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Macbook Pro updates are here! (Core i5/i7 on 15.4" and up)

YEP! Store is up with the new laptops. Sad they didnt go to core i5 in the 13"
 
Hmmm, paltry updates to the 13". One step closer to Jobs making the 13" run a modified iPhone OS variant while only the big boys stay on OSX.
 
teiresias said:
Hmmm, paltry updates to the 13". One step closer to Jobs making the 13" run a modified iPhone OS variant while only the big boys stay on OSX.
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Well what did you expect? You're not going to put a full speed Arrandale in to a 13" laptop - it's still a power hog. Intel doesn't currently offer a mid power Arrandale, you only have the full power versions and the CULV versions that run at less than half the speed.
 
aphex said:
YEP! Store is up with the new laptops. Sad they didnt go to core i5 in the 13"
Click to expand...

Once the Sprinpeak chipset gets the update from Intel, the 13" will have Core i capability. According to Intel that will be Q3 of this year.
 
Better graphics and new processors, is that all that changed other than an option for Hi Res? What happened to HDMI? 🙁

Looks like I'll get some money from the fiancee towards one, about $600... so that'll bring down the 15" i7 to about $1400... still damn expensive... do I really want to shell out this much?

Oh yeah, and AppleCare. Bleh.

Who all thinks the Hi Res is worth it? It'll bring gaming performance down at Hi Res, that's for sure.

I'll probably dual boot Win7 and OS X if I get one.
 
ViRGE said:
Well what did you expect? You're not going to put a full speed Arrandale in to a 13" laptop - it's still a power hog. Intel doesn't currently offer a mid power Arrandale, you only have the full power versions and the CULV versions that run at less than half the speed.
Click to expand...

"Toshiba Satellite Pro U500-00E"

What the heck do you mean by "full power", "full speed", and "mid power", anyway?

This update isn't worth defending at all.
 
Ichigo said:
"Toshiba Satellite Pro U500-00E"

What the heck do you mean by "full power", "full speed", and "mid power", anyway?

This update isn't worth defending at all.
Click to expand...
For Intel's previous mobile CPU lines, they have offered 3-4 classes of chips: standard/full voltage (~35W), medium voltage (~25W), low-voltage (~17W), and ultra-low-voltage (~10W). Clockspeeds on standard and medium voltage parts are nearly comparable, with SV parts going a step or two higher than MV and MV otherwise just being highly binned chips. Meanwhile clockspeeds quickly start scaling down for LV and ULV.

Intel is currently only offering SV and ULV Core i3/5/7 parts, which means you either put up with a 35W chip, or you get a chip that only runs at 1.06GHz. However Apple has always used MV parts in the 13" line in order to preserve battery life and to keep heat down. Without a MV i3/5/7 chip from Intel, Apple doesn't have a suitable chip to put in to the 13" MacBook. Worse, Apple needs an OpenCL-capable GPU (which Intel doesn't offer), which means there also needs to be an allowance for a discrete GPU when it comes to the i3/5/7.

If you look at the reviews for the existing i3/5/7 laptops, they're almost universally 14" or bigger. For the few smaller models they all have terrible battery life and often have awkward batteries that protrude from the laptop itself due to size.

You're not going to get a core i3/5/7 CPU in to a 13.3" laptop with today's technology and meet Apple's high standards. Intel simply doesn't offer a mid-power chip suitable for such a device.
 
The update was about what i expected, I still will be doing with out. Awesome bat life though. I am generally never away from a plug for more than a couple hours. there should be i5s in the 13 inch.

But for a less price you can get the lenovo for $650 with i5, 310M 515mb with optimus tech, hdmi etc etc, AND 50 inch panasonic 1080 hdtv to hook up.

Can't wait to see what intel gmas can be hacked now though. Well what comes to hackintosh scene, though the core series are pretty well supported. I hope they have to support gma 4500 though for my laptop.
 
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About what I expected, yet I am still strangely underwhelmed. This refresh makes me feel a lot better about my recent Envy 15 purchase for $950. If I was going to spend twice that on a laptop I would still have a very hard time choosing the 15" MBP over the new Sony Vaio Z.
 
Glad I bought my 13" MBP last summer, and still very happy with it. I was worried this update would come with a bunch of cool stuff I really wanted, but the 13" only got a minor bump.
 
Balls... 10 hours on the 13" model, without going CULV like those PC laptops... man, I wish I could afford these things.
 
Alienwho said:
About what I expected, yet I am still strangely underwhelmed. This refresh makes me feel a lot better about my recent Envy 15 purchase for $950. If I was going to spend twice that on a laptop I would still have a very hard time choosing the 15" MBP over the new Sony Vaio Z.
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I know sony laptops are generally really bad. Expensive and fall apart. But the z series looks really good, to rich for my blood though. Not quite the bat life, or osx. Apple basically has their laptops out for atleast the rest of this year. And they already soo far behind in pricing.

That envy looks just like a macbook lol. Just make osx for all they could sell it just like microsoft and make much more money i would think.
 
silverpig said:
Glad I bought my 13" MBP last summer, and still very happy with it. I was worried this update would come with a bunch of cool stuff I really wanted, but the 13" only got a minor bump.
Click to expand...

What is interesting is this new Nvidia 320m chipset that has 48 shader cores, while the 9400m had only 16. But, the 320m only gets a ~1.8x performance increase; likely a huge memory bottleneck for 3x shaders to only get on average 1.5x increase.

I will likely buy this new 13". Arrandale has thus far failed to impress me, what with the not-fully-integrated memory controller and higher power usage than originally thought. Looks like Sandy Bridge is where the good stuff is, but I can't wait that long. I don't see how a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo on a notebook is all that bad, especially with a 10-hour battery life. Not like I'm going to be playing Crysis on a laptop anytime soon.
 
Wow.. I'm shocked that spec wise, there's only a $200 difference between the 15" and 17". Now I have to decide, do I want the bigger version, or stick with 15". Hmm.. it's only $200 (this is counting the res upgrade). Dang.. Gotta go to the store and check 'em out.
 
ViRGE said:
For Intel's previous mobile CPU lines, they have offered 3-4 classes of chips: standard/full voltage (~35W), medium voltage (~25W), low-voltage (~17W), and ultra-low-voltage (~10W). Clockspeeds on standard and medium voltage parts are nearly comparable, with SV parts going a step or two higher than MV and MV otherwise just being highly binned chips. Meanwhile clockspeeds quickly start scaling down for LV and ULV.

Intel is currently only offering SV and ULV Core i3/5/7 parts, which means you either put up with a 35W chip, or you get a chip that only runs at 1.06GHz. However Apple has always used MV parts in the 13" line in order to preserve battery life and to keep heat down. Without a MV i3/5/7 chip from Intel, Apple doesn't have a suitable chip to put in to the 13" MacBook. Worse, Apple needs an OpenCL-capable GPU (which Intel doesn't offer), which means there also needs to be an allowance for a discrete GPU when it comes to the i3/5/7.

If you look at the reviews for the existing i3/5/7 laptops, they're almost universally 14" or bigger. For the few smaller models they all have terrible battery life and often have awkward batteries that protrude from the laptop itself due to size.

You're not going to get a core i3/5/7 CPU in to a 13.3" laptop with today's technology and meet Apple's high standards. Intel simply doesn't offer a mid-power chip suitable for such a device.
Click to expand...

http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyId=43402

Intel appears to have 3 documented 25W i7 processors. 2 have launched. You're right that they have no 25w i3 and i5, which is strange.

The GPU reason is legitimate, I'll give you that. They needed to stick a dedicated GPU in there or risk actually decreasing performance.

But if that's your entire explanation for there not being any "medium voltage" mobile CPU's, that's obviously inaccurate.

This is a poor update in the sense that it doesn't really return MBP's to a competitive standing.

tokie said:
What is interesting is this new Nvidia 320m chipset that has 48 shader cores, while the 9400m had only 16. But, the 320m only gets a ~1.8x performance increase; likely a huge memory bottleneck for 3x shaders to only get on average 1.5x increase.

I will likely buy this new 13". Arrandale has thus far failed to impress me, what with the not-fully-integrated memory controller and higher power usage than originally thought. Looks like Sandy Bridge is where the good stuff is, but I can't wait that long. I don't see how a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo on a notebook is all that bad, especially with a 10-hour battery life. Not like I'm going to be playing Crysis on a laptop anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Arrandale is still better in all respects than Penryn, so I'm not sure what your point is. a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo isn't bad at all under a $1000 price-point. And of course you won't be playing Crysis on a laptop if that laptop is a 13" MBP. There are, however, many ~$1000 laptops that can play Crysis. You're overpaying more than ever for inferior hardware. In the past I was more or less ambivalent since I've received pretty great service for my late '07 MBP but it's getting ridiculous. Now it's over twice the cost for a generally inferior laptop.

10 hour battery life does stand out as impressive though. If they can actually get 8 hours real world from standard word processing/internet browsing/etc. then that's worth something.
 
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