Apple MacBook Pro 17 inch 2011-02 MC725D/A
Specifications

Price comparison
Average of 13 scores (from 16 reviews)
Reviews for the Apple MacBook Pro 17 inch 2011-02 MC725D/A
Apple's Figurehead. The MacBook Pro 17" is Apple's top-of-the line model as far as laptops go and stylishly combines powerful performance with excellent mobility. The most recent version now has a new hardware arrangement, offering a powerful duo consisting of the Core i7-2720QM and Radeon HD 6750M including GPU-switching technology. Sounds good, right? But how does the latest MBP measure up to the competition?
Source: Reg Hardware
Archive.org versionI admit the MacBook Pro is not perfect – actually, it is bloody expensive at a mere quid short of £2,100. Add to that the cost of any of the aforementioned adapters, which might involve a new found love of the ExpressCard/34 slot, if you get really desperate. Yup, it is, quite simply, out of my price range. The Top Gear team spend less than that on second-hand Bentleys. Yet it does deliver an exceptional user experience. So ask your employer to buy you one, or get the next-best alternative: the 15in model. Either way, no-one will convince me that it’s money badly spent.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/23/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Comp Reviews
Archive.org versionApple's MacBook Pro 17 remains an extremely expensive investment with a base price of $2500. Thankfully, the 2011 version has increased the overall performance and features with a new quad core processor, larger hard drive and AMD graphics. It remains one of the sleekest and longest running laptops in its class. While the Thunderbolt port has some great potential, it really just functions like a DisplayPort for now.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/05/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: ITNews Australia
Archive.org versionIf you’re looking for a portable workstation, it isn’t the winner it could have been; we’d avoid running intensive apps with it on your lap, for example. Of the three sizes, however, it holds the widest appeal. There’s something about paying less than $2000 for such an impressive piece of hardware that makes it feel like the best value of all the new MacBook Pros.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 06/24/2011
Source: Tweaktown
Archive.org versionThere are more positive feelings toward the MBP than there is negative and virtually every product in the world is not flawless - the 17-inch MacBook Pro is no different. However, I have a feeling for people that haven't used a Mac before that the following quote would apply to them: Once you go Mac, you never go back.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/24/2011
Rating: Total score: 95%
Source: Digital Versus
Archive.org versionThe MacBook Pro 17 inch 2011 is the latest Apple laptop to join our review. A powerful processor, a good quality panel, an impeccable finish, a graphics card that can handle a good few games titles and really excellent battery life: this is what you get with this 17 inch machine. Even its little imperfections (lack of number pad) don't affect its 5-star rating.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/15/2011
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Computing
Archive.org versionThe latest MacBook Pro laptops from Apple deliver improved performance and battery life, and boast a Thunderbolt I/O port, which in tests came out faster than USB 3.0. At £999, the 13in model is likely to be the biggest seller, but professional users who require power and performance above all else should look no further than this 15in model.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/31/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Digital Trends
Archive.org versionIf you’re looking for a notebook with all the power and creature comforts of a desktop, it’s hard to find a homier setup than Apple’s 17-inch MacBook Pro. Gamers and pros like video editors will appreciate the additional processing power, graphics power and speedy new Thunderbolt interface, but at $2,500, you had better plan on really leveraging them to make the leap.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/22/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: T3
Archive.org versionApple’s early 2011 MacBook Pro isn’t perfect. It could use a Blu-ray drive, or even a faster DVD drive, and at £2,099 it’s far from cheap (though not outrageously priced, given its undoubted quality). Even so, it's not for the casual user, instead will appeal to the high-demands professional who needs to take his or her work out of the office; perhaps a graphic designer, web builder or video editor. Or indeed anyone who wants – and can afford – the most powerful notebook Mac on the market.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 03/11/2011
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Techradar
Archive.org versionThe MacBook Pro range takes a great leap forward with the 2011 refresh, and this 17-inch model is no exception. The popular unibody aluminium form factor is retained, but across-the-board component upgrades (SuperDrive excepted) gives it a huge performance improvement over its predecessor. Apple is wise to spec-match the sole 17-inch model to the top 15-inch MacBook Pro instead of the next one down, and although expensive, the price increase from the mid-2010 refresh is reasonable.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/10/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: PC Pro
Archive.org versionPowerful, long-lasting and with a wonderful 1,920 x 1,200 screen, but the price remains unpalatable
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 03/03/2011
Rating: Total score: 67% price: 50% performance: 100% features: 83% ergonomy: 83%
Source: It Pro
Archive.org versionThere's no Blu-ray writer built-in, even as an optional extra, which may disappoint if you want to author Blu-ray movies on the go or want to backup large quantities of data onto a single disc. There aren't any complaints about the large 750GB hard disk though. This can be substituted by Apple with a SSD up to 512GB in capacity, although this will be costly.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/02/2011
Rating: Total score: 83%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Notebookcheck
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/10/2011
Rating: Total score: 87% performance: 90% display: 85% mobility: 81% workmanship: 98% ergonomy: 93% emissions: 85%
Source: Notebookcheck
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/20/2011
Rating: Total score: 86% performance: 90% display: 83% mobility: 81% workmanship: 98% ergonomy: 93% emissions: 85%
Source: Mac Welt
DE→EN Archive.org versionComparison, online available, Medium, Date: 03/18/2011
Source: Notebookjournal
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/11/2011
Rating: performance: 90% features: 50% display: 70% mobility: 70% workmanship: 90% ergonomy: 70%
Source: c't - 7/11

performance good, battery runtime and fan noise bad
Comparison, , Long, Date: 04/01/2011
Comment
AMD Radeon HD 6750M:
Essentially a renamed Radeon HD 6650M but with faster GDDR5 memory.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these 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.
2720QM: 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.