Let's make last-minute MBP predictions! And count this baby downnnnn!

[torrino]

It's almost timeeeeee!

Make your last minute predictions. Will we get a MBP tomorrow? WWDC? Both? What will the specs be? Will the design stay the same? Any new cool ports?

I'm thinking...

Tomorrow:

Low-End MBP ($1999)
15'' LED Screen
2.4 GHz Santa Rosa Technology
160 GB HDD
1 GB RAM
128MB Graphics

High-End 15'' MBP ($2499)
15'' LED Screen
2.6 GHz Santa Rosa Technology
200 GB HDD
2 GB RAM
256MB Graphics

Santa Rosa and LED, and regular bumps in RAM/HD. The low-end will have to have LED and Santa Rosa technology. If Apple bumps the RAM to 2 GB and the HDD to 180 or 200 GB, there's not much room for the high-end MBP to be worth $400 more (3 GB RAM is not happening on the high-end, yet). Similarly, Apple realizes the unbalance between the BlackBook and the base MBP, and has to distinguish the two somehow. LED and Santa Rosa technology = def. "Pro" worthy, I guess.

The design stays the same.

What I really, really want?

MacBook Business or MacBook Portable ($1649)
13'' LED Screen
2.4 Santa Rosa
1 GB RAM
160 GB HDD
128MB Graphics

But...No ultraportable until right before Christmas, because - at this point - if Apple wants to price the 12 or 13'' MBP between the BlackBook and the base 15'' MBP, they're going to have to really, really bump up the 15'' specs. Or, if they do release it, it'll have to be with a 2.33 Intel Core 2 Duo chip, as that will be the only way to distinguish it as the compromise between the BlackBook and the 15'' MBP.

[Sbrocket]

Copied from another thread where I posted it.

-----

Here's my (educated) guess. ;)

High-end 17" gets a screen update to a high-res LED screen (1900x1200) with an option or standard config including the Nvidia 8600M GPU (256mb dedicated vram). I'm not gonna make random guesses about the lower end models because I haven't heard anything personally about them, but I doubt they want to go down to a 13" MBP. Of course the Santa Rosa update. And this all rolls out sometime tomorrow.

:apple:

[Aea]

What I'm hoping for...

2.4-2.6 Ghz CPU (Obviously Santa Rosa)
15.4" LED Screen (Higher resolution, maybe even high end HD)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 (In dire need of a better GPU)
160-200GB HD (Small Bump here)
2 GBs of Ram (Can't have less)

I'd also love a SSD Hard Drive (32GBs) as an option, and a better high-capacity battery. I know the MBP is not "ultraportable" but I'd love the SSD anyway :)

[flopticalcube]

2.4GHz
160GB HD
15" LED-backlit LCD
1GB RAM
HD2600 GPU
8xSuperdrive
Case Redesign

17" same except no LED backlighting + 200GB HD.

[lil' brudder]

I'm just hoping for iLife 07 before I buy my macbook.

[andyh2]

I bought a macbook pro about a month ago, and I was wondering will there be a big performance gain with santa rosa? I got the 15" "high end" version.

[Marky_Mark]

I love the current case design, but I'm prepared to be wow'd with a funky new look. Like SJ said, the current design is hard to top so I'm looking forward to something really special.

Anyway, now that's out the way - 10, 9, 8...err...eh? Oh, sorry, too soon. 1,895,497... 1,895,496... 1,895,495....

[I think we'll be waiting til WWDC, personally, so I'll start high]

1,895,494... 1,895,493... 1,895,492...

[flopticalcube]

I bought a macbook pro about a month ago, and I was wondering will there be a big performance gain with santa rosa? I got the 15" "high end" version.

No. Santa Rosa PCs out already show very little performance gain.

[Bern]

I predict, as I have been stating all along in here..

2.4Ghz
160GB HDD
No LED screen (just yet)
800Mhz (maybe, but doubt it)
GeForce 8600M GT (128Mb and 256Mb)
3GB ram Max (2GB pre-installed)
No case redesign (Apple don't need to)

Anyone who wants/needs more than that should consider a desktop.

[flopticalcube]

But if you want 2.4GHz you need Santa Rosa, so memory can go higher (8GB?)

[zioxide]

There's no 2.6Ghz Merom for Santa Rosa.. there will be later this year but its not out yet. The highest is 2.4Ghz.

[CV4]

base 15" ($2000)

2.4 GHz Santa Rosa
2 GB RAM as lowend
new video card (not sure what, haven't kept too up to date)
160 GB HDD
Maybe LED


All I really want is a small bump in the processor speed, 2GB of RAM to be base and a new video card and I will be happy.

[kingofkolt]

But if you want 2.4GHz you need Santa Rosa, so memory can go higher (8GB?)

SR allows a maximum 4GB.

[elithrar]

Predictions:

Low-end 15":

2.2Ghz on the SR chipset.
1GB RAM [stock].
160GB HDD @ 5400RPM.
15.4" LED-backlit display.
256MB GeForce 8400M GT.

High-end 15":

2.4Ghz on the SR chipset.
2GB RAM [stock]
160GB HDD @ 7200RPM.
15.4" LED-backlit display.
256MB GeForce 8600M GT.

17" may potentially get a resolution boost for 1080p reasons, still CCFL backlit, and a 2.4Ghz Merom on SR. 2GB RAM and a 512MB 8600M GT. 200GB drive @ 5400RPM.

I'm still of the opinion that Apple will be slightly conservative with their GPU choices, as always [unfortunately], but that we'll see a switch to nVidia due to the AMD/ATI partnership. nVidia's openGL drivers have always been very solid too, which is a big bonus for OS X users.

[kingofkolt]

Low-end 15":

2.2Ghz on the SR chipset.
1GB RAM [stock].
160GB HDD @ 5400RPM.
15.4" LED-backlit display.
256MB GeForce 8400M GT.

High-end 15":

2.4Ghz on the SR chipset.
2GB RAM [stock]
160GB HDD @ 7200RPM.
15.4" LED-backlit display.
256MB GeForce 8600M GT.

17" may potentially get a resolution boost for 1080p reasons, still CCFL backlit, and a 2.4Ghz Merom on SR. 2GB RAM and a 512MB 8600M GT. 200GB drive @ 5400RPM.

I'm still of the opinion that Apple will be slightly conservative with their GPU choices, as always [unfortunately], but that we'll see a switch to nVidia due to the AMD/ATI partnership. nVidia's openGL drivers have always been very solid too, which is a big bonus for OS X users.

If the 17" gets 512MB VRAM, I hope the 15" does too! I really don't want to have to lug around a 17-inch laptop :( But I want the best GPU I can get. I kind of doubt they'll have 256MB VRAM in the low-end 15, since they currently have 128. But then if both the high-end 15 and the 17 get 512MB, maybe the low-end could get 256...

I VERY EXCITE!

[Sbrocket]

I VERY EXCITE!

+1

[PDE]

+1

All I want:

Super duper LED display with no grain, good viewing angles and even illumination

More tilt on the display

Better cooling /less heat


NOT aluminum - something more durable

Better battery life



And then the mandatory stuff: faster CPu, better GPU with more ram etc

[kingofkolt]

More tilt on the display

Please elaborate...?

[heatasmallhouse]

All I want:

Super duper LED display with no grain, good viewing angles and even illumination

More tilt on the display

Better cooling /less heat


NOT aluminum - something more durable

Better battery life



And then the mandatory stuff: faster CPu, better GPU with more ram etc

I sure hope so! :D I'm waiting until LED comes to town. The display issues people have had is the only thing keeping me from buying right now.

[CV4]

Predictions:

Low-end 15":

2.2Ghz on the SR chipset.
1GB RAM [stock].
160GB HDD @ 5400RPM.
15.4" LED-backlit display.
256MB GeForce 8400M GT.



considering it already is stock with 1 GB RAM, I hope they upgrade to 2.

[iW00t]

Please elaborate...?

You cannot push the current screens back by a lot.

[coogee]

I predict updates to only 15" MBP models, no change to 17" MBP, I will go into the forests and live a simple life for some time, being as one with the wood and the moss. :eek:

[Jblack4083]

I think we'll see 800 MHz FSB tomorrow. But one part of me thinks that we wont see anything tomorrow because I don't see what's the problem of just starting the back to school a week later and doing everything then. However I think that they will want to focus of Leopard and the new miniOS for WWDC so they would want to get everything out before then to focus on the OS's.

[Sbrocket]

I think we'll see 800 MHz FSB tomorrow. But one part of me thinks that we wont see anything tomorrow because I don't see what's the problem of just starting the back to school a week later and doing everything then. However I think that they will want to focus of Leopard and the new miniOS for WWDC so they would want to get everything out before then to focus on the OS's.

Once again, Santa Rosa chipset = 800 MHz FSB. So unless they suddenly decided to NOT ship the new MBP with a Santa Rosa chipset, then, yes, it will have a 800 MHz FSB. That doesn't mean 800 MHz RAM though.

Santa Rosa is the chipset, not the processor. The shipping processor is still a Merom processor.

[kingofkolt]

Santa Rosa is the chipset, not the processor. The shipping processor is still a Merom processor.

This stuff is so confusing. Does that mean that it would be 2.33GHz still, or 2.4?

[flopticalcube]

The new chipset allows for higher clocked processors. The highest one currently shipping is 2.4GHz. While its the same CPU inside, it also uses a different socket structure externally. Socket P vs Socket M. This means they need new packaging for all the CPUs.

[Sbrocket]

This stuff is so confusing. Does that mean that it would be 2.33GHz still, or 2.4?

The Santa Rosa chipset supports higher processor speeds, so the 2.4 and 2.6GHz rumors are possible. Also, to clarify what I said, while it isn't likely that the new MBPs will ship with 800 MHz RAM because of its availability...it should be possible to swap the RAM out yourself down the line.

[elithrar]

If the 17" gets 512MB VRAM, I hope the 15" does too! I really don't want to have to lug around a 17-inch laptop :( But I want the best GPU I can get. I kind of doubt they'll have 256MB VRAM in the low-end 15, since they currently have 128. But then if both the high-end 15 and the 17 get 512MB, maybe the low-end could get 256...


Well, my prediction on the GPU's is that the low-end 15" will get 256MB, but only the 8400M; with the high-end 15" will benefit from the 8600M, which has a fair few more pipelines and extra memory bandwidth. In terms of the 17", I think if they didn't push it to 512MB but did bump the resolution up, it'd be a very bad move: although the 8600M is a solid card [for a mobile card], 256MB of texture memory at resolutions higher than 1440x900 isn't much fun.

512MB on the 15.4" might be a little 'overkill' for Apple, as nice as it would be. Now, if it was a BTO option though, I'd surely jump at the chance myself.

[kepardue]

So... assuming they do update the MBP tomorrow, do you guys see a reason to wait until WWDC to purchase? I guess it's only one week away, but I'm itching to get a system to replace/combine my iMac and MacBook into a station that I can use to do desktop and mobile web development on without having to sync.

I want to make sure I can eBay my iMac before the value drops through the floor with new systems coming out. Anything to reduce the 'fiscal impact' of getting a new system.

I was really hoping they would announce the $20 upgrade to Leopard with WWDC, but I guess it's still too far out if the release is October.

[kingofkolt]

So... assuming they do update the MBP tomorrow, do you guys see a reason to wait until WWDC to purchase? I guess it's only one week away, but I'm itching to get a system to replace/combine my iMac and MacBook into a station that I can use to do desktop and mobile web development on without having to sync.

I want to make sure I can eBay my iMac before the value drops through the floor with new systems coming out. Anything to reduce the 'fiscal impact' of getting a new system.

I was really hoping they would announce the $20 upgrade to Leopard with WWDC, but I guess it's still too far out if the release is October.

I really want to get one now too, but I just can't think it's worth it... Something could be announced at WWDC (for example, a $20 upgrade like you said) and I just don't want to miss out on that. I'm still not 100% sure I'll wait, but I'm definitely leaning in that direction, as much as it pains me to. I'm just worried that it will take forever to deliver :(

[yzp]

What I really, really want?

MacBook Business or MacBook Portable ($1649)
13'' LED Screen
2.4 Santa Rosa
1 GB RAM
160 GB HDD
128MB Graphics


Id like that too, but I dont want the MBP to drop screen sizes.......... I mean, 3 modela, including this one!

[Kermit the frog]

I'd like to see more software and games...but i doubt that will happen anytime soon :(