MacBook Pro 2014 [ i7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD]

The 15″ MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2014) – MGXA2LL/A was released in 2014 and features a 2.2 GHz Core i7 processor and 15″ Retina display. Graphics processing is handled by an integrated Iris Pro graphics card with 1.5GB of VRAM.

The standard model shipped with a 512GB SSD PCI-E-002 Hard Drive and 16GB of Integrated RAM.

Apple refreshed the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, Intel’s fourth generation Haswell processors and comes with more memory. There are two versions, one includes a 2.2GHz quad-core Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage and a high-end model with a 2.5GHz quad-core i7, 16GB of memory, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia GeForce GT 750M.

The Retina Display remains the MacBook Pro’s showstopper, providing sharp, bright images and clear, easy-to-read text. Even though I’m used to the look of a Retina Display on my 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 2,880 x 1,800 resolution on the 15-inch MacBook Pro still impresses. When I watched the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer side by side on the two MacBooks, the 15-inch model’s display let me pick out details like puffs of sand and beads of sweat that didn’t stand out as much on the 13-inch model’s smaller screen.  The MacBook Pro’s Retina Display also compares favorably to the quad-HD touch-screen display on the Dell XPS 15, even though the latter notebook sports a higher resolution, at 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. The displays on both laptops are equally bright, with the MacBook Pro tallying 317 nits to the XPS 15’s showing of 320 nits.