MacBooks

17″ MacBook Pro (June 2009)

Overview

Just 5 months after introducing the first 17" Unibody MacBook Pro, Apple improved it by moving to a 2.8 GHz CPU (and making a 3.06 GHz CPU a build-to-order option).

17" Unibody MacBook Pro

As before, 4 GB of RAM is standard, and it officially supports up to 8 GB of RAM. With the elimination of ExpressCard/34 on the 15" MacBook Pro, this is the only remaining Mac notebook with ExpressCard/34.

By eliminating the space needed to house a removable battery, Apple was able to increase battery life to 8 hours with the GeForce 9400M GPU, 7 hours with the 9600M, which has 512 MB of dedicated video memory.

Although a glossy screen is standard, Apple offers a $50 anti-glare option.

Apple uses a true 24-bit display on all 17" Unibody MBP models.

Editor's note: The next paragraph is from the profile of the previous version of the MacBook Pro. At this time we do not know if it applies to the new model.

Unlike pre-2007 models, where every USB port could provide 500 mA of power, only a single high-powered device can be attached to the USB ports, and software will enable one of its downstream ports to supply 500 mA of power. If a second high-powered device is attached, it will behave like a normal bus-powered hub and only provide 100 mA per downstream port.

The Apple Remote is a US$20 option.

Closed Lid Mode: All Intel 'Books support "lid closed" (or clamshell) mode, which leaves the built-in display off and dedicates all video RAM to an external display. To used closed lid mode, your 'Book must be plugged into the AC adapter and connected to an external display and a USB or Bluetooth mouse and keyboard (you might also want to consider external speakers). Power up your 'Book until the desktop appears on the external display and then close the lid. Your 'Book will go to sleep, but you can wake it by moving the mouse or using the keyboard. The built-in display will remain off, and the external monitor will become your only display. Since all video RAM is now dedicated to the external monitor, you may have more colors available at higher resolutions. The TiBook is designed to run safely in closed lid mode, but if yours runs hot (perhaps due to overclocking or high ambient temperatures), you may want to open the lid when in closed lid mode: The screen will remain off and the computer will more readily vent heat from the CPU.

To resume use of the internal display, you need to disconnect the external display, put the computer to sleep, and then open the lid. This will wake up your 'Book and restore use of the built-in display.

Intel-based Macs use a partitioning scheme known as GPT. Only Macintel models can boot from GPT hard drives. Both PowerPC and Intel Macs can boot from APM (Apple's old partitioning scheme) hard drives, which is the format you must use to create a universal boot drive in Leopard. Power PC Macs running any version of the Mac OS prior to 10.4.2 cannot mount GPT volumes. PowerPC Macs won't let you install OS X to a USB drive or choose it as your startup volume, although there is a work around for that.

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