Apple boosts MacBook Pro speeds in 'ho-hum' refresh
Moves to dual- and quad-core 'Sandy Bridge' processors, debuts Intel's Thunderbolt I/O technology
Computerworld - As anticipated, Apple today refreshed its MacBook Pro notebook line, turning to Intel's new Sandy Bridge chip architecture and adding a new connectivity technology dubbed Thunderbolt that transfers data at speeds up to 10Gbps.
Prices for most of the new models have not changed. The entry-level 13-in. MacBook Pro runs $1,199, while the most expensive 15-in. laptop still costs $2,199. Apple did raise the price of the top-of-the-line 17-in. model by $200, however, to $2,499.
"A ho-hum product announcement," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, giving his assessment of the refresh.
All MacBook Pros now run one of Intel's Core i5 or Core i7 dual- or quad-core processors, and include Intel's integrated graphics chipset. The 13-in. models some standard with dual-core i5 processors, while the 15- and 17-in. MacBook Pros sport a quad-core i7. The larger notebooks also boast AMD's Radeon HD 6490M or 6750M discrete graphics, which Apple claimed were three times faster than the Nvidia graphics in the older models.
According to Apple, all MacBook Pros are "up to twice as fast as their predecessors."
The additional power comes at a price, however. All models now feature a battery that Apple said provides 7 hours of power between charges, down from the 10 hours it boasted for last year's 13-in. MacBook Pros and off the 8-to-9 hours estimated for 2010's larger 15-in. and 17-in. models.
Gottheil, however, said that the changes in battery life estimates resulted from a new, more rigorous testing procedure that Apple is now using, and dismissed the idea that the new processors and graphics were behind the battery declines.
Apple's 13-in. MacBook Pros are powered by a 2.3GHz or 2.7GHz Core i5, come with 4GB of memory standard, and feature a 320GB or 500GB hard drive. Both rely on the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chipset. The smaller MacBook Pros are priced at $1,199 and $1,499.
The two 15-in. models -- down from three -- run a 2GHz or 2.2GHz quad-core i7 processor, come with 4GB of memory and a 500GB or 750GB hard drive, and include AMD's graphics processor with either 256MB or 1GB of graphics RAM as well as the Intel integrated chipset. Apple eliminated the middle-of-the-road 15-in. MacBook Pro, which was priced at $1,999, but kept the low- and high-end models at $1,799 and $2,199.
Apple's new 17-in. MacBook Pro comes standard with 2.2GHz quad-core i7, 4GB of memory, a 750GB hard drive and the top-end AMD graphics card with 1GB of RAM. It was the only model of the five to get a price increase.
All MacBook Pros also now sport a new I/O (input/output) technology developed by Intel, which formerly called it Light Peak but has renamed it Thunderbolt.
Apple Watch
- Apple CEO Tim Cook passes up $75M
- Inside Apple's secret plan to kill the cash register
- Mac-based Flashback click fraud campaign was a bust
- Apple victorious in iphone5.com domain dispute
- Mac clone maker Psystar saga ends as Supreme Court denies appeal
- Apple ships first Leopard security update in nearly a year
- MacBook Pro refreshes may be imminent, say reports
- Adobe's security chief praises Apple for Flash-crippling move
- Apple patches 36 bugs in OS X, fixes encryption password goof
- Apple patches Safari, blocks outdated Flash Player


- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Practice Management: Double Billing Rate and Improve Patient Services
- Would you like to double your billing rate and achieve faster payment for services?
Download this customer success story to see how One Health... - Mission Critical Data Explosion and Customer Case Study
- Would you like to double your tier 1 storage capacity while simultaneously reducing your storage footprint?
Download this customer success story to see how... - Protecting Against Database Attacks and Insider Threats: Top 5 Scenarios
- Read this new eBook to learn the top five scenarios and essential best practices for preventing database attacks and insider threats.
- Database Activity Monitoring Is Evolving
- Read the analyst report and learn how you can leverage the core capabilities of a DAP solution for better database security.
- Establishing a Strategy for Database Security is No Longer Optional
- The options for securing increasingly valuable databases are very broad and deep, and can be confusing. This research provides an overview of three... All Macintosh White Papers
- Distributed Database Security with Real-time Monitoring
- View this demo and learn how IBM InfoSphere Guardium database activity monitoring can help protect your sensitive data in distributed DBMS environments with...
- InfoSphere Warehouse Packs Demo
- These flash modules make warehousing more tangible and relevant to business users through detailed explanations of the InfoSphere Warehouse Packs.
- Delivery Management -- Extending Lifecycle Management
- Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
Siloed organizations continue doing the wrong things and doing things wrong, leading to increased costs,... - Leverage automation today to reduce IT complexity
- Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 2:00 PM EDT
Whether your B2B complexity is caused by multiple technologies due to M&A, business or application specific... - Redefine Expectations in the Data Center
- Need to do more with less? Watch this video to learn how HP ProLiant Gen8 servers can help your business deploy servers three... All Macintosh Webcasts
