Asus's 13.3'' Core Duo Laptop

[AidenShaw]

So what will this 945GM not be able to do? I mean, I realize there's principle involved, but what games will I not be able to play on it?

It's the same graphics chip that's in the MiniMacIntel....

The 1.7 kilo laptop market is not a gamer's market - I doubt that anyone looking at this Asus laptop cares at all about games.

Windows users who want to play games have lots of other choices. (Ouch, there's that word "choice" again.)

 

[Kelmon]

If true then I wonder if Asus will consider removing the "Asus recommends Microsoft Windows XP" statement from their web site. How anyone can say that and maintain a straight face is beyond. It's kinda like saying "Asus recommends a swift kick in the bollocks"...

 

[DKZ]

Asus makes some of the highest quality motherboards one can buy. When I built my computer a while back I used them and I was really impressed with their performance.

But that does hardly mean that they are expert in the laptop sector, I for my self, even though I have had good experiences with both asus motherboards and graphics cards, wasn't overly happy with apples choice of manufactur.

 

[JDOG_]

Integrated graphics

I don't know how anyone can defend them over a dedicated graphics card. Admittedly, the new intel graphics are waaaay more powerful than older versions, but nothing is like a nice 128-512 mb card in there

 

[Photorun]

I knew people would gravitate to the embedded video thing. I'm just as disappointed as anyone.. BUT.. I do get the reasoning behind this for low end consumer products. It's not a great solution but it certainly does work, the rest of the peecee industry has had to put up with this for years, you don't see them b*tchin' and whinin' over it. If it saves room, weight, size, and can offer okay performance for lower end 3D gaming it's fine. If you're really into gaming and/or feel it's essentially to have a beefy video card spring for the MBP. iBooks are aimed at the lower end of the consumer market and/or education anyways. Provided these bad boys start at a price point under a grand (c'mon Apple) then these are a fine addition to the Mac line.

Edit: Ouch! I just went and clicked the "enlarge" button on the site to pan around what the laptop looks like... FUGLY! Which is perfect for the aesthetically challenged (i.e. Windoze lUser) but for a Mac, if it was this clunky to look at around the edges then... ouch! Doubt Apple would allow that. And the way the monitor plug looks and the audio ins and outs... this thing as the aesthetics of pile of heaping cow poop thrown aginst a fan and splattered across a a field of maggots.

 

[dagger01]

Best Guess Yet For The MacBook

I think this is the best guess at specs for the MacBook (iBook) based on public information yet published. Based on the specs of the Intel iMac, Mac mini, and the MacBook Pro, it would seem that Apple is taking what they can get their hands on quickly during the initial product change over. I think next year's models, or at least the next major rev of the product line once all Intel, will be the much more exciting products. These will be the ones that show the real fruits of the Apple-Intel partnership and the cool innovative things we've come to expect from Apple. It's something that Intel has actually LONGED for over many years, so I'm really looking forward to it! Tack on the release of Leopard sometime next year and Apple is going to be riding high! And, we'll all have some cool toys. ;-) Huzzah!

 

[Photorun]

If true then I wonder if Asus will consider removing the "Asus recommends Microsoft Windows XP" statement from their web site. How anyone can say that and maintain a straight face is beyond. It's kinda like saying "Asus recommends a swift kick in the bollocks"...

Considering what most Windoze lUsers have to put up with even on a good day, the "swift kick in the bollocks" would be a major upgrade.

 

[MrCrowbar]

<Yawn> I'm seriously thinking of getting a 12" powerbook. I imagine the upcoming Macbook would have an inch of bullet proof plastic around it like the iBooks have. And even if the tech specs are right, size does matter here. I need a small laptop because I have something to compensate

Apple might really discontinue the 12" pro laptop and I know many of you agree that this is bad. We might see a 12" along with the 17" once Merom is out since the laptops qould greatly benefit from that chip. Maybe Steve said: "No, 3,5 hours battery on the 12" is way uncool. We already put a larger battery in the MacBook Pro but it won't fit in a 12". Let's wait for the better CPUs for the laptops."

The specs of that Asustech book don't look so bad. I like "Core Duo 1.60GHz-2.16GHz". I wonder how much of this will be recycled for the Macbook. Mainboard with integrated graphics? Screen? How much pixles is WXGA anyway?

 

[iBrow]

Enough of the waiting

Come on Apple bring them out! ( I personally dont mind the "Embedded" graphics card since i dont play games )

 

[Danksi]

What the hell...? First Intel in Macs, then Windows on Macs, now Asus makes Macs... Is Apple the new Nike, with making nothing of their own, besides branding? (No, I didn't forget about OS X)

Don't you realise that most Western companies are like this....basically paying for a design/name... we westerners don't 'make' stuff anymore, we just 'buy' it, use it and through it away.

 

[grouse]

iBook to live on

Has anyone clocked the story on Macosrumors.com that this stuff about MacBook is all nonsense and the iBook moniker is here to stay?

Also, what the b*ggary has happened to our friends at appleinsider.com, I can't seem to load them today. Any thoughts/news?

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

A couple of reports have claimed that Asustek is the manufacturer for Apple's upcoming 13.3" MacBook.

One reader reports that a search of Asustek's site shows one existing 13.3" Intel laptop model (W6F) that may provide some hints as to what can be expected from Apple's implementation.

The specs for the 13.3" Intel Core Duo laptop from Asus includes:

- Intel Core Duo 1.60GHz-2.16GHz, 2MB On-Die L2 Cache, 667 MHz
- Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset
- On board 512MB, 1x SO-DIMM socket up to 1536 MB (512MB+1024MB)
- 13.3 wide active matrix TFT LCD (WXGA)
- Embedded Intel® 945GM (Video)

Obviously, the form factor will be different, but the overall specs could be similar. It has been felt that Apple will tier the processors available to the MacBook to be less powerful than the MacBook Pro, however, if Apple is positioning the MacBook to also replace the 12" PowerBook, such a limitation may not be necessary. This all remains speculative at this time, however.

OK, c'mon, what's the point of posting this? Other than just trying to get hits to your website.

Even the lowly $599 Mac Mini has better GMA950 integrated graphics, and TWO memory slots instead of one. At worst Apple is going to have the same hardware specs as the Mini. But I think we'll see a few upgrades, one of which I am hoping is a dedicated graphics card, at least in the best MacBook model.

Until you get a firm release date and/or can tell us what graphics are going to be in the thing, rehashing 3 months worth of speculation is getting kinda old. Now this is just ONE MORE Macbook thread I'm going to follow and waste my time on because I just can't help myself and am sick. I have MacBook fever. I need professional help or need the MacBook to come out soon. For the love of all that is good and sacred, please don't post any more MacBook threads!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Integrated graphics is what you're gonna get, people, get used to it.

Not me, thanks. They should at least offer a real GPU as an option IMHO Benchmarks show abysmal performance in games compared to even old GPUs. the Radeon 9550 in the iBook is probably a better GPU in many ways. The integrated stuff is cheap with a capital C though - my guess is that Apple can't afford to put both the expensive Core Duo CPU and a real GPU in the computer without hurting the profit margin, so something had to give.

Please, Apple: make a Radeon or GeForce GPU a BTO option for those of us who want better video performance.

 

[zelman]

just so nobody else has to google it: Wide XGA Wide XGA (WXGA) is a wide screen display standard that supports a resolution of 1280 to 1366 horizontal pixels by 720 to 800 vertical pixels.

I care because display quality is why I got my mac in the first place.

 

[Danksi]

At worst Apple is going to have the same hardware specs as the Mini.

Have you seen the size of the Mini's Power-brick, I could only imagine the battery life.

 

[denial]

Apple Insider now thinks that the macbook will arrive "next month". Sigh.

 

[student_trap]

The 1.7 kilo laptop market is not a gamer's market - I doubt that anyone looking at this Asus laptop cares at all about games.

indeed i don't care for games, but i need to run external moniters. My current powerbook 12in has trouble and stutters a little when trying to dual screen with a 40" screen. I was hoping that the 12in powerbook's replacement would be able to cope a little better

 

[student_trap]

Have you seen the size of the Mini's Power-brick, I could only imagine the battery life.

have you seen the powerbrick for the mbp!

 

[MarcelV]

Please, Apple: make a Radeon or GeForce GPU a BTO option for those of us who want better video performance.

It's called a Macbook Pro

 

[blueimac'00]

Hey, I've beenwith mac for a while but I dont know much about computers besides the basics. I've really been anticipating the release of the macbook, but would the graphics card on it be good enough to play advanced fps's and stuff (call of duty 2)?

 

[MonaLisa]

integrated graphics

I hope the Macbook uses the Intel integrated graphics solution. It works FINE, and it's cheap. It is interesting that the vast majority of posters to Mac related boards tend to be only interested in FPS. There are other uses for computers besides gaming.

 

[kugino]

Not me, thanks. They should at least offer a real GPU as an option IMHO Benchmarks show abysmal performance in games compared to even old GPUs. the Radeon 9550 in the iBook is probably a better GPU in many ways. The integrated stuff is cheap with a capital C though - my guess is that Apple can't afford to put both the expensive Core Duo CPU and a real GPU in the computer without hurting the profit margin, so something had to give.

Please, Apple: make a Radeon or GeForce GPU a BTO option for those of us who want better video performance.

i agree with cubist...i think we're going to see integrated graphics in the macbook or ibook or whatever it's going to be called. will they have BTO on the ibook? i don't know...it will depend on whether it's a replacement for the 12" macbook pro...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

It's called a Macbook Pro

A valid point, but why all the sudden are "real" embedded GPUs too expensive for budget computers? The iBook has had a "real" GPU since 1998.

Another thing is that ATI's integrated GPUs outperform Intel's by a significant margin, so we aren't even getting the best integrated GPU out there.

 

[7on]

Here ya go's

http://www.mobilityguru.com/2006/04..._intel_gma_950_graphics_processor/page10.html

I now hope they do put an ATI in there...

 

[j26]

That ain't no consumer laptop lads and ladettes.

I checked with an Australian site and compared the price of that to a 20" iMac

iMac - $1,980
Asus 1.66 - $2,861

I am not paying 50% more than a 20" iMac for a consumer laptop!