Apple MacBook Pro 17" - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Apple's current upgrade cycle sees new computers appearing two-to-three months after the release of new Intel chips, so it's no surprise to see the MacBook Pro gaining a dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

Pros: Fast dual-core processor. Small. Light, Elegant design. Great price.

Cons: Still held back by non-native applications from Adobe, Autodesk and others. Fewer screen and hard drive elements than we'd like.

Verdict: There was also a huge boost in performance for older applications still running in Mac OS X's Rosetta emulation mode - which may be due to enhancements in the 10.4.8 operating system as much as the new chips. Photoshop ran almost twice as fast on the ...

Review summary: Apple has never been one to miss out on a marketing opportunity - and the arrival of the MacBook Pro 15-inch and its move to the Intel Core 2 Duo processor proves this

Pros: Powerful, Five-hour battery, Keyboard, Two-finger touchpad

Cons: Limited graphics

Verdict: More of the same from Apple, but boy, that same is ever so good!

Review summary: The innovative brainiacs at Apple are masters of great design, and they always seem to have a tech trick or two up their sleeves. And when it comes to laptops, there's no exception. The MacBook Pro comes more tricked out than P Diddy's ride. For ...

Review summary: Apple hasn't so much reinvented its laptop range this year, as switched its processor to an Intel platform. This arrival has seen the differences between Apple and Windows-based laptops all but disappear. With specifications increasingly in line with ...

Pros: Looks great, Increased performance, Can run XP

Cons: XP supporting features still at Beta stage

Verdict: The Apple MacBook Pro remains an impressive laptop that now has an improved performance boost courtesy of the Intel Core 2 Duo chip

Review summary: We can think of a few new features we'd like to see in Apple's flagship laptop. Even without those improvements, however, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is a marvelous machine. If you can afford the price and don't mind the size and weight, you won't be ...

Pros: Fast performance ; classic design ; lovely screen ; ample RAM and hard drive capacity

Cons: Performance glitch slows some tasks ; no internal modem option ; no PC Card slot ; few cards available for ExpressCard/34 slot ; no eSATA port

Verdict: In the case of the latest 17-inch MacBook Pro , the company stuck to the basics: It added the latest and fastest Intel mobile processor available (a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, replacing the 2.16GHz Core Duo), doubled the standard memory (now 2GB), and ...