Specs on Macbook Ivy Bridge refresh

[Zap]

Macbook Air

Air 11
11" 1366x768 LCD
2x USB 3.0
HD 4000 graphics
"dual core Ivy Bridge up to i7 2.0GHz turbo 3.2GHz"
"up to 8GB RAM"
"up to 512GB SSD"
720p web cam
$999 base price (Core i5, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD)

Air 13
13" 1440x900 LCD
2x USB 3.0
HD 4000 graphics
"dual core Ivy Bridge up to i7 2.0GHz turbo 3.2GHz"
"up to 8GB RAM"
"up to 512GB SSD"
720p web cam
$1199 base price (Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD)

Macbook Pro

15.4" 2880x1800 Retina display!!!
quad core Ivy Bridge CPU
"up to 16GB 1600MHz RAM"
"up to 768GB SSD"
Geforce GT 650M graphics card
(Kepler 28nm, "up to" 850MHz 384 CUDA cores, 128-bit memory, "up to" 2GB DDR3 or GDDR5)
SD card reader, 2x USB 3.0, 2x Thunderbolt, HDMI output
7 hour battery life
0.71"/18mm thick
4.46 pounds
$2199 base price (2.3GHz quad, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)

 

[Piano Man]

The new next-gen Mac Book Pro is nothing short of astonishing. Other than the lack of Ethernet (well, you can get the dongle thingy), I really think this thing is as close to "perfect" as possible. This is also the first product that I think justifies the usually insane "apple tax" that comes with these laptops.


Also, the 2880x1800 resolution is going to be great for gaming as well, since 1/4 resolution is 1440x900 (everything should still look crisp). The nV 650m should be able to drive that resolution just fine.

 

[Bateluer]

Also, the 2880x1800 resolution is going to be great for gaming as well, since 1/4 resolution is 1440x900 (everything should still look crisp). The nV 650m should be able to drive that resolution just fine.

Uh, not for any game made in the last 10 years. :/

Any good benchmarks for it?

 

[Piano Man]

Uh, not for any game made in the last 10 years. :/

Any good benchmarks for it?

Not that I know if, but I don't see why that won't drive 1440x900.

 

[Zap]

Not that I know if, but I don't see why that won't drive 1440x900.

It should be okay. Let's see, what desktop card also has 384 CUDA cores... oh yeah, the GTX 460, 560 and 560 Ti. The notebook version is hampered by lower memory bandwidth, but similar core performance.

 

[Smartazz]

It should be okay. Let's see, what desktop card also has 384 CUDA cores... oh yeah, the GTX 460, 560 and 560 Ti. The notebook version is hampered by lower memory bandwidth, but similar core performance.

Keep in mind that it's 384 Kepler cores, so it's more like 192 cores if you're comparing it to the 460, 560, etc. The GT650 looks good, but it's only a 128bit bus.

 

[SithSolo1]

Uh, not for any game made in the last 10 years. :/

Any good benchmarks for it?

NotebookCheck has some tests: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html

I think they should have opted for the GTX 660M, much better fit for that screen. Its ~20% faster than the 650M in BF3.

 

[Stuka87]

The GT650 is way underpowered for that resolution. Gaming will be a complete-non option. On the default screen it should be usable, but not great.

 

[Zap]

The GT650 is way underpowered for that resolution. Gaming will be a complete-non option.

The "trick" is to use exactly half the resolution, or 1440x900. Graphics card does a lot less work, and it won't look as crappy as any odd resolution.

 

[Smartazz]

That resolution is absolutely insane. I want to see something like that on their cinema displays. Gaming would be absolutely astonishing.

 

[jacktesterson]

Not a Mac fan, but I've used them a lot in the past. These look nice.

Anyways, really wish that Macbook Pro used a 670m/675m or 7970m. Its possible with a 15 inch laptop as they don't run as hot as previous gens.

 

[Smartazz]

Not a Mac fan, but I've used them a lot in the past. These look nice.

Anyways, really wish that Macbook Pro used a 670m/675m or 7970m. Its possible with a 15 inch laptop as they don't run as hot as previous gens.

While I'd love to see the MBP with those cards, I don't think such powerful cards are needed outside of gaming. It would add weight and make the laptop thicker and apple has a tradition of form before function.

 

[kami]

The video card is perfectly capable of running Blizzard games (what else is there on a mac? ). The notebookcheck article says performance is in between the 460m and 560m. Well I've used a laptop with a 460m and it ran WoW and StarCraft II like a champ at 1080p on high settings.