First Look: Apple's early 2011 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple's newly revised early 2011 MacBook Pros carry forward the same unibody construction, but offer Intel Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge quad core CPUs, faster RAM, more powerful AMD graphics chips, larger drive options, and the new high speed Thunderbolt interconnect. Here's an illustrated first look ahead of our in-depth reviews.



Pro vs Air



The 13, 15 and 17 inch MacBook Pro models serve pretty clearly differentiated groups of users, but on the small end, potential buyers of the 13 inch model may have a tough time deciding between it and the thin, light MacBook Air of the same size or its even smaller 11 inch sibling. Both Airs deliver fast SSD drives and extended batter life, but use a slower CPU and system bus, smaller disk options and less powerful graphics, but roughly the same screen resolution.



The 11 inch Air packs a resolution that is nearly the same as the 13 inch MacBook Pro: 1366x768 vs the Pro's conventional "13 inch resolution" of 1280x800. On the other hand, the 13 inch Air has the same "15 inch resolution" of 1440x900 as the middle sized MacBook Pro, but packed into a 13.3 inch display (although the latest 15 inch MacBook Pro also offers a higher resolution, 1680x1050 option).



The MacBook Pro models also differ from the Airs by offering fast Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, optical drives, more disk storage (up to 750 GB using conventional hard drives rather than the Air's SSD) and additional, faster RAM (some Air models ship with a paltry 2GB, and can only be upgraded as a build to order option for a max of 4GB; MacBook Pro models can now accommodate a max of 8GB of 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM.)



The new MacBook Pros also pack high-definition FaceTime cameras capable of 720p video conferencing.













On page 2 of 2: Thunderbolt joins standard set of ports; Unboxing; Savings



Thunderbolt



The new MacBook Pros also debut Thunderbolt, an enhancement of the existing DisplayPort that adds two bidirectional 10Gb data channels of switched fabric interconnect, making PCI Express available externally on a new cabling system that supports a high resolution display and multiple disks, disk arrays, docks, and media breakout boxes.



This entirely new interface allows the new notebooks to plug into a variety of workstation devices with just one cable, or power a remote drive with up to 10 watts while working on the go. Thunderbolt is like a very fast FireWire, with an improved connector, high resolution external display support, and more electrical power, with support for Target Mode booting and the ability to bridge other interfaces, including Ethernet and USB.









Unboxing













Savings on retail configurations



Several of Apple's larger authorized resellers are already reflecting stock of the company's five standard retail configurations for the MacBook Pro. And a handful are offering considerable early discounts of up to $150 on the new models.



For its part, MacConnection is offering the lowest prices on the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros, while MacMall delivers the best deals on the 13-inch models through its 3% instant discount coupons, which are included in the price guide links below and are exclusive to AppleInsider readers.







For those readers considering a discounted purchase through one of these authorized resellers, it's noteworthy to point out that the MacConnection requires that customers submit mail-in-rebates post purchase to achieve the prices listed in AppleInsider's Mac Pricing Guide, while the discounts shown for MacMall are instantaneous (including the 3% AI discount) and do not require any form of rebate.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 64
    I was searching about this as well. Would like see more thoughts about this issue from you guys.
  • Reply 2 of 64
    dm3dm3 Posts: 168member
    The graphics card in the Macbook Airs is arguably MORE powerful than the Intel GPU built into the 13" Macbook Pro. The CPU speed is so much faster however, that the 13" Macbook Pro ends up about the same on graphics benchmarks than the 11" Macbook Air.
  • Reply 3 of 64
    8corewhore8corewhore Posts: 833member
    I gave up on a hackintosh solution and got the 13" MBP. Way faster than my Oct. 2006 MBP.
  • Reply 4 of 64
    We've got around 50 entries, please contribute if you too are waiting for/have received a 2011 Macbook Pro BTO.



    https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...TWG95WEE&hl=en
  • Reply 5 of 64
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I absolutely love my 3-month old 13" MBA. In my everyday tasks, the SSD setup actually makes my Core2Duo MBA so much more a pleasure to use than my 27" Quad-core i7 iMac.



    It would have been nice to have a Thunderbolt port, but it's minor.



    If mobility is more a concern, and 256BG (max) is enough primary storage, the MBA is a no-brainer. If your needs are more of a desktop-replacement, and you need larger, primary storage than the MBP's a better suited.



    Apple did a great job with their product lineup. It makes choosing that much more difficult, but in a good way I think.



    I look forward to an updated iMac with MBA-style SSD upgrade options. If Apple designs the SSD setup similar to user-replaceable RAM slots beneath the unit, and a Thunderbolt Port, it'll finally give (most) users zero reason to ever open their iMac.



    It'll be a great 2011 for Apple!
  • Reply 6 of 64
    scruffyscruffy Posts: 23member
    Picked up my new 15" 2.3 i7 with hi-res matte screen last Thursday (yup, I jumped on it) on my way home from work. Very happy with it. I think the screen hinge is a bit stiffer than the previous model (I upgraded from last April's MBP (same configuration)), and the key feel also seems to be crisper.



    Just got an 8GB RAM kit from OWC (the Apple store only had 4GB configs in stock), which I'll install tonight.



    Thinking about installing an SSD kit from OWC to replace the optical drive, which I rarely use, and installing startup and application files on it.



    Might have to let my wallet cool off first...
  • Reply 7 of 64
    djames4242djames4242 Posts: 651member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Scruffy View Post


    Picked up my new 15" 2.3 i7 with hi-res matte screen last Thursday (yup, I jumped on it) on my way home from work.



    Woah - were you able to get the hi-res screen in the store?? I thought that was a BTO-only option. I'm hoping I'll get lucky - I'm in Portland this weekend and can save on sales tax



    Also, I'm looking at the 1gb VRAM option as I read somewhere the card in the lesser model is worthless. Anyone have an opinion on that?
  • Reply 8 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Scruffy View Post


    Picked up my new 15" 2.3 i7 with hi-res matte screen last Thursday (yup, I jumped on it) on my way home from work. Very happy with it. I think the screen hinge is a bit stiffer than the previous model (I upgraded from last April's MBP (same configuration)), and the key feel also seems to be crisper.



    Just got an 8GB RAM kit from OWC (the Apple store only had 4GB configs in stock), which I'll install tonight.



    Thinking about installing an SSD kit from OWC to replace the optical drive, which I rarely use, and installing startup and application files on it.



    Might have to let my wallet cool off first...



    IIRC, the hinge is a bit stiff on brand new machines, it loosens a bit with use.
  • Reply 9 of 64
    djames4242djames4242 Posts: 651member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Scruffy View Post


    Thinking about installing an SSD kit from OWC to replace the optical drive, which I rarely use, and installing startup and application files on it.



    That's what I'm looking at as well - but I imagine that would violate AppleCare unless you let them (or another authorised shop) do the installation...
  • Reply 10 of 64
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djames4242 View Post


    That's what I'm looking at as well - but I imagine that would violate AppleCare unless you let them (or another authorised shop) do the installation...



    As I understand it, Apple can't legally deny an AppleCare claim simply because an non-authorized source did some work on the machine unless that work was done incorrectly and was the source of the problem.



    -kpluck
  • Reply 11 of 64
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member
    We are going to wait for a week or two and read the reviews, which hopefully will suss out any hardware issues. Typically, Macworld is great for this. If they give it a clean bill of health, we're going to take the plunge on the 15" for the office. My last PB was the 12" PPC so this is going to feel like a screamer. Very excited about running Lion on this thing!
  • Reply 12 of 64
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    I gave up on a hackintosh solution and got the 13" MBP. Way faster than my Oct. 2006 MBP.



    Congratulations and thank you.
  • Reply 13 of 64
    MacStack.
  • Reply 14 of 64
    scruffyscruffy Posts: 23member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djames4242 View Post


    Woah - were you able to get the hi-res screen in the store?? I thought that was a BTO-only option. I'm hoping I'll get lucky - I'm in Portland this weekend and can save on sales tax



    Also, I'm looking at the 1gb VRAM option as I read somewhere the card in the lesser model is worthless. Anyone have an opinion on that?



    They keep sets of certain configurations in stock, in store. One of those is the top-end version of each model, I was told.
  • Reply 15 of 64
    now we just read advertisements here?

    what value did this post have (other than to MacMall?)
  • Reply 16 of 64
    scruffyscruffy Posts: 23member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djames4242 View Post


    That's what I'm looking at as well - but I imagine that would violate AppleCare unless you let them (or another authorised shop) do the installation...



    What I was told in the Apple store is that if I had an Apple-authorized service tech install it, it wouldn't void the warranty.
  • Reply 17 of 64
    isaidsoisaidso Posts: 750member
    Who the hell is "Al" ?
  • Reply 18 of 64
    Does anyone know an online shop where I can order a macbook pro and not pay sales tax?

    I live in NY

    Thx!
  • Reply 19 of 64
    djames4242djames4242 Posts: 651member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Scruffy View Post


    They keep sets of certain configurations in stock, in store. One of those is the top-end version of each model, I was told.



    Good to know! That'll cost me more money then . I'm also hoping for the 7200rpm option. I believed the reports that said a 5400rpm 640gb drive wouldn't be slower than the 100gb 7200rpm drive that was shipped with my MBP. The reports were very wrong!
  • Reply 20 of 64
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by skunksaver View Post


    Does anyone know an online shop where I can order a macbook pro and not pay sales tax?

    I live in NY

    Thx!



    I guess amazon.com doesn't charge ST in some states. Legally, however, in lieu of retail sales tax, you are required to remit USE TAXES. Yep. They are equal to the sales tax rate.



    Very few people know of or pay the use tax. Even some businesses try to dodge it. Until they are audited.
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