMD. The base 15-inch model has an AMD Radeon HD 6490M, and our review unit had an even faster 6750M. With Intel's improved integrated graphics in the 13-inch models, that means that Nvidia has been completely ousted from the MacBook Pro line.
Negative – Some updates are expensive and the Thunderbolt doesn’t have any compatible products and is yet an unproved technology. It also lacks HDMI, Blu-ray and other options.
Bottom line – It’s a big investment. The combination of the Intel powerful processor and AMD sleek graphics makes the MacBook Pro a great powerhouse. The new Thunderbolt I/O port is an additional plus.
Cost - $ 2,199
Review– The new release keeps the well-known single aluminum body which makes the laptop both well-built and flex-free. There is also the big multi-touch click-pad type trackpad which is one of the cornerstones of the MacBook Pro. New gestures are expected to come out with the new version of the OS X. There has been one addition in the ports and connections for the Thunderbolt. This is Intel’s new powered-port technology to enable high speed data transmission and display. This technology is hypothesized to allow peripherals to transfer data and videos at the rate of 10 Gbps. But at present, there is little idea about the Thunderbolt matched peripherals or when they will be available. It is possible this new technology can end up replacing other ports and connections in the coming years.
The cheapest 15-inch MacBook Pro comes at $1,799. We still have to wait for high in demand features like HDMI, Blu-ray and 3G. The 15-inch MacBook Pro offers a resolution of 1440×900 with two screen updates available. The 1680×1050 resolution costs an extra $100 and the 1680×1050 resolution “antiglare” option costs $150. This is a vast improvement from the 13-inch MacBook in which you cannot avail any anti-glare or increased resolution screen options.
The MacBook Pro comes with an inbuilt 720p webcam. It works with Mac’s new version of FaceTime and you can shift into full-screen mode with ease. You can easily make calls from a MacBook to an iPhone as well. The SD card slot available is SDXC compatible. So you can use higher capacity SD cards with this laptop.
The true strength of the MacBook Pro is its i7 CPU and AMD Radeon 6750 GPU. At present, this laptop is the fastest of its kind offered in the market. The battery life is projected by the company at 7 hours on average. This is higher than the previous year’s model, inclusive of its new hardware.
The MacBook Pro comes with a 1-year part and work warranty but 90 days of phone support. For the 3-year plan, AppleCare costs $349 in total. This is $100 more expensive than the 13-inch MacBook Pro and is a necessary purchase for Apple products. Other support options include an online knowledgebase, customer support via email, video tutorials or through Apple retail stores.
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