“Revision C” MacBook Pros A Substantial Performance And Value Upgrade
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
by Charles W. Moore
Yesterday, Apple released the third revision of the Intel-powered MacBook Pro notebooks, some eight months after the last revision, in October, 2006, when the professional notebooks were upgraded to the Core 2 Duo CPUs wit modest speed bumps.
Actually, I think eight months is a sensible interval for major hardware updates, as it gives time to get the product debugged and optimized before the next update. Actually nine months was the entire production span for the Pismo PowerBook back in 2000, and the preceding Lombard PowerBook G3 model was in production for ten months, neither machine having an official update or speed bump respectively.
The “Revision C” MacBook Pros get another CPU upgrade, this time to Intel’s new “Santa Rosa” Core 2 Duo chip, which is known as the Centrino Duo in the Windows PC orbit. However, there is no sign, at least in Apple’s press release and technical specifications, of Intel’s “Robson” Hybrid NAND/flash “Turbo cache” technology, which had been rumored as being on the slate for the Santa Rosa MacBook Pros.
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“Robson,” which Intel first previewed in October, 2005, is the development code name for an integrated module that incorporates NAND flash memory as a ‘smart storage’ buffer between system RAM and the hard drive. The Robson memory storage subsystem plugs the performance gap between processor and HDD by acting as new layer of cache in the system memory/storage hierarchy. One might analogize it as a level 2 cache on steroids, and the performance boost
Rick Coulson of Intel’s Storage Technology Group is quoted saying that “Robson dramatically reduces the impact of mechanical hard disk drive (HDD) latency by allowing the majority of application workloads to be written and read from cache instead of slower HDDs..”
In pre-production lab testing Robson improved (running MS Vista) multitasking performance with 2x improvement in application load and run time as well as a 2x improvement in resume time from hibernation over systems without Robson, as well as extending battery life by an estimated 20 minutes in lab testing. Sounds great, but there may be some technical reason why it’s not supported by OS 10.4 Tiger.
However, along with Santa Rosa’s more energy efficient features, the MacBook Pros also get speed bumped to 2.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz in the 15-inch models, up from 2.16 and 2.33 GHz respectively in the preceding Core 2 Duo machines, and 2.4 GHz only for the 17-inch MacBook Pro. The Santa Rosa processors come with 4MB of shared L2 cache and an 800 MHz frontside bus. There is also 2 GB of standard RAM across the board, configured in two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory filling the MacBook Pro’s two SO-DIMM slots, which provides the technical advantage of RAM “pairing,” but means that you will need to remove both SO-DIMMs and replace them with 2 GB ones if you want to expand the notebook’s RAM capacity to the maximum-supported 4 GB.
Internal hard drives of up to 250Gb capacity are now supported. The 15” MacBook Pros gets an 8x SuperDrive, and the 15” 2.4GHz MacBook Pro now comes with a 160GB hard drive. All models now support 802.11n wireless. networking, providing up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.
Graphics support is also upgraded, with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT GPUs, which Apple says are is more than 50 percent faster than the GPU in the original MacBook Pro with Core Duo. Video RAM remains the same as before at 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM on the 2.2GHz configuration, and 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM on the 2.4GHz configuration.
While the big 17” MacBook Pro’s display is still backlit with conventional CCFL tubes, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro models feature the latest technological advance in notebook display backlighting technology, becoming the first of Apple’s notebooks to transition to LED backlighting which the company is highlighting as part of its “green” effort to eliminate the use of mercury in its products. I’m also hoping that LED illumination will prove brighter, less power-demanding, and more durable than CCFL lighting.
However, even with the older-type backlighting, the 17-incher still gets a significant display upgrade, namely an optional 1920-by-1200 high-resolution screen, providing over 30 percent more screen real estate than the 1680-by-1050 display that remains standard issue. Since both screen resolutions are available in either matte or glossy finish, there are really now four display options for the 17” MacBook Pro.
Thanks to Santa Rosa’a improved power parsimonious Apple’s projected charge life for the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s 60-watt-hour Lithium-polymer battery is bumped to six hours, up from the previous model’s five hours, while the 68-watt-hour battery in the 17” model now has a theoretical run time of 5.75 hours. None of these optimistic figures is likely to be achieved in real-world conditions.. The MacBook Pro’s weight has actually decreased for the 15” model is down to 5.4 pounds (from 5.6 pounds), although the 17” model is still 6.8 pounds. I’ll hazard a guess that LED backlighting which the 15-incher has but the 17-incher doesn’t may be a tad lighter than the old-school CCFL backlighting.
The compliment of returning good stuff includes the built-in iSight video camera with Apple Remote, Apple’s magnetic 85 watt MagSafe Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain or shock load, built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), a FireWire 800 and a FireWire 400 port, a backlit illuminated keyboard, an ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot for expansion solutions such as 3G wireless networking, Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in/out, and a DVI video output to connect up to a 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display.
Bundled software includes iLife ‘06 featuring iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and iWeb.
“With Intel Core 2 Duo performance, more memory and state-of-the-art graphics, this MacBook Pro is a portable powerhouse for creative and professional users,” commented Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Apple’s notebooks have always led the industry in innovation with features like built-in 802.11 and the MagSafe Power Adapter, and now the industry’s first 15-inch LED-backlit display is another step toward completely eliminating mercury from our displays.”
Price points remain the same at $1,999, $2,499, and $2,799. In that range I would rate the base 15” machine a bit of a bargain, the middle model overpriced, and the big 17-incher a quite decent value.
All in all, this is a pretty substantial upgrade, and if you’ve been holding off buying a new MacBook Pro in anticipation of new MacBook Pros, you can congratulate yourself for your patience. Some will be disappointed that the MacBook Pro form factors, which essentially date back to the G4 aluminum PowerBooks of September and January 2003 respectively, continue on unchanged, but it’s still a great design and looks a lot more fresh and contemporary, not to mention tasteful, than a lot of more recently introduced PC notebooks.
It would have been nice if the Robson technology had been incorporated, and the 17” model had gotten the LED backlighting. Perhaps the former will come once Leopard is on the prowl (pure speculation on my part, I’m nor sure OS support is the issue), and the backlight delay is doubtless due to supply. It’s logical that the LED backlights would come on stream with the higher-volume 15” screens first.
I expect we’ll see a drop in the prices of Apple Certified Refurbished Revision B Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros at The Apple Store, although it hadn’t happened yet when I checked the couple of models available as I file this column.
All three new MacBook Pro models are now shipping and will be available through the Apple Store ( www.apple.com ), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
MacBook Pro Revision C Specs. and Configurations
The 2.2 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
* 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-by-900 LCD display;
* 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
* 120GB 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 128MB 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, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), 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 $2,799 (US), 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.
Additional build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to a 160GB (5400 rpm), 160GB (7200 rpm), 200GB (4200 rpm) or a 250GB (4200 rpm) hard drive, up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple USB Modem, glossy widescreen display, 17-inch 1920-by-1200 high-resolution display and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork ‘06, Logic Express 7, Final Cut Express HD 3.5 and Aperture 1.5.
*AirPort Extreme is based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification. Actual performance will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network and other factors. iChat AV and video-conferencing require broadband internet connection; fees may apply.
**Based on estimated results comparing a pre-production 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with a 2.16 GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro.
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