17 INCH MACBOOK PRO 2011 HARD DRIVE SPECS PRO

Since it supports 1920 x 1080 digital HD video in its native format, however, you can edit HD video content in its native resolution without scaling.Īdhering to the same design aesthetic as other MacBooks, from both this generation and ones past, the 17-inch Pro has fewer ports and slots than its competitors: it has three USB ports (up from two in the 15-inch MacBook Pro), FireWire 800 (it's also FireWire 400-compatible), a Mini DisplayPort for video output (an adapter sells separately for $29), an Ethernet jack, and headphone and mic ports it also has an ExpressCard/34 slot. At the moment, you can't even watch HD movies from iTunes on this screen (though you can watch HDTV episodes) you have to spring for an Apple TV. Apple still doesn't include a Blu-ray option in any of its notebooks, so you'll have to settle for sharp-looking standard-def playback, at least if you're playing media from the optical drive. For $50 extra, you can opt for an antiglare display.Ĭlick to enlargeBetween the image quality and the powerful speakers, we immediately felt immersed in the episode of Heroes we played on DVD the experience felt more theatrical than when we've watched on run-of-the-mill mainstream notebooks. Otherwise, viewing angles were decent when watching from the side, when dipping the screen forward, and when sitting a few feet away. The glossy display only limited our viewing angles when we tried to watch from a severe 180-degree angle. Creative professionals will especially appreciate the upgrade. Virtually everything from Web pages to movies looked bright and brilliant. Moreover, it's not just LED-backlit, which makes the screen brighter and more energy-efficient: this panel has a 60 percent-greater color gamut than even the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Its edge-to-edge glass is a stunning, if purely cosmetic, design choice.

It's with other full-screen activities, such as movie-watching and multimedia programs, however, that the display really shines. Until you zoom in, Web pages will appear especially small at the screen's native resolution. The 17-inch MacBook Pro's high-resolution, 1920 x 1200-pixel display might feel like overkill when you're doing simple tasks, such as Web surfing. This button was stiff on the 15-inch Pro, but easier to press on the 13-inch MacBook here, too, it provided effortless tactile feedback. It took a few minutes to stop pointing our fingers toward buttons that weren't there, but bearing down on the trackpad soon began to feel more intuitive. But with the MacBook Pro, our gestures translated into smooth movement on-screen.Īlso like the other models in the line, the trackpad has no touch buttons rather, the touchpad is, itself, one giant, clickable button. We've seen plenty of other gesture-enabled touchpads (as well as a couple of displays), but they've often made a bad impression: a simple drag of the finger caused it to over-scroll, or a pinching gesture would result in pages jerkily resizing themselves on-screen. (Users switching from plush to island keyboards will likely experience a learning curve, regardless of whether they opt for the 17-inch MacBook Pro or one of its smaller siblings.)

Although we prefer the 13-inch MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro's less-recessed keyboards, the accuracy of our typing didn't change when we moved to the 17-inch version. As an added touch, the keyboard is backlit in low light, thanks to an ambient light sensor.Īs always, the keys' soft finish, and that they hardly make any noise, is pleasing. While the keys themselves seem the same size, you might find yourself craning over a wider palm rest.

Like the other recently announced MacBooks, these take after the original MacBook Air, contrasting black keys against an aluminum body. The latest MacBook Pros have island keyboards, whose low-profile, Chiclet keys sit in the center of the keyboard deck, flanked by diminutive speaker strips. For some, the 17-inch model's keys were, in fact, too large. Before the recent redesign, the old 17-inch MacBook Pro had a keyboard layout that felt larger than the 15-inch version's a bigger footprint meant bigger keys.

17 inch macbook pro 2011 hard drive specs