Apple Releases Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro

[AVonGauss]

You might be right...

4200rpm is dog-slow. Go for the 5400rpm drive and use the money you saved for a nice big FW800 external HDD.

You might be right, I haven't looked at the 200 GB drives, but why does everyone automatically make the assumption that RPM has anything at all to do with performance? It really doesn't - you can have a great performing 7200 RPM drive and you can have a dog of a performer also running at 7200 RPM...

It's the other numbers you really want to look at - another poster mentioned Toms Hardware had a review, that would be the best place to look if you are interested in the 200 GB drive. Last I heard, there are only two companies manufacturing drives with the same specs as the 200 GB ones in the MacBook Pros - you have a fifty / fifty chance of picking the right one until someone gets curious enough to open their new laptop up and find out which one they are using...

 

[04440]

Calibration

I just hope this dang Mac store in Santa Monica gets these Pros so I can go get mine. I'm tried of this wait. Grrr... I want some long nights with my Pro.. Ha

 

[AVonGauss]

I just want to know a couple of things.

Does this kill the Powerbook G5 threads forever?

Does this kill the Core 2 Duo Powerbook coming Tuesday threads forever?

Please!

This release seems to be consistent with my comments on timing and features and addressed the main features people asked for, larger HD, dual layer DVD drive, airplane power, FW800 and of courde Core 2 Duo with maximum addressable memory of the "old" memory controller.

This means we can expect a super-duper Mac Book Pro in about 6 months or so! Increased memory, 64 bit OS, possibly even replaceable HD. There. I started it myself!

Rocketman

Please don't forget the graphics upgrade (NVIDIA) and the HD screen (1920 x 1080) - also I think someone was looking for a full 4 GB instead of the 3.2 or so...

 

[ipoppy]

Extra RAM

What the story with the extra 1 gb RAM in new MBP? In UK cost through Apple shop a £380?!?!? However you can buy this module for around £100 on internet. Why? Because is different quality or something. I don't know if that was right one because I have check for previous MBP. Maybe new modules for new MBP will cost like £300 or they are the same.
By the way, installing extra RAM will not affect warranty. Is it?
I am just waiting for my MBP and like others I am expecting it around 6th Nov. My specs are:
2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA drive (5400rpm)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Apple USB Modem
Backlit Keyboard (English) & Mac OS (English)
Country kit
SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Well......God bless Apple

 

[AVonGauss]

The MacBook wont be upgraded for at least another 2 weeks because:
1. The MBPs need some airtime on apple's front page before another announcement

2. The MacBook is a consumer model...meaning A LOT of people would be buying one. Hence a large stock of chips are required which i dont think Apple has enough of yet

Then again i could be wrong and it could happen in 4, 3, 2, 1......

I posted this on the now infamous MacBook Pro refresh by holidays thread and I haven't really been paying attention to the MacBook "rumors" personally, but if you want to have some idea of when a manufacturer is going to release a new product or revision it's really simple...

Follow the rebates...

The MacBook Pro rebate (from the front page of MacRumors I might add), strangely ended 10/24/2006. There are rebates listed on the same page for the MacBook - it's not a guarantee, but it is usually a good indicator...

 

[dmaxdmax]

MacBookPro or MacBook + Monitor?

Forgive me if this has been addressed but I stopped following the thread at about page 40. (I think)

iLife + M$Office + Mail, Add Book, Firefox etc = About 95% of my activity. I'm planning to learn and use FCExpress. How much performance will I lose by getting a MacBook? I don't game or do 3D stuff and I don't foresee starting in the next couple of years. I don't have a need for Windows but if my wife inherits it she'll probably need it. 75 - 90% of my work is at my desk and I would guess that's were all of the video editing will be done.

Assuming I can wait for the C2D MacBooks, further assuming that they put a good chip in them, will I kick myself for not going Pro? I figure for about the price of a MBPro (17" since I won't be able to afford a 2nd monitor) I can get a MB + 20" display + wireless peripherals. Since most of my work will be at my desk having a dual monitor would be great - I might even go with the 23".

A couple of hundred dollars difference isn't a big deal. That only hurts when you pay the CC bill. Lack-luster performance will hurt for years.

Thanks for the gray cells.
dMax

 

[04440]

Crazy

I posted this on the now infamous MacBook Pro refresh by holidays thread and I haven't really been paying attention to the MacBook "rumors" personally, but if you want to have some idea of when a manufacturer is going to release a new product or revision it's really simple...

Follow the rebates...

The MacBook Pro rebate (from the front page of MacRumors I might add), strangely ended 10/24/2006. There are rebates listed on the same page for the MacBook - it's not a guarantee, but it is usually a good indicator...

That's a good call.. i didn't even see that. Let's keep this so we can try to prove the next release. Ha.. Start another Craze!

 

[AVonGauss]

Ummm...

Obviously someone who has never been in a race car because that's exactly how they tell how fast they are going. You can only write as fast as the platters spin. A 5400 RPM drive WILL NOT write as fast as a 7200 RPM. I don't care who makes it. So yes, HD RPMs do matter! Go back to "PC-LAND" or Gatesville.

I don't know a damn thing about the race car analogy, but the RPM of the platters really has nothing directly to do with the performance of the drive - it's just something convenient that people and marketers have latched on to...

If you really care and its important to you, do a search to find out what drives Apple is putting in to a particular model and look up the specs for that drive.

 

[walshb6413]

I would like to write something but can only come up with the text equivalent of "speechless" $520 for your perception of "sexy?" I don't even see any part of my monitors but the screens 90% of the time as I work in the dark almost all the time. You lost me at $520 thrown down the toilet.

It just wouldn't match !! Come on.. who's with me?? And no, I'm not so rich that I can afford to just piss it away, I am just really against mismatching.

Wow, I guess I really am against it... I hadn't really thought about it before. But for instance when I bought a 60" Sony SXRD TV last year, I had to have the Sony stand (even tho it was expensive for a stand, in fact I waited 3 months for it on order, lol) and the Sony upscaling DVD player etc etc... I do this with most things..

But I still stand by getting an ACD with a Mac system. Using Dell stuff just doesnt seem right.

 

[AVonGauss]

Huh?

Santa Rosa is the successor to the current Centrino Processor. If Apple decides to use Santa Rosa they will put it in the Mac Mini and the Macbook, you will never see Santa Rosa in the Macbook Pro or the iMac. So go buy a Core 2 Duo machine.

The current Centrino processor, is simply a weaker version of the current Pentium 4 Processor, the next version of Centrino (possible to be called Centrino 2 or Centrino Pro) will be a weaker version of the Core 2 Duo (but more powerful then the P4). This will mean less power consumption (so less heat and more battery life) and 64 bit support. I am not sure if Apple will put Centrino in any of their line up, but if it does, the Mac Mini and the Macbook are the likley candiates for the Centrino platform.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Santa_Rosa_platform
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3195

Nevermind - it's late and someone else already covered it...

 

[Reach]

It just wouldn't match !! Come on.. who's with me??

I'm with you, displays last a long time for me, and looking at Apple's displays and not being frustrted that it says Dell and is slightly ugly is good for me in the long run. Otherwise I would just wish it looked as good as the cinema displays.
Multimedia is opinionated, let him, he might be saying it and repeating it all day long just because he hopes that will make Apple lower the price, because deep down inside, he would prefer that his monitor carried an Apple-logo and looked good.

 

[patrick0brien]

I don't know a damn thing about the race car analogy, but the RPM of the platters really has nothing directly to do with the performance of the drive - it's just something convenient that people and marketers have latched on to...

If you really care and its important to you, do a search to find out what drives Apple is putting in to a particular model and look up the specs for that drive.

-AVonGauss

RPM actually does have an impact, but like MHz to a MoBo, it is only one of many determining factors. Slider speed, TCal efficiency, Platter size (smaller requires less slider time), Cache, etc.

All add up. However a user working with video will be the type that hits the RPM wall first - but then, if one is doing full-studio editing, one wouldn't be on a lappy.

 

[Opticdraft]

Shipped!

Finally, I received shipment notification about my 2.33 ghz matte 160gig HD... Should be here Nov. 1st. ... Psyched !

 

[patrick0brien]

Finally, I received shipment notification about my 2.33 ghz matte 160gig HD... Should be here Nov. 1st. ... Psyched !

-Opticdraft

I hate you - in the nicest way, of course. Still waiting on mine - perhaps the 160gbHD CTO option is holding it up a bit.

 

[108]

so when, precisely, will the apple stores start getting the 17-inchers in? i'm on the verge of being on the verge of tears, over here.

 

[Opticdraft]

-Opticdraft

I hate you - in the nicest way, of course. Still waiting on mine - perhaps the 160gbHD CTO option is holding it up a bit.

hahaha... no worries, seriously like only 10 min ago recieved shipment notification, urs should ship really soon. Probably a sign that the 160 HD configs are starting to go out. I did order like right when they came out.

 

[brikeh]

Oh man...its gonna be a loooong november for me.

 

[AVonGauss]

-AVonGauss

RPM actually does have an impact, but like MHz to a MoBo, it is only one of many determining factors. Slider speed, TCal efficiency, Platter size (smaller requires less slider time), Cache, etc.

All add up. However a user working with video will be the type that hits the RPM wall first - but then, if one is doing full-studio editing, one wouldn't be on a lappy.

Sorry, I guess I ended up wording that a little shorter in the end than I should have - yes, it definitely plays a role - it's just not the universal indicator.

 

[patrick0brien]

hahaha... no worries, seriously like only 10 min ago recieved shipment notification, urs should ship really soon. Probably a sign that the 160 HD configs are starting to go out. I did ordered like right when they came out.

-Opticdraft

Perhaps there will be a little good news waiting in my inbox in the morning letting me know it's time to switch hitting the FedEx Tracking site like it's a job.

 

[patrick0brien]

Sorry, I guess I ended up wording that a little shorter in the end than I should have - yes, it definitely plays a role - it's just not the universal indicator.

-AVonGauss

You know Mac geeks. Best nitpickers in history.

 

[dgoss]

However a user working with video will be the type that hits the RPM wall first - but then, if one is doing full-studio editing, one wouldn't be on a lappy.

And you wouldn't be running your media off anything other than a dedicated media drive - in the case of a laptop that'd probably be an external FW800 drive.

 

[evisa]

Can anyone decipher this for me? Despite the obvious, which is that it's in Indiana, anyway. Int'l shipment release? What?

 

[psychometry]

It just wouldn't match !! Come on.. who's with me?? And no, I'm not so rich that I can afford to just piss it away, I am just really against mismatching.

Wow, I guess I really am against it... I hadn't really thought about it before. But for instance when I bought a 60" Sony SXRD TV last year, I had to have the Sony stand (even tho it was expensive for a stand, in fact I waited 3 months for it on order, lol) and the Sony upscaling DVD player etc etc... I do this with most things..

But I still stand by getting an ACD with a Mac system. Using Dell stuff just doesnt seem right.

That's an interesting little complex you've got there. Completely ridiculous, of course.

You should have gotten the Dell monitor and thought "Hey! I'm matching a quality laptop with a quality display!" Now there's a match that actually matters. I sure hope you didn't get the laptop just because it's pretty.

A lot of people think Mac users are just superficial, trendy people. It's people like you who give us a bad name. I didn't get my Apple laptop because it's shiny and pretty like you probably did, but because of the first-rate OS and hardware quality.

Maybe you should go get yourself an Acer laptop and CRT monitor and bedazzle it.

 

[Reach]

That's an interesting little complex you've got there. Completely ridiculous, of course.

You should have gotten the Dell monitor and thought "Hey! I'm matching a quality laptop with a quality display!" Now there's a match that actually matters. I sure hope you didn't get the laptop just because it's pretty.

A lot of people think Mac users are just superficial, trendy people. It's people like you who give us a bad name. I didn't get my Apple laptop because it's shiny and pretty like you probably did, but because of the first-rate OS and hardware quality.

Maybe you should go get yourself an Acer laptop and CRT monitor and bedazzle it.

So... You and Meltimedia think there is NO justification for price premium on Apple-displays?
Hmm.. What about the computers, now that Macs are showing up cheaper than COMPARABLE Dells, why would the displays be crazily overpriced?
Dell has laptops for less than half the price of a Macbook Pro, we all know they have cheap stuff, but why do you people assume that their displays is not part of that Dell productcategory? (Cheap as come to sell lots)
I know some people notice a difference in the displays, and prefer the Apple ones, but I guess you don't care about that?
For what concerns me, Multimedia is the kid here for being starstruck by and ELEVATOR and CARDREADER in a screen in that pricegroup..

Oh well, long live Dell. I love Macs, but I ahve no qualm with speaking my mind when I think they make bad products/pricing, I'm not a fanboy that buys everything they make with my eyes closed. Mighty Mouse for example; terrible, I use a Logitech.. I can choose from other vendors, but I prefer Apples displays over cheaper Dell ones, and don't call us stupid for that please, at least not until you proove to me that colors etc is the same, because I have not seen that....

 

[Westside guy]

A lot of people think Mac users are just superficial, trendy people. It's people like you who give us a bad name. I didn't get my Apple laptop because it's shiny and pretty like you probably did, but because of the first-rate OS and hardware quality.

Hmm, actually before I became a Mac user I could've sworn what people really hated was the sophomoric air of superiority some Mac users display.

When the dude bought the Apple monitor, he was paying a premium for style and design. You might not think it's worth it; but obviously he does. Just like some people like to drive BMWs or Mercedes that cost 3x as much as a perfectly reliable Subaru, instead of buying two Subarus, pocketing the extra dough and keeping one car as a spare. Me, I'll keep taking the train to work and driving an old Ford when I need to.

For that matter, not everyone sees the point in spending more just to get a sleek and ultra-thin Mac laptop. Before the C2D MBPs were released, one guy on this forum kept insisting that a $1300 HP brick of a laptop was a better buy than a Mac. For him it was, I guess; and while I don't share his opinions on this it is his right to hold them.