The 2.4GHz MacBook Pro has a very similar specification to the 2.4GHz MacBook. The £250 extra you pay for the 'Pro' tag gets you that 15.4in display in place of a 13.3in, 1280 x 800 screen. Designers who need to use Photoshop or other graphics software will certainly prefer the larger display, although the screen alone wouldn’t be enough to justify the extra expense. However, the MacBook Pro does have an ingenious ace up its sleeve.
The casing has been been constructed from a single block of aluminium
The MacBook Pro has the same Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated chipset as the ordinary MacBook, but it also has a second, faster graphics processor, the GeForce 9600M GT. When you need the longest possible battery life you can use the 9400M, and then just switch to the 9600M GT when you need maximum 3D performance for playing games, intensive graphics or video work.
Switching between the two graphics processors is very straightforward. When you open the Energy Saver control panel, there’s a simple option for switching graphics performance between "Better battery life" and "Higher performance". You don’t even need to shut the machine down to do this – although you do need to log out of your user account, and then log back in again. Alas, it's not an automatic process.
Still, logging out and in again only takes about ten seconds, but it does mean that you’ll need to shut down any open applications and save your work before switching between the two graphics processors. However, that’s a very minor inconvenience when set against the power-saving advantages of this dual graphics processor approach.
Click for full-size image
The 9600M GT is certainly faster than the 9400M, but it does shave about one hour off the battery life. Or rather, it allows you to use your Pro away from a power socket for at least an hour longer than you could have done if, as in past models, Apple had only equipped the Pro with a standalone graphics chip.
COMMENTS
@ Pierre
"Now if it could switch seemlessly, it could be interesting. I must go, I just tried to think of a way to switch graphic cards without closing the applications using them and got a major headache."
It's easy in theory: clone the whole session -but with the new graphic settings- in a virtual console, then close the original session. Now you go and implement that.
Social status
That looks like a typical Mac to me. Social status accessory. Nice piece of design that can also be used as a computer. There is one major problem with this one though. That's the dual video card thing. It's so-oh-very-badly implemented. Let's see what you wrote about that...
"You don’t even need to shut the machine down to do this – although you do need to log out of your user account, and then log back in again. Alas, it's not an automatic process.
Still, logging out and in again only takes about ten seconds, but it does mean that you’ll need to shut down any open applications and save your work before switching between the two graphics processors. However, that’s a very minor inconvenience when set against the power-saving advantages of this dual graphics processor approach."
I beg your pardon? If I have to plug (or unplug) the thing, save all my stuff, close all applications, log off and log on again, shurely I could spare two more minutes for a reboot. If I can't spare two more minutes, I probably don't want to save and close everything, log off and log on either. Unless the darn thing needs 10 min to shutdown and 10 more minutes to boot up. But Leopard isn't like Vista, is it?
This feature is a major FAIL. Now if it could switch seemlessly, it could be interesting. I must go, I just tried to think of a way to switch graphic cards without closing the applications using them and got a major headache.
@Kenny Millar, Sena Gbeckor-Kove
If I understood it correctly, the dual GPU was a bit of an accident which happened because the chipset they used already includes the 9400 GPU They wanted something a little more professional for the MacBook Pro however, so they added the other. Since they now had both GPUs in the machine anyway, the design team figured they could just as well find a use for both and decided to put in the power-saving option.
Matte Screen optional?
On the Apple Store webpage, under the purchase options for the MacBook Pro 17", there is a matte screen option. I have not gone the extra step of actually ordering it, because I just learned from this article that a newer 17" MBP might be coming out in a couple of months.
@ Law
I am a creature of habit. I started with Ctrl when there was no FN, or windows key or anything else besides Ctrl and Alt (there were no other computers besides PCs where I come from). So I can make my peace with the keys between Ctrl and alt, which I rarely use, but not with Fn instead of Ctrl, because my muscle memory says, the key at the far left is the Ctrl (I am glad that I came across Suns late in my life, and thanks to Linux, I was prepared). By the way, I keep in my mind following layouts: US, Lithuanian numeric on US, Lithuanian standard, Lithuanian standard on US, French, Lithuanian standard on French, my custom Lithuanian on French, so one key renamed will not make me more confused. Nor missing, or swapped keys (type mama on French layout using US keyboard and you will be surprised). However one must have draw the line somewhere. For me the line I realised is the position of Ctrl and Fn keys and Home, End, PgUp and PgDown keys in a nice column at the far right of the keyboard.
