Core 2 Duo MacBooks Announced

[justflie]

Fat Chance

you mean ipod 6G/zune day? the elves are working very hard...

I would be extremely surprised if the 6g ipod was released the same day as the zune. This product (at least considering the theories on its possible functions) will almost certainly require a demo of some sort of its new capabilities. It would either need its own special event or would be part of MWSF. It certainly wouldn't just be released on the Apple store with little/no fanfare IMHO.

 

[Phishin' it]

Why have refurbs not gone down in price?

 

[szsiddiq]

I have clean hands thanks.

You however must have a problem with your eyesight. The matte black finish picks up oil from normal clean hands and it shows, period. The paint can peel off too - I had 2 new units that were showing this already from small scratches. This is old news.

If you get a scratch on the black MacBook it can puncture the paint. It just isn't a durable finish. I wish this wasn't true but it is. The white MacBooks can also scratch, but there's no finish to rub or peel off. The gloss plastic can be polished with Brasso or suchlike if necessary - this cannot be done on the black.

spend a day in the apple store and watch how many grubby lil hands are all over each black macbook. come next morning, the same blacbooks are in tact

 

[chairguru22]

well I think an upgrade to C2D is significant (to me at least) and for my pocket - I was always going to have to get 1gig RAM and pay extra for it - now I don't have to spend that money - it comes stock

The slight bump in stock HD offerings isn't a want of mine - but is nice.

Primarily I'm excited about this revision - as it is a revision and hopefully will have less issues than the problematic-appearing revA MB.

i agree, if i didnt have one, id def order one right away. but i def dont regret getting one back in June. its been awesome.

 

[Multimedia]

Refurbs Did Go Down In Price

Why have refurbs not gone down in price?

They have! Why did you post they have not? I believed you and didn't look until Squonk posted they have. Please don't post false info when it's obvious the prices have dropped.

1.83GHz CD $899 was $949
2GHz White CD $999 was $1099
2GHz Black CD $1099 was $1199

They're still a good deal. People who ignore the 4MB L2 shared cache feature of the C2D will think they are saving money. On the 1.83GHz model they will. The $949 1.82GHz model is still a bargain. Soon that will be a C2D for $949. But the 2GHz C2D model is now the minimum any thoughtful buyer would want thanks to the 4MB L2 shared cache.

 

[DJS1234]

I'm really looking forward to some real world benchmarks on what the increase will actually mean.

If I do consider the upgrade then I'm definetly waiting for leopard as otherwise i'll be paying a few hundred £ to upgrade my Macbook and then have to spend another £100 on Leopard when it is released. However if i'm going to buy leopard anyway I could just upgrade my Macbook while i'm at it and it won't cost as much.... (Can you spot me trying to justify the upgrade to myself already and it's only been out a day!! )

 

[hagakure]

Would these improvements might cause heating problems? or ramdom crashdowns??? Does any of the specs might show they have done something about random crashes other than the software offered?

 

[ijakk]

anyone think....the new macbook have the 802.11 n-draft??

btw...they fixed a the random crash problems already

 

[CHROMEDOME]

What a bad revision...wheres my RED macbook?

 

[justflie]

anyone think....the new macbook have the 802.11 n-draft??

btw...they fixed a the random crash problems already

Ooh, ooh pick me. Yeah, I think everything they come out with will now have the n draft cards. That way, whenever it's ratified (in 2105), apple can push a firmware upgrade or something and say, Hey everyone, all of our products are and have been N-standards. Woohoo!

 

[AppliedVisual]

Yea, but the black also wears off over time. That problem has already occured with some MacBooks...

Where did you hear that? The black Macbook is constructed of black plastic... It's black all the way through, it doesn't wear off as there's no paint or enamel.

 

[psycoswimmer]

Good updates, nothing extraordinary; but expected, appreciated updates. I'm happy. The 1 gig of RAM standard on the Superdrive model is nice. And it's a dual-layer 6x superdrive now, too.

It's been a good month for Apple.. well us. We have the 8gb Red Nano, the 2gen iPod shuffle, the C2D MBP, and now the C2D MB. I don't see how anyone could complain.

 

[bketchum]

I suspected it would be extremely soon, that's why I didn't bother doubling up and getting the previous £899 model out on display as well as the £749.

Anyway, the 1GB of RAM was expected as far as I was concerned, but I didn't expect the BlackBook to jump straight up to 120GB in one shot.

So, base to mid we have faster cpu with better L2 cache, bigger hard drive and DVD burning now. Easier to persuade people to go higher than previously.

I don't recall... Is the FireWire port a new addition?

 

[paulvee]

I just went down to the Apple Store Soho, which has plenty of them in.

I like the size, I like the keyboard, and I can probably get by with the processing power, even though I lament the lack of a video card. What deters me, though, is the glossy screen. It's not the reflections so much - even though they are a factor - but the quality of the screen. I just think the matte screen works much better for what I do and, in fact, for basic stuff, as well, such as emailing, etc.

Anyway, it's still a cool little machine. I'm going to wait for the next MBP, when they can finally address 4 gigs of RAM. That's the one I will get.

 

[Squonk]

Why have refurbs not gone down in price?

They HAVE gone down. The base white MB was 949 for a refurb, now it's 899. And I believe the others are down by 100 respectively.

Killer prices if you ask me!

 

[andreas.b]

Why is everyone so up-in-arms about the integrated graphics in the MB? It's over $1000 cheaper than the MBP. It's a consumer machine, not a pro machine. If you would even notice the difference between integrated and dedicated graphics, that means you need an MBP so pony up the money and get the better machine. And if you don't think that's true, you're confused.

Because consumers plays games too. Everything about even the lowest end Macbook is sufficient for playing games. Except for the graphics card.

The difference between the low end and high end macbook does nothing for performance in games, at all. The difference in price would be much better spent at a dedicated graphics card.

 

[jmjordan]

I'm guessing it is an inside joke at MacRumors, but what is the Santa Rosa platform I keep seeing mentioned?

 

[Squonk]

I've been sick for last two days so just got up and through the End Of Rumsfeld Bush Press Conference.

So like I said last week "Tuesday." Due to the election "Wednesday" is the new "Tuesday".

3. I also predicted 160 & 200GB HD offerings. Excellent. But you can buy a 200GB Toshiba PMR Drive for $260 and put it in yourself instead of giving Apple $350 minus the 80 you can put in an external FW case. You can buy the 160 for $180 instead of giving Apple $250. So Apple's HD upgrade pricing is out of whack with the market.

I hope you are feeling better!

I agree that the drive cost is higher than what we could purchase ourselves and install. But not all users are comfortable reloading the software and *GASP* removing the battery and hard drive door. For them, to have the computer arrive with the drive in place is probably worth it. Not for me...

 

[Karpfish]

cant believe it. the upgrade was well worth the wait for all who did. the blackbook now has same speed C2D, 40gb larger HD, and twice(1gb) the ram.

 

[kinster]

the UK site says there is a 3day delivery time, so whoever said that they won't be available until the 20th is wrong. Unless of course that is in the U.S.A

about me saying that battery life is doubled, I was wrong.. My MacBook Pro was a 2-3hr battery life, and I saw 6hrs on the MB ( I know the MBP HW is much more intensive.. ) but to make a good excuse, I was without coffee ;P
I humbly admit that I was wrong.

the merom chip is more energy efficient then yonah but I am not sure if that will be a significant increase in battery life or not. Sorry for the mis-information.

the us apple store is down still .. my mouth is dry from all the waiting and drooling!

I ordered this afternoon and it said:

Estimated shipping 13 Nov, 2006
Estimated delivery 22 Nov, 2006 - 23 Nov, 2006

 

[flir67]

I wouldn't get the black. I had one, and it looked great fresh from the box, but looked old and tired 30 minutes later with grease marks all over it. Stick with the white as the smooth plastic finish doesn't show marks and is easier to clean.

ddr2 has to be installed in sets of 2 not 1. so 1 ddr2 1gb would not work as I understand it. hence 2X 512mb ddr2

 

[Manic Mouse]

People really need to stop saying "if you need dedicated graphics you're a Pro user". Consumers play games, no matter how much Apple tries to tell you otherwise. An X1400 BTO would make the Macbook a magnificent computer.

 

[Snide]

still glossy...from a consumer stand point, glossy screens are nicer...they've a sharper and more striking image, so they're great to watch movies on...but their colors are so exaggerated, so professional editting must suck on em

How much "professional editing" will be done on Macbooks?

In any case, it's simple enough to connect a top-quality monitor (up to 24").

 

[szsiddiq]

People really need to stop saying "if you need dedicated graphics you're a Pro user". Consumers play games, no matter how much Apple tries to tell you otherwise. An X1400 BTO would make the Macbook a magnificent computer.

Most consumers are just looking for something that'll let them check email, browse the net, write a paper, store some family photos maybe, and thats all.

How much "professional editing" will be done on Macbooks?

that was actually my point

 

[Westside guy]

Not in that price range they don't...and £749 isn't cheap. Have you seen the PC World TV ad for the £699 core 2 lap top?

Not enough info to say if you've even got a point. What's the dimensions, weight, and feature set of this other laptop?

I'm not sure why people keep doing this. Before the MBPs went Core 2 Duo, we had a poster here on MacRumors complaining about the value of Apple laptops - and his "proof" was a much less expensive laptop that was built like a brick and weighed about that much. Why do you think Dell, HP, and the like have some laptops that are under $1000 while their other laptops with the same processor are up around $3000? It's not just marketing - sometimes it's the quality of the components, and almost always its the amount of engineering needed to design a thin/light/sexy laptop versus a brick. Heck, it may not even be a mobile processor in the low-end laptop (Dell has done this before, and they are quite up front about it).