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MacBook Pros (Early 2011)

03.03.2011
It's been nearly a year since Apple refreshed its line. That's a longer-than-usual gap between updates, but the sport several changes under the hood, including new processors, new graphics processors, and a new peripheral connector. It all translates into performance jumps that were worth the wait.

The new MacBook Pro line consists of five models, all with 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, and Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000 processor. The $1199 13-inch model has a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor and a 5400-rpm 320GB hard drive. The $1499 13-inch model has a 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor and a 5400-rpm 500GB hard drive. The $1799 15-inch model has a 2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a 5400-rpm 500GB hard drive, and a 256MB AMD Radeon HD 6490M discrete graphics processor. The $2199 15-inch model has a 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a 5400-rpm 750GB hard drive, and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6750M discrete graphics processor. The $2499 17-inch model has the same specs as the $2199 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Intel's latest series of processors, known by the code-name , are found inside every new MacBook Pro. With the processor, cache, integrated graphics, and memory controller all residing on the same die, the Core i5 and Core i7 processors helped propel the new MacBook Pros well past their predecessors in CPU performance.

The Sandy Bridge processors feature Intel's integrated graphics processor. In the previous generation of MacBook Pros, Apple used Intel's integrated HD graphics only in the higher-end models, which also had a second, discrete GPU, the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M. The GT 330M kicked in for graphically intensive applications. With the , Apple didn't think the Intel HD graphics available at the time were powerful enough to be the only graphics option, so it stuck with Core 2 Duo processors and used Nvidia's integrated GeForce 320M graphics. With the new HD Graphics 3000 processor, Apple found the performance good enough to finally invite the 13-inch models into the new Core era.

Like its predecessors, the Sandy Bridge processors support , which allows the system to address four virtual cores in the 13-inch models and eight virtual cores in the 15- and 17-inch models. Another technology, Turbo Boost, allows the processors to temporarily speed up when needed. The Sandy Bridge processors are using , which Apple says is more efficient than the previous version.