“Should you run out and buy a new 13″ MacBook Pro? As ever, the answer is probably ‘Yes, if that’s what you need,'” Jonathan M. Gitlin reports for Ars Technica. “If, like me, it’s going to be your sole computer and you’ve gotten used to smaller form factors than the 15″ or 17″ (and I still maintain that’s barely a portable), then the 13″ MacBook Pro has a lot going for it, especially over the same sized MacBook Air. Even with the advent of ultra-low voltage Sandy Bridge chips in the Air, if you need a decent amount of storage the high price of SSDs means the Pro will have more room for your data.”
Gitlin reports, “In terms of performance, with the exception of GPU-intensive work, the dual core i7 seems to more than hold its own against the giant that is the 17″. But for road warriors who do need powerful graphics, or who want to game, then get used to carrying the extra weight of the larger laptops with you. The 13″ is certainly enough laptop for me. I can’t wait to see what it’s like with double the RAM. My only complaint is that unlike the 15″ and 17″ models, I can’t make an Abraham Lincoln-inspired ‘four cores i7 something something’ pun.”
Much more in the full review, complete with benchmarks, here.
Positives:
– doesn’t come preinstalled with Windows 7 Home Premium Ultimate Professional Amateur Schlock Dionysius Mars Jupiter Xbox Phone edition.
– doesn’t have a HP logo on the lid.
– don’t have to do three finger salute to restart.
– immune from viruses.
– doesn’t come preinstalled with Adobe Flash.
Negatives:
– pathetic 5400 RPM 320GB HDD.
– pathetic Intel integrated GPU.
Not a lot else wrong with it. Conclusion: worthwhile buy if you have $1200 to burn.
Negative fail!
Flash storage, not HDD…
NVIDIA GeForce 320M, not Integrated Intel GPU
opps though it was the MBA… That DOES suck… but hard disk is upgradeable at least…
The new MBPs don’t get any respect. They are as powerful as the previous gen desktops!
Wow! A story about a Mac on MacDailyNews. How quaint… 🙂
Wow, Apple makes computers now too? That’s awesome!
Ha!
The reviewer complains that he has to use a standard Philips screwdriver to remove a full sized cover plate for complete, unfettered access to the hard drive and memory slots.
Wow. That IS rough!
mine just got in today… I am unwrapping as I am reading it.. will run some test to find out how well it is…
Why doesn’t Apple offer a high res upgrade for the 13″?
I mean it comes stock with the MB As, so why not allow it for the Pro 13″ ?