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Can I hope for macbook pro update in February? Is it worth waiting?

E

Eugene El

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2013
8
0
Ukraine (unfortunately)
I'm going to buy macbook pro. My current laptop is out-of-date and hardly works. I need macbook pro for:
1. Xcode (now I learn it with VMWare, it works but too slow).
2. For learning Unity and other game engining tools. On my current laptop it is impossible.
3. As a main laptop.
4. Ability to run powerful games is not too important and I know that in this case laptop with Windows on board is the right choice, but for sometimes..
Ok, I'm ready to spend 2600$ for macbook pro 294 but due to last rumors (about Maxwell in February or about even DDR4 in some near future) I have the following questions:
1. Can I hope for macbook pro update in February? Yes, I know about Apple's cyclic system. But I'd bought Ipad 3 in march and after 6 month Ipad 4 was presented, so this experience made me (and not only me) to buy more providently.
2. Is it worth to wait videocard (based on Maxwell) in the next macbook pro?
What about performance increase comparing to the 750m which is in 294-model? Or this is only bla-bla-bla about performance -nvidia's marketing strategy?
3. Is it worth to wait Broadwell comparing to the Haswell? (performance too).
Thank you for your answers.
 
Eugene El said:
I'm going to buy macbook pro. My current laptop is out-of-date and hardly works. I need macbook pro for:
1. Xcode (now I learn it with VMWare, it works but too slow).
2. For learning Unity and other game engining tools. On my current laptop it is impossible.
3. As a main laptop.
4. Ability to run powerful games is not too important and I know that in this case laptop with Windows on board is the right choice, but for sometimes..
Ok, I'm ready to spend 2600$ for macbook pro 294 but due to last rumors (about Maxwell in February or about even DDR4 in some near future) I have the following questions:
1. Can I hope for macbook pro update in February? Yes, I know about Apple's cyclic system. But I'd bought Ipad 3 in march and after 6 month Ipad 4 was presented, so this experience made me (and not only me) to buy more providently.
2. Is it worth to wait videocard (based on Maxwell) in the next macbook pro?
What about performance increase comparing to the 750m which is in 294-model? Or this is only bla-bla-bla about performance -nvidia's marketing strategy?
3. Is it worth to wait Broadwell comparing to the Haswell? (performance too).
Thank you for your answers.
Click to expand...

1. There will probably be no MacBook Pro upgrade in February. It has been updated in October, and it is still listed as "new" at Apple's website. In addition, Broadwell processors will only be released in the second half of 2014, so, even if Apple wanted to update it, there would be no processors available for such update. Intel may update its Haswell mobile processors some time in 2014, but it will be a minor update. Expect the next release (or at least, the next major release) to be in the second half of 2014.

2. You can always get something better if you wait for the next generation. The next generation will have a slightly faster processor, a better battery life, and a better video card. But don't expect it to come before the second half of 2014. NVIDIA Maxwell video cards are expected for February 2014, but only the 880M, 870M and 860M models were confirmed to be released at this date. The video card that will equip the 15-inch MacBook Pro will likely be the 850M, which may launch later.

3. Broadwell is expected to bring a modest performance improvement over Haswell. The integrated video card is expected to be 40% faster, but the CPU performance is probably going to be only 10% faster. It will consume much less power, however, according to Intel (30% less power than Haswell, so battery life is expected to be stellar).

If you are a performance freak, then the MacBook Pro is not the ideal thing. You can get a Windows laptop with top specs for much less. Or you can get a desktop, which is also cheaper and faster.
 
A couple relevant observations and thoughts:

1) People have a habit of talking about unknown future events deterministically. In other words, they say, "X will happen" or "Y won't happen." A better way to think about future outcomes is a probability distribution—i.e., what are the chances of X happening when. I think an update as soon as February is possible but relatively unlikely (maybe 10-15%). A very small update around that time becomes more likely if we won't see a "big" update until pretty late in 2014. A more complete set of my thoughts (and those of others) can be read here: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/18485386/

2) There's no guarantee whatsoever that we'll see Maxwell in rMBPs, given the performance improvement promised by Broadwell. So, I certainly wouldn't count on that.
 
Dekard said:
See: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//#MacBook_Pro Hasn't been updated since the late Oct release, but average time between updates is about 267 days so that would put an update around July/August possibly if you go by the average.
Click to expand...

I hate the Buyers Guide because it leads people down the wrong path a lot of the time. Specifically, it tends to make people think about the issues backwards and to ignore the drivers.

Intel's short-term roadmap on the mobile side has never been murkier than it is right now, so it's really hard to play the guessing game on when another update will come. February-March truly wouldn't shock me.
 
john123 said:
I hate the Buyers Guide because it leads people down the wrong path a lot of the time. Specifically, it tends to make people think about the issues backwards and to ignore the drivers.

Intel's short-term roadmap on the mobile side has never been murkier than it is right now, so it's really hard to play the guessing game on when another update will come. February-March truly wouldn't shock me.
Click to expand...

That's why it's a 'guide'.. previous releases and 'rumors' where and when the next update may drop. You can see there hasn't been an update under 200 days in the past few years so I wouldn't expect one 4 months after the latest update. Apple can and will do whatever they want.

My advice is if you need one now, get one now. It will work great for you now. No matter when you buy one, it will be out of date by the time you get it and will always have buyers remorse if you continue the cycle of waiting to buy when you need it now.
 
john123 said:
What Apple decides to do vis a vis Maxwell. Up until recently, I was pretty convinced that this generation of rMBPs would be the last to offer the dGPU as an option. Before that, I was pretty convinced (until the iMacs came out) that we wouldn't see a dGPU option in this revision. Obviously I was wrong there, and I'm increasingly wondering whether Apple might use Maxwell as the chief selling feature for its incremental Haswell update.
Click to expand...

Agree with your thoughts about dGPU in macbooks.
This year dGPU is available only in the top cofiguration of macbook pro.
Other apple's laptops are supplied only by built-in Iris Pro Graphics.
Who knows about next generation of macbook pro, except apple?
Perhaps, dGPU will be available only in Mac Pro.

----------
Dekard said:
That's why it's a 'guide'.. previous releases and 'rumors' where and when the next update may drop. You can see there hasn't been an update under 200 days in the past few years so I wouldn't expect one 4 months after the latest update. Apple can and will do whatever they want.

My advice is if you need one now, get one now. It will work great for you now. No matter when you buy one, it will be out of date by the time you get it and will always have buyers remorse if you continue the cycle of waiting to buy when you need it now.
Click to expand...

Think so. Maybe I will wait until February, but no more.
Could I ask you about your impression of 750m performance in your macbook?
 
Last edited:
Dekard said:
That's why it's a 'guide'.. previous releases and 'rumors' where and when the next update may drop.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't phrase my post very well. To phrase it different, I wish they didn't create the guide at all because it paints a very misleading picture.
 
Eugene El said:
Could I ask you about your impression of 750m performance in your macbook?
Click to expand...

I know this is probably TL;DR but here's my info..


So far I love it, I'm no Mac fanboy either, I wanted to move to a more mobile platform and get away from a static large desktop in my office. Been doing mobile development for a couple years and was only using my old macbook for dev stuff.. And had a separate gaming PC.

Now I use the new rMBP for everything, I partitioned my drive with 500GB for both Mac and 500GB for Windows. Point all my iTunes to one shared folder, so I dont' duplicate files between the OS's.. I use my windows partition for gaming and haven't had any trouble with running Battlefield 4, I run it at 1920x1080 I've turned down most of the graphics but turned up a few of the options for better looking graphics though.. It runs great now that I was able to finally figure out how to update the NVidia drivers.

I use Mac side for development, office work, email, etc.. and parallels for anything needing windows other than for gaming. I can use Windows in Parallels for 3DS Max as well with no problems, although I do have to run it on my Thunderbolt display because at retina resolutions the menu's are fubar'd and windows doesn't generally have decent support for windows.

All in all very happy with the 750m 2GB dedicated GPU. The fans come on high during intense gaming, but I can run Mac OS and Parallels full screen with multiple monitors with it not even spooling up the fans very often. It was a very expensive purchase and I hesitated at the price, but I'm hoping it will at least hold me through the next 3 or 4 years.
 
Man its interesting how everybody got the news that Maxwell is coming in Feb.. but nobody got the news that it's not, or not anymore.
 
Probably if anything same CPU just slightly faster clock speed. It would also be nice to see a small increase in SSD sizes but I doubt it as its still too soon.
 
I wouldn't bet on a refresh in February, in fact, even a spec bump does not seem to be very likely. Even if there is one, it will probably not be a big step, as both Broadwell and Maxwell are to be released later in 2014. DDR4 isn't coming with Broadwell.
 
You just missed the best time to buy a new MBP. I was in the same boat as you and Best Buy 2 weeks ago was offering my 15" MBP for $150. off the "normal" price which is $50. more than Apple ever sells them for. I also received a special $50. Best Buy certificate and another Best Buy reward program credit of $35. Total of $235.00 off! Thats better then any Apple sale or educational discount.
 
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