Real-world fast
The Apple® MacBook® Pro is a superbly-engineered computer, but the stock configurations fall well short of their potential. DIGLLOYD developed the MPG Pro Laptop to take into account the real world performance and reliability needs of photographic professionals, based on our groundbreaking research and our own suite of software tools, not to mention Lloyd's own field use in remote locations.
You can work it all out by yourself after hours of reading and tinkering, since Mac Performance Guide tells you how. But why not let OWC configure and pre-test a system for you? Order a system now. Your new MPG Pro Laptop™ will arrive ready-to-use, and you'll know it has passed the rigorous 8-hour burn-in test.
Proven hardware
Here at DIGLLOYD's Mac Performance Guide, we have satisfied ourselves of the fast and reliable operation of the Apple MacBook Pro and the additional hardware recommended for it, as can be readily seen by reading the articles on this site. We've made our best effort to guide you to what works reliably and fast, based on our own testing, and the equipment we use ourselves. Please see the reviews on this site to satisfy yourself in that regard.
Here's how our research applies to the MPG Pro Laptop that OWC will build you:
- Memory — based on our research, we've found that demanding applications like Adobe® Photoshop® and Lightroom® need at least 8GB memory. We specify top-quality, cost-effective RAM modules, up to 16GB for the 2011 MacBook pro.
- Solid state drives — the boot (system) drive we specify is a reliable and ultra-fast enterprise-grade solid state drive (SSD) that makes your applications launch almost instantly.
- Fast virtual memory — the right solid state drive means that if memory does get low, the virtual memory performance is markedly higher than with a hard drive.
- RAID — The optional addition of a second internal SSD opens up possibilities for redundancy (mirroring), or doubled speed and capacity. You can choose lightning-fast read/write performance so your loading, saving and copying of files is super-efficient. Or you can specify RAID mirroring to provide the ultimate in data redundancy (dual enterprise grade SSDs). Or you can choose a separate boot drive and data drive, for the desired capacity.
- Quiet operation — use of a solid state drive means no hard drive noise, a boon for applications where sound is being recorded. Or simply pleasant in a quiet office.
Pre-configured for performance and backup
Every MPG Pro Laptop is configured by OWC to DIGLLOYD specifications.
Here are the highlights:
- Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 64-bit mode — OWC installs system software, skipping unnecessary fonts, translations or other overhead, configured for 64-bit operation. All system software updates are also applied.
- Preferences set the right way — system preferences are set the way they ought to be, the way that makes the most sense for your system.
- Hourly backups with Time Machine — If a Time Machine backup drive is ordered, OWC configures Apple's Time Machine with its own dedicated backup volume to protect you from drive failure, human errors and software errors. Time Machine automatically creates hourly, daily and weekly backups of your data. [1]
Stress Testing
After your laptop is configured by OWC, it is stress-tested under conditions well in excess of most normal use. The CPUs, memory, hard drives and cooling system are run at peak load for hours, exposing nearly any reliability issue or faulty component. Your system must pass the stress test, or it doesn't ship.
- All CPU cores are run at peak load, accessing all memory continuously, placing a high heat load on the CPUs, memory, and cooling systems. This procedure ferrets out marginal components. (You'll probably never use the machine that hard on your own.)
- Hard drives are filled to near-capacity to force bad blocks to be mapped out ahead of time, and for glitches to reveal themselves. (The drives are then erased to empty after testing, ready for your use).
- Hard drives and SSDs are tested to verify that they deliver the expected level of performance.
- External drives your order are similarly tested.
Nothing is perfect, hardware can and does fail with use, power spikes, etc., but feel these measures are a pragmatic step to reduce initial hardware problems to an absolute minimum. [2]
[1] DIGLLOYD assumes no liability, either express or implied, for the performance, reliability, safety, integrity and backup of your system or data. You are responsible at all times for verifying that Time Machine is operating properly and backing up all your data. Time Machine might not backup certain files that are kept open in programs while you are working on them. Time Machine might not backup data found on external drives, and you must account for that separately. We make extensive efforts to ensure that your system is configured the best way feasible, but you bear the entire responsibility for verifying appropriate measures are in place for backup, including not just Time Machine, but multiple external backups stored away from your system.
[2] Your warranty and agreement are entirely with the supplier(s) of the system and software, NOT with DIGLLOYD.
DIGLLOYD and MPG Pro Laptop are trademarks of DIGLLOYD, Inc. Apple®, Mac®, Spotlight® and Time Machine® are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Adobe®, Photoshop® and Lightroom® are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
DIGLLOYD and MPG Pro Laptop are trademarks of DIGLLOYD, Inc. Apple®, Mac®, Spotlight® and Time Machine® are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Adobe®, Photoshop® and Lightroom® are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.