MacBook Pro 13" (Early 2011)

Notes

Architecture details:

• CPU:
  • 64-bit native
  • Hyper-Threading supported
  • Turbo Boost supported
  • Physical cores: 2
• EFI: 64-bit native
• Graphics: 64-bit kernel driver available

OS Support:

• Shipped: Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6, later OS X Lion 10.7 GM
• Maximum: Current OS X
• Windows: 7 (32/64), 8 (64)

History:

Following on the success of the previous "Arrandale"-based Pros might not have been an easy feat to begin with—then again, the 13-inch Pro missed the update in favor of keeping the cheaper Core 2 Duo and NVIDIA chipset, resulting in eight months without a significant refresh.

Apple instead responded in February 2011 by releasing a completely revamped 13-inch Pro based on Intel's "Sandy Bridge" i-Series accelerated processors, complete with Intel's HD3000 graphics core, alongside the larger members of the family. The APU alone may have been worth the wait, bearing Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost support.

Still, Apple and Intel had one more surprise up their teamed sleeves. The early 2011 models were the first to incorporate Intel's new Thunderbolt high-speed I/O bus, which Apple co-developed. In linking both PCI Express and Mini DisplayPort buses to a single controller chip over standard copper wire, Thunderbolt can achieve a bi-directional link speed of 10 Gbps, far surpassing FireWire's 800 Mbps and allowing thus for more robust, albeit ridiculously-priced, peripherals.

While initially shipping with Snow Leopard, the Early 2011 Pros would get speed-bumped in October to become the Late 2011 models. Through a series of firmware updates, all models became Lion-ready or Lion-exclusive.

As of March 2013, 2011 models and following became eligible for Windows 8 in Boot Camp 5, available via the latest OS X.