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farmermac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2009
779
11
Iowa
I have been eagerly hoping that Apple would stuff the haswell processors in the 15" classic macbook pro for an update. dont need anything else but a speed bump. i dont see any other threads about the demise of the larger body 15", though I know others will miss it.
 
Nope. I like the ability of the MBP to grow as I do. I tend to keep machines for a LONG time. I don't want to max out my machine now for what I might want to do in 3-4 years from now.
 
I was hoping for one. I was kind of drooling over a quad core 15" MBP for video work. I still need an optical drive. And I guess I'm still way old school I want to upgrade when I need to upgrade RAM and SSD. :eek:
 
Was hoping for a 13" with haswell just sold me 13" 2011 i5 base model for $1000 2 weeks ago. After the news I started searching on craigslist just pickedup a 2011 15" i7 2.2 so & i kept my crucial m4 512gb ssd & 8gb of ram. Was really looking forward to a better videocard in the 13" cmbp apple wont be getting my money.
 
Storage does not cut the mustard for me...

I got my first mbp in 2008, maxed out, costed a fair deal of cash, and I have been enjoying it since then... Fast Forward in 2012, the disk started behaving badly, so I thought it's a good time to replace it. The original one came with a 320GB-7200 disk; i ordered a Seagate hybrid 750GB and also ordered 8GB of RAM, plugged them in, happy days again...:)

Now, my main annoyance with these new rMBP is that 256GB simply is not big enough, 512GB is not even that much, max that out to 1TB and you are looking at a ridiculous price. Yes, I know these would be super-duper, uber-fast, but they are still ridiculous expensive. Also what people don't realise here :eek: is that these new rMBP are not exactly user-upgradable--maybe I have gotten this wrong and the SSD is upgradable :confused:

People say that external disks are now cheap, but what I am supposed to do with that, carry a notebook and its disk around? I have an aperture library of 70GB and another one around 10GB (which keeps growing now). I have tons of music, around 60GB. What data exactly is a 256GB going to hold? The programs and the office documents? If you get a new computer, and you transfer your data to it, and you are already looking at more than 50% capacity something is wrong. Let me predict the next big thing in the next macOS: roaming profiles, keep your home directory in an external disk.

Then it's the fact that it comes with the non-distinct GPU and has no DVD (which ok, admittedly it is dieting out, but quite a few people need it). On the other hand you do get a better screen and the latest tech...

I guess my main annoyance here is that there is no "cheaper" alternative, there is no 15" macbook or macbook pro without retina that would be a decent computer that you could upgrade yourself when needed, and keep it for quite a few years.

God knows now how many super drives (right now), and external hard disks (in a couple of years), Apple will start selling, because people will now choose the 256GB only to realise than in a couple of years they will need a bigger drive.

Apple here has taken out the 'cheaper' series and at the same time has taken out the 'pro' series (with the removal of the dGPU), and everyone now is forced to spend more to get what they want, and that's what annoys me the most.
 
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I liked the fact you could get 1680x1050 which I find to be the right DPI and all. I don't need retina, but I guess I could scale things to fit more at 1680x1050. However it's all rendered at retina, which is still a bit of a choppy fest.
 
What I now need is a mobile workstation or a "gaming" laptop with 32GB RAM, standard hard drive, ExpressCard, ethernet, and AMD graphics. I was expecting Apple to produce only consumer-grade stuff like they do now.
 
Now, my main annoyance with these new rMBP is that 256GB simply is not big enough, 512GB is not even that much, max that out to 1TB and you are looking at a ridiculous price. Yes, I know these would be super-duper, uber-fast, but they are still ridiculous expensive. Also what people don't realise here :eek: is that these new rMBP are not exactly user-upgradable--maybe I have gotten this wrong and the SSD is upgradable :confused:


quote from everymac.com
Upgrade Obstacles & SSD Details for the 13rmbp and 15rmbp

Apple does not intend for end users to upgrade the SSD in these models themselves. The company even has used uncommon "pentalobe" screws -- sometimes called five-point Torx screws -- to discourage access. However, access is straightforward with the correct screwdriver, the SSD is simple to access, and upgrades are not blocked in firmware, either.

In addition to selling the compatible Mercury Aura Pro SSD complete with needed screwdrivers, OWC also offers an Envoy Pro bus-powered external enclosure so the original SSD can be conveniently repurposed as an external drive.

Interestingly -- and unlike the 15-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro models -- the SSD in the 13-Inch models is mounted in a small "drive caddy" that also can hold a 7 mm tall SSD, rather than just the small proprietary SSD module that Apple uses. At the moment, a 5 mm or 7 mm high SSD module with a compatible connector are few and far between, but having the space available bodes well for many more upgrade options for the 13-Inch model than its 15-Inch counterpart.
 
Nope. I like the ability of the MBP to grow as I do. I tend to keep machines for a LONG time. I don't want to max out my machine now for what I might want to do in 3-4 years from now.

Don't you end up maxing out the macbook pro at the end of the 3 years? So why not max it out in the beginning and be set. It's not like you can upgrade the cpu and gpu on the cmbp. Why is everyone so hung up on this problem that the retinas can't be upgraded. You can put more storage in the retina down the line and i'm sure you won't max out 16gb of ram in the 3 years.
 
Don't you end up maxing out the macbook pro at the end of the 3 years? So why not max it out in the beginning and be set. It's not like you can upgrade the cpu and gpu on the cmbp. Why is everyone so hung up on this problem that the retinas can't be upgraded. You can put more storage in the retina down the line and i'm sure you won't max out 16gb of ram in the 3 years.

1TB is not enough. I already had to upgrade my cMBP to a 1.5TB hard drive some weeks ago.

16GB RAM is no longer enough for me, either.
 
1TB is not enough. I already had to upgrade my cMBP to a 1.5TB hard drive some weeks ago.

16GB RAM is no longer enough for me, either.

I bet in 3 years they will have 1.5tb flash drives... Spinning drives are a thing of the past in laptops. Get an external if you need more storage. 16 gb I believe is the limit on the board. So no matter what in three years you cannot upgrade it to 32 or 48.
 
I bet in 3 years they will have 1.5tb flash drives... Spinning drives are a thing of the past in laptops. Get an external if you need more storage. 16 gb I believe is the limit on the board. So no matter what in three years you cannot upgrade it to 32 or 48.

There are notebooks with 4 SODIMM slots that take 32GB of RAM, so if I can have that now it's fine. I don't expect DDR3 to go further.

External is out of the question.

Hard drives are not a thing of the past, they are very cost effective, specially hybrids.
 
Don't you end up maxing out the macbook pro at the end of the 3 years? So why not max it out in the beginning and be set. It's not like you can upgrade the cpu and gpu on the cmbp. Why is everyone so hung up on this problem that the retinas can't be upgraded. You can put more storage in the retina down the line and i'm sure you won't max out 16gb of ram in the 3 years.

I max it out eventually for hundreds less than what apple wants for it. Apple is becoming user hostile and removing my ability to choose.

Running several VMs now in my 2013 cMBP, that I wasn't running when I 1st got it. My usage quickly escalated to > 8 gigs in less than a year. Try that with an 8 gig ram rMBP. Oops, $2k down the crapper. Sell it on eBay/Craig's list at a loss and try again. What fun!!! You have to know you might use, years down the road in this disposable apple environment now. Again - not user friendly.
 
Now, my main annoyance with these new rMBP is that 256GB simply is not big enough, 512GB is not even that much, max that out to 1TB and you are looking at a ridiculous price. Yes, I know these would be super-duper, uber-fast, but they are still ridiculous expensive. Also what people don't realise here :eek: is that these new rMBP are not exactly user-upgradable--maybe I have gotten this wrong and the SSD is upgradable :confused:

They are upgradeable if you have a 256GB one, you can go to 480GB.

People say that external disks are now cheap, but what I am supposed to do with that, carry a notebook and its disk around? I have an aperture library of 70GB and another one around 10GB (which keeps growing now). I have tons of music, around 60GB. What data exactly is a 256GB going to hold? The programs and the office documents? If you get a new computer, and you transfer your data to it, and you are already looking at more than 50% capacity something is wrong. Let me predict the next big thing in the next macOS: roaming profiles, keep your home directory in an external disk.

I just keep my Aperture library of 100+ GB on a 2TB hard drive, because why would you need to be editing photos while on a subway or bus or wherever?

Then it's the fact that it comes with the non-distinct GPU and has no DVD (which ok, admittedly it is dieting out, but quite a few people need it). On the other hand you do get a better screen and the latest tech...

God knows now how many super drives (right now), and external hard disks (in a couple of years), Apple will start selling, because people will now choose the 256GB only to realise than in a couple of years they will need a bigger drive.

Whenever I go somewhere I put a USB superdrive and a thunderbolt to ethernet adapter in my computer bag, and don't find it all that hard. They're not super heavy, and not really that expensive. While they are more than they should be, it's a manageable price.

Now I'm not telling you what to do, but if you are finding it hard to live in small SSDs and no DVD drives, this is what works for me.
 
I just keep my Aperture library of 100+ GB on a 2TB hard drive, because why would you need to be editing photos while on a subway or bus or wherever?

It's called processing, editing is culling or choosing the photo. My archived version of photos spans 12 years and is 3.2TB for what that is worth and I get paid to "Process" photos on a subway, whatever. I have 28TB of storage in total at home.

I was wanting a cMBP update too, my 2009 has two SSD's in it. But my god the speed of the new drives is insane, I went for the 13" i7/16/512. I bet I'll be able to upgrade the SSD at some point down the road, it's not soldered on. I rarely have to deal with more than 100GB on a single job anymore ( largely gone back to film ) and the 512 will be fine for that.
 
I am a little disappointed that the cMBP seems to be on the way out. I'm surprised that the standard 15" rMBP has integrated only now. WTF.

Like someone said in another thread, it seems Apple is turning the Macbooks into disposable, recyclable, unexpandable, locked down machines.

I like being able to take out my ram, hdd, etc. The main reason I got a MBP over an Air was the ports, optical drive and user changeable parts, even if they are far and few between. I wanted a lot of storage and at the time, the SSD only Air didn't have a ton. I couldn't survive on a 128 GB SSD.

Before I ditch my 2011, I plan to upgrade to 16 GB and get a large SSD. That should extend it's life a little bit.
 
They are upgradeable if you have a 256GB one, you can go to 480GB.

Jaben,

The SSDs in the Haswell MBA and rMBPs are not upgradable, yet. The new PCIe interface is unique, and no one carries replacements yet.

http://blog.macsales.com/19008-performance-testing-not-all-2013-macbook-air-ssds-are-the-same - OWC is working on developing them, but they aren't out yet.

----------

quote from everymac.com

Upgrade Obstacles & SSD Details for the 13rmbp and 15rmbp

Apple does not intend for end users to upgrade the SSD in these models themselves. The company even has used uncommon "pentalobe" screws -- sometimes called five-point Torx screws -- to discourage access. However, access is straightforward with the correct screwdriver, the SSD is simple to access, and upgrades are not blocked in firmware, either.

In addition to selling the compatible Mercury Aura Pro SSD complete with needed screwdrivers, OWC also offers an Envoy Pro bus-powered external enclosure so the original SSD can be conveniently repurposed as an external drive.

Interestingly -- and unlike the 15-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro models -- the SSD in the 13-Inch models is mounted in a small "drive caddy" that also can hold a 7 mm tall SSD, rather than just the small proprietary SSD module that Apple uses. At the moment, a 5 mm or 7 mm high SSD module with a compatible connector are few and far between, but having the space available bodes well for many more upgrade options for the 13-Inch model than its 15-Inch counterpart.

That article only applies to the pre-Haswell models. It is not accurate for the Haswell rMBPs.
 
Yeah, you're the only one.
We're in 2013, nobody wants an old thick laptop, with low-res crap TN screen and slow HDD. ;)
 
I was hoping for an update to them too. I prefer the ability to save money now and upgrade internals later as needed. Plus I don't have a definite need for a Retina screen. But now I'll end up dropping cash now to bring it up to my liking and a Retina screen is a bonus.
 
Don't you end up maxing out the macbook pro at the end of the 3 years? So why not max it out in the beginning and be set. It's not like you can upgrade the cpu and gpu on the cmbp. Why is everyone so hung up on this problem that the retinas can't be upgraded. You can put more storage in the retina down the line and i'm sure you won't max out 16gb of ram in the 3 years.

1. You can't predict exactly what you'll need at any point in the future.

2. Get what you need (less) and the hardware will be cheaper. By the time you need to upgrade, prices for more capacity will have come down.

3. If a part goes bad, repairability of said part is a huge plus.
 
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