Apple Releases Penryn-Based MacBook Pros with Multitouch

[scratchyback]

Great Update To The Best Laptop Out There

A great update to the best laptop out there...
I am so in love with my 2.2 MBP. It is totally indispensable to me...
So much better than my old G4 400 tower...

 

[3goldens]

Question from a soon to be Mac Person....

I have been waiting for this upgrade to get my Mac book pro and would like to order one but I have up until now been a windows person, yes I know, it's about time.....

But can someone give me some sensible advice on configuration options and what would make sense without my breaking the bank. I can save some by buying through the education discount thankfully, but wondered:

How big a difference will one see between the 2.5 and 2.6 processor?

Would it be better to go for the 2.6 and 4 Gigs of Ram and be done with it or will I be ok with the 2.5 and 4 gigs.

Is it better to just to buy the RAM and install it yourself or have Apple do it? Does it affect your warranty or anything like that if you use approved RAM.

If that is the case where is the bets place to get it, what brand?


Thank you to whoever takes the time and answers my pitifully stupid questions.

 

[abijnk]

Why are folks complaining about hard drive size in the 15" model? Why not buy the cheapest option for hard drive on teh MBP, order a 320 GB WD drive, clone your Mac from the 200 to the 320, insert into MBP and place the 200GB in a $20 USB drive cage?

Right "here":

Now that is actually not a bad idea. But I think I'll wait for the 500GB HDs to come out to do that.

What about the part where doing what bytethese says will void your warranty?

 

[ChrisA]

Wow, 100mhz more and 256mb of V-RAM I'd never use!

Yes 0.1Ghz is such a slight difference (about a 4% increase) no one would notice. But moving from 256 to 512MB of VRAM is a doubling (100% increase) So it might be noticeable.

The question is what does Apple software do with VRAM? I know that video games typically use VRAM to cache texture maps so more VRAM gives a gamers either more detailed texture or smoother transitions between scenes. But I'd hope no one is buy a MBP as a windows game platform, so what does Apple software, the applications that the MBP was designed to run, do with VRAM?

 

[Orng]

I've got a 15" C2D MBP (2.16 ghz) I got new in late 2006. I've upgraded it to Leopard, iLife and iWork '08, AppleCare, 2 GB RAM and a 250 GB HD.

I'm looking at the new 17" MBP with the hi-res display. After the education discount (my wife's a teacher), and with taxes, I'm estimating it'd cost about $3,000.

I figure I can get about $2,000 on eBay for my used 15" MBP.

The question I'm wrestling with is, is it worth the extra $1,000 for the faster processor, bigger, better screen, better video card (mine has a 128 mb Radeon1600), extra USB port, multitouch pad? I do some video editing (both iMovie and FCS), photography (just got Aperture 2), and a bunch of other junk.

Your opinions welcome. Thanks!

I'll answer your question with three questions

1. Are you unhappy with the MBP you have with all those extra enhancements you bought?

2. If you answered yes to 1., are you so unhappy with it that $1000-ish extra dollars is worth it?

3. Are you going to be struggling with this same question 16 months from now?

I bet there are a few people on these forums who wouldn't mind a bit of extra cash to get the machine that would make them happy. Sometimes I wish the folks with too much money and the folks with not enough could come to some arrangement

Here's one now:

the higher end 15" Macbook Pros start at $2599 in Canada. Since money is kind of an issue for me right now (university), would it be possible to buy the base model with the warranty and then get apple to upgrade it?
you know, after a while like a few months...

Garth my man, you are a visionary and a dreamer, and where would we be without those who imagine the impossible and say "maybe, someday..."

Sooo... are you doing film or video in school, or something else that requires the stronger faster Pro? if not, the average MacBook will probably meet your university needs, and you can use the leftover cash to get yourself some swag from the University bookstore, or keep it ready for the inevitable Canadian iPhone. If you are in a field of study that needs the MacBook, you should talk to BobbleHeadBob, who has like $1000 burning a hole in his pocket.

 

[Bubba Satori]

No mag latch
No higher res screens
No new keyboard
No HD optical drive
No price drop
No new GFX card (not that one was really available)
No way in hell I'd buy one of those new - it's a disgusting price.

£300 for 128 mb of VRAM and a 50gb HDD upgrade. That's OBSCENE. The 250GB HDD on it's own, new, is <£80. So £220 for 128mb of VRAM and a 4% speed bump. Pathetic.

Exactly. A complete and utter disappointment after such a long wait.

 

[true777]

I have been waiting for this upgrade to get my Mac book pro and would like to order one but I have up until now been a windows person, yes I know, it's about time.....

But can someone give me some sensible advice on configuration options and what would make sense without my breaking the bank. I can save some by buying through the education discount thankfully, but wondered:

How big a difference will one see between the 2.5 and 2.6 processor?

Would it be better to go for the 2.6 and 4 Gigs of Ram and be done with it or will I be ok with the 2.5 and 4 gigs.

Is it better to just to buy the RAM and install it yourself or have Apple do it? Does it affect your warranty or anything like that if you use approved RAM.

If that is the case where is the bets place to get it, what brand?


Thank you to whoever takes the time and answers my pitifully stupid questions.

I would go for the 2.5 processor -- don't think you'll notice much difference between the 2.5 and 2.6 and cost seems to be a concern for you.

I would order with the standard 2GB of RAM and order 4GB from a third party vendor. Installing RAM is a snap and adding RAM doesn't void the warranty anymore. Enjoy your first Mac!

 

[RHD]

I have been waiting for this upgrade to get my Mac book pro and would like to order one but I have up until now been a windows person, yes I know, it's about time.....

But can someone give me some sensible advice on configuration options and what would make sense without my breaking the bank. I can save some by buying through the education discount thankfully, but wondered:

How big a difference will one see between the 2.5 and 2.6 processor?

Would it be better to go for the 2.6 and 4 Gigs of Ram and be done with it or will I be ok with the 2.5 and 4 gigs.

Is it better to just to buy the RAM and install it yourself or have Apple do it? Does it affect your warranty or anything like that if you use approved RAM.

If that is the case where is the bets place to get it, what brand?


Thank you to whoever takes the time and answers my pitifully stupid questions.

Don't buy your RAM from Apple, by it from Crucial or somewhere, huge savings, and spend the difference on the faster processor. It is a user serviceable upgrade.

 

[jonhaxor]

color me jaded, but the multitouch options seem kinda lame in view of where they could have gone with this .. the types of gestures i'd like to give on occasion just aren't available yet

 

[digitalfrog]

Mhhhh ...

There is still about 400 euros difference for the exact same model bought in the US (including taxes) versus a local one (NL). That's a lot of money.

I'm in the US in 3 weeks, I hope they will be in stock so I can pick one up.

The difference will cover for an 320gb hard disk and 2 gb ram extra and I still will have some spare change for a remote, a sleeve, and a '3billion calories drop dead if you finish it' ice cream only Americans know how to make



Da Frog

200 euros less for pro! We are finally going to profit from bad dollars here


And one more USB port, 3 total. That is a nice win

 

[ZootHorn]

2.5 to 2.6

I am not a rookie BUT I DO WONDER if ANYone has any empirical, real measure of the difference in speed between 2.5 Penryn and 2.6 Penryn. Are we splitting hairs here for the sake of maxing out? I wanna see some numbers....

Otherwise I am simply thrilled that the waiting is over... and I am satisfied with the improvements.

Y'know, ya never really can expect the whole enchilada.

Rolo

 

[Freyqq]

Don't be so dramatic. The vast majority of people never use the remote on a laptop anyway. The U.S. is heading for a recession and they want to maxmize profits as much as possible. Business 101. Sucks, yes indeed, but, by your same logic you're spending $3000 on a laptop, can't you afford an extra $20 for a remote?

it's the principle of the thing..taking options away and making people pay for them is annoying to say the least..besides it probably costs apple about $2 to make them. They're trying to maximize profits at the expense of the buyer..so the buyer has had a remote for a few gens and can't live without it..so now let them pay more for it. Lame.

besides...dells have had remotes standard for years now

 

[icecubehot]

I have been waiting for a long time, sniffing every rumor website and forum available. Today, I make my first post saying *cheers* to everyone who has waited as I have, and has made their purchase, as I have.

 

[Freyqq]

So what's the performance difference between 512 MB VRAM and 256, for the 8600 GT in games?

any game that can benefit from 512 over 256 you probably can't play well on a 8600GT anyways

 

[RHD]

They seriously need to get their head checked! F*** them!

Oh the UK store they fixed it an hour ago. Move on!

 

[jpb0104]

Pretty pumped over here.

Now:-------------------------Soon:
PowerBook--------------------MacBook Pro
G4 1.67GHz 512KB L2 Cache---C2D 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache
167MHz FSB------------------800MHz FSB
10.5--------------------------10.5
1.5GB-------------------------2GB
100GB @ 7200RPM-------------200GB @ 7200 RPM
15 inch 1440x960--------------15 inch @ 1440x900
ATI 9700 128MB---------------NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 512MB
POS Power Connector---------Magsafe Power Connector


YES!!! That's a huge jump.

 

[GCY]

Can we just shoot people like you?!? Computers will ALWAYS be updated in 2-3 months. Get used to it!! They take 1-3 years or more to be "outdated".

Well, I'm talking more about spec wise. always update the specs every few months in seems. It sucks buying something that expensive only to know that theres a better version for the same price.

 

[Freyqq]

Custom configuration| Show Hide

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
4GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
200GB Serial ATA @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8X (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
Accessory Kit

Ships by: Feb 28 - Mar 3
Delivers by: Mar 3 - Mar 6

really hope that 4 gb isn't through apple...about 5x more than i paid for it for that ram

 

[theLimit]

I can't believe Apple gave me exactly what I wanted exactly when I wanted it. Yay for my low expectations!! Order placed.

 

[yoak]

Ditto for me. So I'm hoping the next update will include the redesign AND a Blu-ray burner.

So can you stream media from a Mac to a PS3? I know you can from a PC, but I just got my PS3 and haven't figured out how to do it from my Mac.

Go to nullriver.com. They have a nice solution, works quite well. Only $20

 

[GCY]

There are some nice deals on refurbs on the site now 35% off the previous generation 2.4ghz 15in. $1649.00

With a student discount, its hardly a deal. Just $100 more and u could get the latest and greatest version.

 

[radio893fm]

ZZZzzzzzzzzz...

If those Sonys would run MAC OS X... oh well. At least Apple has someone to look up to.

 

[GreenBadger]

So is the 2.6GHz also a Penryn? It doesn't say anything about the 6MB cache after it on specs.....is it only the 2.5?

Thanks

 

[Diatribe]

You are right, but at this rate Apple will make the 500 gb available as BTO option in 2009

Very Lame

If they don't include it in the next revision I'll just put it in myself.

What about the part where doing what bytethese says will void your warranty?

There was a thread about this a couple of days back and I think the conclusion was that it doesn't void your warranty.

 

[PeterC-7]

I have been waiting for this upgrade to get my Mac book pro and would like to order one but I have up until now been a windows person, yes I know, it's about time.....

But can someone give me some sensible advice on configuration options and what would make sense without my breaking the bank. I can save some by buying through the education discount thankfully, but wondered:

How big a difference will one see between the 2.5 and 2.6 processor?

Would it be better to go for the 2.6 and 4 Gigs of Ram and be done with it or will I be ok with the 2.5 and 4 gigs.

Is it better to just to buy the RAM and install it yourself or have Apple do it? Does it affect your warranty or anything like that if you use approved RAM.

If that is the case where is the bets place to get it, what brand?


Thank you to whoever takes the time and answers my pitifully stupid questions.

The big jump is from 2.4 to 2.5 Ghz as that raises the L2 cache from 3 Mb to 6 MB. Also the VRAM is doubled for both the higher processors. I suspect the jump to 2.6 Ghz will only be incremental and that you would get more boost from going to 4 Gb RAM. Apple RAM is too expensive!!!!! Won't void warrantee to get 3rd party, just make sure you use identical cards: the longer the warrantee the better the quality.

Going for the 7200 RPM HD option will make a noticeable difference and at $US 50 is probably the cheapest performance boost.

All the best.