Ars Technica reviews Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro: Small and mighty

“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.