how much faster?

[kny3twalker]

running vista i assume?

i also assume that it maxes out CPU when running this calculation? if thats the case, you dont REALLY want a computer that utilises HT because it doesnt do diddly-squat when CPU usage is >50% on the cores, but there are no laptops that dont have HT in the arrandale lineup i guess you're stuck there.

also, how much RAM does the application use? probably not HEAPS?

lastly, can the mac OS run your software?

You should be able to disable HT somewhere on the macs. In Windows machines, you can do it in the bios.

i quick google told me that its the 4500MHD that is implemented in the ix mobile chips. am i mistaken? (again lol! its been a long day)

It is the 5700 I believe. I know the 4500 is the older chip.
Also with turbo boost, you are limited to one core.
I highly doubt in the realworld, it will be a 40% improvement.
Arrandale processor are generally clocked lower, and clock per clock a 20% improvement is still significant but not enough to make older machines look like POS.

 

[definitive]

i don't see how buying the current model mbp 13" (with outdated hardware) over the next one is saving money unless you're going with refurbished or used. i'd wait a bit more for the updated version to come out.

 

[supaflyz]

I would wait if I know the exact date that it will come out. My brother needs a computer before mid may. Mid may is when he start his summer classes.

 

[DoFoT9]

Thanks.
Ram increases from 55% to 65% when I run the simulation. And yes, it's vista. The software is pSpice, I think there's an equivalent software for mac OS, and the usage of CPU and ram will be similar I think. My computer is so slow now, it takes me 2 minutes to boot up, after that I have to wait another 5 minutes for the opening of IE. Thatis why I want to buy a mac.

ahh ok im with you now. the i5 machine will serve you nicely then. you can also install windows via bootcamp if the mac version doesnt suit your needs of course

You should be able to disable HT somewhere on the macs. In Windows machines, you can do it in the bios.

you can do it through one of the software development tools. i forget how though.

It is the 5700 I believe. I know the 4500 is the older chip.

yup this is apple though haha. the imacs only jus have the 4850!

Also with turbo boost, you are limited to one core.

TurboBoost works on 2 cores.

I highly doubt in the realworld, it will be a 40% improvement.
Arrandale processor are generally clocked lower, and clock per clock a 20% improvement is still significant but not enough to make older machines look like POS.

i agreed that real-world situations generally wont yield a 40% increase in performance, however video production does see around that number.

I would wait if I know the exact date that it will come out. My brother needs a computer before mid may. Mid may is when he start his summer classes.

mid may is a good date to wait for. i am 90% sure they will be out by then.

 

[marcgalera]

Considering new MBP

Hi DoFoT9, i have a question. I am currently waiting for the new MBP in the coming months, but the questions came up as to whether or not i will need the Arrandale processors.

I will be using, Photoshop CS3 on Windows XP (using bootcamp), After Affects, Illustrator and things like that. I will also be handling video editing with iMovie and possibly Final Cut Express, music recording, and the basic web surfing.

Do you recommend me waiting for the i3/i5/i7 MBP or should i get the current C2D MBP?

Thank You!

 

[DoFoT9]

Hi DoFoT9, i have a question. I am currently waiting for the new MBP in the coming months, but the questions came up as to whether or not i will need the Arrandale processors.

I will be using, Photoshop CS3 on Windows XP (using bootcamp), After Affects, Illustrator and things like that. I will also be handling video editing with iMovie and possibly Final Cut Express, music recording, and the basic web surfing.

Do you recommend me waiting for the i3/i5/i7 MBP or should i get the current C2D MBP?

Thank You!

hey marc hope things are good in your area of the world..

to get a better idea, what sort of effects do you use in PS? how big are the images that you deal with?

in final cut (or imovie) what quality of video will you be dealing with? are there any particular effects that you will use? or just for producing basic videos?

music recording can also be fairly intense sometimes. will you be dealing with software tracks (MIDI etc) or hardware tracks (real instruments) or both?? how many tracks at a time?

also, if your computer has been on for >2 days, could you open up "activity monitor" and let me know your:
"page ins:
page outs:
swap used: "

information from the "system memory" tab ? it all helps

once you answer those questions i can probably help you out a bit better

 

[cuhwris]

Psst, DoFoT9..

I have a similar question regarding speed.. So speculations say by rummaging and rummaging through all these rumors, etc. that it's possibly, most likely, just going to contain a new, faster processor? And.. by reading this thread, the speed increase isn't THAT dramatic for someone who is doing day to day tasks, right?

I'm in college and I'm suffering on a craptop right now and really need something new. Sooner and cheaper, the better. I'll only be using it for music, word, etc. No Games, no editing, none of that extreme fancy stuff, lol. I might dabble into Photoshop, but I'm not a heavy user.

..That being said, should I buy a MacBook Pro 13/15 at these cheap prices (where are the cheapest NEW ones)? Or should I just wait for the new processor/other updates and buy one of those just because it's new? I just don't want to wait all this time to have these new computers and they don't affect me speed-wise at all. lol, Advice? :[

 

[jjahshik32]

Rather than speculate, here are your exact performance numbers.

Thanks for that. Wow 20% increase in overall performance while having relatively the same battery life. Not bad at all!

When the new i7 mbps are released, I might upgrade BUT while 20% is alot of performance increase but for some it may not be worth while upgrading if you've already bought/had your current gen mbp.

I hope the i7s get updated next tuesday or within my next 14 day exchange period.

 

[dukebound85]

eh upgrade smupgrade

i cant tell a big diff from my 2006 mb to the white unibody in day to day

I doubt I could tell the diff from the white uni to the next one!

 

[jjahshik32]

eh upgrade smupgrade

i cant tell a big diff from my 2006 mb to the white unibody in day to day

I doubt I could tell the diff from the white uni to the next one!

Yea thats true. I think most of us probably cant tell a difference between the core 2 duo (latest models) and the i7 arrandales.

But I'd sure like to have an i7 in my mbp along with a new GPU!

The GPU is what I want the most though. The 9600m GT is heavily outdated but my only choice as it still stomps the 9400m gt to the ground.

 

[marcgalera]

Hi DoFoT9 thanks for your reply!

for PS i will be doing the basics like the burn tool, dodge, sponge. Image adjustments, but not too much on the effects and stuff. The images i'll be working with will be JPEGs around 3-5mbs at ~3000px by 2000px.

currently for iMovie i'm doing the some basic recording for youtube and covering songs with friends but i have a feeling i'll be doing some short clips or something like that in the future.

and for music production, i won't be doing the hardcore-type music production, i'll be doing basic recordings from a USB mic.

and the info from the system memory tab:
Pages in: 347.95MB
Pages out: 50.51MB
Swap used: 218.66MB

on my current iMac 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Thank you again!!

 

[DoFoT9]

Psst, DoFoT9..

*ears perk up*

I have a similar question regarding speed.. So speculations say by rummaging and rummaging through all these rumors, etc. that it's possibly, most likely, just going to contain a new, faster processor? And.. by reading this thread, the speed increase isn't THAT dramatic for someone who is doing day to day tasks, right?

thats correct. for general things such as itunes, youtube, word documents, iphoto, imovie etc the increase will not be THAT significant.

I'm in college and I'm suffering on a craptop right now and really need something new. Sooner and cheaper, the better. I'll only be using it for music, word, etc. No Games, no editing, none of that extreme fancy stuff, lol. I might dabble into Photoshop, but I'm not a heavy user.

well if thats the case then you will not notice an increase at all for those things.. maybe word will open 0.5seconds faster LOL

..That being said, should I buy a MacBook Pro 13/15 at these cheap prices (where are the cheapest NEW ones)? Or should I just wait for the new processor/other updates and buy one of those just because it's new? I just don't want to wait all this time to have these new computers and they don't affect me speed-wise at all. lol, Advice? :[

its really a tough situation and in the end it comes down to what you want to do. you will not notice an increase in performance with your tasks. you will save a nice amount of money, especially if you go for a refurb model (highly recommended if money is tight).

to be honest, i would say go with the older model - performance is not an issue.

for the new MBPs (around may/june) you would expect the CPU upgrade + GPU upgrade + better HDD (maybe stock will become 500GB instead of 250GB etc). the GPU might be upgraded from 9600 to something newer, but dont quote me on that.

Thanks for that. Wow 20% increase in overall performance while having relatively the same battery life. Not bad at all!

for a die shrink to 32nm + increase in everything else, i think its a pathetic upgrade tbh.

When the new i7 mbps are released, I might upgrade BUT while 20% is alot of performance increase for some may not be worth while upgrading if you've already bought/had your current gen mbp.

20% increase is standard for a CPU upgrade, i was hoping for more. i wont be buying this round.

 

[DoFoT9]

Hi DoFoT9 thanks for your reply!

thats ok always happy to help out

for PS i will be doing the basics like the burn tool, dodge, sponge. Image adjustments, but not too much on the effects and stuff. The images i'll be working with will be JPEGs around 3-5mbs at ~3000px by 2000px.

ok yea nothing intensive. they are solely CPU based but dont really require that much power to do so. the current laptops will server you fine for that

currently for iMovie i'm doing the some basic recording for youtube and covering songs with friends but i have a feeling i'll be doing some short clips or something like that in the future.

in HD or SD? it doesnt really make any difference on editing the movie, it just makes a difference on HDD space required and time to export once finished editing. for future clips - esp with FCE - you wont really be bothered by processing power unless you work with LOTS of effects and multiple camera formats. thats when a lot of converting comes into it. if you will be making short movies with just the one camera, i say current MBP!

and for music production, i won't be doing the hardcore-type music production, i'll be doing basic recordings from a USB mic.

another vote for current MBPs

and the info from the system memory tab:
Pages in: 347.95MB
Pages out: 50.51MB
Swap used: 218.66MB

on my current iMac 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM

about how many days uptime is that? you can find out by using the iStat widget, or opening up Terminal and typing "uptime" (without quotations)

how you run off of 1GB, i have NO idea. those numbers are pretty fine for 1GB of RAM. i would recommend that you get 4GB of RAM for the new computer, though, just to be on the safe side of things.

Thank you again!!

all good, if there is anything that you dont understand just ask away and ill explain as best i can

 

[marcgalera]

the uptime is at 9hrs.

and essentially i was looking at getting 4GB of memory for the mbp.

and i plan on getting the current MBP 15" with 2.66GHz or 2.53 model, and installing Windows XP via bootcamp and playing some games like counterstrike source, flight sim 2004, but thats just a possibility. should i still stick with the current MBP?

 

[jjahshik32]

I look at this this way in geekbench scores.

The current gen mbps get around 3800 geekbench points.

3800 x .20 (20% increase from i7) = 760 points increase in geekbench score.

3800 + 760 = 4560!! (I'm sure points can vary and it could be even higher than this but I was just being conservative).

I'd say thats a pretty significant increase in overall performance! Let alone a first gen 2.66GHz 4 Core XEON Mac Pro gets around 5500 geekbench points!

 

[DoFoT9]

the uptime is at 9hrs.

and essentially i was looking at getting 4GB of memory for the mbp.

and i plan on getting the current MBP 15" with 2.66GHz or 2.53 model, and installing Windows XP via bootcamp and playing some games like counterstrike source, flight sim 2004, but thats just a possibility. should i still stick with the current MBP?

2.66GHz + 4GB RAM sounds AWSOME to me! will suit your needs for a long long time to come

thats a decent way to look at it jjah.

 

[marcgalera]

so overall, the current MacBook Pro is fine? so i won't be disappointed in a sense when the new one comes out?

 

[DoFoT9]

so overall, the current MacBook Pro is fine? so i won't be disappointed in a sense when the new one comes out?

there is always the realisation that your laptop isnt the newest model.. you know.. i bought my CoreDuo MBP 5 DAYS before the new Cor2Duo MBPs came out - i was angry that i didnt wait but i wasnt completely devastated. i still had a laptop.

in reality, you really dont need the new version of the laptop.

 

[marcgalera]

Sounds good. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 

[jjahshik32]

there is always the realisation that your laptop isnt the newest model.. you know.. i bought my CoreDuo MBP 5 DAYS before the new Cor2Duo MBPs came out - i was angry that i didnt wait but i wasnt completely devastated. i still had a laptop.

in reality, you really dont need the new version of the laptop.

Wow 5 days before?? You could have gone back to get an exchange!

 

[kny3twalker]

ahh ok im with you now. the i5 machine will serve you nicely then. you can also install windows via bootcamp if the mac version doesnt suit your needs of course


you can do it through one of the software development tools. i forget how though.


yup this is apple though haha. the imacs only jus have the 4850!

TurboBoost works on 2 cores.

i agreed that real-world situations generally wont yield a 40% increase in performance, however video production does see around that number.

mid may is a good date to wait for. i am 90% sure they will be out by then.

the video card cannot be the older version, it is integrated on the CPU now, and intel graphics are always been integrated on the motherboard before. So your comparison to a one generation old ati discrete graphics card does not make sense.

Also from what I read on Intelsat site turbo boost shuts down the other cores to get the speed increase. If you want to point me to other information you have post a link, please.

 

[kny3twalker]

Psst, DoFoT9..

I have a similar question regarding speed.. So speculations say by rummaging and rummaging through all these rumors, etc. that it's possibly, most likely, just going to contain a new, faster processor? And.. by reading this thread, the speed increase isn't THAT dramatic for someone who is doing day to day tasks, right?

I'm in college and I'm suffering on a craptop right now and really need something new. Sooner and cheaper, the better. I'll only be using it for music, word, etc. No Games, no editing, none of that extreme fancy stuff, lol. I might dabble into Photoshop, but I'm not a heavy user.

..That being said, should I buy a MacBook Pro 13/15 at these cheap prices (where are the cheapest NEW ones)? Or should I just wait for the new processor/other updates and buy one of those just because it's new? I just don't want to wait all this time to have these new computers and they don't affect me speed-wise at all. lol, Advice? :[

the current MacBook pros are not any cheaper than the next generation will be unless you find a specific sale. Apple has not decreased their prices. If you have a working laptop and are willing to wait, wait, otherwise buy now.

 

[DoFoT9]

Sounds good. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

no probs

Wow 5 days before?? You could have gone back to get an exchange!

i was young and naive back then (16 i think) and i didnt know that you could! spewing now though.

the video card cannot be the older version, it is integrated on the CPU now, and intel graphics are always been integrated on the motherboard before. So your comparison to a one generation old ati discrete graphics card does not make sense.

so the discrete card is integrated into CPU? what card can we expect then?

Also from what I read on Intelsat site turbo boost shuts down the other cores to get the speed increase. If you want to point me to other information you have post a link, please.

then you aren't reading hard enough from here and from page 5 (section 1.2) of here. basically, when 4 & 3 cores are used, the ratio stays at 1:1. when 2 cores are used it can OC 6 multiples higher, and on 1 core it can multiple 9 times higher. wiki used the example from 720QM.

the current MacBook pros are not any cheaper than the next generation will be unless you find a specific sale. Apple has not decreased their prices. If you have a working laptop and are willing to wait, wait, otherwise buy now.

hmm going off recent apple performance of pricing, it is generally the same. most upgrades stay the same price, last time they went down didnt they?

 

[kny3twalker]

no probs


i was young and naive back then (16 i think) and i didnt know that you could! spewing now though.


so the discrete card is integrated into CPU? what card can we expect then?


then you aren't reading hard enough from here and from page 5 (section 1.2) of here. basically, when 4 & 3 cores are used, the ratio stays at 1:1. when 2 cores are used it can OC 6 multiples higher, and on 1 core it can multiple 9 times higher. wiki used the example from 720QM.


hmm going off recent apple performance of pricing, it is generally the same. most upgrades stay the same price, last time they went down didnt they?

The intel graphics has never been discrete, always integrated, but now it is in the CPU. Discrete graphics means not integrated on the motherboard nor in the CPU, and discrete graphics have dedicated memory. Intel graphics will be good for most tasks, but for games and application which require a fast gpu, discrete would be a better option.
More than likely it will be similar to how it is now. 9400 (which is integrated on the motherboard) for most tasks and 9600 (discrete) for games, renderings, etc...
Apple did decrease the pricing on this generation hardware from previous. Yet the price now is still the same as when released back in July. So if anything the next generation might be cheaper. As far as turbo boost, thanks for correcting me; last time I read about it was last summer.

 

[mikeo007]

no probs

so the discrete card is integrated into CPU? what card can we expect then?

This seems like a good place for my first post

The integrated card in the new macbooks is likely to be the GMA HD which I believe is integrated with all of the mobile Arrandales.

This graphics solution performs anywhere from 10-30% better than the current 9400m setup does in the current macbooks, at least according to benchmarks. Still not great, but it will be a small step up.