Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Launches MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt, Quad Core CPUs, AMD GPUs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm a Windows System Administrator and I use VMWARE Fusion on my Core2Duo iMac and Air when I work from home. (Shhhhh don't tell my Boss.) Anyway they both seem to run VMWARE as quickly as the machine (Toshiba - i5 laptop) I cloned.
My point being, why all the people saying quad cores are needed for vmware and parallels?
My point being, why all the people saying quad cores are needed for vmware and parallels?
Anyone else notice the $200 price raise on the 17" model?
Yeah it definitely went up from $2299... but that can be offset with an education discount or developer discount.
Just order and click education discount (it never asks me for verification, and I get the discount).
Best thing about upgrade is the 15" MBP refurb is now $1269.
That's a good dealio ain't it? I hope so. I ordered one.
I'm thinking I'd rather have it and a new SSD than the new cpu and gpu and Thunderbolt. And still pay less.
Crazy? Am I going to regret it?
That's a good dealio ain't it? I hope so. I ordered one.
I'm thinking I'd rather have it and a new SSD than the new cpu and gpu and Thunderbolt. And still pay less.
Crazy? Am I going to regret it?
I had thought about getting the 13", was excited about the update news, but when I saw that they're going with intel integrated, I almost threw up
As others have said, they put the PRO moniker on it, but don't treat it that way. The only reason I want an Apple is I want to run FCS and unless someone can tell me Motion and Color will run well on a base 13", I'll just have to go with a Hackintosh or just stick with Premiere Pro w/After Effects and/or Avid.
The 15" for $1799 is just too much for my budget, I'd rather spend that extra money on my film budget!
As others have said, they put the PRO moniker on it, but don't treat it that way. The only reason I want an Apple is I want to run FCS and unless someone can tell me Motion and Color will run well on a base 13", I'll just have to go with a Hackintosh or just stick with Premiere Pro w/After Effects and/or Avid.
The 15" for $1799 is just too much for my budget, I'd rather spend that extra money on my film budget!
Worth upgrading?
I'm asking here because there's a lot of you that know the finer points of the upgrades far better than me. I'm wondering whether it's worth ugrading my existing MBP for the newer 13". I have the 13" MBP with 8gb RAM, 2.66Ghz processor and 500gb HD. Only got it in december (didn't know then there was an upgrade due!). Based on current specs, Am i missing out much? Bare in mind, I'm a photographer who deals with very large files, both from the point of working on them in PS CS5, and transferring them to and from external HD's. Should I sell up and get the newer one?
I'm asking here because there's a lot of you that know the finer points of the upgrades far better than me. I'm wondering whether it's worth ugrading my existing MBP for the newer 13". I have the 13" MBP with 8gb RAM, 2.66Ghz processor and 500gb HD. Only got it in december (didn't know then there was an upgrade due!). Based on current specs, Am i missing out much? Bare in mind, I'm a photographer who deals with very large files, both from the point of working on them in PS CS5, and transferring them to and from external HD's. Should I sell up and get the newer one?
Long time lurker of macrumors, first time posting. I was really looking to get a 13" today, but the 15" is much too tempting. Having the quad processor and dedicated graphics sounds great.
I have a question though. How big of a difference will there be on the 256MB graphics card on the lower end 15", and a 1GB graphics card on the higher end 15". Will it be that noticeable for someone who uses Photoshop and AfterEffects? Or would upgrading the lower end 15" to 8GB RAM be a better option for a faster computer? Trying not to get too expensive with it.
Also, realistically, is the 13" really that underpowered compared to the 15"? I hear a lot of people complaining about it, but I really don't know much about it. Can we can some unbiased reviews of these things? Seems like a lot of people try to knock-down the updates just so they feel better about their last generation models. Or am I wrong, and these updates are not that impressive?
My current macbook is an old 13" black, from 2007. So I'm sure any of these will feel like a huge improvement to me. Just want to get the most bang for my buck, and get some honest reviews.
I have a question though. How big of a difference will there be on the 256MB graphics card on the lower end 15", and a 1GB graphics card on the higher end 15". Will it be that noticeable for someone who uses Photoshop and AfterEffects? Or would upgrading the lower end 15" to 8GB RAM be a better option for a faster computer? Trying not to get too expensive with it.
Also, realistically, is the 13" really that underpowered compared to the 15"? I hear a lot of people complaining about it, but I really don't know much about it. Can we can some unbiased reviews of these things? Seems like a lot of people try to knock-down the updates just so they feel better about their last generation models. Or am I wrong, and these updates are not that impressive?
My current macbook is an old 13" black, from 2007. So I'm sure any of these will feel like a huge improvement to me. Just want to get the most bang for my buck, and get some honest reviews.
Newbie question: What fun games will the 13" play well?
I've never really been much of a gamer, but I might like to take a stab at a game or two. What are some games from the last -- I don't know, 10 years or so -- that are really fun and will look great on that processor? Obviously, I don't care at all about the latest and greatest games. Just ones that are fun.
For reference, I used to occasionally play games like StarCraft, Quake 1 & 2 and the original Unreal on my iBook G4. They looked great.
- Alaska Jack
I've never really been much of a gamer, but I might like to take a stab at a game or two. What are some games from the last -- I don't know, 10 years or so -- that are really fun and will look great on that processor? Obviously, I don't care at all about the latest and greatest games. Just ones that are fun.
For reference, I used to occasionally play games like StarCraft, Quake 1 & 2 and the original Unreal on my iBook G4. They looked great.
- Alaska Jack
At that price, its a good deal. The last gen 15" was a great machine. Using the savings toward an SSD is a good option also, get a good sandforce/intel drive.
as a web developer i usually run ps, ai, jedit, firefox, safari (plus other stuff like mail, itunes, twitter and so on) and then vmware where i've got xp and browsers only (ie6/7/8, firefox, safari and chrome) and i can tell you running all these at once really slows me down. tried the same setup on friend's quad imac and i could really benefit from extra 2 cores, could easily assign 2 cores to vmware. but havning 1 core assigned to vmware, only 1 is left for mac os.
and each browser has at least 5 tabs/windows (ie6)
so it really depends what you do on your computer.
i'm still surprised how is all this possible on that small 13" macbook pro
Last edited:
If your thinking about the new 13" mbp's then no, they aren't that much faster. If your thinking about the new 15-17" mbp's in relation to the previous 13" mbp's then yes, its a monumental performance jump.
I find it strange that I see this exact same post during the product launch of new Macbooks. I wonder if you are actually hired by Apple to highten peoples excitement about the more expensive models.
Of course you will call this ridiculous and insane. But I swear.... the exact same post... so many times over.
Doubt it, with Intel behind it and Intel not seemingly supporting USB3. If thunderbolt is built into Intel's chipsets and usb3 is not, do you really think manufacturers will continue upping their BOM's to add another chip for a technology that operates at half the speed?
Hi. Long time lurker of macrumors, first time posting. I was really looking to get a 13" today, but the 15" is much too tempting. Having the quad processor and dedicated graphics sounds great.
If I don't convince 20 people to upgrade to the higher end models he will cut out tongue! Please!
How could anyone manage to do that much damage to their computer? Cracking a metal case.. Wouldn't the screen shatter?
http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyID=43402&MarketSegment=MBL
Notice the column with "Cores/Threads" in it. Look for the i7 2xxxx entries (the Core iX models with 2xxxx in the name are the new Sandy Bridge models) with "4C/8T".
The 2.0Ghz model : http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=53463&processor=i7-2635QM&spec-codes=SR030
The 2.3GHz model : http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52227&processor=i7-2820QM&spec-codes=SR00U,SR012
(definitely adds to costs at $568 just for the chip package. )
They were just recently made available so should not have seen other laptops with them.
The "odd ball" is the 2.3 i5 in the entry level MBP 13". ( There is a 2.5 model but no 2.3 in ark ) Don't make much sense if purposely underclocking since the i7 model they use is not. Perhaps got a price break for chips that don't make the cut. Not like Apple passes up opportunities to goose up margins.
that person was clueless. The processors are right there in Intel's public catalog.
Last edited:
You should get the new 15" model if it works with you budget. Otherwise you might be better off sticking with your current machine.
questions!
If I were to install apps on a SD card would it work faster than if it was installed on the disk drive itself?
What are the benefits from a 6mb L3 cache to a 8mb L3 cache?
Can this play StarCraft 2 on Ultra decently???
If I were to install apps on a SD card would it work faster than if it was installed on the disk drive itself?
What are the benefits from a 6mb L3 cache to a 8mb L3 cache?
Can this play StarCraft 2 on Ultra decently???