We also pit the 17-inch Pro against a Windows heavyweight, the HP HDX 18. The Intel Core 2 Duo 2.94GHz T9800 plus 8GB of RAM of our review unit is obviously faster than anything the 15-inch MacBook Pro could manage.
The basic model comes with a 2.66Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (2.93GHz is a $300 option), 4GB of DDR3 RAM (8GB is $1,000), a 320GB 5,400rpm hard-drive (7,200rpm or up to 256GB SSDs are options) and an 8x SuperDrive DVD burner, plus switchable NVIDIA graphics.Īs for power, we loaded up Photoshop CS4 and tested the 17-inch Pro against its 15-inch counterpart (2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5,400rpm HDD) in a Retouch Artist speed test the larger notebook finished in 38.9s while the smaller took 53.9s.
It's the only MacBook around on which you can natively edit 1080p high-definition video, and our tests show that the processor and graphics readily keep up their side of the bargain. The quality of the display is already making us wonder how we'll live without it once Apple demand the review unit back. Our experience suggests that it completely eliminates glare, and is well worth the $50 upgrade cost. According to Apple the anti-glare treatment process is almost exactly the same as the standard glossy screen: the coating is applied instead of the final, high-gloss glass panel. After the cut, anti-glare screens, NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M and portability from the thinnest, lightest 17-incher around.įor this particular MacBook Pro review unit we opted for the anti-glare LCD display. Apple shipped over the new MacBook Pro just after it launched, and we've been spending the last few weeks getting to grips with the new notebook and putting it through its paces. The 17-inch MacBook Pro was the last of the Apple notebook range to get a unibody update, but for those looking for superlative media editing and general processing grunt it more than delivers.