Macbook Pro 13 Owners Tell your Experience!

[Dark Void]

i don't have a 2011 but i do have a 13'' model after all. i really like the glossy screen, the colors are very vibrant and with the correct lighting there isn't much of a glare or reflection at all. the 1280x800 resolution is not bad in my opinion. there is a lot of negativity towards it but it's all about your preferences and usage, and personally i don't have a need to have multiple windows/applications open alongside of each other. i like the fact that it is widescreen, too. the backlit keyboard is well spaced and efficient. the trackpad on any mbp model is simply unreal. the speakers are not necessarily the best but they definitely work for me as i am not too much of a sound snob. it doesn't weigh a lot at all in my opinion and is a nice size with an aluminum body...plus it is the cheapest model.

i have last year's model and it is great in terms of performance. i mainly use it for photoshop cs5 and even with the stock 5400 rpm drive it handles all of the file work well. i also do some light gaming on the nvidia gpu and i get great frames for the games that i play. although i would not dare try to play recent high-end games, the thing is that i do not want to and wouldn't. it boots up relatively quickly and shuts down in a second or two. i have been really enjoying mac os x, too.

overall it made the most sense for me personally. it is more than powerful enough for me in terms of a laptop with 2.4c2d/320m/4gb/5400rpm and i certainly do not need the latest parts or technology. i am set with my "traditional" ports and outdated core 2 duo. the 2010 13'' is a great laptop in my opinion.

 

[darknite38]

my experience has been quite swell

 

[Virgo]

Love it, have been attached to it since I got it in April. Only major gripe is the resolution, wish I had more screen real estate, especially when I'm working with iMovie and Photoshop. But the four-finger swipedown (expose) has been a life-saver in this area. Which reminds me, I absolutely love the trackpad, I'm like a ninja on this thing, lol. And I'm memorizing a bunch of cool keyboard shortcuts as well.

(hold "control, option, command, 8" for something cool )

 

[darknite38]

It flies with everything maxed out?

Crazy, how mine or my buddys 2011 13 cant do that. I guess we both got faulty ones.

My 2009 13" 2.53 ghz 9400m macbook pro can run half life 2 very smoothly at low graphics settings. Your standards are too high or your computer is faulty.

 

[StvenH90]

The only game I play is Sims 3, I am sure this Mac Book I bought should play it at medium settings.

 

[colticus]

My 2009 13" 2.53 ghz 9400m macbook pro can run half life 2 very smoothly at low graphics settings. Your standards are too high or your computer is faulty.

I never stated that I expected so much more out of the computer. You have to be an idiot to think these things are a gaming computer. I simply stated a comparison between it and my 2010 model. Let me repeat, the 2011, with the games I play, could not run at the same setting my 2010 uses. That is, until the ram upgrade. Now it is just as good.

 

[soulreaver99]

I've had my 2010 13" for over a year now and it's just as fantastic as I first got it. I recently just got an 11" Air but this is THE computer I use at home and in the office for serious work. Within the year, I upgraded the memory to 8GB and to a WD Scorpio Black 500GB 7200RPM HD and is the most powerful PC I ever owned to date.

I have it hooked up to an HP w2207 monitor at home and it also doubles as a server where I can access my iPhotos and iTunes Library when I'm using my Air out on the weekends or traveling around the world. It's small enough to carry around, but the 11" Air is much more portable. However, the Pro is much more superior in running processor intensive applications and watching HD video. I have Serve to Me running on this so I can use Stream to Me on my iPad or iPhone with the HDMI adaptor hooked up to my Plasma screen downstairs. I also would like to add that this baby runs Parallels with Windows 7 Ultimate like a dream. It's insanely fast and there would be days that I would have the virtual machine running and not notice a difference in performance. Oh yeah, and lets not forget that the battery life on this lasts almost twice as long as the battery on the 11" Air!

If I had to consolidate all my devices between the iPad, MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 13, I would definitely keep the MacBook Pro because it's small enough to be portable, but powerful enough to suit my needs on what I do.

 

[prism]

I never stated that I expected so much more out of the computer. You have to be an idiot to think these things are a gaming computer. I simply stated a comparison between it and my 2010 model. Let me repeat, the 2011, with the games I play, could not run at the same setting my 2010 uses. That is, until the ram upgrade. Now it is just as good.

You didn't mention if you are playing natively under MacOS or windows?
Don't take my word for it, read the anandtech review and you will see that the fps is significantly better in the 2011 MBP when running HL2!

 

[mazdatree]

All I wished for was for a bigger screen, but then I'd enter my 'gaming laptop' zone.

Now I'm saving up to upgrade the hard drive (the 250gb drive is almost full).

 

[SylentSnipe]

MBP i7 in Iraq

I got my this Macbook to replace my ASUS G72gx. It decided that it does not like the Iraqi heat here and has started to die on me. So far I love this thing. I have on order 8GB ram and I already have a 1TB HDD to go in there to replace the 500GB. But sadly I dont have the screw drivers needed for the change. Thus I have to wait another week till the screw driver set I orderd gets here. But over all the mac is great, Love the speed of the i7. Just wished it had a deticated graphics card in it since im some what of a gamer.

 

[HussamRaed]

Thanks all for participating ! anyone else ?

 

[Resqu2]

I couldn't be happier with mine, I wanted to go bigger but it's mainly for the wife to use so I let her decide since I have the 21" IMac for my use. The 13" doesn't look as small as I was thinking. I find myself only using my IMac when I have to do my fire dept. run sheets, I use Word and Excel side beside when working on these reports and like a big screen for that. Bottom line: we LOVE it!

 

[cinek]

got mine (i7) with the ssd & I love it! It's great, really quick, responsive. Don't have any problems running photoshop, xcode 4 etc

 

[colticus]

You didn't mention if you are playing natively under MacOS or windows?
Don't take my word for it, read the anandtech review and you will see that the fps is significantly better in the 2011 MBP when running HL2!

Im not going to take your word for it. Your word is exact opposite of what I have experience with multiple machines.

And going by the anandtech reviews, it doesnt back up your statements.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/the-macbook-pro-review-13-and-15-inch-2011-brings-sandy-bridge/18
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4205/the-macbook-pro-review-13-and-15-inch-2011-brings-sandy-bridge/19

Here is Macworlds review.
http://www.macworld.com/article/157931/2011/03/early2011macbookpro.html?lsrc=top_2


I still like my 2011 more than the 2010. I do a lot of converting of HD files and the 2011 puts the 2010 to shame. It cut my times in half. The fan of the 2011 is quite annoying though.

 

[Bob Coxner]

I have it hooked up to an HP w2207 monitor at home and it also doubles as a server where I can access my iPhotos and iTunes Library when I'm using my Air out on the weekends or traveling around the world.

I'm considering a MBP 13" and I would be using it mostly in clamshell. I have the same HP w2207 (love it) and I'm curious if you ran into any problems with the connection. Any tips?

 

[Apple Expert]

So far I love my 2011 MBP. To me its the perfect balance of power, speed and portability. My next upgrade will be a ssd.

 

[HussamRaed]

Thanks everyone

 

[pszilard]

On Friday I bought an MBA 13" 256SSD 4GB RAM. Apple has a 14 day return policy here, so the next day I bought a 13" MBP 2.7GHz and after running both, I decided to keep the MBP and returned the MBA. They are both great machines, but the MBP is upgradeable, has a faster cpu, backlit keyboard and an optical drive (which can be replaced with a 2nd HDD). Too bad it is heavier, but what the heck.

I quickly changed the RAM for 8GB, and then bought a Vertex 3 120GB SSD (SATA 3) and then swapped out the optical drive and put in a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid drive.

I actually love the glossy screen as it gives the BEST display for photos and video - which is what I need as a part-time pro-photo & videographer.

This is my first MAC OS X device, and I also installed Parallels and Windows 7 - where I can run some essential Windows only apps.

Over all I cannot think of a better platform. I have an expensive machine, but it is a combination between a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce!

I am looking forward to the Lion enhancements, which are just around the corner.

 

[Joelb955]

I Love mine! It is my second ever mac(My old macbook from 2007). It is amazingly fast. It's the core i7 13". And when i upgrade the ram on it, the graphics card will be boosted. This machine runs the sims 3 fluently, and a lot of other games on medium settings. Couldn't ask for a better laptop.

 

[x-kid]

I recently made the switch from pc to mac and purchased the 13". I love it and won't be going back to pc. My next purchase will most likey be the 15" though. Unless apple comes out with a higher resolution screen. I really miss having a high res screen.

 

[Ungibbed]

I was a little disappointed in the graphics capability of the 2011 13" in comparison to my 2010 13". The 2010 played games much better. So I recently upgraded the ram of the 2011 to 8 gig and it runs games much better now. It compres to the 2010 in all the games I have tried.
So now I am happy with my purchase. The i5 is blazing.

I'm curious, other than source based titles, what games have you tried on your 2011 13" model?

I still have my late 2010 Nvidia 320m model and also upgraded mine to 8GB of RAM. I love the 13" for it's near perfect portability and at home using it with my ACD, the 13" screen is a non issue. My only thing holding me back is the Core 2 processor. Still, I love it

I tried a few games out after my new 27" ACD arrived and other than being amazingly gigantic, it is a sight to behold.

I went insane the other day and in my spare time, I fired up my MacBook in closed lid mode connected to my ACD. My MBP ran Fable wonderfully at 2560x1440 with 1x AA. The fan was going wild, but the game overall was perfectly playable. Same goes for Halo as well but without AA enabled. The only game I had choke on me at that resolution was Bioshock (runs fine at 1280x800) and Prey was acting strange as well. For Mac benchmarks like these I wish there was a Mac FRAPS equivalent.

If the 2011 models can pull that off, I may be sold as going from my Core 2 to an i7 would be a nice upgrade.

Anyone here have a current 13" Pro and tried anything other than Source based titles? Good or bad results

 

[Apple Expert]

I did look at the MBA last night. It's nice, but still lacking the power of the MBP. Plus IMO I think the black screen looks better than the gray one.

 

[colticus]

I'm curious, other than source based titles, what games have you tried on your 2011 13" model?

I still have my late 2010 Nvidia 320m model and also upgraded mine to 8GB of RAM. I love the 13" for it's near perfect portability and at home using it with my ACD, the 13" screen is a non issue. My only thing holding me back is the Core 2 processor. Still, I love it

I tried a few games out after my new 27" ACD arrived and other than being amazingly gigantic, it is a sight to behold.

I went insane the other day and in my spare time, I fired up my MacBook in closed lid mode connected to my ACD. My MBP ran Fable wonderfully at 2560x1440 with 1x AA. The fan was going wild, but the game overall was perfectly playable. Same goes for Halo as well but without AA enabled. The only game I had choke on me at that resolution was Bioshock (runs fine at 1280x800) and Prey was acting strange as well. For Mac benchmarks like these I wish there was a Mac FRAPS equivalent.

If the 2011 models can pull that off, I may be sold as going from my Core 2 to an i7 would be a nice upgrade.

Anyone here have a current 13" Pro and tried anything other than Source based titles? Good or bad results

Im playing Portal 2 a lot now. The 2011 runs its pretty good. I have almost everything on high or medium. It sometimes gets a little jittery but not bad. Its definitely playable.

 

[soulreaver99]

I'm considering a MBP 13" and I would be using it mostly in clamshell. I have the same HP w2207 (love it) and I'm curious if you ran into any problems with the connection. Any tips?

I've been using the MBP with this monitor for a year already and have no issues. Using the Mac on this screen is worlds apart from the usual 13 inch! Just make sure you set the resolution 1680x1050 if the screen looks all funky. I only had to do this the first time I plugged it in.

 

[un.titled]

Ok, as the title said, everyone who has a Macbook Pro 13, 2011 version, share your experance here!

I am planing on buying the base model (13in, 2.3 GHz, 4 RAM), but i want to know the experience form users who have bought it. (Speed, Battery, Screen, Others)

13" is probably the oddest screen size I've owned. Some days I love the portability, other days I wish I had more screen real estate on the go (higher res probably coming soon). If I would have purchased the 15", I never would complain about too much screen real estate, but I would probably hate the portability every day.

So I settled on the 13" haha. If they would up the resolution (which should happen on the 2012 models or there will be an angry mob), the 13" would be perfect in my opinion.