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Intel Launches New Core i5, i7 Haswell Processors Possibly Slated for Retina MacBook Pro Refresh
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When you are in a stagnant market with no competition, it's best to take things slow and play it safe.
Long gone are the MHz wars, RISC vs. CISC, and the great desktop battles of yore. The PC is no longer a market that matters except as a place for established players (Apple, MS, Intel) to milk safe, stable revenue.
In the CPU World article, it was so weird to read the "Celeron" and "Pentium" names. I haven't heard those names in YEARS! Oh, fun times bashing those crappy PCs back then. 
You are correct about the good old times with MHz and RISC/CISC.
But you left out one fact. The war today is as furious as it has been 20 years ago.
Today it's about energy consumption and intelligent energy saving.
Twenty years ago when a Pentium 90 was basically melting away under big heat sink, nobody cared about cores that can be switched on and off, dynamic frequency scaling, boosting clock rates for short bursts and so forth.
There is no "play it safe" in the CPU manufacturing business.
Even if everything today is "fast enough" for nearly everything, the competition has shifted in completely different ways.
But you left out one fact. The war today is as furious as it has been 20 years ago.
Today it's about energy consumption and intelligent energy saving.
Twenty years ago when a Pentium 90 was basically melting away under big heat sink, nobody cared about cores that can be switched on and off, dynamic frequency scaling, boosting clock rates for short bursts and so forth.
There is no "play it safe" in the CPU manufacturing business.
Even if everything today is "fast enough" for nearly everything, the competition has shifted in completely different ways.
Well, another small spec update in processor speed before the big Broadwell step seems quite realistic now, whether it's in September or October (or maybe later).
But what about the sizes of the ssd? Is it unrealistic to say that these sizes can double up together with this small spec update? It's almost about a year ago and those ssd sizes kept growing, isn't it?
But what about the sizes of the ssd? Is it unrealistic to say that these sizes can double up together with this small spec update? It's almost about a year ago and those ssd sizes kept growing, isn't it?
iMac next?
So I know that people are saying that if you are in the market to buy now with the means to do it just buy now instead of waiting for minuscule speed bumps...
However my main concern is based on a couple factors:
Since the last iMac update was Sept 2013, I can't see buying an iMac in the next 4-6 weeks since they will probably bring it out along with Yosemite and the new iPhone.
Am I just over thinking this or think there is some merit when it comes to going for the i7 iMac?
So I know that people are saying that if you are in the market to buy now with the means to do it just buy now instead of waiting for minuscule speed bumps...
However my main concern is based on a couple factors:
- L3 cache in i7's are expected to bump up to 8MB from 6MB
- Possibility of cheaper prices for Flash option
- Inclusion of Thunderbolt 2
Since the last iMac update was Sept 2013, I can't see buying an iMac in the next 4-6 weeks since they will probably bring it out along with Yosemite and the new iPhone.
Am I just over thinking this or think there is some merit when it comes to going for the i7 iMac?
Better integrated GPU for faster overall performance. The Retina displays can lag and stutter occasionally when swiping between spaces under heavy multitasking.
Let's hope Apple drops a GeForce 850M into the higher specced ones.
The 850M is showing huge increases in performance, between 70% and 100% faster and consumes around 50% less power. nVidia's Maxwell tech is pretty impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e933iIyIgMQ
The 850M is showing huge increases in performance, between 70% and 100% faster and consumes around 50% less power. nVidia's Maxwell tech is pretty impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e933iIyIgMQ
Actually, yeah, I have that issue on my '09 MBP when I have a decent amount of stuff open. Not sure why I didn't think of it.
When will apple apply this speed bump and refresh their rMBP? Can they make it by August? Early or late sep? Or all the way back to October. Which they'll surpass their average refresh cycle by a mile...
I'm glad that I didn't listen to people like you when I chose between buying Core Duo v.s. waiting for Core 2 Duo... ... Or 9400m v.s. 3100...
People who did their homework will likely to buy a machine that last a little longer thus save money.
Well I still have a Early 2011 Macbook Pro, so I think it's time for an upgrade
I am still with an early 2011 MBP with the then hi-res screen and plan to wait this one out until the next generation launches with Broadwell, perhaps even the generation after that with Skylake.
I have changed the drive for a Samsung 1 TB 840 EVO SSD, fitted 16 GB of RAM, swapped the Wi-Fi + Bluetooth card out with one that does Bluetooth 4.0. It is definitely fast and capable enough for my needs at the moment.
WELL my plan was to upgrade in early September, so what's a couple extra weeks if it means I'll see a modest update around October? I'm firmly in the ~if you need it now, buy it now~ camp, which is why I wasn't too intent on waiting for a small refresh, but now that these chips have been launched and the rumors are becoming more substantial, I might as well wait a tiny bit longer to get "2014" stamped on my machine. It's too bad I'll likely be missing out on the back to school promotion, though.
Well, I don't know whether to wait or not, I'm still with my late 2008 MBP with added 8GB RAM and SSD, and I'm so sick of it.
There's a sad story...I bought this MBP in April, 2009, I was a Mac rookie back then. As you all know, after 2 months at WWDC 2009, Apple launched the whole new MBP with lots of new features, including built-in battery, SD-card slot, faster GPU...
Will there be a minor upgrade this fall? if so, I don't want to wait another 2 months for a minor CPU speed bump...
There's a sad story...I bought this MBP in April, 2009, I was a Mac rookie back then. As you all know, after 2 months at WWDC 2009, Apple launched the whole new MBP with lots of new features, including built-in battery, SD-card slot, faster GPU...
Will there be a minor upgrade this fall? if so, I don't want to wait another 2 months for a minor CPU speed bump...
Nice, but I'm holding out for the next major Intel chip refresh, not a simple spec bump. Then i'm all in.
Why not? I don't think they went out of their way to do it. Manufacturing processes mature over time and this is likely a result of that. Intel could have sold the same SKU's or taken advantage of the improved processes and simply increased the multi by 1 across the range and create new SKU's. Someone with an existing haswell CPU may not buy it, but not everyone is running a Haswell CPU. I'm on a C2D and this is likely enough for me to upgrade.
I'm in the same boat as many of you who are deciding to wait. The only thing that's really getting me on waiting is the fanless concept and a possible redesign. Considering I would have this machine for ~5 years I would want it to not be outdated.
For the 2015 launch, is it expected in early, late, or mid 2015? Because if it's a year from now I might as well upgrade from this Mid-2009 MBP now
For the 2015 launch, is it expected in early, late, or mid 2015? Because if it's a year from now I might as well upgrade from this Mid-2009 MBP now
Still doesn't answer my question
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With a 20% GPU increase, the Iris Pro integrated GPU will be just as good as the 850/950m.
Well I still have a Early 2011 Macbook Pro, so I think it's time for an upgrade
Would like to differenciate here. At least it depends very much on the type of work you are doing as well as the setup of your 2011 macbook, wheter it makes sense to upgrade or not.
I own a maxxed out antiglare hi-res cMBP i7 2.2 early 2011 (16 GB ram, two SSDs running in raid-0) and investing anything now will give me pretty much the same technology and performance as i've already got, maybe only 15 - 20% faster (See geekbench scores!). Only a few years ago, i would have gotten a machine twice as fast after 3 years. - Definately not worth the money, if you are really honest and take into account glossy retina vs. non-glossy display!
Since i'm a programmer and i do code a lot, i think - yes, the retina display is nice - okay - BUT it's glossy which is a major drawback. - I'd expect a considerable improvement for performance and (!) battery life with Broadwell, therefore i'll wait. Besides that my existing 2011 MBP is so fast that i don't even need anything better, the only argument is the "i want something new" which really is the "human factor" but not a hard fact.
However, maybe a photographer has a different opinion about the retina display who doesn't care about raw processing power but rather a beautiful display with nice colors.
p.s. thumbs up apple, for the "new" batteries. i've got 850 cycles and it's still got real long battery life. awesome!
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