Apple · MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
A 15-inch aluminium MacBook Pro with quad-core Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt and an optical drive.
Model history · 16 models, 2001–2011
- 2001PowerBook G4 (Original 2001)Compare
- 2001PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)Compare
- 2002PowerBook G4 (DVI)Compare
- 2002PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz)Compare
- 2003PowerBook G4 (15-inch FW800)Compare
- 2004PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.5/1.33GHz)Compare
- 2005PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz)Compare
- 2005PowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)Compare
- 2006MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006)Compare
- 2006MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2006)Compare
- 2007MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2007)Compare
- 2008MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)Compare
- 2008MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)Compare
- 2009MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)Compare
- 2010MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)Compare
- 2011MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
- Size
- 15.4″
- Display
- TN LCD
- Processor
- Intel Core i7
- Memory
- 4 GB – 8 GB
- Weight
- 2.54 kg
- Battery
- 7 h
What reviewers say
Reviewers welcomed the large processor-performance gains and useful battery endurance. The base glossy screen offered good contrast and colour, but reflections made mobile use difficult; Notebookcheck preferred the optional antiglare display. Macworld found the higher configuration's graphics substantially faster than the base model's, while the chassis, input devices and USB connections changed little.
From macworld.com and notebookcheck.net
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specDisplay
- Screen size
- 15.4″
- Resolution
- 1440 × 900
- Panel
- TN LCD
- Touchscreen
- No
- Display type
- LED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel explicitly confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact Early 2011 2.0 GHz glossy review. Apple does not publish refresh rate or brightness.
- Screen finish
- Base glossy 1440 × 900; optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare displays. Higher-resolution options are described here rather than assigned an unverified panel type in the configuration rows.
Performance
- Processor
- Intel Core i7-2635QM, Intel Core i7-2720QM or Intel Core i7-2820QM
- CPU cores
- 4
- CPU threads
- 8
- Graphics
- AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M
- Memory
- 4 GB or 8 GB
- Storage
- 128 GB to 750 GB
- CPU
- Quad-core Intel Core i7-2635QM at 2.0 GHz or Core i7-2720QM at 2.2 GHz, with 6 MB shared L3 cache. The 2.2 GHz base is configurable to Core i7-2820QM at 2.3 GHz with 8 MB cache. Exact identities are confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld confirms the faster processor is an upgrade of the higher base.
- GPU
- Automatic switching between Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB shared main memory and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256 MB GDDR5 on the 2.0 GHz base, or Radeon HD 6750M with 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.2 GHz base and its 2.3 GHz upgrade
- Memory type
- 4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB
- Storage type
- Core i7-2635QM base has a 500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; Core i7-2720QM base has a 750 GB 5400-rpm drive. Both bases support 750 GB 5400-rpm or 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. The 500 GB row on the lower base includes its standard 5400-rpm and optional 7200-rpm drives; on the higher base and its processor upgrade it represents the 7200-rpm option. Memory and storage upgrades apply to either base. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.
Battery and size
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 7 hours
- Battery capacity
- 77.5 Wh
- Weight
- 2.54 kg
- Thickness
- 24.1 mm
- Width × depth
- 364 × 249 mm
- Battery life detail
- Built-in 77.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
- Charger
- 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
- Materials
- Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
- Colours
- Silver
Connections
- Ports
- 2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
- Bluetooth
- 2.1 + EDR
- Webcam
- 720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)
- Operating system
- macOS
- Port detail
- Two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate digital/analogue audio line input and line output/headphone minijacks, and Kensington lock slot. Native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI audio/video through separate adapters.
- External displays
- Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
- Keyboard
- Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys
- Trackpad
- Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
- Speakers
- Stereo speakers with subwoofers
- Microphones
- Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
- In the box
- MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 4 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 4 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 4 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 4 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 4 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 8 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 8 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 8 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 8 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2635QM | 8 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6490M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 4 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 4 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 4 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 4 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 4 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 8 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 8 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 8 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 8 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2720QM | 8 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 4 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 4 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 4 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 4 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 4 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 8 GB | 500 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 8 GB | 750 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 8 GB | 128 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 8 GB | 256 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
| Intel Core i7-2820QM | 8 GB | 512 GB | AMD Radeon HD 6750M |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Backlit keyboard and glass Multi-Touch trackpad
- Two memory slots and replaceable storage
- Thunderbolt, Gigabit Ethernet and SDXC card slot
Cons
- Glossy base display reflects bright surroundings
- USB connections limited to USB 2.0
- Lower configuration has 256 MB of dedicated graphics memory
Closest rivals
Model | Size | Display | Processor | Memory | Weight | Battery | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.4″ | – | Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006), Core Duo 2 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006) or Core Duo 2.16 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006) | 512 MB – 2 GB | 2.54 kg | 4.5 h | Feb 2006 | |
| 15.4″ | – | Intel Core 2 | 2 GB – 4 GB | – | – | Feb 2008 | |
| 15.4″ | – | Intel Core 2 | 1 GB – 3 GB | – | 5 h | Oct 2006 |
Previous model: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010). Newer model: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011).
Sources
- support.apple.com/en-gb/112599
- apple.com/uk/newsroom/2011/02/24Apple-Updates-MacBook-Pro-with-Next-Generation-…
- macworld.com/article/210723/early2011macbookpro.html
- notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Early-2011-2-0-GHz-quad-core-glar…
- notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Early-2011-2-2-GHz-quad-core-glar…
Photo: cdsassets.apple.com
