MacBook Pro 2.66GHz, 15in review

The peak of portable performance lies in the MacBook Pro, which also adopted the aluminium unibody design, while under the hood it gained the usual series of speed bumps and one major architectural change: there are now two graphics processors.

First is an Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT for demanding applications such as encoding video, or you can switch to a GeForce 9400M with a sustained battery life, although it shares 256GB of Ram. Implications for battery life are apparent from our tests, where the 9400M extended the 15in model's battery life by an hour over the 9600M GT's two hours 20 minutes.

Apple's own tests estimate battery life while browsing the web over a wifi connection and with screen brightness set to 50%. Reproducing these conditions with the 15in model's 9400M processor, we found that battery life fluctuated between three hours 13 minutes when loading pages to four hours 12 minutes when left idle to read them.

The 17in model has a higher-capacity battery that Apple reckons will see you through eight hours using the 9400M. Unlike the 15in model, there's no lever to gain access to the battery, which you can't replace for yourself, since the extended lifespan is achieved by ditching parts that allow the battery to be easily swapped out. Our results once again fell a little short of Apple's figures at six hours 59 minutes, but that's still impressive. How long the battery lasts depends on what you're browsing: pages containing demanding plug-ins drain the battery more quickly. However, the 17in Pro coped admirably with continuous DVD playback, lasting four hours 32 minutes.

Back in October, there were two speeds of the 15in MacBook Pro, set very closely together at 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz. The latter was recently replaced with a faster 2.66GHz CPU that enlarges the gap between the entry level and mid-range. Our earlier benchmarks revealed a performance gap, though, which was likely due to the 2.4GHz model's smaller Level 2 cache of only 3MB. Stepping up from 2.53GHz delivered only a small boost in our CPU tests, but you can upgrade to an optional 2.93GHz speed that costs up to £210.

The Pro's displays offer better colour rendition and viewing angles than the MacBook's, and the 1440 x 900 resolution of the 15in model represents a 27% increase in working space, while the 17in model's 1920 x 1200 pixel display is a 78% gain on the 15in display. That's also the same resolution as the 24in LED Cinema Display and is ideal for video and photographic work. The largest display is also the only one available in a matte option for an extra £34.99; every other Mac notebook has a reflective finish.

If you use an existing notebook with a second display, you'll need a new Mini DisplayPort adaptor. The VGA version for analogue displays and projectors costs £20, as does a single-link DVI version that can run a display up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, enough to watch 1080p HD video on one display while working on the other. For higher resolutions, you'll need to spend £68 on a dual-link DVI adaptor.

Storage starts with a 250GB hard drive at the entry level and 320GB on the others, all of which spin at 5400rpm. Our disk test results were disappointing in the random read and write tests, which delivered speeds up to 21.24MB/sec and 24.88MB/sec respectively. However, you can opt for faster 128GB and 256GB SSDs that cost between £240 and £660, or go for the more economical 7200rpm disk that will cost a maximum of £35 on top of the base price.

Main memory also varies, from 2GB in the cheapest model and 4GB in the other two, while the 17in model is the only one that can be upgraded to 8GB for a staggering £800. All unibody models use 1066MHz DDR3 memory that boosts their graphical scores, at least while using the faster graphics processor.