( Get best current price.) The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 750GB hard drive costs $1499. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, with a dual-core 2.4GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, costs $1199. The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have both the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a discrete graphics chip.Ĭonfigurations: There are five standard configurations of the MacBook Pro. The new 13-inch MacBook Pros still use only an integrated graphics processor, the Intel HD Graphics 3000. The speed differences are bigger if you compare the current MacBook Pro line to the models released in 2010 most notably, the 2010 13-inch MacBook Pros used slower Core 2 Duo processors. The current models feature Core i5 and Core i7 processors that are slightly faster than the models released in February. Consider the MacBook Pro a possible replacement for an older desktop Mac. The MacBook Pro continues to sport the aluminum unibody design that was introduced in 2008, but it has more features and processing power than the MacBook Air. The first update was in February, and the most recent MacBook Pro line was released in October. The MacBook Pro was actually updated twice in 2011. Read our complete review of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models (mid-2011) MacBook Pro It’s a great combination of performance and portability. But now, the 2011 MacBook Air is the ideal laptop for most Mac users.

Macworld’s buying advice: Previous MacBook Air generations were thought of as niche laptops. All come with flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 3000. (You may be able to find a refurbished MacBook at the online Apple Store, if you really want one.)Ĭonfigurations: There are four MacBook Airs: two 11-inch models and two 13-inch models. Apple’s lowest-priced laptop is now the 11-inch 1.6GHz Core i5 MacBook Air ( ) with 64GB of flash storage. When Apple discontinued the MacBook in July, the company thrust the MacBook Air into a new role. You can either get the proper adapters to connect FireWire, eSATA, USB 3.0, or other devices to the Thunderbolt port, or you can get Apple’s Thunderbolt Display, which serves as a connectivity dock for the laptop. Past MacBook Air models had only USB 2.0 connectivity Thunderbolt gives the 2011 MacBook Air a high-speed connector, and widens the range of peripherals you can use.

The 2011 models’ key new feature is the Thunderbolt port. With some older games, however, the current models may suffer a hit in graphics performance. Macworld Lab found that the 2011 MacBook Air models are at least 1.5 times as fast as last year’s 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor. The 2011 MacBook Air line uses Intel dual-core Core i5 processors, a vast improvement over the Core 2 Duo processors used in previous models.

Late 2011 mac mini i5 speed comparison