“Apple Computer Inc.’s newest MacBook pro is one cool customer,” Ken Mingis reports for Computerworld. “Literally.”

“Sure it’s got the new Core 2 Duo processor, which offers a speed bump from 2.16GHz to 2.33GHz. (The first-generation MacBook Pros topped out at 2.16GHz and used Intel’s Core Duo chip.) But what a difference that ’2′ in the processor name makes,” Mingis reports.

“For speed demons, this is the fastest laptop Apple has yet offered. Aside from the fact that it’s about 8% faster in terms of clock speed, underlying changes to the processor design — especially a doubling of the Level 2 cache memory from 2MB to 4MB — mean the uptick in speed is noticeable,” Mingis reports. “The 15-in. versions of the new MacBook Pro — unveiled just last week — are already getting into buyers’ waiting hands, and the 17-in. versions are set to ship next week.”

“Unlike most incremental upgrades between models, I’d say the shift from the Core Duo to the Core 2 Duo — in tandem with some strategic moves by Apple to make the new laptops even more of a value — is a bigger deal than usual,” Mingis reports.

“pple seems to have tackled that issue head on: Heat is significantly reduced in the new models,” Mingis reports.

“I asked [Apple Product Manager for Portables Todd Benjamin] about reports from other new MacBook Pro owners that the wireless card inside is designed to work with the upcoming 802.11n wireless standard in addition to the now-popular 802.11g and 802.11b standards,” Mingis reports. “Benjamin declined to talk about 802.11n compatibility. ‘The integrated solution is fully backward compatible, but I can’t speculate [on future capabilities],’ he said.”

Full article here.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo dissection photos – October 30, 2006
Why MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo units are limited to 3 GB RAM – October 30, 2006
Apple redesigns, hides iSight indicator on MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models – October 28, 2006
Apple does it again: New Macbook Pros much cheaper than Dell – October 25, 2006
Yager: New Apple MacBook Pro is ‘mobile landing pad for Leopard in plenty of time for Macworld Expo’ – October 24, 2006
Apple MacBook Pro notebooks go Intel Core 2 Duo; up to 39-percent faster – October 24, 2006