New MacBook Pro 2011

Notice: Updated February 24, 2011

The Apple site now has specifics on the new (2011) MacBook Pro. A number of changes have been made to this venerable workhorse not the least of which is the new body.

In fact the list of changes is so substantial that Apple is calling the MacBook Pro 2011 "ReEverythinged."

There are also updates to the processor with the MacBook Pro 2011 running the Intel i5 and i7 Core processors.

Then there's the display. It extends almost to the very edge of the case. Meaning that the thirteen inch model is more like fifteen inches, the fifteen inch more like seventeen and the seventeen inch model more like nineteen; this according to Apple anyway.

Not really!

The new MacBook Pro 2011 now brags seven hours of battery life; at least according to Apple. With the advanced GPU by Intel and the fifty percent increase in processing power in the CPU this really is quite a feat.

But the mid year 2010 MacBook Pro bragged a near ten hour battery life.

Here's the truth. This is the exact same battery offered in the mid-2010 MacBook Pro. No different. The new processor and graphic processing unit are likely responsible for this three hour reduction.

According to Apple they are using new testing parameters to determine battery life. I don't think this is quite accurate. I'd be surprised if the same battery could possibly last longer with a more powerful central processing unit and graphic processing unit. Then there's the fact that there's yet another processor on board; the Thunderbolt signal processor.

The long rumored serial interface by Intel called "Light Peak" is now included in the MacBook pro under the name Thunderbolt. This interface promises data transfer speeds up to ten Gigabits per second.

The Thunderbolt I/O is bidirectional with two channels. As stated above it can support speeds up to ten gigabits per second which, Apple claims, makes it twelve times faster than firewire and twenty times faster than USB 2.0. The Thunderbolt interface will support the Displayport with DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, and VGA adapters.

The new MacBook Pro 2011 case is machined from a solid block of aluminum making it both strong and light. Creating the case takes multiple passes in a CNC machine, but the end results is a very light yet very strong single piece of material from which the body of the MacBook Pro 2011 is made. This machines aluminum is used for both the body base and clam-shell display enclosure.

See images at right.

The new processor lineup for the MacBook Pro 2011 include the Intel i5 and i7 processors. Apple claims a fifty percent improvement in processor power with these dual core central processing units (CPUs).

These new processor run at much higher clock speeds. Including 2.4GHz for the Intel Core i5 processor. The i5 has a 3MB shared L3 cache and the i7 processor with has a 4MB shared L3 cache. The Intel Core i7 (offered on all but the most basic machine) is clocked at 2.0 through 2.7GHz. The processors have varying sizes of cache memory depending on the MacBook Pro selected.

Random Access Memory (RAM) is 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) on all models.

The Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of on board memory provides the graphics punch with the Intel i5 and i7 processors. The two top-end MacBook Pros can also run the optional AMD Radeon GPU with 256MB of on-board memory.

Dual display and video mirroring are possible and the GPUs will simultaneously support full native resolution on the built-in display with external resolutions up to 2560 by 1600 pixels. Both resolutions support millions of colors.

The Display
Apple has made the display itself even thinner by avoiding cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) and using white LED back-lighting instead. This means that unlike the CCFL there is no "warm-up" time, less power is used, and the display is bright and clear the moment it comes on.

It is also lighter and thinner than the earlier MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro 2011 measures point nine five inches thick, by fourteen point three inches wide by nine point eight inches deep (0.95 x 14.3 x 9.8"). In metric this is two point four centimeters by thirty-six point four centimeters by twenty-five centimeters (2.4 x 36.4 x 24cm).

The MacBook Pro 2011 weighs five point six pounds (5.6lb) or two hundred fifty-four grams (254g).

Connections
The MacBook Pro 2011 supports the following connection types:

• MagSafe power
• Gigabyte Ethernet port (RJ45)
• Firewire 800 port (1)
• Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
• MiniDisplay port (1)
• USB 2.0 port (2)
• SD card slot (1)
• Audio line in (1)
• Audio line out (1)
• Kensington lock slot (1)

Communications
The MacBook Pro 2011 supports the following communications:

• Airport Extreme Wi-Fi 802.11 n
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g
• Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR
• 10/100/1000 Base-T

Audio Out
Audio is handled by stereo speakers with sub-woofer, an omnidirectional microphone, audio line in, audio line out and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will also work with an iPhone headset. Of course Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR also supports stereo sound.

Video In
The MacBook Pro now features the 720p (High Definition) face-time camera.

Video Out
The MacBook Pro 2011 supports the following video standards:

• DVI Out
• VGA Out
• Dual Link DVI out (for thirty inch Apple Cinema HD [optional])
• HDMI audio/video out

Inputs
The MacBook Pro 2011 comes with a seventy-nine key keyboard (with ambient light detector for backlighting) and a trackpad.

The trackpad no longer has buttons as the trackpad serves as both pointer and button.

Storage
The MacBook Pro 2011 offers a number of ways to save your files. Storage options include:

• 320GB 5,400 RPM Serial ATA drive
• 500GB 5,400 RPM Serial ATA drive
• 500GB 7,200 RPM hard drive (optional)
• 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
• 256GB SSD
• 512GB SSD
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive for DVD±R DL/DVD±RW and CD-RW

Included Software
The MacBook Pro will come installed with the Snow Leopard OS, iTunes, TimeMachine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD player, PhotoBooth, Front Row and XCode.

iLife comes with iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand.

Battery
The MacBook Pro (77.5 Watt-hour) battery is the same unit shipped with the mid-2010 MacBook Pros. Because of the processor and Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) changes power demands are higher. The direct result is reduced battery life from nine to ten hours for the 2010 models, to seven hours for the 2011 model. Though Apple claims that the battery is not user replaceable, there's not that much to taking it out and replacing it. As with earlier MacBook Pros this model is designed to be opened so the user can upgrade memory.

Antenna
There are now four antenna instead of three. The mobile wireless processor is the Broadcom BCM4331. This processor supports three simultaneous data streams coming and going. There is also a Broadcom BCM2070 for Bluetooth 3.0 support. This explains all four antenna.

Cooling
There is now an additional cooling fan bringing the total up to two. Forced air is ported over the CPU, GPU, Thunderbolt signal processor and battery. There are also three heat-sinks that the air flows over. One for the processor, another for the GPU and one directly over the Thunderbolt signal processor. Air that is ported over these heat-sinks eventually flows over the battery before exhausting out of the unit.

Apple has places heat sensors nearly everywhere including the battery, trackpad, and the CPU and GPU.

The MacBook Pro 2011 will come in three sizes. The eleven inch, fifteen inch, and seventeen inch. Of course, each size has its own pricing structure with the larger units using the more advanced Intel processors. The eleven inch is still using the older Intel Core Duo processor.

See the table below for all the specifics of each size.

All MacBook Pro 2011 machines will come with the following:

• Precision unibody
• MagSafe Power Port
• Mini Display port
• Two USB ports
• One Thuderbolt 10Gbp/s data port
  
• One FireWire 800 port
• Facetime Camera
• Multi-touch trackpad
• Full size seventy-nine key (backlit) keyboard
• 8X superdrive

The Display
Despite all the speculation the MacBook Pro does not have a "retina display." The display has been improved somewhat with better back-lighting and it's thinner too.

Goodbye PCMCIA
That card slot is now gone and the Express Card slot is not compatible with this older format.

We all knew this was coming, but the best features are reserved for the larger, more expensive models. Though prices have remained flat for all models (save one) the top of the line MacBook Pro seventeen inch is two hundred dollars more than last year's top of the line.

Apple has introduced Intel's Light Peak technology. "Light Peak" was Intel's code name for the technology, but they (Intel) have since renamed it Thunderbolt.

The new data interface promises data transfer speeds up to ten gigabits per second with a possible future peak of one hundred (100Gbp/s) gigabits per second. As of now Thunderbolt only supports up to six (6) daisy-chained devices.

The prices seem good, about what they were not quite a year ago, but happily Apple seems to be offering more choices this time around. The only odd thing is that the very top-of-the line MacBook Pro, the seventeen inch model is two hundred dollars more this year. All the other models have last year's prices.

The MacBook Pro has long been a "workhorse" machine and it's clear to me that this attitude continues. The case is very robust and the better processors, thinner and more efficient display and wide range of storage choices prove once more that Apple Incorporated is no poser in the computer hardware arena.

Oddly, the higher-end thirteen inch unit is advertized with a clock speed of 2.7GHz. Where the other units run 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz max. I don't know if this is a typo or the actual clock speed.

Rather than post the prices here look in the table above.

Note: iFixIt, a do it yourself computer repair site, has already released a step-by-step tear down of the MacBook Pro 2011. See the link above for the expertly rendered dis-assembly guide and excellent photographs.

The author was not compensated in any way, monetarily, with discounts, or freebies by any of the companies mentioned.

Though the author does make a small profit for the word count of this article none of that comes directly from the manufacturers mentioned. The author also stands to make a small profit from advertising attached to this article.

The author has no control over either the advertising or the contents of those ads.