Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The new 15 - inch MacBook Pro comes in three stock configurations , all priced similarly to the last iteration . All three exemplar fare stock with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM , two computer graphic processor , and a sheeny 15.4 - in LED - backlit screen .
The $ 1799 entry - level system comes with a 2.4GHz Core i5 central processing unit and a 320 GB hard crusade ; it replaces a $ 1699 model with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo central processor , 2 GB of RAM , a 250 GB toilsome drive , and integrated graphics only . The next step up the line of products is a $ 1999 system with a 2.53GHz Core i5 central processor and a 500 GB hard drive , which takes the plaza of a $ 1999 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo - base arrangement with 4 GB of RAM , dual artwork , and a 320 GB hard drive . At the top of the line sits a $ 2199 model with a 2.66GHz Core i7 central processing unit and a 500 GB drive ; its $ 2299 - predecessor had a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo mannikin with 4 GB of RAM , and a 500 GB hard drive .
See Macworld ’s 13 - in MacBook Pro review
Longer bars are better. Blue bars in italics represent reference systems. Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith, Chris Holt, Chris Holt, Lynn La, and Meghann Myers.
What’s new?
The new 15 - inch MacBook Pro models drop the Intel Core 2 dyad central processor ( used in Apple ’s laptop computer line since recent 2006 ) in favour of Intel ’s Core i5 and Core i7 Mobile River processors . The Core i5 and i7 processor have a few interesting public presentation feature , includingHyper - Threading , which use virtual heart and soul to double the amount of processing sum demo to the operating system . The processors have three-fold cores , but OS X care for them as get four center . Another i5 / i7 engineering , Turbo Boost , reserve the central processing unit to hasten up for a short period of clip when necessary , or shut out down unused cores and give the resources to the cores in use . Turbo Boost can increase the clock focal ratio of the 2.4GHz Core i5 processor up to 2.93GHz , for example .
The mobile versions of the Core i5 and i7 used in the MacBook Pro differ from the desktop version found in the 27 - inch iMac , which has four forcible processing core . The desktop heart and soul i5 does not stomach Hyper - Threading , though the mobile rendering does .
All 15 - in MacBook Pros now offer both integrated and discerning computer graphic — antecedently , the entry - point 15 - in MacBook Pro had only integrated graphics . The new mannikin can habituate Intel HD integrated graphics ( which shares 256 MB of main memory with the CPU ) for general - manipulation applications , like iTunes , Mail and Safari . But for applications that require more horsepower , the organization can utilize its discrete Nvidia GeForce GT330 M graphic , with 256 Mbit of dedicated artwork computer memory .
Not only are the graphics processors new to these system , there ’s also a new automatic artwork switching engineering developed by Apple that looks for frameworks used by single apps at launch ( such as OpenGL and Core Animation ) to settle when to seamlessly change over from its energy - sipping integrated graphics to the higher - powered distinct graphics C.P.U. . antecedently , a user had to settle which graphics to use and shift between them postulate exit and back into OS X. One interesting note about the automatic switching : Any lotion that uses the required frameworks can activate a replacement from integrated to discrete art .
Also Modern is the support for inertial scrolling on the Multi - Touch shabu trackpad . If you have an iPhone , iPod touch , or iPad , the scrolling works the same way : swipe your digit up or down to scroll through a document , and the impulse continues the scrolling until it slow stops . An Apple representative tell that this feature is unique to the new MacBook Pros and is not uncommitted through a software update on older Mac laptop computer .
The 15 - inch MacBook Pro ’s Mini DisplayPort can now output multichannel audio as well as video . When using this embrasure , ensure you are using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter that patronize the raw MacBook Pro ’s audio and TV signal .
What didn’t change?
The display is the same glossy 15.4 - in widescreen LCD with LED backlight and 1440 - by-900 - pixel resolution as found in the last generation . Looking at the new model side by side with one of last twelvemonth ’s , there is no remainder in viewing slant or coloration performance . If you ’re sensitive to the mirror - similar contemplation of the standard shiny screen , an anti - glare , in high spirits - resolution ( 1680 - by-1050 ) option is uncommitted for an extra $ 150 — a standard firmness , anti - glare screen door is n’t offered . you could also opt for a glossy high - resolve display for an extra $ 100 .
The cause design is unchanged , and there ’s still a backlit keyboard , multi - touch trackpad , and an 8x DVD - burn SuperDrive . The port place on the left - hand side of the MacBook Pro ’s shell remain identical to the last generation : two USB 2.0 interface , one Gbit ethernet , one FireWire 800 , one South Dakota card slot , MagSafe power port , and audio dividing line in and delineate out port supporting optical digital and analogue signals . Also on the remaining paw side is a battery life story indicator button with seven light status gauge .
Battery life
The MacBook Pro ’s captive battery made its debut in the belated 2009 modeling , extending the length of time you may use the laptop computer on a individual flush . Now , down in the mouth power consumption by the graphics , and elusive barrage changes aid to increase electric battery life . In our picture show playback tests , ( a worse - case barrage fire run out scenario that differs importantly Apple ’s methodological analysis of determining barrage fire life ) , the three laptops lasted on average 4 hours , 35 minute , an betterment between 10 and 25 per centum .
New 15-inch MacBook Pro: Speedmark scores
Longer bars are better . patrician bars in italics present reference system . Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith , Chris Holt , Chris Holt , Lynn La , and Meghann Myers .
To see how these internal melioration affected performance , we enlisted the help of our overall organization performance bench mark , Speedmark 6 , and the results were telling .
The unexampled humbled - remnant 2.4GHz Core i5 was 23 percentage faster overall than the previous low - end model with its 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo . The biggest gain was in 3 - D game performance , where the newfangled mannikin ’s Nvidia GeForce GT330 graphics wiped the floor with the desegregate Nvidia GeForce 9400 artwork in the former humble - goal system of rules .
The newfangled entry - level MacBook Pro also proved to be debauched than the previous “ better ” and “ best ” configurations in the 15 - inch batting order , with 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors , respectively . equate the newfangled 2.4GHz Core i5 MacBook Pro with the previous top of the line 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro , the new entry - grade 15 - inch was 5 percent faster in our Speedmark 6 testing , with 7 per centum faster scores in our Photoshop test , 17 percent firm Cinebench central processing unit score , 16 pct faster MathematicaMark 7 score , and 19 percent quicker Aperture score .
The $ 1999 system , with a 2.53GHz Core i5 , was only about 3 percent faster than the humbled - conclusion 2.4GHz Core i5 in our Speedmark 6 trial retinue . Some tests , like Cinebench and MathematicaMark 7 show the benefit of the 2.53GHz ’s faster process speed , but other tests , like Aperture and Compressor were actually faster on the 2.4GHz system .
In our artwork tests , we found that the MacBook Pro ’s young Nvidia GeForce GT330 M graphic were capable to display an average of about 19 percent more frames per second ( 69.1 ) in our Call of Duty tests than the Nvidia GeForce GT 9600 M graphics in the 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz 2009 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros ( 58.2 ) . I suppose that bumping up the resolve from 1024 - by-768 ( the resolution we habituate on all Mac organization as part of Speedmark 6 ) to the 15 - inch MacBook Pro ’s native 1440 - by-900 resolving might show a liberal difference of opinion , but it stay put somewhat much the same at 19.6 percentage quicker on the novel MacBook Pros .
Comparing the Modern MacBook Pros to the iMacs that already have Core i5 and i7 mainframe showed that there is still a public presentation price to compensate for going portable over background . The results emphasize the iMac ’s vantage of using the desktop Core i5 and i7 processors with four processing core and a quicker spin 7200 - rpm 1 TB severe drive . ( The 2.66GHz iMac uses the desktop version of the Core i5 that has does n’t support for Hyper - Threading . The 2.8GHz interpretation uses the desktop interlingual rendition of the Core i7 with Hyper - Threading . The MacBook Pros use the mobile version of the Core i5 and i7 with two cores and Hyper - threading on both . ) We found the high - end 2.66GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro to be 24 percent slower overall than the 2.66GHz Core i5 27 - inch iMac and 32 percent slower than the 2.8GHz Core i7 27 - inch iMac .
15-inch MacBook Pro: Speedmark scores
salutary results inbold . Reference systems initalics .
Call of Duty musical score is in frame per second ( higher is better ) . Speedmark and MathematicaMark are performance scores ( gamy scores are better ) . All others are in minutes : second ( low is better ) . All scheme were tested with 10.6.3 and 4 GB RAM . The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 14 written tasks using a 50 MB file . Photoshop ’s memory was set to 70 percent and account was set to Minimum . We recorded how long it shoot to yield a scene with mulitprocessors in CinemaBench . We used Compressor to encode a MOV file to the software ’s H.264 for television podcast mise en scene . We time the import and thumbnail / trailer world meter for 150 photos . In iMovie , we imported a tv camera archive and exported it to iTunes for Mobile Devices setting . We converted 90 minutes of AAC audio data file to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality circumstance . We unzip a 2 GB archive in the Finder . We run WorldBench 6 multitasking psychometric test on a Parallels VM . We import 150 JPEGs into iPhoto . We used HandBrake to rip a videodisc chapter to the hard drive . We opened a 500 - page Word document in Pages ’ 09.—Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith , Chris Holt , Lynn La , and Meghann Myers
Macworld buying advice
The new 15 - inch MacBook Pros allow little to complain about , offering better app carrying into action , good stamp battery life sentence and very similar pricing . The supererogatory $ 100 for the new grim - end system seems like an specially good bargain when you take the gain of discrete graphics , larger mental ability surd drive and new 2.4GHz Core i5 processor .
[ James Galbraith is Macworld ’s research lab conductor . ]
