Gaming Laptop

While Apples previous generation of laptops took full advantage of Intels Core i5 and i7 chips in the 15- and 17-inch versions, we said in our last-gen MacBook Pro review it felt like it was falling behind its stablemates, stuck as it was with a Core 2 Duo processor.
It meant that although the larger machines lived up to their Pro moniker, you had to wonder about the smallest model, especially looking at the power packed into the Alienware M11x thanks to Intels new Core i-series processors.
However, now we have a new MacBook Pro 2011, and the 13-inch version has gone straight from the bottom of the class to the top when it comes to power, as youll see during the remainder of our MacBook Pro review. Youll have seen the unbelievable speed of Intels Sandy Bridge processors in our review, and Apples been fastest off the mark getting them into its laptops.
Apples claiming as much as double the speed in some tasks from these new CPUs, thanks not only to technologies such as Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost, but also the new single-chip design in the Sandy Bridge architecture.
Apple supplied us with the higher-powered Core i7 version of the MacBook Pro 13-inch, which is £1299, though theres also a £999 Core i5-powered version.
However, the brand new Core i5 and i7 chips arent the only big news in the MacBook Pro of 2011. There are always plenty of Mac rumours just before a new release, and it was all about Intels Light Peak tech this time round.
The leaks turned out to be accurate this time, and Apple confirmed the new high-speed I/O port (now renamed Thunderbolt). In the new MacBook Pro range, its been merged with the mini-DisplayPort connection, creating a multipurpose I/O port capable of 10Gbps both ways.
There are a few other updates of note around the MacBook Pro 13-inch. Though its big brothers got shiny new AMD graphics cards, this model makes do with Intels latest integrated graphics.
Consistently the subject of derisive snorts in the past, Intels really upped its game in this area. The Intel HD 3000 graphics chip is now built into the processor, and should offer strong performance as well as solid battery life.
Before we got into the major benchmarking and CPU testing of the new MacBook Pro 13-inch, which you can see on the next page, we started our time with it by looking at the new FaceTime HD video calling. Its a bit underwhelming, to be honest.
For a start, the call doesnt come in at HD resolution for the person youre calling by default (even if theyre on a compatible Mac), and theres no option to automatically enlarge, unless you go fullscreen. You can manually resize, but you really should be able to snap to 720p.
But the actual quality of the video isnt really any better, on balance. Certainly, the video is slightly sharper than what you get from the old cameras, with more defined edges and clearer background objects. However, it suffers from the classic sensor too small syndrome that phone cameras have always had.
When held next to the built-in camera on the iMac we used in our benchmarking tests, the iMacs image looked better because it let in more light. Any extra detail in the 720p image is lost in its darkness. You could try to light yourself well, but wed have to be talking full-on studio lighting, almost.
We also have to say that were disappointed not to see a higher resolution screen in this model. The MacBook Air 13-inch has a 1366 x 768 panel, and the drop to 1280 x 800 here is noticeable if youve used both.

That said, the screen is stunning. Its got good viewing angles, and colours and clarity are second to none. The LED backlight is nice and even, though its ever so slightly lighter at the bottom of the screen (youd have to be viewing a black image carefully to notice, though).
HD video in particular looks crisp, smooth and totally natural. Text is easy to read and the colours of icons stand out from each other beautifully.
If getting a higher-resolution screen in the laptop would have compromised its quality (with a lower colour gamut or poorer viewing angles, for example), then we can understand the lack of an upgrade as standard, but we really think it should be a BTO option.
The MacBook Pros design hasnt changed, which means a class-leading unibody aluminium enclosure. While not overly heavy, its not exactly super-lightweight either, but then thats what the MacBook Airs for.
The backlit keyboard is one of the under-rated parts of the current MacBook Pro range. For all the bluster over power, excellent usability hasnt been overlooked. The keys move softly, but have a nice click when fully depressed, though they remain very quiet.
Apple and Intel have shown the tech (known previously as Light Peak), transferring huge amounts of data to an external SSD RAID and driving a 1080p display simultaneously.
With the ridiculous transfer speed on offer, you should be able to transfer a Full HD movie to your laptop in just 30 seconds. And its actually 10Gbps in two directions, so if youre transferring stuff out and in at the same time, you dont end up with the bandwidth of each halved. Remarkable stuff.
Thunderbolt passes through the mini-DisplayPort connection that used to occupy the same space on the machine, so the current Apple Cinema Display will work, just without the data transfer part.
Thunderbolts inclusion really serves as a reminder of the Pro part of the MacBook Pro. It may seem like overkill for the average joe, and thats because it is, at least for the moment. But for video editors and other pro users, it means they can take full advantage of the portability of a laptop and the power of Intels newest processors without compromising on disk space or speed.
So far, there are no peripherals that use Thunderbolt, so its firmly one for the future. We were a little disappointed not to see a Thunderbolt-ready Cinema Display arrive with the new MacBook Pros, but were sure itll come.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro still features other ports, of course. Theres an Ethernet port, six-pin FireWire, two USB ports and an SDXC card reader.