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Intel's Iris Graphics Boost 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro GPU Performance by 50% or More
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Why not just price the thing at an even $3,000 then... it's just a few hundred bucks more.
Please forgive the ignorance here but I'm a newbie and it seems like an appropriate place for me to ask. I'm sure you guys hear this question all the time but for the 13 inch MBPr is it worth upgrading to the 2.6 processor? I don't do any video editing and no gaming...I'm just trying to do my best to future-proof it. Or is there really hardly much negligible difference? I am planning on upgrading to 8gb RAM. Thanks for very much for your expertise and advice!!
If you're looking for just the base model snap up last years base model 15" while you still can. Only $1899 and has discreet graphics.
http://www.macmall.com/p/Apple-MacBook-Pro/product~dpno~9510637~pdp.ibchcgd
http://www.macmall.com/p/Apple-MacBook-Pro/product~dpno~9510637~pdp.ibchcgd
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Something wrong with that last graph?
Looks like the old 13" MBP is faster in two out of three tests. If accurate, could this be somehow related to that "compressed memory" feature in Mavericks?
Looks like the old 13" MBP is faster in two out of three tests. If accurate, could this be somehow related to that "compressed memory" feature in Mavericks?
Are there actually any reviews out yet, that test the real world performance of the 13" 2013 rMBP? I don't give a damn about reviews of the trackpad, FaceTime camera, or the screen. I know what they are!
I just want to know whether it lags when reading large PDFs, scrolling through Facebook, using Exposé, watching 1080p movies, and stuff. I've heard nasty stories about the 2012 model.
I just want to know whether it lags when reading large PDFs, scrolling through Facebook, using Exposé, watching 1080p movies, and stuff. I've heard nasty stories about the 2012 model.
I love the " Can I edit movies?" question. Of course you can. I edit 720p on my early 2008 Macbook. I edit 720p on my iPad 2. All modern machines can edit video. Now performance and rendering speed is another story. But for nonprofessional use, these machines will be great.
What 13" model are you talking about? Only if I max out the 13" with 1TB of SSD, 16GB of RAM and the 2.8GHz i7, do I get even near the $3000 you mention ($2700). And the bulk of that additional amount is the SSD.
I will give you this -- that configuration is actually higher than the high end 15" model ($2600). I can't imagine a scenario where I would spend $100 more to get half the cores, a smaller screen, no dGPU and no Iris Pro (just Iris in the 13") in exchange for an extra 512GB of storage. Those prices are getting pretty wacky at the high end of the 13"...
If I'm looking at Intel's website correctly, I think these are the three CPU options for the 13":
i5-4258U (3M cache, 2.4GHz, up to 2.9GHz)
i5-4288U (3M cache, 2.6GHz, up to 3.1GHz) -- additional $100 over base
i7-4558U (4M cache, 2.8GHz, up to 3.3GHz) -- additional $300 over base
I don't think either of these upgrades is really worth spending the extra cash. The 1M of cache and extra 400Mhz of speed in the i7 might be the better deal, but probably still not worth it.
Interestingly enough, Intel lists the tray pricing for each of those chips -- both of the i5 chips have the same price: $342. So if you choose to buy the faster i5, you are literally adding $100 to Apple's bottom line without increasing the actual cost of the machine. As for the i7, the tray price is $454. So in that case, it actually does cost Apple $112 more for the chip, but then they get another $188 in profit.
On the other hand, I think the 8GB for $100 is a no-brainer upgrade. With the compressed memory feature in Mavericks, that should be pretty good for a while. If you had to decide between spending the cash to upgrade the CPU or bump the memory up to 16GB, I would put it towards the memory myself.
Of course the top of the line 13" is going to be worth it for a person who actually needs that machine. I have an i7/16/512 coming and it is *exactly* what I need for my work, the 15" is no good due to size.
People crack me up, they decided what is good for them is good for everyone. I know the 15" is more powerful and that is a shame because pro users don't buy a 13" because they don't need as much power, the educated pro user buys them because of the size and weight.
There is a lot more to how one can be productive with a tool in a professional environment than just specs that enthusiasts best people over the head with, choosing a high spec'd 13" over a higher spec'd 15" due to a strict size and weight requirement is one of them.
People crack me up, they decided what is good for them is good for everyone. I know the 15" is more powerful and that is a shame because pro users don't buy a 13" because they don't need as much power, the educated pro user buys them because of the size and weight.
There is a lot more to how one can be productive with a tool in a professional environment than just specs that enthusiasts best people over the head with, choosing a high spec'd 13" over a higher spec'd 15" due to a strict size and weight requirement is one of them.
If you're responding to me, you should've noticed that I specifically said "I can't imagine a scenario where I would spend". If you need a smaller machine with as much CPU power as possible, then by all means go for it. But for my needs, I just can't see getting a maxed out 13".
It's called "upselling", a sweet entry price then the hook being for it to be decent you need to upgrade...
Maxed out model only fit for temporary usage, inexpensive non-US price: $3000. Normally worse to obscenely much worse in other countries.
What is meant by temporary? I have used my maxed out 2009 2.53 8GB 2xSSD for over four years, I would hardly call that temporary...
Good for you. For me, the maxed out configuration is only acceptable to be used for a few days.
I think a 13" with 8GB Ram 2.4 is plenty of horsepower and video performance for any student or even someone who works with it on daily basis... With Mavericks its like having possibly 12Gb of Ram (with the 8GB model)
I have a 2008 early 2.4 Ghz core 2 duo with 4Gb of ram and I manage to be OK with daily things and even some bootcamp UT99 and CSS sooo with the new 13" I believe it will be perfect upgrade.
In my opinion 13" is the best bang for the buck, compared to 15" ... with the money you save (500$) not going with the base 15" model buy yourself a 24" LED with mac keyboard and you have a amazing 13" work station.
those are just my 2 cents.
I have a 2008 early 2.4 Ghz core 2 duo with 4Gb of ram and I manage to be OK with daily things and even some bootcamp UT99 and CSS sooo with the new 13" I believe it will be perfect upgrade.
In my opinion 13" is the best bang for the buck, compared to 15" ... with the money you save (500$) not going with the base 15" model buy yourself a 24" LED with mac keyboard and you have a amazing 13" work station.
those are just my 2 cents.
I'm currently running a GeForce 8800 GT (512mb) in my Mac Pro, which iirc was one of the better cards for the 2008 Mac Pro. But spec-wise it looks like the Iris Pro may now surpass it at pretty much everything, though a discrete GPU will always have a bit of an advantage if you're using the RAM quite heavily as well.
But then, is the Iris Pro in the MacBook Pro the kind with the extra 128mb cache? I was reading about Intel's Crystalwell cache and it sounds like that can become pretty much dedicated to either the CPU or GPU or shared by both as required, which could alleviate some of the traditional problems with integrated GPUs and shared RAM.
I'm surprised by how close the Iris Pro is to the previous discrete graphics though!
Hi all. Yep, I am noob.
I just bought the second top version of this machine and added the i7, plus 16gig of ram for my daughter.
My reasoning is based on the premise that I want something that will last her for four or five years, and still perform well with what apps and games are available at the time. Mine will be a 15" rMBP either later this year or perhaps when the next update (Broadwell?) is released. I will probably max that as well, mainly because I use CAD software and am a FIFO worker, therefore I can.
Gauging the comments here from the experienced posters, I think I made the right decision, especially in regards to flipping the Air for this Mac. Our family is new to Macs, so this computer will ratify whether or not giving PC's the bird is definitely the way to go...
I just bought the second top version of this machine and added the i7, plus 16gig of ram for my daughter.
My reasoning is based on the premise that I want something that will last her for four or five years, and still perform well with what apps and games are available at the time. Mine will be a 15" rMBP either later this year or perhaps when the next update (Broadwell?) is released. I will probably max that as well, mainly because I use CAD software and am a FIFO worker, therefore I can.
Gauging the comments here from the experienced posters, I think I made the right decision, especially in regards to flipping the Air for this Mac. Our family is new to Macs, so this computer will ratify whether or not giving PC's the bird is definitely the way to go...
I can agree with that. Of the 9 tests shown the new 13" with 2.6 wins 5, the new 13" with 2.4 wins one, the old 13" with 2.6 wins 3! Hardly inspiring results for the new hardware.