Apple MacBook Pro 15 review

The allure of the MacBook Pro is simple. With power enough to please performance die-hards, and the poise to please fashionistas, Apple's flagship laptop was always destined to impress. But, with previous models still chugging along on Core 2 processors, many will have been holding off for this inevitable Core i7 upgrade.

Read our review of the 2011 Apple MacBook Pro 13, Apple MacBook Pro 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 17 laptops here

The price is still enough to put a lump in anyone's throat, but the outlay rewards with the usual Apple delights. The major news is that the slick aluminium chassis is now joined by some up-to-date internals - but, although it's definitely fast, it isn't quite as fast as you might expect.

Intel's Core i7-620M is teamed with 4GB of DDR3 memory, propelling it to a fine 1.75 in our benchmarks, but it's still a whisker behind two other recent i7 converts - the Sony VAIO Z11on 1.80 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T510 on 1.91. The 5,400rpm hard disk shares some of the blame; at this price, a 7,200rpm disk would seem more appropriate.

More interestingly, in a first for Apple, graphical duties are handled by dual GPUs comprising the on-CPU Intel HD graphics and Nvidia's discrete GeForce GT 330M chipset. The burlier chipset of the pair, the GeForce GT 330M, fired through Crysis at 1,280 x 1,024 and Medium detail with a borderline playable average of 26fps. Intel's HD graphics, meanwhile, proved man enough for HD video playback.

The duo works wonders in Apple's OS X Snow Leopard, with Intel's HD graphics taking the reins most of the time and the Nvidia chipset automatically stepping in when more graphical muscle is required. Unfortunately, it's a great trick that you'll only appreciate in OS X. It's painfully absent when running Windows.

Boot Camp works as simply as ever for Windows installation, but the Nvidia chipset takes a serious toll on battery life. The Intel HD chip is efficient, and allowed the MacBook Pro 15 to idle for 8hrs 15mins in OS X; by contrast, with the hungrier Nvidia chip permanently engaged, it managed only 3hrs 35mins in Windows. Push the MacBook Pro 15 hard and you'll be dashing to the mains after just 1hr 25mins.