Apple MacBook Pro (2007)

The MacBook Pro is Apple's top of the line laptop computer meant for the power user who needs the more capable hardware. These laptops contain faster processors, larger hard drives, and more RAM than the regular mainstream MacBooks.

The MacBook Pros are also larger coming in at 15" and 17" varieties, along with the brushed steel casing, where the regular MacBooks are constructed out of hard plastic.

On June 5th 2007, Apple upgraded the MacBook Pros to make use of Intel's new Santa Rosa platform. Santa Rosa is the latest generation of Intel's Centrino lineup which is the moniker that Intel has given a suite of technologies for laptops that use its chips. Santa Rosa indicates the use of the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a new chipset that includes a faster and more dynamic front side bust to increase speed and lower power consumption, and a new wireless network adapter that can communicate on the A/B/G/N protocols. The most recent wireless N protocol increases speed over the previous G standard by up to five times, while increasing connection area by two times.

Many Centrino based notebooks make use of Intel's own graphics processing technology which is less powerful than a dedicated solution. However, the MacBook Pros use the nVidia GeForce 8600 graphics processor which is capable of playing any modern game and even graphic intensive production software. For the 15" model Apple is also introducing an LED backlight for the first time in an Apple laptop. Using an LED system Apple claims that battery life is extended by 30 minutes to an hour depending on the context, and startup time is improved. The overall brightness of the display, and the viewing angle remain the same as the conventional lighting system used on the older models, and the current 17".