Intel to Supply Apple with Special High-End Haswell Processors for MacBook Pro

[imageWIS]

I'm confused:

Is this for MBP or Retina MBP? Would make no sense to need all this GPU power for the low-res standard screens.

It does if you are going to power two 4K screens at once.

 

[H2SO4]

This mean it's suitable for gaming in a VM?

 

[twoodcc]

hopefully the prices come down a little also

 

[iLilana]

must resist

macpro first

 

[thelookingglass]

I would be seriously upset if I owned a 2013 MBA. Unless I rode a train 12 hours a day and had the muscles of a 1 year old its old news compared to the upcoming rMBP.

Uh what? The MBA is also several hundred dollars cheaper, much thinner, lighter and runs much cooler and quieter. For those who don't need the retina screen or anything else the rMBP offers above and beyond the MBA, why would they spend the extra cash? Makes no sense.

 

[Ryth]

What about professional users who also need portability? This is a bad decision by Apple and this decision will drive me to hackintoshes in the future. Haswell has enough battery life increase that it can easily be paired with dGPUs and still increase the battery life overall.

Agreed. This is my big concern. I need a good powerful portable graphics/editing laptop and was going to get the next MBPR and was waiting for them to have a 1GB dedicated GPU.

Reading this, it just really concerns me that these laptops are no longer going to be suitable for after effects, premiere, FC7, FCX, etc.

 

[FuFuFu]

Apple what are you doing? PRO without a dedicated GPU? No way i would pay over 2000$ for it.

 

[JamonBull]

I find it difficult to believe that Apple's 2013 high end 15" retina MacBook Pro will provide LESS graphics performance than their 2012 version. Apple aren't really known for taking backward steps of that magnitude. I think it's plausible and even probable that there will be an Iris Pro version of the rMBP but IMO this will either be for the 13" variant (to provide another differentiating factor to already too similar Air line) OR a low end 15". IF Apple release their highest end 15" rMBP with an integrated GPU ONLY then I will SERIOUSLY question their ability to continue satisfying the pro market and will personally be VERY angry as I've waited since 2012 to buy a Haswell 15" rMBP (I rarely buy the first iteration of a new product).

 

[cclloyd]

...and there it is. The death of the Pro in MacBook Pro. So Apple can continue their irrational obsession with stripping functionality to make thinner and thinner.

R.I.P.

I also think they shouldn't get rid of the MBP until the hardware is equivalent to high-standards in the current rMBP form factor.

When I was deciding between the rMBP and MBP, I was wondering how much I would game, because I realized that the original MBP could easily push much more power for the game when it only needs 1/4 the pixels of the rMBP. There's just simply more room for power.

Really wouldn't surprise if apple killed off discrete graphics in the 15inch proRetina.

I also think they shouldn't get rid of it. Even it the integrated has much better performance, why not be able to use BOTH at once? They could implement that. Plus there are some things that the discrete can do that the integrated just can't do.

 

[JamonBull]

What dedicated GPU would you guys most like to see in the 2013 15" rMBP if they go ahead and include one?

 

[olowott]

This is worth the wait

 

[zephonic]

Apple has requested a special top bin cream-of-the-crop GT3e selection from Intel, with "as much GPU power as possible." With the top chips going solely to Apple, that leaves the slightly less desirable remains for Intel's other customers.

I find this highly unlikely. There is no way it would make sense for Intel to reserve their top-of-the-line product for Apple exclusively. Perhaps a few weeks headstart, like they have done in the past, but exclusivity?

I don't see it...

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As for the complaints about possible discontinuance of the dedicated GPU, if Intel pulls a rabbit out of the hat and IrisPro performs on par, I can't see the downside.

Frankly, I feel that dedicated notebook GPU's have outlived their usefulness. I have a retina iPad(4) and a Haswell MacBook Air. Everything looks great and feels snappy. What do you still need a dedicated GPU for?

We're playing Infinity Blade 2 on iPad at 2048x1536. It's smooth and immediate. And that's with a SoC.

 

[SilverOath]

I've been waiting for the rMBPro update... if they scrap dedicated graphics thats out of the window and I will move on to another platform...

I've become integrated with the Mac OSX ecosystem in the last two years... because I was able to do everything I wanted on my MacBook Pro (and eventually Retina MacBook Pro). Which for me included some moderate gaming... I didn't get a S4 because it wouldn't sync my music with my MacBook and I didn't have a PC... I didn't get an android tablet for the same reason. If they are to break this link in my ecosystem it all crumbles.... for me at least....

The MacBook Pro has become my primary system because it was a desktop replacement. By attaching it to a Thunderbolt Display it I got the powerful system that was both portable and capable without the fuss of dealing with syncing files... etc. It was a single system that served me anywhere I was. If I wanted true portability and longevity there are MacBook Airs... if I wanted true power I'd consider the iMac or Mac Pro.... If they remove competitive graphics... I'm stuck in the middle where the machine is inefficient at either task. I pay the premium because it served both niches and I didn't need a supplement at home or on the road....

If the rMBPro is not competitive with the recent dedicated graphics I will no longer be tethered to the Apple Eco System.... In fact most people I know (college aged, recent college graduates) are more inclined to use laptops as their primary computer... including the casual and moderate gamers....

It already had 7 hours of battery life which was phenomenal... I'd wager that its core audience rarely required more longevity than that... It's not the right machine to forgo performance for longevity... maybe the 13"... but certainly not the 15" in the brave new world of computing that we exist in...

 

[donutbagel]

oh.. DO you have a proof its amazing & must buy & people are dying to buy it ? fanboy

and yes i have a proof i buy rMBP 15 instead of 13 hahahaa chill

DO you want receipt ? hahahah

You weren't the only person choosing between 15" and 13" for the rMBP. Why don't you check the actual sales numbers if there are any?

 

[john123]

Showing your ignorance here buddy. The Iris 5200 has the same performance as a dGPU, you don't need a chip from nVidia any more. That's the whole point of Iris, it's not like the traditional idea of an iGPU.

Seriously for everyone laughing off integrated graphics and saying gamers will be annoyed etc, you really don't understand what Iris is all about. It can match laptop dGPUs. Hence why Codemasters (who make Grid 2) have been advertising it loads, it can play their games at full pelt.

However, I'd like to take the time to remind you that this particular Iris GPU has not yet been benchmarked, and as such it's performance relative to a 650M is currently unknown. Next argument plz.

Yes, it has. For gaming, it's garbage. Anandtech's benchmarks were pretty conclusive. You, sir, are demonstrating your ignorance.

Also, this junk about this "particular" version of Iris not being benchmarked is, in a word, nonsense. You claimed Iris can match laptop dGPUs. In its current incarnation, it cannot. Your claim was refuted.

Whether this "special" batch can actually do much more is nothing more than idle speculation. Plus, this whole "special part" rumor comes from a pretty shaky source.

 

[aiom]

Would they really try to sell a $2100 "professional" laptop with Intel graphics?

They also tried to sell a laptop with glued battery, soldered RAM and harddrive, no LAN adapter, no DVD drive, double pixel resolution useless for this small screen, eating more battery life and call it "professional".

... and behold it worked and I still don't understand why.

 

[ls1dreams]

well

I just hope they put the 5200 graphics in the 13" AND the 15".

If they use the cheaper HD 4600 graphics in the 13 I'll be pretty disappointed.

I have an early 2011 MBP right now, and I'm torn if I want to just throw an SSD in it or if I should sell it and upgrade to the next model. Retina + Haswell + SSD + HD 5200 would be a rather nice upgrade.

 

[carlos916]

that would suck if they took away the cMBP line.. whats going to happen to personal upgrade options.. i.e. bigger SSD.. upgraded ram.. this would keep me away from buying one..

 

[donutbagel]

The sager np8290 17" starts at 1399. and without upgrading comes with an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770M 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11, you can upgrade to GTX 780M 4,096MB. THAT's gamer equipment.

...Aaaaaaaand it's still worse for portable gaming than a GameBoy Advance SP

 

[-LikesMac-]

Rumors about Apple dropping the dGPU from the rMBP line makes me feel as if I am never going to get an rMBP. The situation is only worse if Apple drops the rMBP line.

Seriously, I just don't see the value of an rMBP without a dGPU. In fact, I think the current rMBP lineup is underpowered for what it is.

 

[donutbagel]

Agreed. Same happened to the 17" MBP - my fav. line of MBP'S.

The 17" MBP was downright "sexy". It wasn't even for pros necessarily, just people who wanted a big screen. I don't see the reasoning behind its discontinuation.

----------

Maybe I'm not a 1337 gamer (aka someone who plays games but not exactly for fun), but I used to have a Radeon HD2600, and it was fine for any game or amateur video editing I did. I only upgraded because it couldn't deal with Mountain Lion, was choppy sometimes with GUI things, and sounded like a lawnmower. The rMBP integrated graphics will probably be fine for most people if they really are faster as it is claimed, but they really should keep a model that is actually "Pro" with a distinct GPU for stuff like 3D editing!

P.S. If anyone is wondering if the EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost SC will work on 10.8.4 totally out-of-the-box, the answer from me is a definite yes. There's just no boot screen.

 

[gnasher729]

...but many believe that Apple is planning to phase out the non-Retina varieties.

Based on what? Wishful thinking? A weird urge that nobody should be allowed to buy a Mac that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

 

[moxxey]

Agreed. I get tired of the constant bashing of the 13". I've found my i7 13" rMBP to be a very capable machine.

For a while, I owned a 15" and 15" rMBP and *preferred* the 13" as it didn't need to keep swapping out the GPU to perform tasks. On the 15", it switches to the discrete GPU even for tasks such as web browsing (due to Flash) and for most graphics-related tasks.

I also found the 13" to be less choppy when web browsing, as it only ever uses the integrated GPU.

Apart from high-end graphics work, the integrated GPU is enough for the majority of rMBP users.

 

[donutbagel]

For a while, I owned a 15" and 15" rMBP and *preferred* the 13" as it didn't need to keep swapping out the GPU to perform tasks. On the 15", it switches to the discrete GPU even for tasks such as web browsing (due to Flash) and for most graphics-related tasks.

I also found the 13" to be less choppy when web browsing, as it only ever uses the integrated GPU.

Apart from high-end graphics work, the integrated GPU is enough for the majority of rMBP users.

I've used the 13" and 15". The 15", for some reason, runs hotly and noisily compared to the 13" and isn't as nice to use.

 

[that1guyy]

If Apple wants to get the best performance they can from Intel, that means that they are forgoing a dedicated graphics card, which equals no buy for me. Wrong move Apple.

Edit: Seems others have shared the same opinion as me already.