Apple tweaks MacBook Pro lineup

by Chris Jager  |  Wednesday 26 October 2011
Apple tweaks MacBook Pro lineup

Apple's MacBook Pro laptop range has received a fresh upgrade, with new processors, GPUs and storage options across the board.

Apple has once again improved the specifications for its MacBook Pro laptop range, which will now boast faster processors and GPUs.

The 13in model now comes with a 2.4GHz Core i5 or 2.8GHz Core i7 CPU, which replaces the current 2.3GHz and 2.7GHz CPU options.

"With Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5GHz, these processors allow the 13-inch MacBook Pro to perform up to twice as fast as the previous generation," Apple boasts on its website.

Storage has also been upped on both 13in models, jumping from 320GB to 500GB and 500GB to 750GB, respectively. Pricing for the 13in MacBook Pro still starts at $1,399.

The 15in model, meanwhile, offers 2.2GHz and 2.4GHz i7 processors (up from 2.0GHz and 2.2GHz). Graphics have also been given a boost, courtesy of an AMD Radeon HD 6770M GPU (1GB GDDR5) or Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory. The 2.2GHz version costs $2,099, with the 2.4GHz version going for $400 more.

The 17in MacBook Pro has received the same graphical boost as its premium 15in sibling, along with a 2.4GHz i7 dual-core CPU (up from 2.2GHz). Its RRP remains the same at $2889. 

For a full list of specs and more information, visit Apple's Australian web site.

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See more about:  apple  |  mobilecomputing  |  macbook  |  pro
 
 

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Comments: 5
DavidChalmers
27 October 2011
 Great, now Apple is caught up with six months ago!


Comment made about the PC & Tech Authority article:
Apple tweaks MacBook Pro lineup?
Apple's MacBook Pro laptop range has received a fresh upgrade, with new processors, GPUs and storage options across the board.

What do you think? Join the discussion.
rubaiyat
27 October 2011
 Six months ago Apple was first out with Sandy Bridge, Z68 and Thunderbolt.

So when do you think the non-Apple manufacturers will catch up with decent screens, unibodies, quality software and real support?

Never is such a long, long time!

PS Is that right that PC manufacturers are still selling computers with Celerons and Pentiums in them?

Edited by rubaiyat: 27/10/2011 09:28:33 AM
photohounds
5 January 2012
 Big deal, apple used something that someone else invented and has profited from it, first.
willtell
5 January 2012
 Not intending to interrupt a fanboy war, however everyone is off on a few facts here.

Apple didn't catch up on 6 months ago. Apple has remained fairly cutting edge since the switch to the Intel platform. They can on occasion lag behind based on their release cycle. There's nothing wrong with that at all and in fact it would benefit the platform greatly by not having countless products revised every month when something changes.

However, Apple wasn't the first to Sandy Bridge. We had Sandy Bridge based systems in our office here well before Apple released their range.

It was the first to Z68 and Thunderbolt, but I would consider that more of a marketing ploy than anything else. Apple's adoption of Z68 offers nothing to the platform as they do not take advantage of what the chipset offers - SSD caching, overclocking, Virtu, etc. The whole point of Z68 has been lost.

Thunderbolt, while offering some great theoretical benefits, hasn't really offered anything in the real world due to a lack of support. The throughput speed of USB3 offers more than most mechanical drives can handle and with the low cost of deployment plus backwards compatibility, makes it a more viable option at this stage. Considering it has been a long time since Thunderbolt was released, I would say that Apple might have backed the wrong horse on this one.

to quote...

rubaiyat wrote:
So when do you think the non-Apple manufacturers will catch up with decent screens, unibodies, quality software and real support?


Please put your fanboy rage away. That's just utter nonsense. Don't let the trolls bait you.

Yes you can still buy PC's with Celerons and Pentiums. They are current products that have continued to be updated. They can easily meet basic purposes for some users, while lowering total cost of ownership. If all you're doing is email, internet and basic word processing, why do you need a Core i5? Money not well spent at all. It's only the short-sighted that can't see the value in these. An example is AMD. They have created a whole new market for themselves based on offering the best value to performance ratio.

photohounds wrote:
Big deal, apple used something that someone else invented and has profited from it, first.


What's that supposed to mean? Are you expecting one company to invent everything? I can't recall at any point where Apple has suggested they invented the platform. They simply buy into it like everyone else.



photohounds
5 January 2012
 Not at all, some seem to believe one company deserves accolades like innovative for using something first. Canny, sometimes first there, but in the minds of some always first with the best. Simply not true. I back USB3 too FWIW, and 100watt USB if it materialises, with its ability to make all those bloody plugpacks obsolete, will be truly innovative.

Too many cables here! And probably everywhere there are a lot of devices connected.
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