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The G310M is simply a barely higher clocked G210M (16:8:4) part. I strongly believe that the GeForce 320M (48:16:8) is a superior GPU even with its shared VRAM.

So lets say someone was dead set on a 13" but wanted the best graphics performance they could get. Wouldn't performance be better by upping the RAM to 8GB? Since it is "shared" that should add to graphics performance then?
 
Indefensible is right

I called Apple Canada this morning (for what it's worth) and told them not upgrading the 13" to i5 was almost unbelievable. I would have ordered one today, but I guess I'll wait until the next revision... (5 macs and 2 iphone family)

I'd like to think that I'm a very objective person.

But the fact of the matter is, Apple sticking with the Core 2 Duo is indefensible. It's your money, please waste it as how you like, but not upgrading the processor for the 13" is a slap in the face. It'll probably sell like hotcakes and i don't think anybody cares about the extra power, but it's still a slap in the face. an upgraded graphics card, more RAM? That's just part of technology, they're merely "moving with it" instead of offering you something more. I think Apple fanboys are truly blind and I have never felt so bad for a group of fanboys in my life.

Oh also, It's sad that there's no resolution bump, but I realize that is probably very very farfetchd so that's fine. this is why anybody who gives a **** about computers don't buy mac. not because of how expensive it is. i'd spend the money if i felt like apple cared enough to not slap me around whenever there's a refresh.


that said, 15" seems to be the good buy. My only guess is that the i3 is backordered so maybe if we wait a couple of months, it'd be upgraded.
 
grrrr...

I wouldn't buy a SSD from Apple.
Just order it with the cheapest harddrive and buy a SSD elsewhere.

That's what I always do. (with RAM, too, by the way). It just irritates me that I have to buy something which is supposed to work out-of-the-box, but the first thing one must do to make it usable is to exchange the crappy HDD for an Intel X25-E SSD (which I know Apple is not using). The problem is that you can't buy the fastest processor model with small HDD which you throw away anyway. There simply is no such configuration offered. I hate Apple for this. Who cares if CPU is 2.0 or 2.1 GHz (which they announce). Publish the relevant specs.
 
Got it!

Just pulled the trigger on the 15" 2.66 i7, 500gb 7200rpm, hi-res anti-glare. Only got 4gb ram because I'll buy my own and upgrade to 8gb much cheaper. Finally! I've been waiting for this. I'm not giddy, but I am happy that I waited and now I can ebay my 2yr old MBP! Thanks for the "not to worry" Steve! LOL
 
So lets say someone was dead set on a 13" but wanted the best graphics performance they could get. Wouldn't performance be better by upping the RAM to 8GB? Since it is "shared" that should add to graphics performance then?
I believe at 4 GB of RAM you're already be able to address the maximum amount of shared VRAM.

In most instances you'd be seeing somewhat slower performance with more RAM but less paging to disk.
 
This update brought me out of lurking. :D

I wanted something that would at least match this:

ENVY15series_300.jpg


Your ENVY 15 series

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz edit
Memory 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Hard drive 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Graphics card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics - For i7 Processors edit
Display 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768) edit
Personalization Webcam Only edit
Networking Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
USB 3.0

$1,699.99

Mission FAILED.

But, I can't stand Windows, so I won't buy the Envy either. I'll buy nothing and wait until Apple delivers something that is more competitive.
 
You're arguing to a wall because you're arguing for discrete graphics on the 13" MBP, presumably at the same price as the the previous versions that did not include discrete graphics. i3 with integrated intel graphics isn't necessarily better than a c2d with integrated nvidia graphics. i3 would be the better choice once you add a discreet graphics card into the mix, but again that would increase the cost (see the base 15" mbp that only had integrated graphics prior to this update). A lot of people do seem to want a 13" version with a discrete graphics card, so it would make a nice option, but it shouldn't have been expected since Apple wasn't providing one before, and the i3 doesn't make a lot of sense without discreet graphics.

Then perhaps Apple should stop calling the 13" a pro model then and go back to just calling it a macbook. Before this update, the only thing the "pro" 13" had over the white macbook was basically an SD slot. Even with this update, it's basically the same computer still in an aluminum enclosure.

Why not at least OFFER the i3 with the discreet graphics card as an upgrade option to the 13" pro? At least that way you could say, yeah...it's not a white macbook and had earned the pro moniker next to the 15" and 17".

Just sayin'. :)
 
People complaining about the specs may be justified but the bottom line is this: the products sell.

It's basic business. If I sell a product for $10, and one day I realize that I could charge $15 and still make good money, guess what I'm going to do? Of course I'm going to raise the price. Sure a few people will complain and maybe sales will even drop a bit, but the increased margins from the other sales more than make up for it. If I try to bump up the price too much, profits eventually go down so I lower the price again. They don't lower prices or throw in nicer parts because they're being nice to you, they do it in such a way as to maximize profits. You charge what the market will bear.

You guys ever play those Lemonade Stand games when you were a kid?

These things will sell and if Apple can get away will selling a C2D for a little while longer instead of an i5, of course they're going to try. Complain all you want, go switch to a Dell even, but the bottom line is that Apple can't hear you stamping your feet amidst the rush of everyone else lining up to buy them.

This is always how they have worked, and they've had decades to figure out this pricing model where they can charge premium for technology that may not quite be cutting edge but is packaged and marketed well. Do I like it? Of course not. But that's how they work.
 
It's a tough choice for me as well. I was very interested in the M11x but now the base 13" Macbook Pro or even a possible Macbook 2010 are much more desirable.

Yeah - I was playing around with the M11x at MicroCenter. It's not a bad little machine - pretty solid build quality - the keyboard's a little mushy but not bad overall. The customizable lighting is definitely nifty, especially to be able to get it in something other than a massive Alienware m15x or m17x. I'd be a little concerned about the CPU, but it sounds like it mostly gets the job done. I like the footprint, although as others have noted it's fairly thick and heavy for an 11" machine (although understandable given the GT335M GPU). Personally at this point I'd probably hold out to wait for an M11x with the new Intel CPU's coming out later this year and formal Optimus tech (kind of surprising Alienware released it without Optimus).

The G310M is simply a barely higher clocked G210M (16:8:4) part. I strongly believe that the GeForce 320M (48:16:8) is a superior GPU even with its shared VRAM.

Yeah, makes sense. As interesting as Optimus is, it's been boring seeing it combining Intel HD graphics with the GT310M - it almost makes me wonder what the point is. The tech seems more interesting with at least a GT330M, like in the new MBP's or the Vaio Z (I know the Vaio isn't officially Optimus but it seems to essentially be the same thing).
 
Just pulled the trigger on the 15" 2.66 i7, 500gb 7200rpm, hi-res anti-glare. Only got 2gb ram because I'll buy my own and upgrade to 8gb much cheaper. Finally! I've been waiting for this. I'm not giddy, but I am happy that I waited and now I can ebay my 2yr old MBP! Thanks for the "not to worry" Steve! LOL

I'm going to wait for a review first.
I'm worried about the idle power issues in this line of processors.
 

thats a good laptop sure, hows the battery life, oh and how heavy is it? or hows the case on it? i mean, yeah its a good laptop but i dont see why you have to post anything negative about the macbook update, its great, and you get alot for your money, im really happy, why do you even want blu ray, everything is digital now anyway, you dont need the discs, when you can stream 1080p....

but yeah, if YOU dont want to buy one then YOU dont have to buy one, please dont bash this update many of us have been waiting for months for this!!
 
17" (i7, 8gb and matte) ordered today. :) Finally the wait is over. Not saying this is a revolutionary update, but it was time to replace my old one, and I wasn't about to buy the old model just before a refresh.
 
better processor, lesser graphics (possibly worse than the previous generation)
lesser processor, better graphics
better processor, even better graphics, increased cost

Those were Apples options. They took the second one. They choose the third option for the base 15" mbp that also came with only integrated graphics before this update. People are complaining about that choice too.

it would seem to me, that the article points out the 320m was custom made for apple. they could've made a similar card that plays nice with intel's graphics. A lot of people also mention that it just won't fit on Apple's motherboard, redesign the damn thing. That's the point of technology, when new things come out, you have to adapt to it for your customers.

The reviews say the Asus has decent build quality and I don't think it really matters as the build quality has nothing to do with the parts.

Look, no matter which way you cut it, Apple failed us on a processor front. If they lowered the price a little to reflect the processor deficiency, I would've been happy as well. You just can't offer borderline 2 year technology on a 1,000+ product.
 
Hdmi?

Apple has said that all new MacBook Pro's support HDMI through their mini displayport, and that adapters would be available, but I don't see any on the site. Do you think that this means the mdp carries audio support now? That would be pretty nice...

Overall, unimpressed with the updates. Do you think that WWDC in June will feature even cheaper 13" lines or have them with i5 processors? And is there a big difference for an average user between core 2 duo and i3/i5 processors? I think for a person like me who just uses firefox, word, iTunes, etc... wouldn't notice a difference. Any insight would be appreciated.
 
when will they start showing up at best buys i have some gift cards to use any ideas?
 
Yeah - I was playing around with the M11x at MicroCenter. It's not a bad little machine - pretty solid build quality - the keyboard's a little mushy but not bad overall. The customizable lighting is definitely nifty, especially to be able to get it in something other than a massive Alienware m15x or m17x. I'd be a little concerned about the CPU, but it sounds like it mostly gets the job done. I like the footprint, although as others have noted it's fairly thick and heavy for an 11" machine (although understandable given the GT335M GPU). Personally at this point I'd probably hold out to wait for an M11x with the new Intel CPU's coming out later this year and formal Optimus tech (kind of surprising Alienware released it without Optimus).
I've heard similar comments on the keyboard from reviewers. I noticed that many people interested in the M11x are waiting for a June/July update to include Optimus. Getting updated mobile drivers is very necessary as well. I don't expect a processor update very soon though.

I'd have to go to Illinois to find a MicroCenter. (I haven't seen it a Fry's, yet.) The Best Buy locations in Kentucky and Illinois are starting to carry the M11x in stock but not here in Indiana.

Yeah, makes sense. As interesting as Optimus is, it's been boring seeing it combining Intel HD graphics with the GT310M - it almost makes me wonder what the point is. The tech seems more interesting with at least a GT330M, like in the new MBP's or the Vaio Z (I know the Vaio isn't officially Optimus but it seems to essentially be the same thing).
Does the Turbo33 boost apply to the GPU as well? The G210/310M a very basic dedicated solution. nVidia would more than likely tell the purchasers to leverage CUDA and other feature set sets in advertising.
 
Gah, I was looking at upgrading to a 17" from my current Rev. A unibody 15" but this new high res screen makes me tempted to stay at 15". The high-res 15" is only $150 cheaper than the 17". Decisions, decisions...
 
thats a good laptop sure, hows the battery life, oh and how heavy is it? or hows the case on it? i mean, yeah its a good laptop but i dont see why you have to post anything negative about the macbook update, its great, and you get alot for your money, im really happy, why do you even want blu ray, everything is digital now anyway, you dont need the discs, when you can stream 1080p....

Think of it this way: for roughly the same money, choose what you want. Do you want a Blu-Ray drive? Or do you want your computer to be an inch thin? Do you want a plastic case or a cast aluminum one? Do you want a replaceable battery that lasts for 3-4 hours or one that's built in but will last for 8-10?

You can't have it all -- not for the same price anyway -- so you have to make some choices.

Sometimes, unfortunately, Apple intentionally forces you to make choices that you hoped you didn't have to make. This is common in marketing. You wanted cruise control on your new car? Sorry, you'll have to upgrade from the basic model to the deluxe touring package, which also comes with a sunroof. You didn't want to pay for the sunroof? Well, you'll have to choose...
 
Really dissapointing update.

With that said. I'm glad they updated so I can finally buy one. Now I'm debating between the last gen 13" and the new one. How does the 320m compare to the 9400? Should I buy a refurbished last generation laptop or buy the new one?

PS: I also think if they were going to stick with old tech in the 13 model there should have been a more significant price drop. How much is the apple tax this time around across the board? :/
 
Apple has said that all new MacBook Pro's support HDMI through their mini displayport, and that adapters would be available, but I don't see any on the site. Do you think that this means the mdp carries audio support now? That would be pretty nice...

Overall, unimpressed with the updates. Do you think that WWDC in June will feature even cheaper 13" lines or have them with i5 processors? And is there a big difference for an average user between core 2 duo and i3/i5 processors? I think for a person like me who just uses firefox, word, iTunes, etc... wouldn't notice a difference. Any insight would be appreciated.

Good call.

http://www.meritline.com/mini-displayport-to-hdmi-adapter---p-34680.aspx?source=fghdac

5 Seconds of google searching turned these up. Look pretty solid.
 
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