The MacBook Pro Review (13 & 15-inch): 2011 Brings Sandy Bridge
by Anand Lal Shimpi, Brian Klug & Vivek Gowri on March 10, 2011 4:17 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Mac
- Apple
- Intel
- MacBook Pro
- Sandy Bridge
Display Quality
We analyzed the 15" antiglare display on the new MacBook Pro since in all likelihood if you care about display quality you'll opt for the high res or high res antiglare option. Before even starting to analyze display quality, I pulled the panel model out of EDID and wasn't surprised to see the same LTN154MT07 Samsung panel in the new 15" MBP as we did in the previous generation. It's literally the exact same. It's not surprising in the least that Apple is using the same panel; there wasn't anything wrong with the old one.
13-inch Glossy MBP (back) vs. 15-inch MBP with optional anti-glare screen (front)
We calibrated using the i1D2 and ColorEyes Display Pro same as we did before, then check with the GMB color checker card colors and get Delta E. There's shockingly little to say about it that we haven't said before. It's the same as the previous one, and unsurprisingly the data backs that conclusion up very well. Apple also seems to ship an ICC profile for each specific panel type with LUT curves already, which actually put the display close to where it should be. It's a TN and likewise still has the same mediocre vertical viewing angles as virtually every TN.
It's a bit disappointing that Apple didn't take the opportunity to dramatically improve displays on the MBPs this time around. While everyone was speculating about what display the iPad 2 would get, there was very little discussion about how the Mac side of things needs higher resolution to even get close to being able to display 1:1. Hopefully higher resolution notebook displays are somewhere on the horizon.
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robco - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
I made the mistake of buying a 15" MBP eighteen months ago and am stuck with a machine that has mediocre graphics and overheats constantly. Don't buy the MBP if you actually use it on your lap. That being said, the only reason I bought it over the MacBook was the dedicated graphics. With the awful performance of the Intel integrated chip, I hope Apple releases a 15" MacBook with the option of dedicated graphics for consumers. I'm not shelling out $2199 just to get something with a decent video card. I wouldn't recommend the 13" at all, as there are several alternatives in the 13-14" range that offer dedicated cards.I fell victim to the hype and now I have a fairly recent machine that can barely handle SC2 and an iPhone that can't make phone calls. Don't make the same mistake. Most of the tasks you can do on a Mac you can do on a Windows PC. Unless you are actually a pro and need a pro-grade machine, don't waste your money. For those who can justify the expense, they are nice machines, but if you actually put them to work, be ready to set them on a cool surface or get a cooling pad. They run awfully hot.
KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
My MBP from last year plays SC2 perfectly, above 60fps most of the time which is great. Same with Source games. People on Youtube have already uploaded video playing the Crysis 2 demo on the new MBPs and it looks great.Your machine is almost two years old. Be logical when complaining about performance. Just because your machine is slow doesn't mean that the new ones aren't screaming fast: http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1740,iid=287468...
The 13" MBP is also decent with the SB IGP. I've seen clips on YT of people playing games even on the slower Macbook Air and it looks good. IGPs have come a long way from where they were in 2009.
robco - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
I'm a little miffed that a machine that was so expensive has become outdated rather quickly. I paid a lot just to get dedicated graphics. I could have and should have paid less to get a Windows notebook. I won't make the same mistake again. If you're a consumer and don't need a pro-grade machine but still want good graphics, the MBP is a poor value.The MBA actually handles games better than the new 13" MBP because it still uses the C2D and the NV integrated chipset. Once it switches to Sandy Bridge, performance will drop as it has with the MBP. The only area the MBA is slower than the MBP is raw processing power, graphics and disk access are much faster.
With Apple you can get a notebook that performs well, you just have to shell out $2199 to get it. I did that once, I won't do it again. it just isn't worth it unless you're a pro user who will recoup that cost in a short time. For consumers, it's a waste of money.
ImSpartacus - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
If you only needed the graphics muscle, you should've gotten a Windows laptop.Macbooks are for more mobile-minded users. They are thin, strong and have excellent battery life.
If you just need a solid mobile workstation that isn't going to be moved a lot, Windows laptops are a much better value.
SimKill - Friday, March 11, 2011 - link
ODM manufacturers like Clevo and Compal fit your bill perfectly. I got my system in 2009 August and even today I can play most of the games (ofcourse except godforsaken Crysis) at high settings at 1680x1050 (yep, 16:10) It cost me around $1400 but I'm very happy about it so far.SimKill - Friday, March 11, 2011 - link
Dam, they don't have an edit button. The hardware internals are pretty good with copper heatsinks and heatpipes and what not too...erple2 - Friday, March 11, 2011 - link
Hrm. Mac's are more of a semi-pro-grade machine. They still lack some of the important pro-grade features of an actual pro-grade machine. Like a Docking Station. Or a spill-resistant keyboard. Or a thumbprint reader. Or a smart card slot. Or a high-gamut monitor.While they are well constructed, they still don't have some of the critical features required for a good business laptop - they lack the all important OpenGL performance GPUs for wireframe models (among other things). See some of the high end Elitebooks or Thinkpads (which also cost a bit more than these MacBook Pros).
tipoo - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
Ah, I just had a dumb, nevermind me.IntelUser2000 - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/the-macbook-pro..."This is a weird one, since the same GPU gave us significantly better performance in the SNB test system."
Oh gee, I wonder why. The SNB test system used quad core and the Core i5 2410M is a dual core. Quad vs. Dual does have some impact.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
It does have some impact, but not in this case. The HD 3000 is actually GPU bound in those tests - not to mention that most games aren't quite so well threaded that 2 v 4 cores should matter.Take care,
Anand