New Macbook Pro 15" release date

[omega3]

When is the new Macbook Pro 15" to be expected? If they ofcourse dumb it down (no usb 3 ports for example) maybe it's still better to get the current one?

I've never had a Macbook Pro 15, so some questions:

1. can the SSD be replaced by a good pc repair shop or is it solded on?
2. is it silent? do fans run all the time or just occasionally?
3. are the speakers any decent? I have a Dell XPS which has good speakers for a laptop with nice enough bass and it's also silent as the fans only run from time to time.

Thanks for all good feedback!

 

[Tyranicus]

1. can the SSD be replaced by a good pc repair shop or is it solded on?

The SSD can be replaced. However, it is a proprietary connector, so there are too many replacement options. OWC makes one though.

2. is it silent? do fans run all the time or just occasionally?

It's fairly quiet. The fans only really spin up when it's using a to of CPU or GPU power.

3. are the speakers any decent? I have a Dell XPS which has good speakers for a laptop with nice enough bass and it's also silent as the fans only run from time to time.

The speakers are pretty decent. I don't have experience with the Dell XPS laptop speakers, but I can say that the MBP has speakers that are better than a lot of laptops.

 

[Commodus]

When is the new Macbook Pro 15" to be expected? If they ofcourse dumb it down (no usb 3 ports for example) maybe it's still better to get the current one?

To answer this side of the question:

Most rumors point to the fall. Apple's waiting on Intel's Kaby Lake architecture (7th-generation Core is how Intel will call it), which won't show up for a few months.

It's probably going to have multiple USB-C ports, and they may all be Thunderbolt 3. If so, that's not dumbing it down -- you'd need adapters for older connectors (USB 3.0 Type A or HDMI, for example), but they'll be faster and more flexible. Personally, I'd be more interested in buying the new model to have something future-proof.

 

[omega3]

The SSD can be replaced. However, it is a proprietary connector, so there are too many replacement options. OWC makes one though.

Does the SSD or where it connects to has a proprietary connector? Does that mean you can't use any 3rth party SSD with it?

 

[Beer4Me]

When is the new Macbook Pro 15" to be expected? If they ofcourse dumb it down (no usb 3 ports for example) maybe it's still better to get the current one?

I've never had a Macbook Pro 15, so some questions:

1. can the SSD be replaced by a good pc repair shop or is it solded on?
2. is it silent? do fans run all the time or just occasionally?
3. are the speakers any decent? I have a Dell XPS which has good speakers for a laptop with nice enough bass and it's also silent as the fans only run from time to time.

Thanks for all good feedback!

1. SSD can be replaced, but it's NOT worth it due to the proprietary connector. Limited options make is VERY cost ineffective. Get the appropriately sized SSD you will grow into at time of purchase.
2. Deadly silent. Fans only run when necessary. Under normal business use (RDP, Word, Viso, Excel, Outlook, and even Parallels), the FAN NEVER comes on in my 15" Pro. The fan only comes on when watching any kind of streaming video service (Netflix, Youtube, etc).
3. Speakers are decent for a notebook (can't speak to Dell XPS), but you won't be impressing anyone. Easy fix is an external bluetooth speaker or headphones.

 

[omega3]

1. SSD can be replaced, but it's NOT worth it due to the proprietary connector. Limited options make is VERY cost ineffective. Get the appropriately sized SSD you will grow into at time of purchase

I don't understand that if you can replace the SSD with a bigger one from a 3th party, why this would be more expensive? Can't you install any 3th party SSD that you want? What's with this propietary connector.. is it on the SSD or where it connects to the mobo? Could you please explain this a bit. Thanks!

 

[TheStu]

I don't understand that if you can replace the SSD with a bigger one from a 3th party, why this would be more expensive? Can't you install any 3th party SSD that you want? What's with this propietary connector.. is it on the SSD or where it connects to the mobo? Could you please explain this a bit. Thanks!

Both the logic board (not motherboard) and SSD have a proprietary interface. You can't really have one be standard and one proprietary.

It isn't cost effective because only Apple and OWC make SSDs that will use that proprietary connector. Apple doesn't sell them aftermarket so that leaves OWC, or used SSDs pulled from MacBooks Pro. 1TB SSD from OWC is $600. 1TB m2 from SanDisk (on Newegg), is $240. 1TB 2.5" SSD on Newegg is about $220.

So, the SSD is REPLACEABLE in that it can be removed, and put back, or another put in its place, but that isn't to that it's actually worthwhile to do so.

 

[omega3]

Both the logic board (not motherboard) and SSD have a proprietary interface. You can't really have one be standard and one proprietary.

It isn't cost effective because only Apple and OWC make SSDs that will use that proprietary connector. Apple doesn't sell them aftermarket so that leaves OWC, or used SSDs pulled from MacBooks Pro. 1TB SSD from OWC is $600. 1TB m2 from SanDisk (on Newegg), is $240. 1TB 2.5" SSD on Newegg is about $220.

So, the SSD is REPLACEABLE in that it can be removed, and put back, or another put in its place, but that isn't to that it's actually worthwhile to do so.

Thanks for the info. Do you know how much a 500 gig SSD costs which can be connected to a Macbook Pro? Can you get one at stores like Newegg or only OWC or Apple?

 

[Koing]

Thanks for the info. Do you know how much a 500 gig SSD costs which can be connected to a Macbook Pro? Can you get one at stores like Newegg or only OWC or Apple?

It's a kick in the teeth when you have to pay £150 odd to upgrade form 256GB to 512GB 🙁 same with the ram, from 4GB to 8GB. Now it's standard with 8GB 🙁 I should have gone to 16GB.

The SSD connection is propriety but it's faster than SATA3 and M2 drives. It's slower than PCIe. You would only really notice the difference when transferring large files.

Koing

 

[BarkingGhostar]

It's a kick in the teeth when you have to pay £150 odd to upgrade form 256GB to 512GB 🙁 same with the ram, from 4GB to 8GB. Now it's standard with 8GB 🙁 I should have gone to 16GB.

The SSD connection is propriety but it's faster than SATA3 and M2 drives. It's slower than PCIe. You would only really notice the difference when transferring large files.

Koing

Reference?

 

[Tyranicus]

Reference?

http://blog.macsales.com/30725-owc-tests-speed-of-ssd-in-2015-15-macbook-pro-with-retina-display

 

[TheStu]

Thanks for the info. Do you know how much a 500 gig SSD costs which can be connected to a Macbook Pro? Can you get one at stores like Newegg or only OWC or Apple?

OWC 480GB SSD is $350. $400 if you get the kit which includes the screwdrivers you'll need, and an enclosure to use for the cloning process (and to then use the original SSD as an external drive).

The SSD connection is propriety but it's faster than SATA3 and M2 drives. It's slower than PCIe. You would only really notice the difference when transferring large files.

IIRC, ALL portable Macs being made now are using PCIe based SSDs. Some are faster than others (the one in my 2015 rMB is measured in the mere hundreds of MB/s to the TENs of hundreds of MB/s that the 2015 rMBPs can achieve), but they're all PCIe based.