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Tech Specs

15″ MacBook Pro (Mid 2007)

LEM Staff - 2007.06.05

The 15″ MacBook Pro became Apple’s first notebook computer with LED backlighting when it was introduced on June 5, 2007. Other than that, the specs don’t seem much different than it’s predecessor.

MacBook Pro

The real changes are under the hood. The Mid 2007 MacBook Pro models (15″ and 17″) use Intel’s new Santa Rosa chipset and the Merom CPU on an 800 MHz system bus (which can be dynamically adjusted to save power), up from 667 MHz on last year’s model. They include Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics, an improvement over the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600. They now use 8x SuperDrives (vs. 6x on the earlier model). 2 GB of RAM is now standard with a 6 GB ceiling (up from 3 GB). And they also run their CPUs a tiny bit faster.

Still, the biggest news is the “green” display, which is backlit by LEDs (for better battery life) and mercury-free. The new model is also 0.2 lb./90g lighter than its predecessor.

Unlike earlier 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 just  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 Mid 2007 MacBook Pros shipped with OS X 10.4.9 Tiger and can run OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

Note that the built-in display is only capable of 18-bit color, not the full 24-bit color you might expect.

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.

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.

Battery life is expected to be 30-60 minutes longer than on earlier MacBook Pro models.

Details

  • introduced 2007.06.05 at US$1,999 (2.2 GHz) and US$2,499 (2.4 GHz); 2.6 GHz build-to-order option added 2007.10.31; replaced by faster model 2008.02.26.
  • Part no.: MA895 (2.2 GHz), MA896 (2.4 GHz)

Mac OS

Core System

  • CPU: 2.2/2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (2nd generation Merom), soldered in place, no upgrade options
  • Bus: 800 MHz
  • Performance:
    • Geekbench 2 (Leopard): 3296 (2.6 GHz), 3003 (2.4 GHz), 2733 (2.2 GHz)
    • Geekbench 2 (Tiger): 3119 (2.4 GHz), 2822 (2.2 GHz)
  • RAM: 2 GB, expandable to 6 GB using PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM
  • Level 2 cache: 4 MB shared cache on CPU

Video

  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT on PCI Express with dual-link DVI support
  • VRAM: 128 MB on 2.2 GHz model, 256 MB on 2.4 GHz model.
  • Video out: DVI connector (VGA supported with included adapter; S-video and composite video supported with optional adapters)
  • display: 15.4″ (38 cm) 16-bit 1440 x 900 110 ppi color active matrix
  • supports 1280 x 800, 1152 x 720, 1024 x 768, 1024 x 640, 800 x 600, 720 x 480, and 640 x 480 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 x 768, 800 x 600, and 640 x 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 x 480 at 3:2 aspect ratio
  • allows mirroring to external display or extended desktop mode

Drives

  • Hard drive: 120/160 GB 5400 rpm SATA standard, optional 160 GB (5400 and 7200 rpm) and and 200 GB 4200 rpm drives
  • optical drive: 8x dual-layer SuperDrive writes DVD±R and DVD+R at up to 8x, DVD-RW at up to 4x; dual-layer DVD±RW at up to 4x; reads DVDs at 8x (double-layer at 6x), dual-layer and DVD-ROM at 6x; writes CD-R at 24x, writes CD-RW at 16x, reads CDs at 24x

Expansion

  • USB 2.0 ports: 2, one on each side, only one high-powered device device allowed
  • FireWire 400: 1 port
  • FireWire 400: 1 port
  • Ethernet: 10/100/gigabit
  • WiFi: 802.11n AirPort Extreme built in
  • Modem: optional v.92 56k external USB modem
  • Bluetooth: BT 2.0 built in
  • IR receiver: supports Apple Remote
  • ExpressCard/34: 1 slot
  • expansions bays: none

Physical

  • size: 9.6 x 14.1 x 1.0″ (259 x 357 x 25.9 mm)
  • Weight: 5.4 pounds (2.45 kg)

Online Resources

Short link: http://goo.gl/HFG3zh

searchword: mbp15mid2007