Apple updates MacBook Pro line with faster chips

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in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
While unveiling its much anticipated line of MacBook consumer notebooks on Tuesday, Apple Computer also upped the speed of its professional MacBook Pro line and added a new widescreen display option.



The company increased processor speeds on both models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro at no additional cost. The $2,499 model now includes a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from 2.0 GHz, and the $1,999 model now includes a 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from 1.83 GHz.



Also as of Tuesday, both the 15-and 17-inch MacBook Pro models offer Apple's new glossy widescreen display as a CTO option on at no additional cost.

According to Apple, customers should choose the glossy widescreen display if they want to make their graphics, photos, and videos appear with richer color and deeper blacks. The new display is also great for watching DVD movies, the company said.



Meanwhile, those customers who prefer a display with anti-glare coating for a matte rather than glossy viewing experience, should stick with the standard widescreen display.



Apple says both widescreen displays options are significantly brighter than previous Apple notebooks. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is said to be 67 percent brighter than the 15-inch PowerBook G4, and the 17-inch model is reportedly 36 percent brighter than the 17-inch PowerBook G4.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    ajmasajmas Posts: 604member
    Should that be BTO (Build to Order), or does CTO stand for something else? I can only think of 'Chief Technical Officer'.
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  • Reply 2 of 44
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    I think that was a typo.



    The graphics card is intel, does that mean its integrated?



    Well even so, it can do an extended desktop. My iBook was only able to mirror. So it's a definite improvement!
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  • Reply 3 of 44
    brunobruinbrunobruin Posts: 552member
    CTO = Configure to Order.



    Everything you order online from the Apple Store is considered BTO (Build to Order), because you've ordered it to be built, even if you don't change the specs. If you request any change in the base specs (additional RAM, bigger hard drive), you've made it CTO. So the screen change is a CTO option.
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  • Reply 4 of 44
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    CTO and BTO are the same thing.
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  • Reply 5 of 44
    lhvidelhvide Posts: 68member
    256mb VRAM on the MBpro blows away the piddly 64mb VRAM (shared) on the MacBook.....



    but i love that black finish
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  • Reply 6 of 44
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    in Europe... at least in the Netherlands

    the MBP is a lot cheaper now:



    15" MBP 2.0GHz 128MB GPU is about ? 150 cheaper than the previous 15" MBP 1.83Ghz 128MB GPU.



    15" MBP 2.16Ghz 256MB GPU is about ? 200 cheaper than the previous 15" MBP 2.0Ghz 256MB GPU.



    17" MBP 2.16Ghz is about ? 90 cheaper.



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  • Reply 7 of 44
    Only question now is when are they gonna up the speeds on the iMac to show the price reduction from Intel?
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  • Reply 8 of 44
    minderbinderminderbinder Posts: 1,703member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacSuperiority

    Only question now is when are they gonna up the speeds on the iMac to show the price reduction from Intel?



    Or will they just drop prices?



    Nice to see a (second!) speed bump so quickly.
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  • Reply 9 of 44
    cindercinder Posts: 381member
    What the crap is "glossy screen"???



    I really, really hope it means no Brightness Enhancement Filter on the screen for increased viewing range . . . but it probably doesn't.
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  • Reply 10 of 44
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by minderbinder

    Or will they just drop prices?



    Nice to see a (second!) speed bump so quickly.




    Get used to it; unlike IBM/Motorola/Freescale, Intel/amd acctually increase proformance now and then. When that happenes it means that the older chips tend to fade from the supply line (or are availible in too small a quantity for a mass builder like Apple to use in several lines) so the party is just getting started -- look for speed bumps (or feature tweaks like faster bus, or more L2 cache) every 90-120 days.
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  • Reply 11 of 44
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by lhvide

    256mb VRAM on the MBpro blows away the piddly 64mb VRAM (shared) on the MacBook.....



    but i love that black finish




    If you are doing anything that needs texture memory like that, then you probably would benefit from a faster graphics chip anyway.
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  • Reply 12 of 44
    minderbinderminderbinder Posts: 1,703member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM

    If you are doing anything that needs texture memory like that, then you probably would benefit from a faster graphics chip anyway.



    Not to mention a bigger screen.
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  • Reply 13 of 44
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by cinder

    What the crap is "glossy screen"???



    I really, really hope it means no Brightness Enhancement Filter on the screen for increased viewing range . . . but it probably doesn't.




    I think it means a glossy top coat rather than a diffuse top coat on the screen surface. The difuse surface hurts the blacks because it scatters light from everywhere and reduces apparent contrast by washing out the blacks a bit.



    Several notebooks and desktop screens have come out with gloss coated screens. I don't like it though, because it has a strong glare potential. There is a good anti-glare coating for CRT screens (I think similar to those optional on eyeglasses) but I haven't seen it used on LCDs yet.
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  • Reply 14 of 44
    kritikalkritikal Posts: 29member
    so could this be the Rev B Macbook Pros??? if so, now i can finally get one.





    *i promised myself i would at least wait till the 1st revisions came out
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  • Reply 15 of 44
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    look for speed bumps (or feature tweaks like faster bus, or more L2 cache) every 90-120 days.



    We're getting close to the end of the line for ICD upgrades. Next stop, Merom. Hopefully coming our way in August.
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  • Reply 16 of 44
    minderbinderminderbinder Posts: 1,703member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by backtomac

    We're getting close to the end of the line for ICD upgrades. Next stop, Merom. Hopefully coming our way in August.



    ICD?
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  • Reply 17 of 44
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by minderbinder

    ICD?



    ICD= Intel Core Duo (yonah). It is supposed to max out at 2.3ghz if I remember correctly.
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  • Reply 18 of 44
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,712member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DeaPeaJay

    I think that was a typo.



    The graphics card is intel, does that mean its integrated?



    Well even so, it can do an extended desktop. My iBook was only able to mirror. So it's a definite improvement!




    You're talking about the Macbook, right. The Pro uses ATI 1600 mobile gpus.
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  • Reply 19 of 44
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,712member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kritikal

    so could this be the Rev B Macbook Pros??? if so, now i can finally get one.





    *i promised myself i would at least wait till the 1st revisions came out




    No doubt Apple has been fixing problems, but there is no reason, as yet, to believe that it's a major revision. The chips just drop in.
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  • Reply 20 of 44
    macgregormacgregor Posts: 1,434member
    Personally I'm attracted to the glossy Vaio's in the store and the depth of the contrast they give, but for a traveling laptop, the matte finish is so much better in a dozen ways. If I needed that contrast though, I'd buy it in a second display that would stay in my office where I would be doing the real graphics work anyway.



    it is nice to have options though!!! Lets just regain the OPTION of a smaller pro laptop though!!!!
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