To read all about Thunderbolt and its potential, have a read here, but suffice to say it can act as a high-bandwidth interconnect for fast external storage and graphics cards, or as a DisplayPort video output.
GRAPHICS CARD IN MACBOOK PRO 2015 15 INCH UPDATE
And though we’re not sure it was necessary to update the standard, the slimmer MagSafe 2 is a thing of elegant beauty that can be used with older attachments through an adapter.Īs mentioned in our MacBook Retina Rising – is Apple’s new MacBook Pro the Best Laptop Ever? piece, the latest Pro’s connectivity is unrivalled, thanks to no fewer than two Thunderbolt ports in addition to its USB 3.0 ones. We also adore MagSafe, which is the easiest to plug in of any power connector ever. The fruity company is one of the only ones that lets you choose between a two-part power cable with brick in the middle, or a sleek single solution terminating in the power brick – either way you get the kind of adapter you prefer. While we’re on the topic of design, Apple’s modular power adapter deserves a mention of its own. Still, for anyone carrying one of these around all day, the weight reduction will be a Godsend. Considering you’re getting more powerful internals that’s a not unimpressive achievement, though those who like watching DVDs may lament the only way to do so now is with an external drive.
It also weighs just a feather over 2kg, compared to more than 2.5kg for its predecessor.
As it’s not a tapering design, the Pro is 1.8cm thick throughout. In fact, if you put the Air 13in and the MacBook Pro 15 inch with Retina Display side by side, you’ll notice they’re the same height at the Air’s thickest point (thanks in part to slightly deeper feet on the Air, the chassis is actually 1mm thinner). What Apple has done is slim things down significantly, while shaving quite a bit of weight off too. Anodised aluminium throughout, the latest MacBook Pro 15 inch looks and feels every bit a premium product. Its unibody, milled aluminium chassis are still cutting edge (not literally, despite a few edges that are sharper than we would ideally like) for both aesthetics and the feeling of sublime build quality they convey. SEE ALSO: Best Laptops, Ultrabooks and Hybridsįrom a design point of view, Apple hasn’t fixed what wasn’t broken. Meanwhile for connectivity Apple provides both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt. Specs-wise you get a choice of Ivy Bridge Core i7 processors, 8GB of RAM as standard, up to 768GB of SSD storage and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M dedicated graphics. The backlit chiclet keyboard and glass touchpad remain much as before.
It’s fitted in an anodised aluminium chassis that’s slimmer than previous models, thanks in part to the omission of an optical drive. The highlight, of course, is its Retina Display, which is a 15.4in IPS affair with a stunning resolution of 2,880 x 1,800 – that’s 220ppi. Let’s start off with what you get for that money. However, while it may be unmatched in certain areas, how does it hold up overall – especially when its rather steep £1,800 price is taken into account? If you want to know exactly what, have a read of our MacBook Retina Rising – is Apple’s new MacBook Pro the Best Laptop Ever? piece. The MacBook Pro 15 inch with Retina Display, as it’s awkwardly called, is in some ways the best laptop money can buy, doing more to justify its premium than any MacBook Pro before it. However, now the maker of everyone’s favourite tablet has caught up, and then some.
GRAPHICS CARD IN MACBOOK PRO 2015 15 INCH SERIES
In fact, you could usually get machines that were just as good if not better for a lot less, as evinced by comparing the Samsung Series 7 Chronos 700Z5A to Apple’s previous MacBook Pro 15in. Until now, Apple laptops have been gorgeous and well-built options, but they certainly weren’t always at the cutting edge. Updated: now with Diablo 3 results, the first game optimised for Retina.