Buying guide: Macs (2011)
7:22:00 PM
Planning
to buy a new Mac for someone on your holiday shopping list? Such a thoughtful
and generous gift is going to make someone very, very happy.
Now
comes the hard part: Which Mac should you buy? That's where we come in. We've
tested every standard-configuration Mac model currently in Apple's lineup, and
we know each model inside and out. We're happy to help you make a decision.
This buying guide explains all the Mac models available
and how they've changed from their predecessors. To read the full review for
each Mac, click on the “Read our complete review” links. You can also get more
details on how each Mac did in our benchmark
tests. And we’ve provided links to help you find the best prices.
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air has become Apple's marquee laptop. Its
thin, lightweight design makes it an ideal portable computer, and you no longer
have to accept the features compromises that older MacBook Air models required.
The
2011 MacBook Air line uses Intel dual-core Core i5 processors, a vast
improvement over the Core 2 Duo processors used in previous models we found the 2011 MacBook Air models are at least 1.5
times as fast as last year's 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo
processor. With some older games, however, the current models may suffer a hit
in graphics performance.
The 2011 models' key new feature is the Thunderbolt port. Past MacBook Air models had only
USB 2.0 connectivity; Thunderbolt gives the 2011 MacBook Air a high-speed
connector, and widens the range of peripherals you can use. You can either get
the proper adapters to connect FireWire, eSATA, USB 3.0, or other devices to
the Thunderbolt port, or you can get Apple's Thunderbolt
Display, which serves as a connectivity dock for the laptop.
When Apple discontinued
the MacBook in July, the company
thrust the MacBook Air into a new role. Apple's lowest-priced laptop is now the 11-inch 1.6GHz Core i5
MacBook Air () with 64GB of
flash storage. (You may be able to find a refurbished MacBook at the online Apple Store, if you
really want one.)
Configurations: There are four MacBook
Airs: two 11-inch models and two 13-inch models. All come with flash storage
and Intel HD Graphics 3000.
The entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air has a 1.6GHz Core i5
processor, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage for $999.The other 11-inch
MacBook Air has the same processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of flash storage for
$1199.Both 11-inch models feature a high-resolution LED backlit glossy display
with a 1366-by-768-native resolution.
The only difference between the two 13-inch MacBook Air
models is the amount of flash storage. Both 13-inch models feature a 1.7GHz
Core i5 processor, but the $1299 13-inch MacBook Air has 128GB of flash
storage, while the $1599 13-inch MacBook Air has 256GB.
Performance: The MacBook Air is quite
capable of handling everyday tasks, such as emailing, Web browsing, using
office applications, and more. You can even use it for editing short videos,
and working with JPEGs from your iPhone or point-and-shoot camera.
The
11-inch MacBook Air is the slowest Mac in Apple’s lineup, but it's no slouch.
It’s much faster than last year’s 13-inch MacBook Air. Also, the 11-inch
MacBook Air, thanks to its flash storage, is about as fast overall as the $1199
13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core 2.4GHz Core i5 processor and a 5400-rpm
500GB hard drive. The 2011 13-inch MacBook Air is about 28 percent faster
overall than the last year's 13-inch MacBook Air.
buying advice: Previous MacBook Air
generations were thought of as niche laptops. But now, the 2011 MacBook Air is
the ideal laptop for most Mac users. It's a great combination of performance
and portability.
MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro was actually updated twice in 2011. The first update was in February, and the most recent
MacBook Pro line was released in October. The MacBook Pro continues
to sport the aluminum unibody design that was introduced in 2008, but it has
more features and processing power than the MacBook Air. Consider the MacBook
Pro a possible replacement for an older desktop Mac.
The current models feature Core i5 and Core i7 processors that
are slightly faster than the models released in February. The speed differences
are bigger if you compare the current MacBook Pro line to the models released
in 2010; most notably, the 2010 13-inch MacBook Pros used slower Core 2 Duo
processors. The new 13-inch MacBook Pros still use only an integrated graphics
processor, the Intel HD Graphics 3000. The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have
both the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a discrete graphics chip.
Configurations: There are five standard
configurations of the MacBook Pro.
The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, with a dual-core
2.4GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, costs $1199. The
13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM, and
a 750GB hard drive costs $1499.
There are two 15-inch models. For $1799, you get a
quad-core 2.2GHz Core i7 processor, a 500GB hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M discrete
graphics chip along with the integrated Intel graphics.The next model up (at
$1999) has a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, a 750GB hard drive, and a 1GB
AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete graphics chip along with the integrated Intel
graphics.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro is the same as the $1999 15-inch
model but with a larger screen. It has a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, a
750GB hard drive, a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete graphics chip, and the
integrated Intel graphics. It costs $2499.
The
15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros are the only laptops in Apple’s lineup that offer
a high-resolution antiglare screen option. It costs an extra $150 for the
15-inch MacBook Pro, and an extra $50 for the 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Performance: The $1999 15-inch MacBook
Pro 2.4GHz Core i7 was the fastest laptop in ourSpeedmark
7 testing. The $1199, 13-inch 2.4GHz Core i5 MacBook Pro offers
performance that’s similar to that of the $999 11-inch MacBook Air with a
1.6GHz Core i5 processor and 64GB of flash storage, but the MacBook Pro has
features the MacBook Air lacks, including FireWire 800 and a bigger screen.
buying advice: The MacBook Pro combines
the performance of a desktop computer with the portability of a laptop. If you
want the fastest MacBook Pro, the 15-inch 2.4GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro is the one
to get. If you primarily want a device for travel and are trying to decide
between a MacBook Air and a 13-inch MacBook Pro, go for the MacBook Air, unless
you really need the processing power for heavy-duty tasks or you want a
computer with FireWire built in.
Mac mini
Designwise, the 2011 Mac mini hasn't changed much compared with
its predecessor. It's still a small aluminum square that sits modestly on your
desk.
The
change that does stand out—and may influence your buying decision—is that the
Mac mini no longer has a SuperDrive. If you want to burn music CDs or DVDs, or
read data from an optical disc, you need to get an external optical burner,
which costs $60 to $100. If you absolutely want an internal SuperDrive in your
Mac, opt for a laptop or an iMac.
The
2011 Mac mini has a Thunderbolt port, which replaces the Mini DisplayPort in
the older model. The Mac mini also has an HDMI port, a FireWire 800 port, four
USB 2.0 ports, a gigabit ethernet port, an SDXC Card slot, and analog/optical-digital
audio input and output minijacks. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in.
Configurations: The $599 Mac mini has a
dual-core 2.3GHz Core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and Intel
HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics. The $799 Mac mini has a dual-core 2.5GHz Core
i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete
graphics. You supply your own keyboard, mouse, and display.
Performance: In 2010, Apple released
only one nonserver Mac mini model, which had a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB
of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics. The
2011 Mac minis are significantly faster than the older model: The $599 Mac mini
is 32 percent faster, and the $799 Mac mini is 61 percent faster.
The
Mac minis still lag signifcantly behind the iMacs, but for general-purpose use
and editing of moderate-size videos, the Mac mini will do fine.
buying advice: The Mac mini continues to
be a nice, affordable computer for new Mac users and shoppers on a budget. It
has enough power for everyone except professionals who demand top performance.
Be sure to shop around for an external disc burner if you really need an
optical drive.
iMac
Apple
hasn't changed the design of its aluminum all-in-one desktop computer for a few
years now, because it's a design that works. It elegantly fits the components
and display into an iconic form.
The
company updated the line in May with new processors and graphics chips. The
iMacs are available with 21.5- and 27-inch widescreen 16:9 displays.
The
iMac comes with Apple’s Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, but if you order
online from the Apple Store, you can switch the keyboard to a wired version
with a numeric keypad, and switch the mouse to an Apple Mouse or a Magic
Trackpad, for no extra fee. You can opt for both a Magic Mouse and a Magic
Trackpad for $69.
All
iMacs come standard with 4GB of RAM, a SuperDrive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, gigabit
ethernet, a FaceTime HD camera, four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, an
SDXC Card slot, audio in and out jacks, and built-in speakers. A Thunderbolt
port is also included.
Configurations: There are two 21.5-inch
iMacs. The first 21.5-inch iMac has a quad-core 2.5GHz Core i5 processor, a 500GB
hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics card for $1199. The second
21.5-inch iMac has a quad-core 2.7GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard drive, and
a 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics card for $1499. Each 21.5-inch iMac has one Thunderbolt port.
There are two 27-inch iMacs. The 27-inch model with a
quad-core 2.7GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard drive, and a 512MB AMD Radeon HD
6770M graphics card costs $1699. Then
there’s a 27-inch iMac with a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor, a 1TB hard
drive, and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card; it costs $1999. Each of the 27-inch iMacs comes with two
Thunderbolt ports.
Performance: The four 2011 iMacs are
considerably faster than the systems they replace. The $1199 21.5-inch iMac was
nearly 24 percent faster overall than last year’s entry-level 21.5-inch iMac,
which had a dual-core 3.06GHz Core i3 processor. The $1699 27-inch iMac was 25
percent faster overall than last year's 27-inch iMac with a dual-core 3.2GHz
Core i3 processor. The $1999 27-inch iMac was 16 percent faster than the
previous high-end standard-configuration iMac: a 27-inch quad-core 2.8GHz Core
i5 model.
If
you exclude the $4999 12-core Mac Pro, the $1999 iMac ranks as the fastest
standard-configuration Mac. In fact, all of the iMacs except for the $1199
model compete very well on performance when compared to the Mac Pro.
buying advice: The $1199 21.5-inch 2.5GHz
Core i5 iMac offers the most bang for the buck. If you want top performance,
then go for the $1999 27-inch 3.1GHz Core i5 iMac. In fact, if you want a
computer for heavy-duty processing work, consider an iMac over a Mac Pro. The
only difference between the $1499 iMac and the $1699 iMac is screen size; they
have the same components.
Oh, the Mac Pro.
Apple hasn't updated this workstation since August 2010. Rumor has
it that Apple may stop making the tower Mac. But for now, it's still available,
and it's still a solid computer for the most demanding users.
The
entry-level Mac Pro features a quad-core processor, while the top configuration
has 12 processing cores. In between is a Mac Pro model with eight processing
cores. All the standard-configuration models feature a 1TB ATI Radeon HD 5770
graphics card, a 1TB hard drive, four hard-drive bays, four PCI Express
expansion card slots, four FireWire 800 ports, five USB 2.0 ports, two
independent gigabit ethernet ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio in/out jacks.
The Mac Pro is the only Mac that is not equipped with Thunderbolt.
Configurations: The first Mac Pro has a
quad-core 2.8GHz Xeon Nehalem processor and 3GB of RAM. It costs $2499. The
second Mac Pro has two quad-core 2.4GHz Xeon Westmere processors and 6GB of RAM
for $3499. The third Mac Pro model has
two six-core 2.66GHz Xeon Westmere processors (for a total of 12 cores) and 6GB
of RAM for $4999.
The Mac Pro has a ton of build-to-order options. You can
add more RAM—up to the 16GB limit for each Mac Pro. Apple fills only one of the
four hard-drive bays with the standard configurations, but gives you the option
to add more hard drives or solid-state drives, and even to configure them as a
RAID. You can also add a second SuperDrive and upgrade the graphics card. A
complete list of options is available on the Mac
Pro technical specifications webpage.
Performance: The Mac Pros excel when
running software that takes avantage of multiple processing cores, such as
high-end video-editing programs, 3D graphics applications, image editors,
professional audio software, and so on.
But
with general, everyday tasks (emailing, Web browsing, and running office
applications), the Mac Pro performs on a par with the iMac. In our benchmarking
tests, the $1999 27-inch iMac with a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor
actually outpaced both the $2499 and the $3499 Mac Pros overall; however, when running
applications designed to use multiple cores, those two Mac Pros were faster
than the $1999 iMac.
buying advice: The Mac Pro is ideal for
the most demanding user, one who uses high-end applications and wants hardware
expandability. Yes, the machines are expensive, but they're well worth it for
professionals, and they’ll still be very usable four or five years from now. If
you don’t need expandability but still need speed, consider a 27-inch iMac with
a quad-core 3.1GHz Core i5 processor
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