Body Solid Pro

Review Apple Macbook Pro MC372LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop

Good: Adds fast, efficient Intel Core i5, i7 processors, new Nvidia graphics, seamless switching between integrated, discrete GPUs.

Bad: At the top end of the price scale; still no HDMI, Blu-ray, or other high-end options.

Bottom line: Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro keeps the same look and feel, but offers major internal changes, including an optional Intel Core i7 CPU, making it a very serious portable powerhouse.

Review

Upgrade the processor speed of the Apple MacBook line always monitored, and divided normally into two groups: There are important events, such as aluminum, cantilevered construction, in 2008, and then there are small updates on a given day effects are generally small and hard drive size.

Latest version of the MacBook Pro is surprising from the two extremes. Aluminum self-supporting structure is typical, and its multi-touch glass trackpad large (in fact from the outside, the new MacBook Pro seems to be the same as before). But the new internal components than just update the specification.

15 - and 17-inch Pro models with a new line of Intel Core and the old Core 2 Duo (Pro 13-inch, have been postponed, it is still a Core 2 Duo). Core Core i7 i5 two-and higher-quality versions are available. This requires a new architecture of the system (with Intel) and change default to Nvidia GeForce 9400 integrated graphics integrated graphics Intel Integrated Systems.

Samples from the basic design of high-end 15-inch Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive and a separate Nvidia GeForce GT330M. At $ 2,199, it is expensive, but it's still $ 100 less adherent than the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro, $ 1.799, the lowest 15-inch model, $ 100 more than at the lower end of the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro - but it is the system now also graphics card and not integrated graphics. Overall, this series of changes, usually in the way of the Apple keep prices stable, but adding a faster and more efficient components.

We pine greatest demand is in addition to HDMI, Blu-ray and 3G, but at the same time the Core i7 is a very impressive, both on paper and in practice. 13-inch model is still struggling with Core 2 Duo, updated 15-inch MacBook Pro model do you feel now .Strong light

Price as reviewed / Starting price $2,199 / $1,699 Processor 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 M620 Memory 4GB, 1066MHz DDR3 Hard drive 500GB 5,400rpm Chipset Intel HM55 Graphics Nvidia GeForce GT 330M + Intel GMA 4500MHD Operating System OS X 10.6.2 Snow Leopard Dimensions (WD) 14.4 x 9.8 inches Height 0.95 inch Screen size (diagonal) 15.4 inches System weight / Weight with AC adapter 5.5 / 6.2 pounds Category Mainstream

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As with the previous MacBook Pro models, the unibody chassis starts with a solid block of aluminum, which is carved down, rather than a thin outer shell that has had support struts added to it. The result is a thin yet strong chassis that feels very solid and substantial. Even the $999 white polycarbonate MacBook now uses a similar body type.

We remain fond of the large trackpad that uses multitouch gestures for much of its functionality. In fact, touch controls are almost as vital to the MacBook as they are to the iPhone or iPad (plugging in a mouse is also an option, but you miss out on a lot of time-saving gesture controls that way).

Of the multitouch gestures, our favorite is sweeping moves with four fingers; left or right brings up the application switcher, and up hides all your active windows. Once you get used to that, going back to a regular touch pad is difficult. We've noted in the past year or so that many PC makers have added some form of multitouch functionality to their touch pads, but we have yet to find any that work as well as Apple's.

This year's version also includes a small behavioral tweak, which Apple calls "inertial scrolling." Like on the iPhone and iPad, flicking two fingers up or down to scroll now feels like there's more mass behind the effort, and the page will continue to move slightly after you've lifted up your fingers. The recent Magic Mouse peripheral from Apple included a similar effect.

The 15.4-inch wide-screen display offers a 1,440x900-pixel native resolution, which is what we're used to from previous 15-inch MacBook Pro models. But with the growth of online HD video, and ever-higher resolutions for digital still and video cameras, some users will want more pixels to play with. A 1,680x1,050-pixel display option is now available, which costs an extra $100 (or $150 for a version that also includes an antiglare coating). Still, for a $2,000 laptop, the higher-resolution screen should be included by default.

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Apple MacBook Pro - Spring 2010 Average for category [mainstream] Video Mini DisplayPort VGA-out, HDMI Audio Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks Data 2 USB 2.0, FireWire 800, SD card reader 4 USB 2.0, SD card reader Expansion None ExpressCard/54 Networking Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN Optical drive DVD burner DVD burner

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Apple embraced the simple joys of the SD card slot in last year's MacBook Pro update, but this time around there are no comparable new features (although we're excited that the DisplayPort output now supports audio as well as video).

You do, however, have several ways to push the 15-inch MacBook Pro well past its $1,799-$2,199 default configurations. Bumping the 500GB hard drive from 5,400rpm to a faster 7,200rpm model is a $50 upgrade, and SSD drives are available from 128GB ($200) to 512GB (a whopping $1,300). RAM can be doubled to 8GB for $400, but each of the three base 15-inch models is locked into particular CPU/GPU combos.

The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have "automatic graphics switching," an Apple-engineered variation on Nvidia's Optimus graphics-switching technology. The concept is simple: the system uses its integrated Intel graphics by default, and when an app launches that requires the discrete Nvidia GeForce 330M GPU, it seamlessly switches over to that, then turns it off when it is no longer required.

Previously, switching between the (integrated) GeForce 9400 and the (discrete) GeForce 9600 found in last year's MacBook Pros required you to manually flip a software switch on the power options menu, and then log out and log back in.

The GeForce 330M (available in 256MB and 512MB versions) is not a hard-core gaming powerhouse, but it should be capable of playing just about any current PC game--although you may have to dial down the detail levels or resolution for optimal frame rates. It's the seamless switching between GPUs that interests us more, as it lets you take advantage of the discrete graphics for HD video and gaming, but won't run down the battery when not in use. In the Mac version of Call of Duty 4 we got 34.5 frames per second at 1,440x900-pixel resolution, with 4XAA and other high-end graphics options turned on, and 59 frames per second at the same resolution, but medium in-game graphics settings.

 

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