Has anyone else noticed...

[MowingDevil]

...that Apple really isn't discussing how much faster this new machine is than the previous one? The speed focus is only really on the graphics as being an improvement. I remember every time a new comp came out they'd have these green bars that show how the new one is 175x faster than the previous one...and they'd usually do a Photoshop rendering test in the "event" or something like that. This model? Nada.

Perhaps its because they aren't really faster & they had nothing to brag about. All the benchmarks coming in that I've seen show the previous version 2.6 is on par or even faster than the current 2.53. I know the clockspeed makes sense but some of the other tests are proving surprising. Actually goes to prove the last model is quite a bargain and was a great machine. Maybe other tests will come in that show the new one is indeed way faster but I haven't seen them yet. I really thought the DDR3 RAM and 6mb of L2 cache would make more of a difference...

Anyways, I am finding this interesting. I must admit I was hoping for more of a speed bump than this. I'm still on the fence regarding a refurb or the new one.

 

[JG271]

Yeah, thats quite interesting. Usually the speed is one of the major things they talk about at media events. Because of the fairly moderate benchmarks(and the price!) led me to go for an "old" macbook.

I guess the future advantages of nvidia graphics could be harnessed with Snow Leopard, but for now the only real advantages are to graphics/video people.

 

[panzer06]

Yeah, thats quite interesting. Usually the speed is one of the major things they talk about at media events. Because of the fairly moderate benchmarks(and the price!) led me to go for an "old" macbook.

I guess the future advantages of nvidia graphics could be harnessed with Snow Leopard, but for now the only real advantages are to graphics/video people.

And perhaps games under XP/Vista in Bootcamp. It will be interesting to see if the Windows numbers are significantly better. Whenever I vist my kids and grandkids we like to get some LAN gaming done. My x1600 is getting a little grey in the beard. I'd like to try the new MBP but can't see spending the money just because my gaming might be better. If I could tolerate carrying 2 laptops on every trip, I'd just buy a 16.4" 1600x900 Sony Viao with Blu-ray and ATI 3650 GPU, buy I really want it all in my Mac. The features and performance don't seem high enough on this one.

Perhaps that's why they are focusing on the GPU enhancements and new style rather than anything else.

Cheers,

 

[Mike-intosh]

maybe it is just physically impossible for a machine to go any faster? 😉 😛

 

[Red-red]

There hasn't really been any massive improvements since the old one mostly because there hasn't industry wide. Obviously the introduction of the 9400 & 9600 will improve it, early benchmarks suggest it's pretty good, the crysis benchmark especially is quite baffling.

Next year looks like the year we will see the big performance boost with the all new intel cores etc but as this year, can't really get anything better as such without taking a big step down in quality as lets be honest these machines have set the benchmark when it comes to build quality.

 

[nikhsub1]

You guys need to stop looking at Apple as actually making their own components. They don't. They use INTEL chips and now nVidia chipsets. If you go beyond the Apple fishbowl into the real world and do some research, you will see that nothing major has changed yet. The new MBP's got DDR3 which isn't anything so great yet. The next big jump in performance will be when Intel's Nehalem is available which should be end of year, beginning of next. That is when desktops and laptops will get significantly faster. If you care to do some reading on Nehalem: http://www.intel.com/technology/architecture-silicon/next-gen/index.htm

 

[Beau10]

. The next big jump in performance will be when Intel's Nehalem is available which should be end of year, beginning of next. That is when desktops and laptops will get significantly faster.

FWIW, it seems general consensus points to Nehalem availability in laptops ~Q3 next year. So we could be waiting nearly a year for it in MBPs.

 

[PlaceofDis]

they're not making a big deal at the speed because there isn't anything say about it, not surprising at all, imo.

this was mainly a cosmetic upgrade + graphic capabilities update. DDR3 will take a bit of maturity to show some speed difference, but its nice that its there at least, right?

 

[MowingDevil]

You guys need to stop looking at Apple as actually making their own components. They don't. They use INTEL chips and now nVidia chipsets. If you go beyond the Apple fishbowl into the real world and do some research, you will see that nothing major has changed yet. The new MBP's got DDR3 which isn't anything so great yet. The next big jump in performance will be when Intel's Nehalem is available which should be end of year, beginning of next. That is when desktops and laptops will get significantly faster. If you care to do some reading on Nehalem: http://www.intel.com/technology/architecture-silicon/next-gen/index.htm

True but by the time they're available in MacBook Pros it will be next summer at the earliest...and the way things go I wouldn't be surprised to see them arrive in 2010. Thats one that I'm waiting for but will definitely wait out for the 2nd generation.

If Apple had just gone w/ 2.53 & 2.8 and offered 2.4 as a BTO to save money the specs of the new machines would look alot better even if they cost a bit more. It would have been nice to have some kind of a speed boost in performance for the money and the 9 month wait.

they're not making a big deal at the speed because there isn't anything say about it, not surprising at all, imo.

this was mainly a cosmetic upgrade + graphic capabilities update. DDR3 will take a bit of maturity to show some speed difference, but its nice that its there at least, right?

That was my point.