13" MBP refresh with dGPU. - It's time Apple

[Maven1975]

Razer just introduced a 14" laptop thinner than the airs thickest point with a Nvidia GTX dGPU and Quad i7.

It's time Apple. Loyal users such as myself know that the only reason now would just be greed to not include it.

No excuses.

 

[Mr MM]

im really not sure about the quad, but still there is the possibility afterall its a 4600

but I really like that design

 

[Mackan]

Apple is focused on differentiating the products as much as possible. So that's why you'll not get a dGPU in the 13''. Or a quad-core CPU. It may be possible, but Apple won't do it. They want you to buy the 15'' instead = more profit for them. That's how it works... It's also why you'll never get the "perfect" device from a company like Apple.

 

[Lunfai]

Apple is focused on differentiating the products as much as possible. So that's why you'll not get a dGPU in the 13''. Or a quad-core CPU. It may be possible, but Apple won't do it. They want you to buy the 15'' instead = more profit for them. That's how it works... It's also why you'll never get the "perfect" device from a company like Apple.

Very opinionated since many people have different ideas for a perfect device. MacBook Airs are perfect for people who like to travel, like light web browsing, do light gaming etc. Your term is very definitive.

I'd like to see the RMBP 13" get a dGPU, but I don't think it's going to happen. But that will be my 'ideal machine'.

I'd wish they split their product lines into something like this:

MB : Educational model with integrated graphics and no Retina
MBA : Retina with integrated gpu : current size
MBP : Retina with descrete gpu : current size

 

[negativzero]

Not going to happen, with a quad core and dGPU, that Razer laptop is going to have max 2 hours battery life. It makes sense for gaming laptops but for ultraportables that are used normally it won't make sense.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Apple is focused on differentiating the products as much as possible. So that's why you'll not get a dGPU in the 13''. Or a quad-core CPU. It may be possible, but Apple won't do it. They want you to buy the 15'' instead = more profit for them. That's how it works... It's also why you'll never get the "perfect" device from a company like Apple.

Profit margins are quite similar on both... might want to check facts before making them up.

Second, that Razer laptop is significantly bigger in two dimensions than the 13" MBP/MBAs. So we're really talking about a new design (bigger) in order to accommodate the dGPU and other hardware (cooling). Let's not forget that this doesn't offer 2 ThunderBolt ports of the Retina MBPs (it only has 1 HDMI vs rMBP's 2 Thunderbolt + 1 HDMI). It also lacks an SD card reader (although it's a gaming laptop so SD cards aren't really important).

 

[Stetrain]

I would be happy with a quad core with Iris Pro graphics and no dGPU.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I would be happy with a quad core with Iris Pro graphics and no dGPU.

I would be happy with Iris Pro graphics and no quad core. The successors to the current line of chips offer 10-15% performance increase across the board. And it's not as if the current processors are slow.

 

[Mr MM]

actually you know what? with a 150w psu, that thing comes with a quad, there is no way that they needed more than 90w if it was pairing even with a 28w cpu

and a 70wh battery with expected lifetime of 6h sounds about right on windows with optimus

in the end I quite like that notebook, I wonder what mSATA ssd they are using, and Im sure as hell willing to buy one

that or the w230st - haswell, 765m and 13'', it sure as hell wont be as thin

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

actually you know what? with a 150w psu, that thing comes with a quad, there is no way that they needed more than 90w if it was pairing even with a 28w cpu

and a 70wh battery with expected lifetime of 6h sounds about right on windows with optimus

in the end I quite like that notebook, I wonder what mSATA ssd they are using, and Im sure as hell willing to buy one

that or the w230st - haswell, 765m and 13'', it sure as hell wont be as thin

Different machines built for different uses. One is gaming (and has very few ports). The other is workstation grade.

 

[Mackan]

Profit margins are quite similar on both... might want to check facts before making them up.

Second, that Razer laptop is significantly bigger in two dimensions than the 13" MBP/MBAs. So we're really talking about a new design (bigger) in order to accommodate the dGPU and other hardware (cooling). Let's not forget that this doesn't offer 2 ThunderBolt ports of the Retina MBPs (it only has 1 HDMI vs rMBP's 2 Thunderbolt + 1 HDMI). It also lacks an SD card reader (although it's a gaming laptop so SD cards aren't really important).

So you believe there's purely technical reasons/limitations why Apple doesn't provide certain specs/upgrades/features for their various products?

I mean, there's a reason you don't get that "perfect" device, and it's not because of technical reasons/limitations. That much I have observed...

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

So you believe there's purely technical reasons/limitations why Apple doesn't provide certain specs/upgrades/features for their various products?

I mean, there's a reason you don't get that "perfect" device, and it's not because of technical reasons/limitations. That much I have observed...

What are you getting at? The Blade is larger than the 13" MBP/rMBP. If Apple made it bigger, could they have squeezed in a discrete graphics card? Probably. Razer did it, Apple isn't too poor to hire some engineers. There are purely technical reasons/limitations to the current laptop designs that Apple is using. If Apple changed those designs, as they do every few years or so, then things can change.

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Razer just introduced a 14" laptop thinner than the airs thickest point with a Nvidia GTX dGPU and Quad i7.

It's time Apple. Loyal users such as myself know that the only reason now would just be greed to not include it.

No excuses.

No excuses, but it's physically larger in two dimensions than the 13" MBP/rMBP. So if Apple made it bigger, then it's very stupid to not include a discrete GPU.

 

[Maven1975]

Not going to happen, with a quad core and dGPU, that Razer laptop is going to have max 2 hours battery life. It makes sense for gaming laptops but for ultraportables that are used normally it won't make sense.

Its rated at 7 hours. (So more like 5:30) dGPU can be disabled and would run like any other Air under Windows.

rMBP at the very least should have one. No more excuses. Otherwise, its still just a heavier Air with a nice screen.

 

[Stetrain]

I would be happy with Iris Pro graphics and no quad core. The successors to the current line of chips offer 10-15% performance increase across the board. And it's not as if the current processors are slow.

As far as I know there won't be any Haswell chips with Iris Pro that aren't also quad core.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

As far as I know there won't be any Haswell chips with Iris Pro that aren't also quad core.

I did not know this. Damn that sucks. I just looked it up and you're spot on.

 

[Mackan]

What are you getting at? The Blade is larger than the 13" MBP/rMBP. If Apple made it bigger, could they have squeezed in a discrete graphics card? Probably. Razer did it, Apple isn't too poor to hire some engineers. There are purely technical reasons/limitations to the current laptop designs that Apple is using. If Apple changed those designs, as they do every few years or so, then things can change.

My point is that I don't believe there's purely technical reasons/limitations to why we see the current line up of notebooks from Apple. I believe there is product differentiation involved, in order to maximize overall profits for Apple.
This is typically how companies do business (well, from my observations).

If you are talking about fitting in extra hardware into the exact design they have for the 13'' today, that I cannot answer. But perhaps they can make small, if none at all, modifications to put in extra hardware there, for example, a dGPU. Can speculate about that, but it doesn't lead anywhere, I am afraid.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Not going to happen, with a quad core and dGPU, that Razer laptop is going to have max 2 hours battery life. It makes sense for gaming laptops but for ultraportables that are used normally it won't make sense.

It has Optimus. So it can shut off the discrete card when not in use. So battery life will be much improved over not using Optimus.

 

[Mr MM]

Different machines built for different uses. One is gaming (and has very few ports). The other is workstation grade.

there are no workstations outside dell, hp and lenovo, and Im not a fan of the w530, the dell and hp offerings are much better and true workstations

which in the end it doesnt matter, on that post I was commenting on the possibility of a quad, the battery life and the w230st

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

My point is that I don't believe there's purely technical reasons/limitations to why we see the current line up of notebooks from Apple. I believe there is product differentiation involved, in order to maximize overall profits for Apple.
This is typically how companies do business (well, from my observations).

If you are talking about fitting in extra hardware into the exact design they have for the 13'' today, that I cannot answer. But perhaps they can make small, if none at all, modifications to put in extra hardware there, for example, a dGPU. Can speculate about that, but it doesn't lead anywhere, I am afraid.

That is precisely my point. Given the current design, you cannot stick a discrete graphics card in it. That simple. We're talking about different things it seems. I'm just saying the current size/design of the 13" MBP will not fit a discrete graphics card. While there is theoretically some way to do this, no one has found it yet. What you're talking about is more business/money related.

 

[Stetrain]

13" rMBP: 12.3" x 8.6" = ~106 square inches (20 square inches smaller)
14" Razer: 13.6" x 9.3" = ~126 square inches
15" rMBP: 14.1" x 9.7" = ~137 square inches (11 square inches larger)

It looks to me like the 14" Razer is closer to the 15" rMBP in footprint than the 13".

The 15" rMBP, with basically an extra 0.5" extra footprint in each direction, gives you a larger screen as well as the quad core CPU and dedicated GPU.

I'm not sure what the argument is here. Apple should make a machine that's similar in size, weight, and performance to the 14" Razer? They basically already have with the 15" rMBP.

 

[makaveli559m]

I like workstation machines more than consumer machines, the thought that some of you say oh its a gaming its a workstation is idiotic. A workstation has more graphical horse power than a consumer machine, sure stand by with what you say when you compare the Razor with a MacBook Pro. Wow I would be shocked if the battery life was very low on the Razor compared to a MacBook Pro.

 

[pgiguere1]

13" rMBP: 12.3" x 8.6" = ~106 square inches (20 square inches smaller)
14" Razer: 13.6" x 9.3" = ~126 square inches
15" rMBP: 14.1" x 9.7" = ~137 square inches (11 square inches larger)

It looks to me like the 14" Razer is closer to the 15" rMBP in footprint than the 13".

The 15" rMBP, with basically an extra 0.5" extra footprint in each direction, gives you a larger screen as well as the quad core CPU and dedicated GPU.

I'm not sure what the argument is here. Apple should make a machine that's similar in size, weight, and performance to the 14" Razer? They basically already have with the 15" rMBP.

Exactly, plus the 15" rMBP has a significantly larger battery than the 14" Razer Blade (95Wh vs 70Wh).

A 37% drop in battery capacity for a 8% smaller chassis seems like a poor tradeoff, especially considering that the Razer appears to have a larger bezel so the screen size/body size ratio isn't as good as well.

 

[mikethebigo]

Don't care about dGPU considering Iris's capabilities. More excited that this 14" laptop is using an unannounced 37w Haswell CPU. Sounds like the perfect candidate for the rMBP.

 

[Maven1975]

There are MSI 11" Ivy notebooks with dGPUs. Not saying they are better, not saying I want a PC. I am saying its possible if Apple wanted to build it. Apple didint even put a Quad in the 13". Heck, the Sony Z 2.56lb notebook has one. I want a 13" laptop from Apple without compromise. Use the cMBP shell for all I care.

 

[DTKblaster]

I'm not sure what the argument is here. Apple should make a machine that's similar in size, weight, and performance to the 14" Razer? They basically already have with the 15" rMBP.

The actual exciting news here is the GPU, and that its not similar in performance to that of the 15"...Its almost double.

768 vs 380 cores, and at similar clockspeeds when taking boost into account. Although I do have my doubts about boost being on at all in a 0.65" notebook vs the 0.77" 15" rMBP, all on the same 28nm fabrication process.

If this laptop runs without major thermal problems, then I would put money on expecting the same hardware in the 15" rMBP haswell refresh, especially given apples penchant for GPU power/retina displays.