Buy Macbook Pro now or wait?

[mavere]

A few years ago they had a 15" MacBook Pro that only had onboard graphics, and then you could get the upgraded model with a dGPU. Maybe they are going to do the same here? It would be strange for them to drop the dGPU from the 15"

But what would that "upgraded model" be? Notebooks still live and die by the watt, and Nvidia is still on the same process node and same architecture. Any bump in performance/watt would consequently only be from binning, and that won't amount to much. At the very least, it can't be enough to prevent a ridiculous upgrade path, which would essentially be:

Good: Iris Pro with good compute performance, great battery life.

Better(?): Add-on Nvidia GPU with worse compute, worse battery life, all so the throngs(?) of rMBP gamers can dual-boot to Windows and watch that framerate go.

I actually wonder how optimized OSX-native Intel GPU drivers will be. I'd think it'd be relatively easy to out-optimize whatever Apple and partners have done with Nvidia/AMD GPUs so far. Apple can then go and claim a performance boost in Blizzard games and Source games (let's be honest: that'd take care of the vast majority interested parties).

 

[TheStu]

But what would that "upgraded model" be? Notebooks still live and die by the watt, and Nvidia is still on the same process node and same architecture. Any bump in performance/watt would consequently only be from binning, and that won't amount to much. At the very least, it can't be enough to prevent a ridiculous upgrade path, which would essentially be:

Good: Iris Pro with good compute performance, great battery life.

Better(?): Add-on Nvidia GPU with worse compute, worse battery life, all so the throngs(?) of rMBP gamers can dual-boot to Windows and watch that framerate go.

I actually wonder how optimized OSX-native Intel GPU drivers will be. I'd think it'd be relatively easy to out-optimize whatever Apple and partners have done with Nvidia/AMD GPUs so far. Apple can then go and claim a performance boost in Blizzard games and Source games (let's be honest: that'd take care of the vast majority interested parties).

I just have a hard time imagining them dropping the dGPU altogether. If Anand is to be believed (and why wouldn't I?) then Apple is a big part of why intel has gotten their iGPUs as far as they have, but still, it would be weird to see a 'Pro' without a dGPU.

 

[Eug]

I just have a hard time imagining them dropping the dGPU altogether. If Anand is to be believed (and why wouldn't I?) then Apple is a big part of why intel has gotten their iGPUs as far as they have, but still, it would be weird to see a 'Pro' without a dGPU.

The 13" Pros don't come with discrete GPUs. There is no option for discrete GPUs either.

 

[TheStu]

The 13" Pros don't come with discrete GPUs. There is no option for discrete GPUs either.

Right, but the 15" has always been the MacBook Pro standard bearer

 

[mayo_capone]

With the relatively strong performance of the Iris Pro to power the retina display, what does the dGPU bring to the table besides better gaming performance?

 

[Eug]

With the relatively strong performance of the Iris Pro to power the retina display, what does the dGPU bring to the table besides better gaming performance?

For example, some 2D photo and video editing apps depend on the GPU. Of course, 3D animation apps will utilize the GPU too.

Right, but the 15" has always been the MacBook Pro standard bearer

Not for me. I have no interest in a 15" Pro.

However, I'm a business Pro user, not a 3D animator or something like that.

 

[bearxor]

In the Macbook Pro side? Not so much, right? Over IVB the perf gains are limited. I thought all the gains were in the ultrabook lineups.

The PCIe SSD alone would be worth it, IMO.

 

[TheStu]

For example, some 2D photo and video editing apps depend on the GPU. Of course, 3D animation apps will utilize the GPU too.


Not for me. I have no interest in a 15" Pro.

However, I'm a business Pro user, not a 3D animator or something like that.

Oh, i'm not crazy about it either, I want the 13" rMBP myself, but the 15" was the first one to go Intel, it was the first to go Aluminum, it's the standard bearer for the line up.

 

[dagamer34]

For example, some 2D photo and video editing apps depend on the GPU. Of course, 3D animation apps will utilize the GPU too.


Not for me. I have no interest in a 15" Pro.

However, I'm a business Pro user, not a 3D animator or something like that.

Which is why Apple is pushing so hard for OpenCL. They don't want to be locked into having to use nVidia chips because everyone is using CUDA. It's why they very publicly stated that the next Mac Pro is using AMD GPUs at WWDC when really all they needed to show off was the design of the box.

And I think it's pretty clear that if the 15" doesn't get rid of the dGPU this year, it absolutely will when Broadwell rolls out.

 

[Eug]

Oh, i'm not crazy about it either, I want the 13" rMBP myself, but the 15" was the first one to go Intel, it was the first to go Aluminum, it's the standard bearer for the line up.

The 15" was not the first go Aluminum.

Apple sold the 12" AluBook, 15" TiBook, and the 17" AluBook at the same time.

Pissed me off too, since I bought the last 15" TiBook, even though I wanted a 12" laptop. However, since Apple didn't release a 12" pro machine when they released the 15", and because I didn't want another iBook, I just bought the 15" TiBook. Then less than 2 months later they released the 12" and 17" aluminum models.

 

[TheStu]

The 15" was not the first go Aluminum.

Apple sold the 12" AluBook, 15" TiBook, and the 17" AluBook at the same time.

Pissed me off too, since I bought the last 15" TiBook, even though I wanted a 12" laptop. However, since Apple didn't release a 12" pro machine when they released the 15", and because I didn't want another iBook, I just bought the 15" TiBook. Then less than 2 months later they released the 12" and 17" aluminum models.

That's right, I had gotten confused with the TiBook.

 

[Pneumothorax]

I just have a hard time imagining them dropping the dGPU altogether. If Anand is to be believed (and why wouldn't I?) then Apple is a big part of why intel has gotten their iGPUs as far as they have, but still, it would be weird to see a 'Pro' without a dGPU.

Still think the dGPU is dead with Haswell rMBP. One thing that Apple loves is profits and since Intel is crazy with their Iris Pro CPU pricing (many sources claim it's about on par price wise for Haswell HD5000/HD4600 + GT750M) , Apple would have to take a big hit in profit to sell the top of the line Iris Pro mobile chip with a price tag equal to the previous gen iGPU only MBP 15.

 

[smackababy]

Still think the dGPU is dead with Haswell rMBP. One thing that Apple loves is profits and since Intel is crazy with their Iris Pro CPU pricing (many sources claim it's about on par price wise for Haswell HD5000/HD4600 + GT750M) , Apple would have to take a big hit in profit to sell the top of the line Iris Pro mobile chip with a price tag equal to the previous gen iGPU only MBP 15.

They are also going to be assembled in the US now right? That means no more $0.30/day wages for those poor Chinamen. That has got to cut into profits.

 

[Zink]

Only the Mac Pro trash can is going to be made in the USA. I do think that there will be an iGPU only option for the 15" rMBP. With the current gen 650m Apple used default overclock setting to boost performance. I could see them doing something similar with the extra TDP headroom they will have running only GT3e. There would be a lot of room to really raise clocks while still being lower power than a 650m if Intel works with them on it and Apple does like to do custom drivers and switch between GPU vendors every few years.

 

[dagamer34]

Problem is that the Iris 5200 is still just so so and many people are going to be screaming bloody murder. Real GPU performance upgrades won't come until Broadwell with a new GPU arch + 14nm. Too much of a sidegrade until then for users with more recent laptops.

 

[Eug]

Even though I don't need much GPU speed, I may wait until Broadwell or later anyway before I upgrade, since it will take a while before I go 802.11ac in my house, and my Core 2 Duo model will support Mavericks as well.

 

[z28dreams]

Wait for sure. Better battery life and iris graphics make the next gen machine one that could last a VERY long time.

 

[Koing]

I'm still rolling on a 2008 MacBook 2.1 C2D 😛, upgraded the ram to 4GB and I have a Samsung 830 Pro 256GB SSD. I HATE how it lags on youtube video and H.264 videos 🙁

Koing

 

[Eug]

I'm still rolling on a 2008 MacBook 2.1 C2D 😛, upgraded the ram to 4GB and I have a Samsung 830 Pro 256GB SSD. I HATE how it lags on youtube video and H.264 videos 🙁

That's the one with the X3100, right? If so, yep, you're due for an upgrade.

Ironically, I just bought a similar one used a few months back, since my wife's iBook died, and she didn't want to use my MacBook Pro. The difference in HD playback is quite noticeable between my 2009 2.26 GHz MacBook Pro with GeForce 9400M, vs. her 2.4 GHz MacBook with Intel X3100. Mine doesn't lag at all, and remains quiet during HD H.264 playback. Hers sometimes may lag, and the fan revs up high during HD playback. At least it works well enough most of the time though. Apple states you need 2.4 GHz for smooth HD playback (although it's also smooth at 2.1 GHz if you have the right GPU).

 

[timeandspace]

There are some Haswell ultrabooks on the market already like the MacBook Air (okay, not technically an ultrabook…), the Sony Vaio Pro 13 and Dell XPS 12. Why not check those out?

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[TheStu]

There are some Haswell ultrabooks on the market already like the MacBook Air (okay, not technically an ultrabook…), the Sony Vaio Pro 13 and Dell XPS 12. Why not check those out?

​

Neither can run OS X, neither has a HiDPI screen, Windows support for HiDPI is lacking, etc.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Windows support for HiDPI is lacking, etc.

The scaling is pretty terrible...

 

[rsbjr]

I am in the same boat. I am trying to decide if I should wait or not. I kinda need a computer now, but could wait if it was well worth it.

 

[dmoney1980]

I am in the same boat. I am trying to decide if I should wait or not. I kinda need a computer now, but could wait if it was well worth it.

same here! I'm hearing that the october haswell refresh will mainly improve battery life. I doubt they could make a big leap performance wise, but it's difficult determining if the additional 3-4 hours of battery life is worth the wait.

plus right now I qualify for 0% financing with apple

 

[manly]

same here! I'm hearing that the october haswell refresh will mainly improve battery life. I doubt they could make a big leap performance wise, but it's difficult determining if the additional 3-4 hours of battery life is worth the wait.

plus right now I qualify for 0% financing with apple

Generally it's suboptimal to buy an Apple product near the end of the model's cycle.

A couple possible exceptions are you can get the Back to School promo now (but can't later), or there's an inherent risk/drawback in buying a rev. A product. I.e. the first iPad (slow and RAM limited) or the first rMBP (paying the early adopter's premium). The Haswell update is likely to be just a speed bump, so I don't consider waiting for it "risky". If they somehow merge the classic MBP and rMBP, that could shake things up but I'd still advocate waiting 2 months.

If there's something "wrong" about the new model (i.e. no discrete graphics), you can still buy the old one in the refurb store or from another reseller for a little less money.