Following on from the recent upgrades to the MacBook, Apple has upgraded their Pro laptop range to run the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, otherwise known as Santa Rosa, at 2.4GHz.
Apple are claiming that it will run apps like Final Cut Pro 6 and Logic Pro 7, 50% faster that the original MacBook Pro with Core Duo – something that will be very tempting to many. With the internal graphics card now upgraded to the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, the graphics will also display 50% speed faster.
The screen on the 15-inch has been changed to a mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display. The 17-inch doesn’t benefit from the new type of screen technology, but gain an additional 30% resolution, taking it to 1920 x 1200
They’ve also got 802.11n, the as-yet unratified Wi-Fi protocol, which gives up to 2.5 times the speed of throughput and a double the range.
Spec junkies …. prepare to get excited.
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of £1,599 (inc. VAT), includes:
• 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
• built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
• two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
• one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
• Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
• the infrared Apple Remote; and
• 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of £1,799 (inc. VAT), includes:
• 17-inch widescreen 1680-by-1050 LCD display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
• built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
• three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
• one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical digital audio;
• Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
• the infrared Apple Remote; and
• 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.