MacBook Pro 2011 Review

Thursday I received my new MacBook Pro, replacing my late 2008 MacBook Pro.  This is likely the most drastic refresh of the MacBook line since fall 2008 when the unibody design was introduced.  Let's see how the MacBook Pro has changed since then and whether the upgrade is worth it.

First a spec comparison:

	MacBook Pro (Late 2008)	MacBook Pro (Early 2011)
CPU	2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo	2.2 GHz Core i7 Quad Core
RAM	4GB 1066 MHz DDR3	4GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Hard Drive	250 GB 7200 RPM	500 GB 7200 RPM
Display	15.4” 1440 x 900	15.4” 1680 x 1050
Graphics	nVidia GeForce 9600M GT	AMD Radeon HD 6750M
Graphics Memory	512 MB GDDR3	1 GB GDDR5
Optical Drive	8X Superdrive	8X Superdrive
Battery	50 watt-hour	77.5 watt-hour
iSight Camera	640 x 480	1280 x 720

• CPU Comparison:  The new Core i7 processors based on Sandy Bridge architecture look like they have a serious clock speed disadvantage (21% to be exact) versus their older Penryn counterparts.  Despite doubling the number of CPU cores, they also feature Intel Turbo Boost, which automatically overclocks one, two, three, or even all four cores based upon processor load and core temperature.  In theory this technology will crank a single core up to 3.3 GHz, two cores up to 3.2 GHz, or four cores to 3.0 GHz.  Performance on the new MacBook feels much speedier than the old one.

In a comparison using Cinebench 9.5 (yes, it's old but I've been using this to compare my computers for over 5 years now) the new quad core i7 shows of what's it's capable of a full load versus a measly dual core Core 2 Duo:

	MacBook Pro (Late 2008)	MacBook Pro (Early 2011)	Desktop	Desktop Overclocked
CPU	2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo	2.2 GHz Core i7 Quad Core	3.06 GHz Core i7 Quad Core	Core i7 Quad Core @ 4.0 GHz
Architecture	Penryn	Sandy Bridge	Nehalem	Nehalem
Multi CPU Render	957	2323	2240	3414

As can be seen by the numbers, the new MacBook Pro has gained quite a bit more CPU horsepower over the past two and a half years.  Surprisingly, it even surpasses a desktop quad core i7 based on slightly older Nehalem architecture that is clocked almost 40% faster.  Looks like Turbo Boost does make a difference. 

• Other comparisons:  It's really the addition of two processor cores that makes this a major MacBook Pro upgrade everything else is nice but relatively minor.  The RAM has stayed the same other than a meager increase in the clock speed, a bit more storage space is nice, the 720p camera is a good thought though not very useful, and increased battery life is welcomed.  Probably second to the processor revamp is the increased display resolution.  Although this has been an option for some time on MacBook Pros, it was not available in 2008.  The extra pixels nicely add to the screen real estate.  Things no longer seem as crammed on the screen, especially in screen-hungry applications like Final Cut Pro and Aperture.  

• Thunderbolt:  The new systems are the first from any manufacturer to feature the new Thunderbolt port (formerly known as Light Peak).  Although there aren't any peripherals that connect to it yet, with the capability of 10 Gbps transfer rates I am hopeful for the future of this technology and glad that the new MacBooks are future-proof (for the time being at least).