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Apple MacBook Pro 17in (2011) review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £2099
inc VAT

It’s highly desirable, but ultra-expensive; unless you need its power and big, high resolution screen, the 15in version is better

Specifications

17 in 1,920×1,200 display, 3.0kg, 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-2720QM, 4.00GB RAM, 750GB disk, MacOS X 10.6

http://www.apple.com/uk/thestore

Apple laptops have a habit of making a big splash on release, but quickly falling behind the competition in terms of performance due to their yearly refresh cycle. The MacBook Pro might have launched in back in February, but it’s still keeping up with newer laptops from other manufacturers thanks to Intel’s superb Second Generation Core processors.

Like the top-spec version of the smaller 15in MacBook Pro, this 17in model comes equipped with a quad-core i7-2720QM processor running at 2.2GHz. Intel’s Turbo Boost technology can push this up to 3GHz for even more performance; it sped through our multi-platform benchmarks with an overall score of 89. Whether you want to keep OS X or install a copy of Windows, this will be one seriously fast laptop. It comes with 4GB of memory and a 750GB hard disk, but both can be upgraded before you buy if you order on Apple’s website.

Apple MacBook Pro 17in back

3D performance is equally impressive thanks to a dedicated AMD Radeon 6750M graphics card. Unfortunately, our new DirectX 11 Dirt 3 benchmark isn’t compatible with OS X, but our old Call of Duty 4 test produced some impressive results; even with 4x anti-aliasing, it managed a very smooth 56.8fps. With dynamic switching between the dedicated card and Intel’s less power-hungry integrated graphics, the battery lasted an excellent eight hours in our light-use test.

This is all the more impressive when you sit down in front of the 17in Full HD screen, which looks incredibly vivid and bright thanks to an LED backlight. Apple still isn’t using premium IPS LCD panels like it does in its desktop computers, but the high-end TN panel here has excellent viewing angles and there’s an ample amount of screen tilt.

Apple MacBook Pro 17in

We were happy that Apple hasn’t changed the excellent backlit keyboard, which retains the same large, isolated keys as the previous MacBook Pro. The flat typing position might not suit everyone, but the springy keys provide plenty of tactile feedback. In spite of its size, there’s no separate numeric keypad. Instead the speakers are placed either side of the keyboard tray, so Apple has decided to fit full-size keys and ignore a number pad, which we feel is the right decision. The massive glass touchpad also stays the same, as it’s the perfect size for multi-touch gestures. OS X has some of the best gesture recognition we’ve seen, to the point that we actually prefer using a MacBook with the touchpad rather than a mouse.

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Basic Specifications

Rating****
ProcessorIntel Core i7-2720QM
Processor clock speed2.2GHz
Memory4.00GB
Memory slots2
Memory slots free0
Maximum memory8GB
Size25x393x267mm
Weight3.0kg
SoundIntel HD Audio
Pointing devicetouchpad

Display

Viewable size17 in
Native resolution1,920×1,200
Graphics ProcessorAMD Radeon HD 6750M
Graphics/video portsmini DisplayPort
Graphics Memory1,024MB

Storage

Total storage capacity750GB
Optical drive typeDVD+/-RW +/-DL

Ports and Expansion

USB ports2
Total Firewire ports1
Bluetoothyes
Wired network ports1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support802.11b/g/n
PC Card slots1x ExpressCard/34
Supported memory cardsSDXC
Other portsThunderbolt

Miscellaneous

Carrying caseNo
Operating systemMacOS X 10.6
Operating system restore optionrestore disc
Software includedN/A
Optional extrasnone

Buying Information

Warrantyone-year RTB
Price£2,099
Detailswww.apple.com
Supplierhttp://www.apple.com/uk/thestore

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