From ProductWiki, free unbiased product reports for the consumer.

The MacBook Pro is Apple's top of the line laptop computer meant for the power user who needs the more capable hardware. These laptops contain faster processors, larger hard drives, and more RAM than the regular mainstream MacBooks. The MacBook Pros are also larger coming in at 15" and 17" varieties, along with the brushed steel casing, where the regular MacBooks are constructed out of hard plastic.

Where to buy

Apple Macbook Pro 17" Buy it from Amazon
Apple Macbook Pro 17" Win it on eBay
Apple Macbook Pro 17" Compare prices at Shopping.com

Pros & Cons

Pros:
11 people have already voted. Do you agree?

•
Dual-boot Windows XP/Vista because Intel CPU
+7agreedisagree

•
Great looking laptop. Very sleek and stylish (par for the course from Apple)
+7agreedisagree

•
Very nice display
+6agreedisagree

•
Lightweight and small size (15.4"=5.4 lbs, 17"=6lbs)
+5agreedisagree

•
Great performance with Intel Core 2 Duo
+2agreedisagree

•
Great wireless range and pick up
+2agreedisagree

•
Firewire 800 support
+1agreedisagree

•
Can burn dual-layer DVDs
0agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?

•
Fairly poor batterly life (~3 hrs of wireless productivity)
+1agreedisagree

•
Battery doesn't last too long after fully charged
0agreedisagree

More information

On June 5th 2007, Apple upgraded the MacBook Pros to make use of Intel's new Santa Rosa platform. Santa Rosa is the latest generation of Intel's Centrino lineup which is the moniker that Intel has given a suite of technologies for laptops that use its chips. Santa Rosa indicates the use of the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a new chipset that includes a faster and more dynamic front side bust to increase speed and lower power consumption, and a new wireless network adapter that can communicate on the A/B/G/N protocols. The most recent wireless N protocol increases speed over the previous G standard by up to five times, while increasing connection area by two times.

Many Centrino based notebooks make use of Intel's own graphics processing technology which is less powerful than a dedicated solution. However, the MacBook Pros use the nVidia GeForce 8600 graphics processor which is capable of playing any modern game and even graphic intensive production software. For the 15" model Apple is also introducing an LED backlight for the first time in an Apple laptop. Using an LED system Apple claims that battery life is extended by 30 minutes to an hour depending on the context, and startup time is improved. The overall brightness of the display, and the viewing angle remain the same as the conventional lighting system used on the older models, and the current 17".

Specifications

Almost every attribute of the MacBook Pro can be upgraded when making the purchase, these are the base specs the systems ship with listed on Apple's store website.

MacBook Pro 15"

  • 15.4" display at 1440x900 resolution
  • 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 120GB Hard drive (160GB on 2.4GHz version)
  • 128MB nVidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card (256MB on 2.4GHz version)
  • 5.4 pounds
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • 1 FireWire 400 port
  • 1 FireWire 800 port
  • 2 USB 2.0 ports

MacBook Pro 17"

  • 17" display at 1680x1050 resolution (1920x1200 available as an option)
  • 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • and the rest of the specs the same as the 15" 2.4GHz model

Submit a link

Related products

Add a related product to this list

3 comments about Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo

1.  avatar Erik  Jul 11, 2007 11:21am

If you're going to get a laptop. I say go Mac in some way because of the dual-boot situation. The Macbook Pro is a great choice for performance in a small, sleek package. I would run Windows, since I don't like OS X. When I watch Leo Laporte on G4 Tech TV, every single tech nerd has a mac running window Vista. I think it confuses people.
2.  avatar GT-D  Jul 13, 2007 11:38am

thumbed down the Core2Duo point considering Intel's quietly admitting that there ar some fatal flaws in the CPU. Otherwise, these are great laptops, the limited use of metal in them means they get amazing wireless pick up
3.  avatar adrian  Jul 16, 2007 6:18pm

I have the MacBook Pro 15-inch (pre-LED display model) with all the extras (2Gb RAM, 256 X1600). Having come from a stout Windows background I decided to buy a MacBook Pro having used Macs at work where many colleagues are Mac fans. I still have an Asus W3V that I use at work, though its become the ugly cousin that I use only if I have to. I've managed to migrate all my everyday software to a equivalent Mac OS X versions, but I run the latest version of Parallels with Windows XP just in case. After six months of use I've come from being negative towards Macs to someone who now would only ever consider buying a Mac running Mac OS X in future. Mac OS X comes with lots of applications out of box and I love the fact that it 'just works', no fiddling or tweaking. But its not without its cons. Its not the best value for money considering that I could by two MacBooks for similar cost, but its one beautiful looking machine. Entering and exiting sleep with the Intel chips is sometimes problematic as compared to the PowerPC chips (I know my wife runs an iBook 12 inch). Also Mac OS X networking layer isn't as tolerant as Windows, sometimes I am connected by cable but then I switch over to WiFi. It takes Mac OS X a while to figure out what's going on so I sit there watching the beach ball spin for a while.
Some HTML is allowed. Your comments remain editable after you post..

To do:

Some parts of the product report still need to be filled in. Adding infomation to any of these sections help make this product report more complete.

Competing products

There aren't any competitors listed here yet.

Add a competitor to the list

    Ask an expert

    avatar

     
     
    avatar

     
     
    avatar

     
     
    avatar

     
    show more

    Who else tapped it

    Omar

    want


     
    Manzabar

    want


     
    Erik

    want


     
    simon

    have


     
    show more (17)

    Key Features:

    CPU Speed 2.2 GHz
    CPU Type Core 2 Duo
    Manufacturer Apple
    Price $1,999.00
    Product Line MacBook Pro
    Release Date Jun. 5, 2007
    Screen Size 15.4 "
    Weight 5.4 lb

    Sponsors

    Product page stats

    2304 views and 70 edits (see all)
    Created: 06/05/2007 - 13:51
    Modified: 05/18/2008 - 16:49