In terms of raw computing horsepower we took an uncompressed video out of Final Cut Pro X - a 760MB file that contained a 90-second 25fps 1,920x1,080-pixel video clip encoded at 74Mbps - and set Handbrake v0.9.9 to encode it down in a single pass to a 10Mbps H.264 file at 25fps, maintaining the 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. This is deeply impressive for a laptop, and one with a screen resolution so significantly higher than HD. Dropping down just a few settings from maximum to medium got those rates back up to the 30-60fps mark. At 2,800x1,800 pixels the game remaining playable with settings cranked to max, although frame rates did begin to appear to dip into the 10-20fps range.
The same was true of Borderlands 2, which is more graphically demanding even than Portal. The game remained perfectly playable, with frame rates around 20-30fps.ĭropping those settings of course meant frame rates ramped up dramatically even at this high resolution.
#MACBOOK PRO LATE 2013 MAX OUT CPU FULL#
This model as reviewed includes Nvidia's GeForce GT 750M discrete graphics chip, which alongside Intel's new Crystalwell architecture inside the 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor meant we were able to run Valve's Portal 2 game at 2,800x1,800-pixel resolution, with all graphical settings including full anti-aliasing and texture detail, set to maximum. To drive this high-resolution panel Apple has paired some seriously impressive CPU and GPU specifications under the hood of its top-end configuration. But in practice it will make few people frown and it's not a cause for concern. It's like buying a really great pair of headphones and then listening to music downloaded from Napster a decade ago - music once audibly satisfactory suddenly sounds, for want of a better word, crap.
Some websites still use lower-resolution imagery and a slight downside of the MBP's stellar screen is that it reveals inadequacies of older media, such as icons.