Apple Releases New MacBooks

[kenaustus]

I'm getting a new one - shipping today.

Do I care about SR? Not a bit as it only adds additional costs with no noticeable benefit for me.

The unhappy ones on the board that are going to get a PC because the new MB doesn't have SR will find that their new Sony with SR & Vista will run slower than the MB with OS X. There is a LOT in the press about how slow Vista is and I doubt that SR will solve that problem.

Overall, this is a good update for the MB. A continual increase in specs and, except for those moaning on the board about the lack of SR, it will sell very well.

 

[Wolfpup]

$299 Apple TV has a better graphics chip than the Macbooks. Grrr... Why not put that nvidia chip in the macbooks? It would be worth the $50 more.

This is another great point. If a $300 piece of hardware can have a low-end GPU, then a $1500 piece of hardware should at LEAST have that same low-end GPU.

 

[iW00t]

As usual iW00t is right again

Nobody believed me when I said there will be no SR for Macbooks. Ha!

It makes sense, there is too little differentiation between MBs and MBPs

 

[Teddy's]

The Sad Thread

argh! almost all posts of this thread are sad.

Some MR posts here really have a reason to complain. Something is wrong.

If nothing is broken, don't try to fix it.

Nothing was broken though after the update. It's all the same. All the same.

 

[freebooter]

As someone who is selling his MacBook C2D at the moment, I bless Apple for being so slow to upgrade their product. (they have been pretty feable in computer dept. lately--how hard is this iPhone anyway? )

 

[BigPrince]

suneohair you may refer to Wolfpup.

But if you don't care then you can just keep your mouth shut instead of calling us pathetic.

EDIT: Or contribute some valid discussion on why you feel this was not a disappointing update.

 

[suneohair]

Actually the SR platform includes one HUGE update for the MB - the x3000 GPU. One of the weakest points of the MB (and mini) is the graphics, and any improvement in that department will be a huge one.

For all those STILL defending Apple's choice to keep using Combo drives, and blaming users "who want everything but don't want to pay for it", just ****. The price of a DVD-RW drive is about $60 shipped RETAIL. So, assuming the combo drives are free (they're not of course) the end impact on the price tag would be sub-$50. In reality, the price difference between the Combo and SD is probably sub $20, and that doesn't even account for the added cost of maintaining two inventories. But, they put it into a package of slightly faster CPU, bigger HDD, and SD so they can charge you another $200, when all you probably wanted was the burner.

It's just marketing to get you to upgrade. Apple's ENTIRE product line is built to get you to upgrade to the next machine up the latter, just to get some feature you want, at the expense of also having to buy several other more expensive ones. The SD on the MB, the black MB, the SD in the mini, the screen size of the iMac... it's all the same trick and it's getting a bit old.

x3000 offers little in the ways of performance, especially on the Mac platform considering OpenGL.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=1934968


It will not give you 60FPS at 1600x1200 in Halo 2 or any DX10 game. Which is what most of you want. And when the x3000 becomes obsolete (which it already is really) you will all whine for another update and it will repeat. If you want real performance Apple needs to go with a real card not this Intel junk.

 

[Diatribe]

I'm so sick of this "Consumer/Pro" argument from apologists. I've been hearing it since at least the early 2000s with the iBook and Powerbook.

"Pro" and "Consumer" are made up distinctions from Apple. If other companies offer so-called "Pro" hardware (or better) for so-called "consumer" prices, then people have a right to be upset.

Apple can call it whatever they want, but that doesn't automatically mean it has any bearing on the current market.

Of course it is an Apple distinction and to keep that distinction they're not going to put the newest tech in what they consider to be a consumer product.

 

[CptnJustc]

Sorry to break the news this way but:

MacBooks are NOT meant for gaming! It's like walking into a car shop and ask the clerk for a cheap Ford so you could race in NASCAR....

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but (like everyhting Apple) a lot of people get caught up in anger because Apple didn't released EXACTLY what they wanted... It's like Apple is based in the North Pole and are watching us 24/7, delivering our dream machine in the next update... get real

World of Warcraft was released in 2004... it's not exactly NASCAR anymore.

It's clear that some people want a cheap laptop that can play at least not-terribly-demanding games like WoW. It may simply not be possible at the right price point for now, and so we get this mini-update. In a competitive market, companies like Apple would be wise to try to satisfy these wants, and I think they will in time -- they're not going to refuse out of some arbitrary rule that consumer notebooks are not to be used for games. iBooks / low-end PowerBooks weren't awful in this area for their time. We just took a temporary step backward for the Intel switch and the GMA 950.

 

[xfiftyfour]

This is another great point. If a $300 piece of hardware can have a low-end GPU, then a $1500 piece of hardware should at LEAST have that same low-end GPU.

You are dense.

The MB and the TV serve completely different purposes. Of COURSE the TV has a dedicated card. It's PURPOSE is driving BIG HDTVs and streaming video.

I have an idea: buy your TV, hack OSX onto it, and enjoy your dedicated card with your sub-standard specs and see how nice of a computer you have then.

 

[johnee]

there's really no need to fight guys.

those are fightin' words....

 

[mrtekkid]

Hi Wolfpup. Cute post you made there.

Now if this update had come AFTER a MBP update I could understand the frustration. But seeing that the MBP has not been updated yet, there is no reason to complain. If you want a good laptop, spend the money. It's as simple as that. Right now with the current update here, the MB is the equivalent of the current low end MBP.

I'll say it again. The standard consumer is not going to care about the update here. They are going to use it for email, internet, photos, music and school work. If they are trying to game on a Mac, they have software and they are happy with it. If they aren't, they have a MBP.

And if this had come after a MBP update I would be annoyed as well, although I am getting a MBP with cherries on top and I'm not gonna bitch and be cheap about a MB. I'm gettign a computer that can handle my needs. Mac Book Pro.

K. Bye.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Also, I thought that Intel had an updated graphics chip. Why isn't it in these MacBooks?

Because the updated graphics are part of the "Santa Rosa" platform. If they updated to that on the MacBook, then everything about the 'guts' of the MacBook would be better than the MacBook Pro, other than lack of discrete graphics.

Yeah, it would have been nicer to update the MacBook Pro to Santa Rosa with discrete graphics first (the new GeForce 8x00M or Mobility Radeon HD 2x00 series, anyone?) then update the MacBook a couple weeks later with integrated GMA X3000 graphics.

 

[whatever]

Apple MacBook: Yesterdays technology at today's prices.

The MBs are the line of computers that will benefit most from SR and Apple do THIS? I actually cannot believe it. They are absolute bastards.

Actually, you my friend are a cheap bastard. If you really need better graphics then spend the extra money and buy a MacBook Pro. It's as easy as that.

For the majority of the users out there, the MacBook does the job.

If you're using Pro Apps or play games, then it's not the computer for you. It's not like specs. aren't listed on the software.

 

[suneohair]

suneohair you may refer to Wolfpup.

But if you don't care then you can just keep your mouth shut instead of calling us pathetic.

I don't care about the update, good, bad, whatever. But the outcry of you big babies is ridiculous.

"Macb00ks R n0t t3h 1337!!!"

Try to have a discussion instead of "Apple sucks." Talk about why no SR, is it warranted? Does it really give you much? I have found that it doesn't, through reading. The x3000 isn't the godsend everyone here made it out to be. And tomorrows games will still run like crap just the ones today.

You want to tell me to keep my mouth shut, but what are you offering up? Give me a reason as to why you need SR? Please.

 

[poopooplatter]

Of course it is an Apple distinction and to keep that distinction they're not going to put the newest tech in what they consider to be a consumer product.

You mean, like the iMac getting Intel before the MacPros?

 

[wildmac]

World of Warcraft was released in 2004... it's not exactly NASCAR anymore.

WoW plays fine on my MacBook (C2D), but, the screen size is the real issue.. it needs to be played on a 17" plus.

 

[LaMerVipere]

A 160MHz speed bump amounts to almost nothing. There's nothing about today's Macbook that would sell it to someone who wasn't sold on it's specs yesterday.

Lower prices would be more welcome than the non-update we got.

Ain't it the truth.

 

[mrtekkid]

Nobody believed me when I said there will be no SR for Macbooks. Ha!

It makes sense, there is too little differentiation between MBs and MBPs

I believed you. Many others were living in a fantasy world of ME ME ME to see the truth. No SR for the CONSUMER MB line until the MBPs have it for awhile.

"And that's why I be getting a MBP."

What's funny is that these MB people are crying over a rumored update to begin with. Nothing was announced by Apple so there were no promises. They are really mad at themselves for getting their hopes up.

Sorry this isn't like Windows who just releases faulty software or like Dell that releases cheap hardware.

PLUS SEE THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHO8l-Bd1O4

 

[xfiftyfour]

You mean, like the iMac getting Intel before the MacPros?

Not quite fair to compare the Intel transition to standard line upgrading.

 

[Roderick Usher]

No no, I understand why consumers would use a dedicated card, but I still get tired of all the complaints after every MB update. You need to look at the lines - it just wouldn't make sense to not only equip the MB with the same processor, specs, and HD as the MBP, but now also introduce a dedicated card as well. It's just one of those things saved for the pro line, and from a business stand-point, it wouldn't make sense for Apple to change that.

Plus, I don't really think Apple is targeting gamers. The MB targets students - most of which, believe it or not, aren't die-hard gamers/even technologically savvy enough to know the importance of a dedicated card. The typical student, if they like games, has a console for that, or they're playing games that the 950 can handle easily. The gamers, on the other hand, probably aren't shopping for an Apple at all - they're looking for a PC.

I'm sure the market was carefully studied, and Apple decided that the cost of implementing a dedicated card in the MB just didn't make economical sense - either there wasn't enough of a market gain (ie: not enough gamers that were suddenly pursuaded to buy an Apple laptop), or they ended up losing money because of what happened to the MBP sales. People just need to accept it and move on already.

I see the MacBook's intended audience as broader, though: consumers, not just students. The economics of the PC gaming world have created a substantial precedent for the ability to buy a laptop that will run games decently - by which I mean less than a state-of-the-art gaming laptop, but certainly more than what the Intel chipset provides - at an entry to mid-level price. At present, if I want an Apple laptop with that kind of performance, I have to shell out $2000 at a minimum, and that just isn't competitive. For certain subsets of consumers I'll buy the "just use consoles" argument, since college students really are more likely to do that, but I think the remaining chunk of gamers is large enough and significant enough that neither Apple nor those reviewing its product decisions should squeeze them out like this.

 

[whatever]

In a competitive market, companies like Apple would be wise to try to satisfy these wants, and I think they will in time -- they're not going to refuse out of some arbitrary rule that consumer notebooks are not to be used for games. iBooks / low-end PowerBooks weren't awful in this area for their time. We just took a temporary step backward for the Intel switch and the GMA 950.

Actually my friend, Apple is very competitive in the market place. Changing chips and upgrading their systems everytime a vendor upgraded their hardware/software is what got Dell into the mess they're in today. Clear in simple their quality control and support dropped, while they were releasing cheap and bleeding edge machines.

Meanwhile, Apple's marketshare continues to grow! So in a competitive market, Apple is doing something right.

 

[Nym]

World of Warcraft was released in 2004... it's not exactly NASCAR anymore.

It's clear that some people want a cheap laptop that can play at least not-terribly-demanding games like WoW. It may simply not be possible at the right price point for now, and so we get this mini-update. In a competitive market, companies like Apple would be wise to try to satisfy these wants, and I think they will in time -- they're not going to refuse out of some arbitrary rule that consumer notebooks are not to be used for games. iBooks / low-end PowerBooks weren't awful in this area for their time. We just took a temporary step backward for the Intel switch and the GMA 950.

Look, I'm not saying this upgrade was "THA BOMB" but it wasn't anything abnormal for Apple and their current product cycles right? I mean, some people are posting real valid points and I understand disappointment to some degree, but the other group is whining like they wanted the MB to be a uber-portable for 1099$, don't you think that each side has their share of "exaggeration"?

All I was trying to say was: a MB is a nice portable for writing documents, check e-mail, browse web, photo editing, graphic design (I'm pretty sure it can handle Illustrator CS3) and everything 2D. If you want a truly capable 3D Apple computer then go with the MBP.

 

[scttwtkns]

Amazon, Macmall, etc.

How long will it be before Amazon, Macmall, Macconnection or other retails update their webistes with the new lineup? I told a friend who was going to buy a macbook from Amazon last saturday to hold off 'til today. They offer better deals for stock configs, as they have rebates & don't charge sales tax.

 

[headhammer]

Just seems like you have an awfully big chip on your shoulder and make up your customers minds for them before they even tell you what they need.

nice one mate.
in the time that i've been selling apple computers i've sold one on hard drive rpm.

one.

if people need faster hard drives, they generally go for external hard drives and mbp's for the faster firwire bus.

what i've said has been based on my experience, and if a customer needs a computer that has better specs, i'll give them what they want.

what i find particularly ironic here is that my whole point was not to show off my infinite (that there is called sarcasm) knowledge of the computers, but to suggest (read very carefully, because this here is what i was driving at in the first place) that new updates can't be far away, because this update has significantly narrowed (not removed) the gap between the macbooks and the macbook pros. and, for that matter, the macbooks and the imacs.

capische?

i'm not the greatest, i may or may not be a good salesman. i'm not trying to inflate myself here. but i'm not trying to pull you down, either, i'm only tring to suggest that based on WHAT I"VE SEEN it looks likely that more updates are very, very close.

i've already lost count of your assumptions.