For more than a year , Intel has been touting a new mobile platform , computer code - name Santa Rosa . mix the latest Core 2 Duo processors with a parcel of new support chip , the chopine was supposed to birth the biggest advance in notebook computer cypher in years .
Now Apple ’s first Santa Rosa - based laptop — the new 15- and 17 - column inch MacBook Pros — have arrive , yet the improvements turn out to be fair minor . In fact , the most important civilisation in the latest model come not from the new chip bent , but from separate advances in nontextual matter processing and the display .
New Nvidia chip, screen technologies
Specifically , these MacBook Pros — one with a 15 - inch display and 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor , priced at $ 1,999 ; another 15 - inch example with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and a price rag of $ 2,499 ; and a 17 - inch model with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU , at $ 2,799 — feature a brand - unexampled Nvidia computer graphic check , the GeForce 8600 M GT , in shoes of the senesce ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 . In the ledger entry - level MacBook Pro , the bit comes with 128 MB of consecrated graphic remembering ; the other two exemplar have 256 Bachelor of Medicine .
The new chip is designed to improve performance with demand computer programme , such as 3 - D game and HD video recording editor program . Indeed , in frames - per - secondment tests with i d Software ’s Quake 4 and Doom 3 games , Macworld Lab found material body - rate improvements of 25 to 60 per centum , compare with that of the Radeon X1600 in the 17 - inch MacBook Pro with a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo CPU .
On the other script , the unexampled 15 - column inch machines lagged well behind the older models in the Lab ’s standard Unreal Tournament examination . We ’re still waiting for account from Apple , but we suspect that the job halt from software program drivers and applications that are not yet to the full tune for the new potato chip . If so , those issues should be resolve in the coming month .
In the display domain , the $ 1,999 and $ 2,499 MacBook Pros are the industry ’s first notebooks with 15 - in screens backlit by lighting - emitting diodes ( LED ) rather than fluorescent electric-light bulb ( technically , cold-blooded cathode fluorescent lamps[CCFLs ] ) . LEDs offer several clear advantage : they require less major power ; they reach full brightness instantly ( whereas CCFL bulbs take several minute to warm up to full smartness ) ; they should maintain their brightness level throughout the life of the notebook computer , without the gradual dimming that afflict CCFL displays ; and unlike CCFLs , LEDs do n’t contain mercury gas , a known neurolysin that could get away into the environment when the notebook is toss out of .
Because 17 - column inch screens with light-emitting diode backlighting are n’t yet available , the flagship MacBook Pro still has CCFL backlighting . For an extra $ 100 , however , buyers can now order the 17 - inch manakin with a resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixel , or else of the criterion 1,680 by 1,050 pixels . If you ’re working with HD video , you ’ll appreciate the higher closure — for the first time on an Apple notebook , you ’ll be able-bodied to exploit with 1,080p subject matter at full native pixel resolution . But small case and covert command attend pretty tiny at this senior high school of a resolve ; however , the upcoming Leopard release of Mac OS X may include automatic adjustments to assuage that trouble .
Other enhancements
As usual , new models play fast processors , though in this case the differences are svelte : the $ 1,999 15 - column inch manakin tally at 2.2GHz , compared with 2.16GHz in the previous generation ; the other two models ’ mainframe operate at 2.4GHz , up from 2.33GHz . All three example now have a frontside jalopy — the data canal get in touch the mainframe to the rest of the system — that operate on at 800MHz , compare to 667MHz previously , but the machines ca n’t take full vantage of the supererogatory speed because RAM producer are n’t yet producing 800MHz retentivity .
More authoritative is the extra memory mental ability of the new machine . The democratic $ 1,999 mannequin , which antecedently came with 1 GB of RAM , now come with 2 GB , just like its siblings . While the last - coevals MacBook Pros could cover up to 3 GB , the maximum has now increased to 4 GB . Apple currently charges a unconscionable $ 750 for 4 GB , but third - party suppliers bill much less — we found one reputable online trafficker offer a 4 GB kit for just $ 218 .
The middle modelling in the lineup now has a 160 GB hard driving , up from 120 GB in the previous generation , but the $ 1,999 and $ 2,799 models have the same capacities as before : 120 GB and 160 GB , respectively . In all three unit the SuperDrive is up from 6x to 8x . And all three model now come with 802.11n wireless networking enabled out of the box .
The Santa Rosa chip stage set , as well as the shift to LED backlighting in the 15 - inch model , boosts the MacBook Pros ’ barrage fire life story . In our testing , both the 15- and 17 - inch framework delivered an telling 3 time of day , roughly , of videodisc playback . This represents a gain of 11 pct for the 15 - column inch models and 14 percent for the 17 - in model over the premature generations . astonishingly , we did n’t do as well — about 2.5 hours — in our wireless productivity examination ( writing in Microsoft Word while mind to streaming audio and check e - post via AirPort ) on the 15 - inch unit . Without the streaming sound recording , however , the batteries live on just over 3 hour .
Otherwise , all three models have the same array of feature as their Pro predecessors : Gb Ethernet ; Bluetooth 2.0+EDR ( Enhanced Data Rate ) ; FireWire 800 and 400 interface ( but no eSATA ) ; an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot ( but no PCMCIA slot or internal modem option ) ; a DVI - out embrasure with dual - radio link support for Apple ’s 30 - inch Cinema HD Display plus an adapter for VGA display ; a scrolling trackpad and superb illuminated keyboard ; a built - in iSight television camera ; an Apple Remote ; and , of course , a MagSafe powerfulness connector .
Macworld Lab Test
good results inbold . credit scheme initalics .
Speedmark 4.5 loads are proportional to those of a 1.25GHz Mac mini , which is assigned a musical score of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , iTunes , and Zip Archive scores are in minutes : seconds . All system were hunt down Mac OS X 10.4.9 with 2 GB of RAM , with processor performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver orientation pane when applicable . The Photoshop Suite trial run is a set of 15 scripted task using a 50 megabit file cabinet . Photoshop ’s storage was set to 70 percent and story was go under to Minimum . We recorded how long it direct to render a scene in Cinema4D. We used Compressor to encode a 6minute:26second DV file using the DVD : Fastest Encode 120 minutes – 4:3 setting . In iMovie , we applied the cured video effect to a 1 - minute movie . We converted 45 minutes of AAC audio filing cabinet to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality stage setting . We created a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1 GB folder . To equate Speedmark 4.5 scores for various Mac systems , gossip our Apple Hardware Guide.—Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith , Brian Chen and Jerry Jung .
Macworld’s buying advice
If you have a recent MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo , there ’s in all likelihood no compelling reason to trade in up ( unless you ca n’t live without the higher frame of reference pace , the optional extra resolution , or a fourth gigabyte of RAM ) . But if you ’re still using a PowerBook or a Core Duo - found MacBook Pro , you ’ll get a dramatic public presentation boost from the latest model . The 17 - column inch role model obviously stay the choice for people who need maximum covert space , no matter its heavier weight , bigger sizing , and higher price . Between the two 15 - inch model , the $ 1,999 role model is now a much better bargain — in my record book , the difference do n’t free a $ 500 premium .
[ Henry Norr is a veteran Mac technology writer based in Berkeley , Calif. ]
