15-Inch and 17-Inch MacBook Pros Receive 2.8 GHz Core i7 Option

[flurious]

I don't absolutely need a new laptop now but I also wonder if it's worth waiting more. When can a refresh be expected again?

I got kind of the same problem.. I am studying in the VS right now. I will be here till January 4th, and then head back to Europe. The price of a MBP is the same as here but then in Euro's, so 40% more.

I definitely wanna buy a MBP 15 inch before I go back, but if there wont be a new MBP before Jan 4 I would buy one right now. (So I can use it right now)

What are the expectations? Shall I wait a month or two or are there no updates till next year?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Brien]

This is a very minor bump, just like when the silently added the 2.93GHz upgrade a year or two back, and then made it standard with the next revision. Only buy if you need it.

 

[menomano]

Why is this not front page news? And then they have random crap that makes the front page, I just don't get it.

 

[Jelsoft]

Updates in March. Probably nothing worth waiting for, after today's keynote.

 

[filfortugno]

don't buy

If you're disappointed, don't buy anything apple. Once sales suddenly dip because people have become tired of apples lag, apple will be forced to do something drastic. As far as usb 3.0 goes, there are barely any devices that use it so why would they implement it?

 

[AlBDamned]

If you're disappointed, don't buy anything apple. Once sales suddenly dip because people have become tired of apples lag, apple will be forced to do something drastic. As far as usb 3.0 goes, there are barely any devices that use it so why would they implement it?

Is everything in your world always this black and white? Truly, most decisions are not that simple...

 

[exigentsky]

If you're disappointed, don't buy anything apple. Once sales suddenly dip because people have become tired of apples lag, apple will be forced to do something drastic. As far as usb 3.0 goes, there are barely any devices that use it so why would they implement it?

It's backwards compatible and the external drives that do use it are WAAAAAAYYYYYY faster. Moreover, you're buying a laptop to last you 3+ years so it matters for the future when USB 3.0 will be very common.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Vat!

I got kind of the same problem.. I am studying in the VS right now. I will be here till January 4th, and then head back to Europe. The price of a MBP is the same as here but then in Euro's, so 40% more.

U.S. prices are calculated excluding VAT. E.U. prices are calculated including VAT. This makes Apple products in the european union "more expensive".

 

[AlBDamned]

U.S. prices are calculated excluding VAT. E.U. prices are calculated including VAT. This makes Apple products in the european union "more expensive".

Yeah but not 40% more. ;-)

 

[jcotteri]

Westmere, not Nehalem.

Nehalem (45 nm) -> Westmere (32 nm) -> Sandy Bridge (32 nm)

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)
Wikipedia needs to correct the following sentence:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Nehalem."

Nehalem-C is now called Westmere, so that the sentence should be:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Westmere (formerly known as Nehalem-C)."

I mean you could always be proactive about it?

 

[dark knight]

just continuing on with earlier posts, has apple ever bothered to give a tiny speed bump like this to the MBP's to then, only a couple of weeks later, go and give a more major refresh?

if they have, good news and it may be worth the extra few weeks for some news.

 

[blue22]

just continuing on with earlier posts, has apple ever bothered to give a tiny speed bump like this to the MBP's to then, only a couple of weeks later, go and give a more major refresh?

Not usually. After yesterday's minor MBP speed bump to the i7 2.8GHz I think it's a safe bet now to assume (especially based on Apple's refresh history) that this is it for 2010 upgrades; expect the next major refresh no earlier than January '11, by April '11 at the latest.

So, IMO, if you *really* need a laptop now, get what's currently out, else if you can hold out another 4-6 months you can expect to see the Sandy Bridge update by then.

 

[flurious]

Not usually. After yesterday's minor MBP speed bump to the i7 2.8GHz I think it's a safe bet now to assume (especially based on Apple's refresh history) that this is it for 2010 upgrades; expect the next major refresh no earlier than January '11, by April '11 at the latest.

So, IMO, if you *really* need a laptop now, get what's currently out, else if you can hold out another 4-6 months you can expect to see the Sandy Bridge update by then.

Well the thing here is that I don't *Really* need one right now, but since I leave the US on January 4th (see my previous post) I definetily wanna buy one before then. So thats my problem now..

So I don't know what to do

 

[autacraft]

moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan whinge moan.
moan moan moan moan
whinge whinge whinge whinge whinge moan moan whinge moan whinge.

I dont think half the people on this site are ever gonna be happy, so long as Apple continue to make products and they continue to buy them!

My advice, if you simply cannot live without (absolute!) up to the minute technology, go live by the sea and learn how to paint instead. Believe me, you'll soon come realise what life was like 'before Apple'.

Yawn, relax.

 

[elpmas]

woot, sexy

 

[Bregalad]

Intel introduced new processors in September. The new 2.53 is less expensive than the old 2.4, the new 2.66 less expensive than the old 2.53 and the 2.8 is roughly the same as the old 2.66.

That had me convinced that we'd see a very quiet update to entire MacBook lineup this fall to take advantage of the newer chips.

Because they did nothing but charge high end customers more it stands to reason that they didn't plan any spec changes when they signed their current processor supply contract with Intel, but we'll never know that for sure.

If they weren't on on a long term supply contract the extra $200 they charge for the new high end MBP would be pure profit. We don't know the details of their contracts so maybe it is. It wouldn't be the first time Apple took advantage of a drop in the cost of components to rake in bigger profits.

 

[Bregalad]

Updates in March. Probably nothing worth waiting for, after today's keynote.

It looks like Apple is waiting for Sandy Bridge. That suits me fine. I'm waiting for Ivy Bridge because entry level chips will be native quad core and Intel have hinted that they're making such good progress on their 22nm process that they may be able to start shipping by Q3 of 2011. USB 3.0 should be commonplace by then too.

 

[flurious]

It looks like Apple is waiting for Sandy Bridge. That suits me fine. I'm waiting for Ivy Bridge because entry level chips will be native quad core and Intel have hinted that they're making such good progress on their 22nm process that they may be able to start shipping by Q3 of 2011. USB 3.0 should be commonplace by then too.

I want them to hurry.. But I guess they won't be here before Jan 4.. Intel said Sandy Bridge will be available in a couple of months.. See below for prices -->

 

[bhurdscu]

Westmere, not Nehalem.

Nehalem (45 nm) -> Westmere (32 nm) -> Sandy Bridge (32 nm)

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)
Wikipedia needs to correct the following sentence:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Nehalem."

Nehalem-C is now called Westmere, so that the sentence should be:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Westmere (formerly known as Nehalem-C)."

From how I understand it, Nehalem is the microarchitecture (as well as a CPU), and Westmere is the shrink of Nehalem. Westmere is not a microarchitecture, rather Westmere has the Nehalem microarchitecture.

In that case, the wikipedia entry is correct -- Sandy Bridge is a new microarchitecture (and CPU) and is the successor to the Nehalem microarchitecture.

 

[SidewaysTakumi]

Wow this thread has some good tech info on it. So interested in learning about Sandy Bridge. Fortunately I DO have 6 months to wait for my next notebook. I will be hoping for something nice in the 13" MBP as far as processor goes and maybe a drop in price of SSDs so I can snatch one of those up.

 

[CaoCao]

Looking at the buyers guide's history of previous updates I would sadly guess that we're done on updates, but seeing as it's been since February we still might see something in the next two weeks (next week tuesday or the week after perhaps?). I would think any later then that wouldn't give retailers enough stock of the new models for the holidays.

Apple doesn't refresh for the holidays they refresh after so they can clear stock

Westmere, not Nehalem.

Nehalem (45 nm) -> Westmere (32 nm) -> Sandy Bridge (32 nm)

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)
Wikipedia needs to correct the following sentence:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Nehalem."

Nehalem-C is now called Westmere, so that the sentence should be:
"Sandy Bridge is the codename for the processor microarchitecture developed by Intel as the successor to Westmere (formerly known as Nehalem-C)."

Westmere and Nehalem architecture are the same it is just Westmere has a die shrink
Sandy Bridge is very different from Nehalem to the point that Pentium 4 and Nehalem are more similar

It looks like Apple is waiting for Sandy Bridge. That suits me fine. I'm waiting for Ivy Bridge because entry level chips will be native quad core and Intel have hinted that they're making such good progress on their 22nm process that they may be able to start shipping by Q3 of 2011. USB 3.0 should be commonplace by then too.

I'm waiting for Ivy too

 

[AlBDamned]

Apple doesn't refresh for the holidays they refresh after so they can clear stock.

You're wrong with regards to the Pro line. Apple has refreshed this in October/November for the last two years running. Their range now looks distinctly out of date in terms of processors, but for that we can also lay some of the blame at Intel's door and their insistence on including their crappy HD graphics chip with everything.

 

[CaoCao]

You're wrong with regards to the Pro line. Apple has refreshed this in October/November for the last two years running. Their range now looks distinctly out of date in terms of processors, but for that we can also lay some of the blame at Intel's door and their insistence on including their crappy HD graphics chip with everything.

They did it twice, once in 09 and the other in 06...

 

[xyzedd]

I'm crossing my fingers for a new model soon.

Finally decided to get my first Mac and I was going to buy one a month ago but decided I'd wait for the next model. Hoping Blu-ray reader with option to go to burner and USB 3.0 are on the list.

If I have to wait to long I'm more than likely to go buy a general laptop that has such features for under 1/2 the price, so hurry up Apple before I change my mind.

I'm also amazed the price hasn't dropped though. In Australia when they launched them back in April it was around 65 cents to $1 USD. Now it's basically 1:1 yet no price drop even option such as 4GB to 8GB at $560 is far to much.

 

[dissemin8or]

I'm crossing my fingers for a new model soon.

Finally decided to get my first Mac and I was going to buy one a month ago but decided I'd wait for the next model. Hoping Blu-ray reader with option to go to burner and USB 3.0 are on the list.

If I have to wait to long I'm more than likely to go buy a general laptop that has such features for under 1/2 the price, so hurry up Apple before I change my mind.

I'm also amazed the price hasn't dropped though. In Australia when they launched them back in April it was around 65 cents to $1 USD. Now it's basically 1:1 yet no price drop even option such as 4GB to 8GB at $560 is far to much.

Never buy RAM from AAPL. You can buy 4GB sticks from Crucial or Amazon for about $125 apiece and put them in yourself. Can't say anything about Austrialian exchange rates b/c I'm too lazy to spend 15 seconds on GOOG so instead I'll b***h about it for 20 sec here. Go figure.