Hardware
Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 Laptop Overview
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Apple launched the MacBook Pro as the successor to the PowerBook G4 way back in early 2006. These top notch laptop computers have been constantly improved since their launch. Some of the new revisions introduced design changes but this year is the year of the Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 notebook computer and while the design still looks the same as last year, Apple made many refinements which are more than welcome specifically if you have not upgraded your MacBook Pro for the past couple of years.
The Pros
Speed has been enhanced tremendously utilizing the new “Sandy Bridge” generation of Intel Core i processors. The smaller model, the 13-inch, will now be powered by the latest Intel Core i5 2620M, which is really quick. 15-inch and 17-inch designs will have quad-core power which is needed for running high-end programs like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Photoshop smoothly. While 4 GB is the minimum memory shipped, you can obtain up to 16 GB for a further cost. For anyone who is into gaming or any other graphic intense programs, the AMD Radeon HD 6490M can fully provide what you need. If that is still not really fast enough, you can also upgrade to the Radeon HD 6750M. Switchable graphics remains in so life of the battery for regular usage remains lengthy as it uses the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000. With these types of overall performance advancements, the new 2011 models virtually soar in the benchmarks.
The particular connection pertaining to the Apple LED Cinema Display has been upgraded to a new technology also. The newest MacBook Pros are employing Intel’s new Thunderbolt interface to be able to further enhance performance and flexibility. Thunderbolt is actually as much as 12 times faster than the earlier Firewire 800, which will make file transfers considerably more efficient. Additionally it is flexible enabling devices to daisy-chain off of a single Thunderbolt channel without having performance degradation.
The second primary enhancement is the built-in webcam which is no longer known as the iSight camera but the FaceTime HD camera which shares its title with the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 cameras. At present video chatting can be carried out in 720p resolution between all Apple’s most recent devices.
Disadvantages
Along with all of these types of enhancements, the battery life had to decrease and the Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 notebook still uses the same battery as the previous model. Don’t be too concerned though, because it still lasts a reputable seven hours with wireless turned on. The MacBook Pro 13-inch at the same time will get a small downgrade as it uses the Intel integrated graphics without an AMD or NVIDIA counterpart. Even so, the Intel graphics is much better than previous versions, with only gamers likely to notice the minimal decrease in speed.
Summary
The standards for the high-end laptop category have been drastically improved with the release of the MacBook Pro Winter 2011 models. These brand new 2011 products are clearly ready for next generation applications in addition to next generation hardware should the new Thunderbolt interface takes off.
Tags: iSight camera, Pros Speed, Product Release
