Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch 2011-02 MC721LL/A - Non Glare
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Average of 2 scores (from 1 reviews)
Reviews for the Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch 2011-02 MC721LL/A - Non Glare
2nd Generation Intel Core i7. As predicted, Apple has just released its new MacBook Pro 15 Early 2011 with Intel Core i7-2635QM, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and matte hi-res display and we got a hold of one to review. Is this multimedia wolf in sheep's clothing worth the price?
Source: Notebookcheck DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/14/2011
Rating: Total score: 86% performance: 82% display: 88% mobility: 83% workmanship: 98% ergonomy: 95% emissions: 86%
Comment
Series:
The Retina display is a display which has high enough pixel density that the human retina can’t distinguish individual pixels and was first introduced as a cutting edge technology together with the iPhone 4. Thanks to the retina display, the iPhone 4 was called "Best device in its class" by The Wall Street Journal, and "Best smartphone on the market" by Engadget. The MacBook Pro with Retina display introduced at the WWDC in San Francisco in June 2012 is a separate product line, independent of the original MacBook Pro and should continue the success of the iPhone.
Apart from just the retina display, this new laptop also features a new design similar to that of the MacBook Air, but without Super Drive as well as Ethernet and FireWire 800 ports. Unlike the original MacBook Pro series with standard hard drive, it includes a Solid State Drive. In short, every technological advantage of Apple are concentrated on this new MacBook Pro with Retina display, from the amazing display found in the iPhone, iPad to robust system performance of the MacBook Pro as well as the portability, design and flash storage - this laptop has it all.
In particular the retina display is the sharpest computer display and outclasses every other laptop or computer display by far at the time of its introduction. It is that important that Apple even decided to call this laptop "MacBook Pro with retina display". In fact, the display alone outweighs the biggest disadvantage of the new MacBook Pro, the price – it's Apple we are talking about. If you can afford the steep entry price, this is the most amazing laptop money can buy.
AMD Radeon HD 6490M: Entry to middle class graphics card based on the Seymore XT codename with support for fast GDDR5. The chip can be clocked at 700-750 with GDDR5 and 800 with slow DDR3.
Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.
2635QM: Fast Quad-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
15.40":
15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Apple: Apple is a US company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company is known for its innovative products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and manufactures computers and consumer electronics as well as operating systems and application software. Apple is also a leading provider of software and services such as the App Store, iTunes and iCloud.
Apple has earned a reputation as a company that focuses on design and ease of use. As for their notebooks, they are mostly in the high-priced segment, have their own operating system, but also run Windows on the newer Macbooks.
Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world and has a loyal following of customers and fans. The company also has a strong presence in the entertainment industry, with services like Apple Music and Apple TV+. In 2023, Apple had an approximate 8% market share of global PC sales, ranking it 4th after Lenovo, HP, and Dell.
86%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.