As we work to improve our website to provide a better experience for you, the TechRepublic Forum Boards will be in maintenance mode from 2pm EST, January 21st - 11am EST, January 24th with the remainder of the TechRepublic / TechRepublic Premium site being in maintenance mode from 11am EST, January 23rd - 11am EST, January 24th. During these time frames the site and Forum Boards will be read-only. You will not be able to login/register, comment or make any changes to your profiles/newsletter selections. We appreciate your support and patience during this time.

Apple MacBook Pro Quad-core i7 teardown

By Bill Detwiler · April 5, 2011, 1:03 AM PST · billdetwiler

Image 1 of 83

Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Teardown

In 2011, Apple updated its MacBook Pro notebook line with Intel Quad-Core i5 and i7 CPUs, more-powerful AMD GPUs, and Intel's new Thunderbolt connection technology.

Follow along as we crack open a 15" MacBook Pro for a look at the impressive hardware inside.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Box

Our 15" MacBook Pro cost just under $2,600 (US) and has the following technical specs:
- 2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
- 128GB Solid State Drive
- 8x Double-Layer SuperDrive
- 15"HR Antiglare WS Display
Don't worry. After cracking this machine open, I'll put it back together and use it as one of our test machines.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Opening the box

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Power supply and cable

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Top

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Bottom

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Left side

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Ports

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Battery indicator

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Right side

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Keyboard

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Phillips case screw

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the case screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Lifting off the bottom panel

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Bottom panel removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Bottom panel tab

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Bottom panel tab catch

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): First look inside

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the battery

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the battery screw

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Battery removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Battery

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Battery - Bottom

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): SSD

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the SSD bracket screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): SSD bracket removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the SSD

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): SSD connector

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the SSD

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the SSD

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Toshiba 128GB SSD

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): 8x SuperDrive

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the wireless card assembly

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the wireless assembly cables

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Wireless assembly cables disconnected

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Wireless assembly moved to the side

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the SuperDrive screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the SuperDrive

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): SuperDrive removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): 8X SuperDrive

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the RAM chips

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Battery, SSD, and SuperDrive removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting motherboard connectors

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the internal fan cable

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Detaching another motherboard connector

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting the display cable

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing a small metal motherboard connector cover

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Disconnecting a motherboard ribbon cable

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the internal fan screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the internal fans

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Internal fans removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the motherboard screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the motherboard

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Motherboard removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Nearly empty case

At this point, I'm going to leave the case alone. Many of the MacBook Pro internal ribbon cables are glued to the case. I don't want to risk damaging the cable by removing them.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Motherboard with cooling assembly

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Motherboard - bottom

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the cooling assembly screws

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Cooling assembly removed

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Cooling assembly

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the speaker assembly

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Removing the smaller cooling plates

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Motherboard with thermal paste

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Motherboard

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): 2.2GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 mobile processor

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Intel BD82HM65 Platform Controller Hub

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): AMD Radeon HD 6490M GPU

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Intel L051NA39 EFL

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Broadcom BCM57765 Integrated Gigabit Ethernet and Memory Card Reader Controller

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): LSI L-W643E-2

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Parade PS8301

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): F2117LP

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Parade 8521A and unknown CY7C 630803-1101

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Four Hynix H5GQ2H24MFR GDDR5 SGRAM chips for graphics memory

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Lattice Semiconductor LFXP2-5E

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Cirrus 4206ACNZ audio controller

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Cypress CY8C24794-24L

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): SMSC USB25138 USB 2.0 Hub Controllers

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Texas Instruments TPS 51980

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): ISL6263 CHRZ H052BBF

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Case opening detector

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Completely disassembled

The 2011 MacBook Pro has some very noticable improvements over previous model. The new Intel Sandy Bridge Quad-Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU are plenty powerful. The new Thunderbolt I/O port offers significant throughput gains. And, 128GB Toshiba SSD helps the machine boot quickly.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple MacBook Pro (2011 Quad-Core i7): Teardown

In 2011, Apple updated its MacBook Pro notebook line with Intel Quad-Core i5 and i7 CPUs, more-powerful AMD GPUs, and Intel's new Thunderbolt connection technology.

Follow along as we crack open a 15" MacBook Pro for a look at the impressive hardware inside.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the ...

| Commenting FAQs | Community Guidelines

Join Discussion

LOG IN TO COMMENT

Add your Comment