Apple Releases Updated MacBook Pros With Core i5 and i7 Processors

[jtrenda33]

Hey guys. I have a couple questions here.

- Is there any significant difference in performance between the 2.4GHz 13"MBP and the 2.66GHz 13"MBP ?

- Is it convenient to travel around with the 15" MBP ?

Btw, I'm a student that looking for my first mac.

Thank you.

how would it not be convenient? all the MBPs are convenient. i personally would go with the 15 inch. you'll get the new processor, and the option of the high-res screen.

correction: i personally would go with the 17 inch, but since you only mentioned the 15, i'd go with that one, but don't take my word for it. i don't even have a macbook pro. i have an imac. i was hoping to get one of these upon the recent refresh, but i am not terribly happy with the update as a whole. im a student too and with the semester winding down, i dont really see the point in getting one right now. i'll wait until its closer to the fall semester, and hopefully they will have refreshed them again, or almost be ready to refresh them again. we'll see.

 

[tigress666]

You know what my gripe is? It's with the 13" upgrade. Some person's post about what their parents bought them with the 15" a year ago compared to the 15" now does seem to show the 15"'s at least had a decent upgrade (but for those of us who actually prefer a smaller laptop, that's not a consolation).

I have a 3 year old 13" Macbook core 2 duo 2 GHz. I want another 13" Mac. I don't want the bigger Macs as I like the portability (and hte Macbook Air was tempting but the specs are significantly different between mine and even the current Air that I'll compromise and take the bigger size for better specs). I like the 13", it seems a good compromise (until they come up with a better macbook air) between portability and "power".

My gripe is even if I had the money (well, I do but not the budget as I need to be worrying about other things other than a new computer, I don't really *need* a new computer), there is no incentive for me to upgrade except I want to. But what is offered is not worth 1000 dollars to upgrade to. Yeah, the newer ones have some nice stuff but nothing really worth spending the money for an upgrade. In fact, they have lost some features (I have a seperate mic and audio jack for example and if you want to compare mine to the computer of the same name today, the plain macbook, mine has a firewire which the current macbook does not).

Shoot, even if they had a 3.5GHz Core 2 Duo processor as well as a vastly improved graphics card (not hard and I am thinking the newer macbook pro 13"'s at least have this) I could see that being a decent upgrade to what I have. But they still haven't even gotten to 3.0. Mine's a 2.0 GHz, and it was the cheapest macbook you could buy at the time! 3 years ago! I'm pretty sure the more expensive macbook (not pro) was a 2.4 GHz (which isn't that much slower than what they are offering now). Maybe it was a 2.2. Either way, it really was not that much slower than what the cheapest pro they are offering now.

Maybe I'm spoiled by when I was younger computer technology got updated quicker and maybe it's slowing down, but it seems in 3 years my computer should feel completely outdated and ancient. Instead it seems to be surprisingly still up to date especially considering its age (in fact in one little tiny aspect it's superior! Well two aspects if you compare it to the macbook which it was marketed as at the time). I still am waiting for something worthy of spending 1k on. And if it weren't for the fact I much prefer Mac OSX, I'd check out what PC laptops offered rather than waiting and hoping one day they'll put out a real upgrade. The only thing outdated about it is the fact that Sims 3 actually lists my graphics card as not compatible (which I find amusing). Then again, my graphics card couldn't handle games that came out when my computer was new so is that that surprising (except that for some reason they made a point of mentioning my graphics card as specifically not compatible)?

And to me that seems so wrong.

 

[camoas]

See the MacRumors front page for a story. It compares the i7 to the 2.8 GHz Core2Duo, but it's fairly easy to see how much the 3.06 GHz beats the 2.8.

Overall, the i7 beats the 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo by around 40-50%. The 3.06 is about 5% faster than the 2.8, so you're still looking at something like 35-40% faster.

I am talking about CPU power, not overall comparison.
And according to the chart, the i7 2.66 Ghz and the 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo are almost the same. So I am wondering if the old 3.06 model would have more CPU power...

 

[onlyapple135]

I just ordered a 15" i7 mbp!
2.66 Ghz
4gb ram
500 gb hdd at 7200 rpm
high resolution glossy

I can't wait!

Im currently waiting to on a shipment with a macbook pro with exactly those specs!

 

[jhande]

I've just given the go ahead on the following specs
15" i7 mbp!
2.66 Ghz
8gb ram
500 gb hdd at 7200 rpm
high resolution anti-glare

I'd really like the 13", but for once I want a bigger screen. I understand the disappointment re the c2d on the 13", but c'mon people, this is not just a decent update, but a good one.

This update is between the mindblowing "wtf did they do, must have" and "meh, just a speed bump".

 

[KnightWRX]

You know what my gripe is? It's with the 13" upgrade.

I have a 3 year old 13" Macbook core 2 duo 2 GHz.
In fact, they have lost some features
mine has a firewire which the current macbook does not).

The MBP 13" has a FW800 port. Your old Macbook has half the battery life. It has very very poor GPU performance (using an Intel GPU) compared to even the older 9400m, the 320m blows it out of the water. Aluminium body vs your polycarbonate, LED backlit screen vs your CCFL. Mini Display port capable of much higher resolution output than your mini DVI. Backlit keyboard.

And it still has the line-in port, combined with the out port. Since it has a microphone built in, seems like that doesn't really matter (and USB headsets today are prevalent, compared to 3 years ago when you had dual plug headsets).

CPU GHZ is the last spec you should look at, compared to a 3 year old Macbook, the MBP 13" is a nice upgrade.

For you, it is a very good upgrade. But, if your Macbook does everything you want, don't upgrade. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading is just a waste of money. Some people just get an "itch" to upgrade and do, and in the end, all they've done is create some debt for themselves.

 

[Thunderhawks]

The MBP 13" has a FW800 port. Your old Macbook has half the battery life. It has very very poor GPU performance (using an Intel GPU) compared to even the older 9400m, the 320m blows it out of the water. Aluminium body vs your polycarbonate, LED backlit screen vs your CCFL. Mini Display port capable of much higher resolution output than your mini DVI. Backlit keyboard.

And it still has the line-in port, combined with the out port. Since it has a microphone built in, seems like that doesn't really matter (and USB headsets today are prevalent, compared to 3 years ago when you had dual plug headsets).

CPU GHZ is the last spec you should look at, compared to a 3 year old Macbook, the MBP 13" is a nice upgrade.

For you, it is a very good upgrade. But, if your Macbook does everything you want, don't upgrade. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading is just a waste of money. Some people just get an "itch" to upgrade and do, and in the end, all they've done is create some debt for themselves.

I don't get all the whining and trying to wait out what a manufacturer will do next.

All manufacturers in all fields have to do things their way and make sure the products work.

At one point they have to be done cramming things in and whatever they do the next new thing is showing up on the horizon.

If they would wait for that next thing to ripen, we'd never see a product.

This is how easy it is to buy:

PLAN A
--------
Want a Mac?
Assess what you are really doing with it (honestly)
Check out if the model you pick does what you need.
(Never mind if it's the latest)
BUY FOR THAT NEED!

Get an Apple care plan and in 3 years upgrade to the next technology.

If it doesn't do what you need go to plan B!

PLAN B
--------
Need a computer
Assess what you are really doing with it
Buy for that need, regardless of brand/OS!

Then post on MacRumors that Apple doesn't have this and doesn't do this and should have, would have and they are too slow in updating and we want more for less money and and ..............


Wait that's already being done

 

[xbjllb]

It is not how much. It is how you use it.

Mac has always got more out of their machines using less. That's what good engineering is all about.

So THAT'S the absurd rationalization now for paying more for obsolete iCrap that's nowhere near cutting edge, as Apple USED to be?

Good luck with that.

 

[Jasonscott71]

let the bitching about the lack of Bluray begin!

AND . . . the lack of an eSATA port.

 

[xbjllb]

With blu-ray already being adopted at twice the rate DVD was for the same time period a year ago, that means that blu-ray is outpacing DVD adoption (when compared to the same point in either products life) even faster now.

Doesn't matter. As long as the "Great and Powerful Jobs" has his minions here and paid whores all over the net telling people to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain", there will be no Blu-ray in Macs. And Apple will buy the farm once iKiddies outgrow iCrap and throw it over for cheaper stuff from China. That will definitely do flash and will probably have Blu-ray to boot.

It's happened to every cutting edge company that chased after the lowest common denominator.

From someone who works at Black Box studios, you do realise that blu-ray is just a form of content delivery right? If you have terabytes of content are you really going to sit there and wait until it all gets written to a blu-ray? That would take a week, stop fooling yourself and be honest with people here. We use external SSD's, and thats it. Optical=dead

I don't care where you CLAIM you work. MY video and audio for video customers and MY targets demand Blu-ray, only proofs burned, and replicated for mass distribution. And it's been a standard now for almost three years and will remain so for the foreseeable future. As if I would send out ssd drives to ten thousand companies.

Once again, as you are NOT a content CREATOR and obviously never have been, you don't get it and won't ever get it.

I think you're spot on. Failure to support blu-ray is a major mistake by Jobs and he knows it. Macbooks Pros are simply not competitive without it. I will probably get one for some development work but I wouldn't bother if it weren't for the iPhone/iPod/iPad.

Cheers,

jahman

Sanity doesn't work around here.

(Big rant about evil Sony DRM truncated)

Frankly, a little less troll-speak and a little more candor would be helpful here.

Frankly, a little less defense of piracy would be even MORE helpful around here. The only people who have anything to complain about at all about DRM are P-I-R-A-T-E-S and people who approve of piracy.

Like Steve Jobs.

In your opinion.

Now, please give us some reason to believe that your opinion is more valid than Jobs' opinion of what the market wants - backed up by Apple's market research teams.

Apple's RESEARCH teams? They go to the nearest elementary school, haul in a bunch of third grade males who don't even know what Blu-ray is (and have never seen a 65" plamsa in their lives) but spend four hours a day pirating first run movies and porn off torrents, and get them to ooh and ahh over consumerist crap.

That's the full extent of Apple's painfully obvious market research.

And that's obviously the full extent of the maturity of Apple's CEO.

It's hilarious how many people get up in arms about blu-ray. As usual, it's all about SJ, never anything rational like..

(List truncated)

Drones to the next Big Thing, and the other clueless guys who think a peripherial in their laptop is going to disable their ability to develop media on their MBP might whine, but I'm happy that my new laptop hasn't wasted power, internal volume, or budget on something that's really only noticable in quality home theater setups..

I just love it how you "experts" who never created anything in your lives keep telling content creators what THEY need, don't need, and needed three years ago.

I also love the rationalization that Apple computers don't need to be cutting edge anymore because of all the hype around the latest iCrap iToy. I think that's the most priceless rationalization of all.

Horsefeathers. Blah blah blah blah

The day I (or anyone else, for that matter) seriously listens to an "expert" who chooses bad breath as a nickname (as highly accurate and appropriate as it is for the amount of Apple toxic gas being spewed) will be the day Obama pulls all the troops out of the Mideast.

I.E, NE-VER.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Im currently waiting to on a shipment with a macbook pro with exactly those specs!

I ordered mine last night. Has yours shipped yet? I am flying out on wendesday. I hope it arrives before then

 

[AtariMac]

This thread is like watching old women talk about the weather. If you're unhappy with the update don't buy it. If you are happy then buy it.

The bickering is lovely.

 

[tigress666]

The MBP 13" has a FW800 port. Your old Macbook has half the battery life. It has very very poor GPU performance (using an Intel GPU) compared to even the older 9400m, the 320m blows it out of the water. Aluminium body vs your polycarbonate, LED backlit screen vs your CCFL. Mini Display port capable of much higher resolution output than your mini DVI. Backlit keyboard.

The battery life of my Mac hasn't really bothered me. Yeah, it would be nice to have a little better, but only when I take it on a plane and even then, it's mostly adequate (Honestly, I'm pretty happy with my battery life. More is never bad of course but it's never had me thinking I can't believe the crappy battery life out of it. And it's still on the same 3 year old battery and it's still going strong). Oh, and yeah, I can buy a spare battery and change it when mine dies . So yeah, the newer ones need a super good battery since you can't do that .

It's certainly not a reason to pay 1k more for a laptop. Yes, the body is nicer (I am very disappointed with the quality of mine, every single one I've seen of mine has cracks at the palm rest!), once again, not worth an upgrade to me (I would like to see the computer be significantly faster for one). But, I am curious (not really that up on hardware terminalogy), what the GPU does for me. My screen is also fine and not a reason I'd upgrade (especially since I just use my monitor and only use the screen when I want my computer to be portable. I don't really care it has a great screen, I like my monitor).

And the backlit keyboard? Nice luxury but definitely not a reason to upgrade. It's got a bunch of small things I see that I like but nothing I'd say is a reason to upgrade (Well be nice to be able to put more than 2 gigs of RAM in it). Maybe it's cause for me, 1k is a *lot* of money. And small luxuries are really no reason to upgrade. Maybe if I made more money and 1k was not that big of a investment for me it would be worth it.

I guess I'm just waiting for them to come out with a new enough technology that it will be like my current computer, up to date and able to run the new OS's for a while (mine is near the last generation that cannot run the newest OS. Mine is just up to date enough to be able to do so and so far I don't see that it's going out of date).

Especially this late in the game. at this point the more I think about it, the more I worry if I bought the current laptop that next year they'll come up with the revolutionary new chip that they'll stop supporting the Core 2 Duo's soon. Which is my worry about buying a laptop with a chip that pretty much is three year old technology. It's getting old and in general it seems there is a point where they do something revolutionary enough that if you buy now the laptop will become out of date way quickly (vs. mine that has stayed relevant for quite a while. Or even my G4 I still have which I believe may be the oldest Mac that can still run at least the first gen or two of OSX).

CPU GHZ is the last spec you should look at, compared to a 3 year old Macbook, the MBP 13" is a nice upgrade.

And I think I've outlined why using the same CPU, even with my statement saying if it was much faster, this long is a reason to wait more to see if they are going to put something pretty new in it.

For you, it is a very good upgrade. But, if your Macbook does everything you want, don't upgrade. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading is just a waste of money. Some people just get an "itch" to upgrade and do, and in the end, all they've done is create some debt for themselves.

Well, I personally woudln't mind a faster computer. But I think I also want to make sure I'm not buying a computer that is going to get outdated fast for the amount of money I'm spending. I'm not convinced that using the same chip technology as my three year old computer is a good buy if I want it to last long. Yeah, I do have the itch to upgrade but I think I'll try to hold out and just fix up current computer (crappiest quality mac I've had yet, well maybe the Performa 6100 might compete with that).

Now, my current question is, is it worth it for right now to give my computer an extra gig of ram (it only has one gig and it can only hold two gigs apparently)? I'm about to repair the fan and replace the keyboard/trackpad/top-case so wondering if adding RAM would be worth it (it would push my expenditure on current computer from ~40 dollars to ~70 or so dollars). I think that it would be smart of me to at least wait a year (or less if something really new comes out before that). You're right, I don't *need* a new computer, I just want one (I've been wanting one for about a year, but a combination of budget + the 13" I've seen Apple offer wouldn't be worth it even if I had a better budget have stopped me). I have to admit, it is a combo of some of the smaller stuff (trackpad, aluminum body, black border around screen) I say isn't worth an upgrade that does have me jealous. But for 1k and my budget, the practical side of me says to wait for the actual performance stuff to be worth it.

(Though I have to admit to ulterior motives of trying to find an excuse I should upgrade that will shut up my practical side ).

 

[Hal Itosis]

Doesn't matter. As long as the "Great and Powerful Jobs" has his minions here and paid whores all over the net telling people to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain", there will be no Blu-ray in Macs. And Apple will buy the farm once iKiddies outgrow iCrap and throw it over for cheaper stuff from China. That will definitely do flash and will probably have Blu-ray to boot.

It's happened to every cutting edge company that chased after the lowest common denominator.




I don't care where you CLAIM you work. MY video and audio for video customers and MY targets demand Blu-ray, only proofs burned, and replicated for mass distribution. And it's been a standard now for almost three years and will remain so for the foreseeable future. As if I would send out ssd drives to ten thousand companies.

Once again, as you are NOT a content CREATOR and obviously never have been, you don't get it and won't ever get it.




Sanity doesn't work around here.



Frankly, a little less defense of piracy would be even MORE helpful around here. The only people who have anything to complain about at all about DRM are P-I-R-A-T-E-S and people who approve of piracy.

Like Steve Jobs.




Apple's RESEARCH teams? They go to the nearest elementary school, haul in a bunch of third grade males who don't even know what Blu-ray is (and have never seen a 65" plamsa in their lives) but spend four hours a day pirating first run movies and porn off torrents, and get them to ooh and ahh over consumerist crap.

That's the full extent of Apple's painfully obvious market research.

And that's obviously the full extent of the maturity of Apple's CEO.




I just love it how you "experts" who never created anything in your lives keep telling content creators what THEY need, don't need, and needed three years ago.

I also love the rationalization that Apple computers don't need to be cutting edge anymore because of all the hype around the latest iCrap iToy. I think that's the most priceless rationalization of all.




The day I (or anyone else, for that matter) seriously listens to an "expert" who chooses bad breath as a nickname (as highly accurate and appropriate as it is for the amount of Apple toxic gas being spewed) will be the day Obama pulls all the troops out of the Mideast.

I.E, NE-VER.

Go ahead: use a PeeCee, watch FauxNews... and vote Republican. No one's stopping you, it's a free country. The weird part is: Apple only has roughly a 10% marketshare... yet every PeeCee looney on the Intarwebz wants to hang out *here* to vent their (misguided) anger.

Why? Who's forcing you to come here anyway?
Don't you have anything better to do (in your 87% share of the universe)?

 

[Rocketman]

I don't know if it is true or not but . . .

Order these compelling
Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad products today!


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Supports video AND audio on Apple's newly released Macbook Pro laptops.

Apple's newly released MacBook Pro models now support audio output via their mini DisplayPort. With this adapter, a single HDMI cable can transmit both audio and video to your HDMI display.

Availability:* *Good*******Retail: $29.00

Interesting claim anyway.

Rocketman

 

[cmaier]

Frankly, a little less defense of piracy would be even MORE helpful around here. The only people who have anything to complain about at all about DRM are P-I-R-A-T-E-S and people who approve of piracy.

Or anyone who's had their computer trashed by a rootkit installed for the sake of DRM. Or anyone who's had a DRM server shut down and been unable to access content they paid for. Or anyone who is unable to play a game they bought because they don't have a consistent internet connection. Or anyone who is unable to make legitimate backup copies of their media since all optical media is prone to scratching and degrades over time. Or anyone who is unable to exercise their fair use rights to excerpt, parody, make commentary on, or use for educational purposes their media because of DRM. Or anyone who is forced to sit through endless pre-movie commercials because they can't make a movie-only copy and the studios don't let you skip past them. Or anyone who's had to wait 3 minutes for their player to start playing the movie because the DRM takes so long to check. Or anyone who wants to watch a bluray on a linux system.

Meanwhile the pirates aren't bothered at all, since makem4v and other tools strip the drm easily - all DRM does is make legitimate users suffer.

 

[vijay007]

Get the higher resolution it wont be that bad at all. The extra screen real estate will be worth it. I have a 15" and wish it had more screen space. As for the processor, if you plan to do video encoding, go with the i7.

I have a lot of videos which are not of very high resolution. Most of them are not even 720p.

Would the 1680 by 1050 display resolution make them appear bad compared to the 1440 by 900 display?

 

[zedsdead]

I have a lot of videos which are not of very high resolution. Most of them are not even 720p.

Would the 1680 by 1050 display resolution make them appear bad compared to the 1440 by 900 display?

Yes they will look more grainy, but they shouldn't look awful?

 

[atomwork]

A: The MacBook Pro 13"s are using a discreet 320M. The 9400M blurb is meaningless as it doesnt have switching graphics. They could be using an Intel chipset for all we know.

B: The Ati Mobility series uses less power for more perfromance than nVidia M series.

C: ATi and Intel graphics are in far more laptops than nVidia right now.

Hi, I am saying this as a 20+ year apple fan. If you put pro on the label, please give me the latest tech for my design that's justifying the PRO name. Intel has the i7 Extreme out. Would be nice to have quad or six core option available to build.

I really would love to have a laptop that's somewhere the office Mac Pro 8-core. Makes working on the road so much more productive. Especially in rendering out jobs (3D or AE)

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/corei7ee/mobile/index.htm

 

[xbjllb]

Why? Who's forcing you to come here anyway?
Don't you have anything better to do (in your 87% share of the universe)?

I don't want Apple to fail because of Jobs' and your myopia. I have quite an investment in Apple over the years I detest seeing Jobs torpedo for the lowest common quick buck.

I want Apple to concentrate on and produce cutting edge workstations again instead of iCrap for iKiddies.

I also represent an entire iceberg of Apple pro users, of which I am only the visible top 1%.

And I quite stupidly hold out hope that Apple will "retire" Jobs and turn around before it becomes Amiga.

So sue me.

 

[atomwork]

I don't want Apple to fail because of Jobs' and your myopia. I have quite an investment in Apple over the years I detest seeing Jobs torpedo for the lowest common quick buck.

I want Apple to concentrate on and produce cutting edge workstations again instead of iCrap for iKiddies.

I also represent an entire iceberg of Apple pro users, of which I am only the visible top 1%.

And I quite stupidly hold out hope that Apple will "retire" Jobs and turn around before it becomes Amiga.

So sue me.

Great said. It's a generic laptop for the average consumer. Nothing pro about that one anymore.

Back in the days Steve help public appearances for the pro community to showcase how bad ass it was. Now it's iPad & iPhone all day.

 

[flyingscott]

Great said. It's a generic laptop for the average consumer. Nothing pro about that one anymore.

Back in the days Steve help public appearances for the pro community to showcase how bad ass it was. Now it's iPad & iPhone all day.

We are and always will be the 1%'ers... iPhone is a cash cow, iPad may follow... pro gear isn't even in the same ballpark.

Plus, most of us think we need way more than we actually do... its true

 

[cmaier]

I also represent an entire iceberg of Apple pro users, of which I am only the visible top 1%.

Exactly right. That means there are only 99 people who agree with you.

 

[VoR]

Exactly right. That means there are only 99 people who agree with you.

And the other 99% of customers that don't agree with him (or more likely don't care/know enough/anything) might be good for apple as a company...doesn't do much good for the pro/enthusiast/etc though.
I want to buy decent computers for decent prices. I'm not so happy about paying through the nose for what I feel is little more than an aesthetics premium - just because my neighbours grandmother likes the looks and the adverts and every kid in the country saw (and bought) an iphone after listening to a bbc radio presenter.

 

[atomwork]

Plus, most of us think we need way more than we actually do... its true

So true Why not keep that core duo a few more years. I like watching the 2 Cinema 4d render bars on the MBP vs the 16 on the MacPro