Do you think the next 13" MacBook Pro will have a dedicated graphics card?

[Pundle]

I currently have a 13" MacBook and an iMac. They're starting to get a little old, so I'd like to replace them with one computer that can do both tasks. I love the portability of the MacBook, and use it for writing and internet. On the other hand I use the iMac for doing some graphics work, video editing, and gaming.

Ideally I'd like to get a 13" MacBook Pro to replace both of them, but currently I don't think the graphics capabilities on the 13" are good enough for gaming. As a benchmark, I'd like to be able to play StarCraft 2 (on Mac, not Windows) when it eventually comes out. Do you think the next version of the 13" will have a separate graphics card like the 15" and 17" ones do? I'd really rather not go up to 15" as I love the 13" size.

 

[63dot]

Watching the forward evolution of Mac laptops both consumer and professional, except for the Macbook unibody leaving out firewire, it appears likely that new MBP should have a dedicated graphics card.

I don't know how heavy your game is though.

 

[macuserx86]

I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple's trend recently has been thinner and lighter, which means dedicated GPUs are out. I would expect a faster integrated graphics system before a dedicated GPU, but I would love to be wrong.

 

[rhysmorgan]

I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple's trend recently has been thinner and lighter, which means dedicated GPUs are out. I would expect a faster integrated graphics system before a dedicated GPU, but I would love to be wrong.

But there are no "faster integrated graphics systems". nVidia can't make chipsets anymore. The only integrated graphics we get are Intel ones, which are slower than the 9400M.

 

[macuserx86]

But there are no "faster integrated graphics systems". nVidia can't make chipsets anymore. The only integrated graphics we get are Intel ones, which are slower than the 9400M.

Intel will doubtless come out with a better GMA system. See GMA 950 to GMA X1300. This is just speculation though. I'd love to see the return of dedicated graphics to the base MacBook Pros. It would make buying one ever so tempting!

 

[Dozerrox]

But there are no "faster integrated graphics systems". nVidia can't make chipsets anymore. The only integrated graphics we get are Intel ones, which are slower than the 9400M.

Are you sure about this? I'm pretty sure the new i5 integrated graphics are slightly faster than the 9400M.

 

[maflynn]

I'm going out on a limb and say apple will keep the integrated GPU on the 13" model. They need to do two things. Keep the costs down and differentiate between the 13" and 15" models.

If the costs are similar to the 15" model, people may avoid buying the larger model. If the 13" has the same components (dual gpu and such) as the 15" version but cheaper. People will stop buying the 15" In both cases apple needs to keep the model lines somewhat different, either in components and/or price.

 

[UKBeast]

I'm going out on a limb and say apple will keep the integrated GPU on the 13" model. They need to do two things. Keep the costs down and differentiate between the 13" and 15" models.

If the costs are similar to the 15" model, people may avoid buying the larger model. If the 13" has the same components (dual gpu and such) as the 15" version but cheaper. People will stop buying the 15" In both cases apple needs to keep the model lines somewhat different, either in components and/or price.

I totally agree with you, every product must be different so that they can sell all they have, otherwise people will stick on a specific product.

I do not think that it will have a dedicated gpu and I really do not mind it. I do not play games, consoles are good for games so the best is to buy a protable notebook.

If I would like to use my computer usually at home, i would go for Imac. The thing is, notebooks are for portable use not for heavy things. It gives you the mobility but you sacrifice the power.

Get an imac 27 inch
and get an 13inch macbook pro.

 

[maratus]

I totally agree with you, every product must be different so that they can sell all they have, otherwise people will stick on a specific product.

I do not think that it will have a dedicated gpu and I really do not mind it. I do not play games, consoles are good for games so the best is to buy a protable notebook.

If I would like to use my computer usually at home, i would go for Imac. The thing is, notebooks are for portable use not for heavy things. It gives you the mobility but you sacrifice the power.

Get an imac 27 inch
and get an 13inch macbook pro.

A can't see Apple calling 13" MBP instead of MB and then going with slower 5700MHD.
And you guys are confusing dedicated GPU with high-performance GPU terms. nVidia 310M or HD 5470 are slow low-end GPUs that can't be compared to middle-end ones in 15/17 (9600 or 330/335M), but they are still 2x faster than 9400m and almost 2.5x-3x faster than Intel GMA 5700.

And portable doesn't mean low power. Ever heard of Sony Vaio Z?

 

[UKBeast]

A can't see Apple calling 13" MBP instead of MB and then going with slower 5700MHD.
And you guys are confusing dedicated GPU with high-performance GPU terms. nVidia 310M or HD 5470 are slow low-end GPUs that can't be compared to middle-end ones in 15/17 (9600 or 330/335M), but they are still 2x faster than 9400m and almost 2.5x-3x faster than Intel GMA 5700.

And portable doesn't mean low power. Ever heard of Sony Vaio Z?

The thing is why do you need faster card for a notebook which has only 13inch screen ? I do not think that it is a good idea to play games with a portable machine. Instead of wasting your money to it, get a ps3 or xbox or any other thing and it would be a lot cheaper.

Sony Z is ok, but the price is extremely high. I wouldnt pay that money to sony toys.. It just does not make sense..

 

[maflynn]

A can't see Apple calling 13" MBP instead of MB and then going with slower 5700MHD.

You realize the "pro" word is all marketing. There's really no "pro" machine. Yeah apple throws in faster and higher powered components but that in of itself doesn't make it a pro. Take the integrated GPU, that's not pro but its in the MBP line up now.

slower drive speeds mean less then thy used too thanks to the higher data density so even if apple throws in a slower drive that doesn't mean its not Pro worthy.

 

[RealEvil]

There is no chance Apple will keep the Arrandale GPU as it does not support OpenCL. This is likely the delay in announcing MBPs with the new Arrandale chipsets (*every* other laptop maker has announced core i5 laptops)... I guess they are trying to figure out the implications to heat and battery life if they add a discrete GPU - especially into the 13" MBP.

 

[maratus]

There is no chance Apple will keep the Arrandale GPU as it does not support OpenCL. This is likely the delay in announcing MBPs with the new Arrandale chipsets (*every* other laptop maker has announced core i5 laptops)... I guess they are trying to figure out the implications to heat and battery life if they add a discrete GPU - especially into the 13" MBP.

Again, 310M or 5470 even being discrete neither consume more power nor dissipate more heat than 9400M. Period.

And I wan't discrete GPU when I'm using external display as well (and what's wrong with games on 13" screen?)

 

[Habitus]

I currently have a 13" MacBook and an iMac. They're starting to get a little old, so I'd like to replace them with one computer that can do both tasks. I love the portability of the MacBook, and use it for writing and internet. On the other hand I use the iMac for doing some graphics work, video editing, and gaming.

Ideally I'd like to get a 13" MacBook Pro to replace both of them, but currently I don't think the graphics capabilities on the 13" are good enough for gaming. As a benchmark, I'd like to be able to play StarCraft 2 (on Mac, not Windows) when it eventually comes out. Do you think the next version of the 13" will have a separate graphics card like the 15" and 17" ones do? I'd really rather not go up to 15" as I love the 13" size.

Yes, it will have 5 dedicated cards!

Habitus

 

[Dozerrox]

There is no chance Apple will keep the Arrandale GPU as it does not support OpenCL. This is likely the delay in announcing MBPs with the new Arrandale chipsets (*every* other laptop maker has announced core i5 laptops)... I guess they are trying to figure out the implications to heat and battery life if they add a discrete GPU - especially into the 13" MBP.

What's to stop them implementing OpenCL in the i5 themselves??

 

[Opstech]

NO.....It only has one fan to cool the machine down.

 

[w00t951]

Given how the current computers overheat and the space restrictions inside the casing, I would say that a dedicated is out. For one, the current 15" already has problems with two cards inside, as they tend to overheat. Then, the smallest dedicated chips are too large, so if you want a dedicated card Apple will probably make an option for either an integrated or a dedicated card. But definitely not both of them. Not enough space and cooling capacity.

 

[archre]

I hope not.
I have absolutely no use for it, unless my preferred programs support using it in a CUDA-like way.

 

[maratus]

Given how the current computers overheat and the space restrictions inside the casing, I would say that a dedicated is out. For one, the current 15" already has problems with two cards inside, as they tend to overheat. Then, the smallest dedicated chips are too large, so if you want a dedicated card Apple will probably make an option for either an integrated or a dedicated card. But definitely not both of them. Not enough space and cooling capacity.

1) i5 has iGP onboard and it neither takes more space nor can be skipped.
2) "Dedicated" doesn't mean higher power consumption than iGP.
3) Do you know about default rpm/temperature curves that can easily be changed in order to improve heat dissipation because not everybody needs hot but silent laptop?

 

[reallynotnick]

I hope not.
I have absolutely no use for it, unless my preferred programs support using it in a CUDA-like way.

You ever hear of a thing called OpenCL? I'm going to guess the new version of iLife is going to heavily based around it and if not 2010, then the 2011 version.

 

[jimbowdang]

OpenCL is meant to be processor agnostic, it can run on a graphics processor, a CELL BE, a DSP, and a multi-core/thread CPU as long as the drivers and software support it. OpenCL on a graphics processor was built with DX10 hardware in mind and since Arrandale's GPU supports DX10 it's still possible Intel could release drivers to support OpenCL or Apple could even implement the drivers themselves as they have already done for Intel CPUs.