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Back to School Promo, and MacBook Pro Specs

OK, some info from Wikipedia on the GeForce 8600M GT, in case that spec turns out to be accurate:

* 8-series is nVidia's newest generation (came to desktops late last year)

* First mobile 8-series GPUs were just released in May to OEMs. The 8600M GT appears to be the highest in their lineup. (The GS has higher clock rate, but half as many stream processors.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_Series

Official specs:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8600M.html

Both GS and GT max at 512 VRAM, though I doubt we'll see that. Does more VRAM generate more heat, or is it harder to fit in a thin laptop? If those problems don't exist then maybe there's some hope of 512 :)

I'm also not certain whether a thin design like the MBP would call for the 8600 to be underclocked? (There must be some reason why the top-GPU Windows laptops seem to be SO thick and heavy.)

Anyone who follows GPU stuff closer than I, please chime in with any info :)
 
nagromme said:
LED backlight aside, what features were you hoping for? These are the fastest mobile chips out there, in an already great laptop design. Santa Rosa and a GPU boost is all I personally was hoping to see.
Click to expand...


Yes it's true those are some fast graphics chips, but we haven't yet seen what's going to replace the 7900 series in the high end. Of course Apple can't sit and wait.

I would like to see a complete redesign of the case. Yes it's a beautiful industrial design, a true classic in terms of Apple's notebook history. I think it's time to put it out to pasture. I'd like to see composite materials being used, to make for a stronger/lighter case, ala Toughbook, or VAIO. I know it's been mentioned a hundred times before.

It's been a very long time since we've seen any revolutionary new designs in their computers. Everything in the past 5 years or so has just been bumps and of course the switch to Intel, but I'm talking case design.
 
kingofkolt said:
I'm wondering this too... It says "college students". Does that include people just accepted into a college (and can prove it with an acceptance letter)?

Congrats on getting into Princeton, by the way!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! :)

What I think it means, is that you have to be a college student now. For the education store, they'll just ask whether you're a teacher or a student. No proof necessary (I think.)
 
Anawrahta said:
It's been a very long time since we've seen any revolutionary new designs in their computers. Everything in the past 5 years or so has just been bumps and of course the switch to Intel, but I'm talking case design.
Click to expand...

Agreed. New case styling would be fun. The case WAS redesigned, with new dimensions and the camera, but the styling remained the same.

Still, I can't think what I'd want them to do differently. They're minimalist--as Apple likes (me too)--and I do like the aluminum material's scratch resistance a lot.

Maybe keep the Al outside, but the inner surfaces could become black. Might look cool.

I wonder if anyone in these forums will blame Apple if today's rumor turns out to be bad info? :D
 
Wow, a great graphics card and finally something from nVidia. ATI have been lagging behind for a while now after all. I didn't even know the 8xxx series had made it to the laptop hardware base, that's simply awesome news. This is a truly powerful card.
I'm hoping they release a similar upgrade card for the Mac Pros. Either that or someone quickly extracts the bios from one of these and flashes a PC card. I think the 8600 GT performs similarly to the 1900xt but for a much lower cost - a nice little upgrade for 7300GT owners.
 
nagromme said:
I wonder if anyone in these forums will blame Apple if today's rumor turns out to be bad info? :D
Click to expand...

I'd be disappointed, but I wouldn't exactly blame them. It's just I've been waiting for a long, long, long time. I've wanted a Mac since '02, and have been stuck using Windows all this time. Finally this year I was able to convince my parents. :)
 
I hope it's true just because the more that gets released BEFORE WWDC, the more WWDC can focus on Leopard details. (And maybe, just maybe, black iMacs? Not that I remotely need such a thing.)

BTW, in a few hours when/if people start to report that the "Apple Store is down," please specify whether "down" means an official "back soon" notice, or simply that the store is logjammed by all the people refreshing the site to see if it's down :)
 
nagromme said:
Still, I can't think what I'd want them to do differently. They're minimalist--as Apple likes (me too)--and I do like the aluminum material's scratch resistance a lot.
Click to expand...

Have they solved the handrest pitting and gimpy latches? I'm still on a last-rev 17" PBG4, and these drive me nuts.
 
Alexander said:
Have they solved the handrest pitting and gimpy latches? I'm still on a last-rev 17" PBG4, and these drive me nuts.
Click to expand...

Haven't heard of any changes in that regard. My first-gen 15" AlBook had been through the wars and has never had either problem. Hopefully those are not something the majority experience. (Not that that helps you any.)

The consumer MacBook's latchless system is nice though!
 
nagromme said:
Haven't heard of any changes in that regard. My first-gen 15" AlBook had been through the wars and has never had either problem. Hopefully those are not something the majority experience. (Not that that helps you any.)
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 15" latches seem a little more reliable, and some people just don't have corrosive sweat, I guess. But I've had both problems on two different Alu 17" PBG4s, so I'm a little reluctant to buy a third of the same basic case design.
 
FWIW, I'm posting the three OLD models' specs for comparison (I know I always wonder about the old specs when new stuff comes out):

15.4"
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
667MHz frontside bus
1440 x 900 pixels
1GB memory (max 3 GB)
120GB hard drive
6x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM
$1,999.00 US non-edu

15.4"
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
667MHz frontside bus
1440 x 900 pixels
2GB memory (max 3 GB)
120GB hard drive
6x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM
$2,499.00 US non-edu

17"
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
667MHz frontside bus
1680 x 1050 pixels
2GB memory (max 3 GB)
160GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM
$2,799.00 US non-edu


Alexander said:
Yeah, the 15" latches seem a little more reliable, and some people just don't have corrosive sweat, I guess. But I've had both problems on two different Alu 17" PBG4s, so I'm a little reluctant to buy a third of the same basic case design.
Click to expand...

Or maybe some people have abrasive clothing/jewelry/watches/cats? Although happily I haven't found much that can abrade the Al oxide on mine. Some metals can.

One way to look at it: a 17" has 2 latches instead of 1 I believe, so that's twice the chance of failing!
 
I'm just hoping the entry-level one has at least 160, and 200GB for the top 15" one. It seems weird that the lowest MacBook Pro should have less HD space than the MacBook (black).
 
Don't expect to see LED displays in this revision. If a new MBP is released today that gives Apple plenty of room to release another MBP in late 2007 with the promised LED display (Steve's letter to Greenpeace). I think we will see a speedbump to the MBP line today, but not the LED display.

Unless the LED displays will be BTO like the glossy screen. That would actually be cool and would explain why the price tag seems untouched, which is higly unlikely if the new MBP came with the much more expensive LED display.
 
God, I really hope they do the GF 8600GT, and make it standard with 256 MB, and the highend model with 512 MB :D
that's what I've been waiting for for so long :D (though I'm not gonna buy one till October :rolleyes:)
 
Parental Units

The parents want a computer and have decided to drink from the Apple Kool Aid fountain--the local Apple store. I went shopping with them, and they loved to 15.4 inch MBP, but not the price. They liked the price of the macbook, but not its glossy screen. Well, I have the 1st gen MBP (1.83 Core duo, with 1 GB ram). So I told them they could just have mine whenever apple ugrades the current lineup. If apple really does this upgrade tomorrow (today), then I will go buy it, I will be happy, and so will my parents.

My parents with a Mac. Man if you knew them, you would know that this is huge for mac marketshare and mindshare.

As far as case design, I'm used to the case and think it is beautiful. Looking at it with "what's in fashion" kind of eyes, I think the edges could be made a little less rounded, they could get rid of the latches, and if they could get rid of those tiny rubber insets on the bezel of the screen, we would have a nice evolutionary update with clean lines. That's really all I want.

But I realize I've only been back to the Mac for a year and a half. For those of you used to the current design, I understand wanting something completely different. But if Apple's customers are 50% new to the mac, it makes sense to squeeze all these sales out of the older designs--they still look new to their new customers.
 
nagromme said:
Count on it coming sooner or later, since Leopard will support a true res-independent UI. However, I believe developers have been told to be ready for res-independence in 2008? I hope that gets moved sooner (October?) but if it's a feature we don't see enabled (or widely used by apps) until 2008, then I expect the 1920x1200 MacBook Pro will wait a while as well. Tiny pixels are terrible for readability otherwise. (I'm imagining this 24" iMac screen shrunk to 17"--ugh!) Still, you can always hold out hope for a BTO option--as long as the demand for that res is great enough.
Click to expand...

My work laptop which is a 15.4" HP has a native resolution of 1920x1200, and surprisingly it's not as bad as you might think. Although it does scare people when they see it for the first time, ha ha!
 
Kaptajn Haddock said:
Don't expect to see LED displays in this revision. If a new MBP is released today that gives Apple plenty of room to release another MBP in late 2007 with the promised LED display (Steve's letter to Greenpeace). I think we will see a speedbump to the MBP line today, but not the LED display.

Unless the LED displays will be BTO like the glossy screen. That would actually be cool and would explain why the price tag seems untouched, which is higly unlikely if the new MBP came with the much more expensive LED display.
Click to expand...

At very least if the LED display aren't in this revision, then we know that there will be a revision later this year. Unless Steve lied. NO STEVE, DON'T DISAPPOINT ME!!!

:apple:
 
if the past is any indication, new ipods will be released right around the time this promotion ends.
 
I want to buy a MBP today , and also a Ipod! with the back to school program

Do you think it's worth to wait for the new 6G ipod?
 
512

Maybe 512 on the 17" model? A build to order option of 512 for the 15" would be sweet though. I'm not feeling it, but it would be sweet.



kiang said:
God, I really hope they do the GF 8600GT, and make it standard with 256 MB, and the highend model with 512 MB :D
that's what I've been waiting for for so long :D (though I'm not gonna buy one till October :rolleyes:)
Click to expand...
 
This may sound dumb, but...if I buy a new comp as a student developer, can I still get the iPod?
 
I just have a question for anyone who has used the 15" MacBook Pro with both the glossy display and regular. Is it worth it to get the glossy display?

I don't know which one to get. Thanks for any advice! :D
 
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