The MD101LL/A is the most inexpensive model from the 2012 MacBook Pro refresh. The laptop in question is a 13.3-incher with the 3rd Generation Intel Core i5 2.5GHz processor. Apple’s policy is not to say which exact CPU model is used in their laptops, but judging from the clock speed we assume the chip is actually the i5-3210M with two cores, 3MB of L3 cache, and a maximal TurboBoost frequency of 3.1GHz. The CPU is the lowest-end part in the current Ivy Bridge i5 standard-voltage lineup. The higher-end 2012 MacBook Pro 13 variant is equipped with the 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (i7-3520M).
The processor has the built-in Intel HD 4000-series integrated graphics, which is way better than the previous 3000-series, but unfortunately the MD101LL/A doesn’t have the dedicated Nvidia GPU included in the 2012 15″ MacBook Pros. The HD 4000 manages the glossy 13.3″ 1280×800 display, so in this field the laptop is far below specs of some 13.3″ ultrabooks and ultraportables with the 1600×900 pixel count. Not to mention the 2880-by-1800 resolution present in the Retina-equipped 2012 MacBook Pro 15-inchers.
The included 4GB RAM memory and 500GB hard drive are standard specs for today’s laptops, but Apple has excluded the built-in optical drive in the new MacBook Pros. The base of this laptop, Intel’s Ivy Bridge CPU platform, also enables use of faster memory, so now we have 1,600MHz RAM instead of the previous 1,333MHz.
MacBook Pro’s chassis hasn’t been reworked, so we still have the aluminum unibody case with silver color and the chiclet keyboard in the middle. The keyboard does have backlight. Another upgrade is from USB 2.0 to 3.0 on the two available ports on the MD101LL/A. Also are available a 720p web camera, stereo speakers with a subwoofer, combined Thuderbolt and Mini DisplayPort, Firewire, SDXC card slot, and Gigabit LAN. For wireless connectivity, there are 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The built-in lithium-polymer battery with 63.5wHr capacity is sufficient for up to seven hours of web surfing via Wi-Fi, according to the product specs.
Regarding the physical specifications, the Apple MacBook Pro MD101LL/A measures 0.95 x 12.78 x 8.94 inches and weighs 4.5 pounds.
Mac OS X version on this laptop is 10.7.
The 13-inch 2.5GHz model is priced at $1,199, and that’s $300 less than the 13-inch 2.9 GHz one.