by James Galbraith, Macworld.com Oct 31, 2011 3:00 pm
Complete Coverage
Last week’s announcement of updates to the MacBook Pro was so low-key you might have missed it. And truth be told, it wasn't the flashiest update Apple has ever made to its portable lineup, with new processors and graphics highlighting the changes. While the improvements in the new MacBook Pros are modest when compared to the models they replace, there's plenty to like about the upgrades—especially if you’re the owner of an older laptop and you’re mulling an upgrade.
What’s new
While MacBook Pro prices stayed the same as the models introduced earlier this year, the components inside received subtle—yet welcome—updates. The $1199 entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro upgrades its 2.3GHz dual-core Core i5 processor to a faster 2.4GHz dual-core Core i5 chip; its 320GB hard drive has been swapped out for a 500GB model. The $1499 13-inch MacBook Pro now has a 2.8GHz dual-core Core i7 processor and a 750GB hard drive; it previously had a 2.7GHz dual-core Core i7 processor and a 500GB hard drive. The 13-inch models continue to use the same Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics as the previous MacBook Pros.
The 15-inch models were updated with 2.2GHz ($1799) and 2.4GHz ($2199) quad-core Core i7 processors, up from 2.0GHz and 2.2GHz, respectively. Graphics in the 15-inch systems also saw an upgrade: The $1799 model now has a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M, while the $2199 model has a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6770M. The storage capacity hasn’t changed on the 15-inch models, with a 500GB hard drive in the $1799 model, and a 750GB hard drive in the $2199 model.
As with the previous generation of MacBook Pros, the 17-inch $2499 model matches the $2199 15-inch model in all specifications, aside from screen size and the addition of a ExpressCard/34 slot.
What hasn’t changed
Externally, the new MacBook Pros are identical to the early 2011 models. The glossy LED backlit screens each measure 13.3-, 15.4-, and 17-inches diagonally, with 1280-by-800, 1440-by-900, and 1920-by-1200 pixel resolutions, respectively. All systems have a full-sized, backlit keyboard, as well as glass multi-touch trackpads with gesture support.
The FaceTime HD webcam, stereo speakers and built-in microphone remain the same, as do the number of ports on every model: one FireWire 800, one Gigabit Ethernet, a MagSafe power connector, and one audio in and one audio out port. The 13- and 15-inch models have two USB 2.0 ports and a SDXC card slot. The 17-inch model has three USB 2.0 ports and an ExpressCard/34 slot. All of the new MacBook Pros have a Thunderbolt port, which was introduced in the early 2011 models
Benchmarks: 13-inch MacBook Pros
In terms of performance, the differences between the latest MacBook Pros and their immediate predecessors are, for the most part, as subtle as the upgrade announcement. The new $1199 13-inch 2.4GHz Core i5 MacBook Pro is just a little over 4 percent faster than the 2.3GHz system it replaces. The $1499 13-inch 2.8GHz Core i7 model is about 9 percent faster than the system it replaces.
The most interesting results were in our Photoshop and Aperture tests, which are both faster on the older systems. According to Apple's website, the MacBook Pro may adjust processor speed to avoid running into thermal issues. That could be happening in these tests. It's also possible that the hard drives may be affecting the results.
Benchmarks: 13-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Speedmark 7 Duplicate 2GB Folder Zip 4GB Folder Unzip 4GB File Pages '09 Open Word Doc 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i5 (Late 2011) 146 68.6 249.1 146.4 83.7 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz Core i7, (Late 2011) 164 54.1 208.0 114.8 84.3 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.3GHz Core i5 (Early 2011) 140 69.7 271.1 180.3 89.8 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.7GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 151 66.4 224.9 149.8 103.0 Speedmark 7 results are scores; higher scores are better. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 13-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Import iMovie '11 Archive iMovie '11 Share to iTunes: Mobile iTunes 10 AAC to MP3 Encode HandBrake 0.9.5 Encode 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i5 (Late 2011) 109.3 88.2 88.8 203.8 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz Core i7, (Late 2011) 95.8 79.0 79.0 174.0 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.3GHz Core i5 (Early 2011) 116.0 87.5 99.7 210.0 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.7GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 107.0 90.8 78.7 186.0 Results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 13-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Cinebench OpenGL Cinebench CPU Parallels WorldBench 6 Multitasking Test on Windows 7 Photoshop CS5 Action Script 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i5 (Late 2011) 12.9 155.2 318.0 145.8 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz Core i7, (Late 2011) 13.4 132.3 269.7 138.1 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.3GHz Core i5 (Early 2011) 12.5 161.0 328.0 128.0 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.7GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 12.7 140.7 274.0 122.4 Cinebench OpenGL results are scores; higher is better. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 13-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Aperture 3 Import and Process 207 Photos iPhoto '11 Import 500 Photos Mathematica 8 Portal 2 (1280x800) 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i5 (Late 2011) 118.6 178.4 1.09 61.5 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.8GHz Core i7, (Late 2011) 113.7 151.5 1.11 67.1 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.3GHz Core i5 (Early 2011) 121.3 171.7 0.95 61.8 13-inch MacBook Pro/2.7GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 105.4 162.2 1.02 59.5 Mathematica 8 results are scores; higher is better. Portal 2 results are framerates; higher is better. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 15-inch MacBook Pros
The $1799 15-inch 2.2GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro is a little more than 12 percent faster than the 2GHz model it replaces, with graphics performance being the biggest change. With its Radeon HD 6750M graphics, the $1799 model displays 85 percent more frames per second in Cinebench’s Open GL test than last year’s comparable model and its 256MB AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics processor. Our Portal 2 tests also shows great improvement, with the new $1799 model displaying 160 frames per second, as compared to the 68.6 frames that last year’s $1799 model was able to display. The graphics in the new $1799 model are identical to that found in last year’s $2199 model, and the Portal and Cinebench OpenGL test results of those two models are also practically identical.
The new graphics in the $2199 15-inch 2.4GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro perform a little faster than the graphics in the previous $2199 model, a 15-inch 2.2GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro. Overall, the new $2199 model’s graphics run about 7 percent faster overall than its predecessor. The new $2199 model displayed nearly 12 percent more frames per second in the Cinebench OpenGL test, and 8 percent more frames per second in our Portal 2 tests.
The new 17-inch model is a little more than 4 percent faster overall than the early 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Benchmarks: 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Speedmark 7 Duplicate 2GB Folder Zip 4GB Folder Unzip 4GB File Pages '09 Open Word Doc 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 190 74.4 245.5 168.9 88.6 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 219 52.7 217.4 131.6 76.0 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 216 55.8 223.4 123.5 79.0 15-inch MacBook Pro/2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 169 73.7 261.1 153.3 89.4 15-inch Macbook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 205 59.6 234.3 125.5 83.3 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 207 54.2 219.3 119.9 76.1 Speedmark 7 results are scores; higher scores are faster. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Import iMovie '11 Archive iMovie '11 Share to iTunes: Mobile iTunes 10 AAC to MP3 Encode HandBrake 0.9.5 Encode 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 82.2 60.8 80.6 108.2 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 70.2 52.6 71.5 100.5 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 68.3 54.9 72.0 99.1 15-inch MacBook Pro/2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 81.0 85.3 84.9 115.6 15-inch Macbook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 73.7 65.0 75.2 106.9 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 74.2 66.8 81.9 103.2 Results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Cinebench OpenGL Cinebench CPU Parallels WorldBench 6 Multitasking Test on Windows 7 Photoshop CS5 Action Script 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 38.7 81.9 288.3 147.9 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 43.3 76.0 234.0 149.8 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 42.6 76.2 261.3 149.5 15-inch MacBook Pro/2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 20.9 86.9 280.7 144.5 15-inch Macbook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 38.8 81.9 267.7 148.9 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 38.8 82.0 265.3 147.5 Cinebench OpenGL results are scores; higher is better. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
Benchmarks: 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros (Late 2011)
Aperture 3 Import and Process 207 Photos iPhoto '11 Import 500 Photos Mathematica 8 Portal 2 (1280x800) 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 117.2 186.2 1.55 160.0 15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 103.9 141.2 1.64 174.3 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Late 2011) 103.0 142.5 1.64 169.6 15-inch MacBook Pro/2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 115.5 170.4 1.46 68.6 15-inch Macbook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 101.5 141.2 1.52 160.9 17-inch MacBook Pro/2.2GHz Core i7 (Early 2011) 106.5 139.7 1.57 156.0 Mathematica 8 results are scores; higher is better. Portal 2 results are framerates; higher is better. All other results above are in seconds; lower is better. References models in italics. Best result in bold.
How we tested. We duplicated a 2GB file, created a Zip archive in the Finder from the two 2GB files and then unzipped it. In iMovie ’11, we imported a camera archive and exported it to iTunes using the Mobile Devices setting. We converted 135 minutes of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes’ High Quality setting. We used HandBrake 0.9.5 to encode a single chapter from a DVD previously ripped to the hard drive to H.264 using the application's Normal settings. We recorded how long it took to render a scene with multiprocessors in Cinebench and ran that application's OpenGL, frames per second test. We ran a timedemo in Call of Duty 4 at a resolution of 1024-by-768 with 4X anti-aliasing turned on. We installed Parallels 6 and ran WorldBench 6's Multitask test.—Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith, Mauricio Grijalva and William Wang
Battery life also seems to be similar to the last set of MacBook Pros, getting between 5.5 and 6 hours of battery life in our fullscreen video playback test at full brightness.
Macworld’s buying advice
The new MacBook Pro lineup won’t cause any buyer’s remorse for those who purchased a member of the early 2011 family, or perhaps even for buyers of a 2010 MacBook Pro. If you have a laptop that's older, however, the late 2011 MacBook Pros feature faster processors, larger capacity hard drives in the 13-inch models, and improved graphics in the 15- and 17-inch models that combine to make already attractive systems an even greater value.
[James Galbraith is Macworld’s lab director.]
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Monday, October 31, 2011
New MacBook Pros (Late 2011) feature updates that boost performance and value Review | Macworld
Monday, February 7, 2011
How to Speed Up Your Mac For Free!
We all know the feeling of a new computer… everything is super quick, and there are no bugs or problems to be found. Even if you have a Mac though, which are by reputation more durable than a PC’s (if only for their relative sparse nature on the internet), you often still find that a year later, that feeling is usually gone, only to be replaced by an entirely different one. This one is often frustration and confusion. How and why did this premium computer I bought get so slow, and how do I fix it? Plenty of services will do it for you for $50 or more, but why pay someone else to do things you can easily do yourself?
Startup/Running Apps
One of the biggest things that can bog down someone’s machine without them even realizing is applications that run on startup.
The first thing to do is to make sure you’re not hogging system resources with unused applications. Open System Preferences (hit “Command + Space” and type “System Preferences”, then hit Enter) and go to Accounts. Choose your Login on the left, and on the right hit the Login Items tab at the top. Check the list of apps, and be honest with yourself about how much you use them. I always say, if I don’t use something once a day or more, then it doesn’t deserve to be in the startup list. If there is something on this list that you don’t use often, highlight it and click the minus sign at the bottom to remove it.
The next step is to look up in your Menu bar for things you don’t use. Again, be honest! If you haven’t clicked the icon in a week or so, you probably only need it running when you want to use it, rather than all the time. If there’s something up there that you don’t even know what it is, get rid of it! Quit the application! (You may even want to remove it completely, but we’ll get in to that later!)
The last step is to press Command + Space for the spotlight, but this time type in Activity Monitor and hit Enter. This will bring up a list all the processes currently running on your computer. Look for anything that you can identify and that you don’t use, and quit it.
Quitting the Dashboard
Don’t quit the Activity Monitor yet though! The last thing you want to check is the Dashboard. Even though its a built in part of OS X, it can be a serious memory hog. Dashboard runs with the Dock, but only once you start it up on purpose. The problem is that there is no way to quit it except by doing it manually. In your Activity Monitor, select Dock and hit Quit Process then Force Quit. This will restart your Dock, and shut your Dashboard off until you call it up again, possibly saving you a ton of memory if you’ve got a lot of Widgets running.
Viruses/Spamware
I know what you’re thinking… Mac’s don’t get viruses. Unfortunately, this is a myth. Macs can be infected as well, even though it is not easy for virus to get onboard.
To get rid of any viruses or spam/adware your Mac currently has, I suggest iAntiVirus. It’s free, and does everything you could need it to, with a simple, understandable interface. If you really want to lock down network security as well, try Little Snitch. It can be downloaded for free too, and will alert you to literally all network traffic into and out of your Mac, allowing you to Allow or Deny any one application or service.
Free up storage space
One thing people don’t realize is that having too little disk storage space left on your Mac’s hard drive can really bog down your computer’s performance. There are a multitude of reasons this can have negative effects on your Mac’s performance, but without getting too technical, the more space, the better.
The most obvious thing to recover the hard disk space is to uninstall those applications that you no longer use. Go to your Applications folder and drag those applications that you don’t use anymore to the trash (you might consider installing AppCleaner).
The next thing you can do, and this is a biggie, is offload music, movies, and photos to an external hard drive. These media files probably took up tens, or even hundreds of gigabytes. Offload them to an external drive and keep your external drive close to your Mac.
If you use iTunes, your Movies and Music are all in essentially the same location on your drive, and you can use Apple’s guide to move your collection. For many people, this will make a huge difference in their hard drive’s available space. To move your iPhoto library, follow Maclife’s tutorial. It’s super quick and easy, as Apple has realized people’s need to use external drives and designed the programs to cooperate with them.
Wrap-Up
So what do you all think? Know any other great ways to speed up a Mac? I know I didn’t hit everything, so let us know in the comments!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
New MacBook Pro could arrive in April 2011 with SSD, Light Peak, no DVD
Update Put your checkbooks away, folks. Electronista has all but debunked this rumor. By crunching the numbers, they confirmed that (at today's prices at least), such a MacBook Pro could easily be priced out of the market. Read on and dream, but don't expect this machine to appear on your desk any time soon.-----
Three Guys and a Podcast are reporting that the next-generation MacBook Pro will likely arrive in April 2011 with a new design inspired by the latest slim-line MacBook Air. That means that the high-end laptops will probably dispense with spinning drives altogether and come equipped only with solid-state drives of up to 512GB capacity. If you haven't yet finished ripping all of your CDs and DVDs, you'll want to complete that task before migrating to a new MBP because the internal optical drive will probably follow the floppy into the annals of history.With the internal speed bottlenecks reduced by the flash memory drives and new Sandy Bridge CPUs, Apple will also work on speeding up the external communication interfaces. Light Peak may finally debut on the MBP, two years after it was originally announced by Intel. Whether or not Light Peak makes it to the party, we expect that USB 3.0 probably will arrive in an Apple product on these new machines. The fate of Firewire is unknown at this time, but it seems unlikely to make the cut, especially if Light Peak is included. The one exception may be if Apple keeps one of the current generation 15-inch machines in the lineup as an entry model. If the 13-inch MBP also remains in the lineup, the new interfaces, CPUs and perhaps a higher resolution display will be what set it apart from the similarly sized Air.
Users are expected to be able to put this speedy new hardware to work with a new version of Final Cut Pro that should debut around the same time. Not much is known about FCP at this time except that it should be faster.
Monday, November 1, 2010
MacBook Air Benchmarks: Fast Enough For Everyday Use, But The Slow Processor Does Hurt Performance
You know, it’s one thing to use subjective and entirely unscientific terms like “feels” or “seems” when it comes to reviewing computers, but there’s something to be said about actually running benchmarks and comparing the numbers to other comparable computers. Numbers don’t lie. So kudos to MacWorld for actually taking the time to see just how impressive, or not, the new MacBook Air is.
Compared to the previous edition of the MacBook Air, the new version performs better in every way, most of which can be attributed to the elimination of tractional hard disk drives (HDD) and the transition to solid state drives (SSD). SSDs don’t need to spin up to a useable state, and their access and write times run circles around HDDs.
Not surprising, however, is that the MacBook Air doesn’t really compare to MacBook Pros featuring Intel Core i5 processors. You may think your MacBook Air is “faster” than your MacBook Pro if all you’re doing is reading Facebook messages, typing in Microsoft Word, or even doing some basic Photoshop editing. The SSDs will make your browser launch faster, for example, so you could simply say, “Oh, it’s faster.”
Well yeah: you’re comparing two different types of storage, one of which is demonstrably faster than the other.
But, try to render a high-resolution video using the MacBook Air, with its Core 2 Duo, then you’ll see how “fast” it is.
We actually had this argument with John. The MacBook Air is great, and probably will be “faster” for your day-to-day use thanks to the SSD, but to have purchased the computer with the express intention of editing video on it may have been a misstep on his part.
Bottom line: the MacBook Air is a state-of-the-art computer in a lot of ways, particularly when it comes to design. And for your average use, the SSDs will be a huge benefit. But don’t think that you’ll be churning out video in Premiere or Final Cut Pro as effectively as you would using a computer with a modern processor.
Then again, how often are you rendering video in the first place?
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