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January 2008 MacBook Pros with Penryn Processors?
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Funny, all I care about are the cosmetics of the new MBP. My old MBP has some rather major irritations.
1. Let the hard drive be user replaceable, first and foremost. There ain't no Apple store on every corner of the world.
2. C'mon, would it kill them to add just ONE more USB port?
3. It WOULD be nice if a lot of the critical ports were shifted to the left side seeing as I'm right handed and my mouse is always getting caught up in the mess of wires on the right...ethernet..firewire...usb drive...bah. Better yet, move the ethernet port to the back.
4. A subtle hard drive light would be nice so I can tell the computer is actually working on something instead of just freezing up on me.
1. Let the hard drive be user replaceable, first and foremost. There ain't no Apple store on every corner of the world.
2. C'mon, would it kill them to add just ONE more USB port?
3. It WOULD be nice if a lot of the critical ports were shifted to the left side seeing as I'm right handed and my mouse is always getting caught up in the mess of wires on the right...ethernet..firewire...usb drive...bah. Better yet, move the ethernet port to the back.
4. A subtle hard drive light would be nice so I can tell the computer is actually working on something instead of just freezing up on me.
If you want loner update cycles with your Mac, then choose the Intel Mac Pro. I took delivery of mine on my wife's birthday of Sep 12, 2006. At that time it was already a month or so old. Other that adding the dual quad-core to the line-up all prices. speeds & features are still the same. That means 13-14 months already. Then there may be a change in 2008, a but we'll have to wait & see.
In my opinion wanting Apple to wait longer to update their computers is really wanting to hold back others just to make your system the fastest or best for a longer time. It is also being a little short sighted. My Intel Mac Pro is just as fast as it was when I purchased it a year ago. But it would be nice for others to have a choice to go faster or with more other abilities.
Bill the TaxMan
Dammit I was hoping for a good refresh of the MacBookPro line when Leopard hits...
I guess I'll have to play it by ear, I'm getting tired of this old centrino Asus laptop... grrrr come on apple!
I guess I'll have to play it by ear, I'm getting tired of this old centrino Asus laptop... grrrr come on apple!
There's a huge difference between the kind of CAD use you must be talking about (individual parts only, for example), and what the people using Pro/E, Solidworks, etc do -- huge assemblies as in an entire airplane constituted of millions of parts into assemblies and mechanisms. Merely a 10 part mechanism reduces something like a Macbook to a crawl. My iMac with the best graphics available for it is really overwhelmed by my measely CAD schoolwork.
I dual boot to run the Pro/E, of course.
Engineers and undoubtedly many industrial designers, architechts, etc are forced to buy Lenova, Dell, etc because they have Quadro graphics, though I'm many are undoubtedly otherwise Mac users and would prefer a MB Pro
If Penryns have reduced TDP, then GPU can improve...
I'm pretty sure that the mobile Penryns will have a lower TDP than their Merom equivalents. Consequently, it might be possible that a MacBook Pro or iMac based upon a Penryn mobile CPU will be able to handle a GPU with a higher TDP.
What do people think about an iMac announced at MWSF '08 based on Penryn mobile with a better GPU than the 2600 Pro / XT hybrid they currently have ?
I'm pretty sure that the mobile Penryns will have a lower TDP than their Merom equivalents. Consequently, it might be possible that a MacBook Pro or iMac based upon a Penryn mobile CPU will be able to handle a GPU with a higher TDP.
What do people think about an iMac announced at MWSF '08 based on Penryn mobile with a better GPU than the 2600 Pro / XT hybrid they currently have ?
That's true... but as i said... didn't tried the 8600GT so maybe real good
I have a 2.4GHZ 15" MBP, and in Windows XP Pro (ala Bootcamp) I run Bioshock at 1440x900 with no noticeable lag at max settings. I can tell when a game gets below 30FPS or so, and it definitely does not.
That means that it plays a high end, graphically intensive game on max settings with no lag, which is something *most* video cards can't say, desktop *or* notebook. I am definitely happy with this thing, and have zero complaints whatsoever.
Love these "platform refreshes" - since there's no piece of hardware named "Santa Rosa", a new version of it is very easy to produce!!!
I'm sure someone has answered this but just in case....
The issue is more about the physics of operating transistors in silicon. There are well defined curves which show X amount of heat is generated for each clock frequency value.
So based on the manufacturing process used, if you clock your chip at 2GHz, and the chip contains N transistors with a switching factor of S, the chip will average D degrees. In that equation, only the input clock speed is not fixed, all other factors are.
Since you don't want to carry a water chiller with you on your laptop, they have to design a heat dissipation system within the bounds of the physical case. This constraint on the dissipation system means only G watts of power (heat) can be dissipated by the cooling system. this is the factor that determines what clock speed can be used in a design.
It has been observed that performance can be increased and overall power heat dissipation decreased if multiple cores are used. however the system is still constrained by how much (heat) power it can dissipate, not only average power, but instantaneous power.
In short, physics dictates what we can do. There are very hard limits; much like the speed of light is the fastest anything can go, silicon doesn't hold any magic.
Yup, I had...but I didn't use algebra
Out of curiosity, do you suppose we'll see the mbp go as high as 2.6? That would really be hitting the upper end of the 2-3 scale, and the heat would probably be sufficient to microwave popcorn
I know even the current MBPs are great for gaming. I can't buy one though because they are not available with "Pro" level graphics. By "Pro", I mean full OpenGL as used in scientific, engineering, industrial design work, even things like Pixar are done with the "full" OpenGL as opposed to the gaming subset. I mean the real 3D computing standard, not the tiny subset optimized for video games that standard cards use. In fact, sadly, since MS goes around buying every good game manufacturer that appears, the vast majority of games these dys aren't even the gaming subset of OpenGL, but rather DirectX which is MS' gaming-only 3D copy of OpenGL.
Thus, nearly all gaming cards these days are designed primarily for DirectX, then for "gaming OpenGL", and that's it. "Pro" graphics cards are the only ones designed for OpenGL as it is used by pros. The main pro graphics cards these days are NVidia Quadro and ATI FireGL.
Apple's Pro desktop line is available with very high end "Pro" graphics -- the Quadro FX4500. It's a shame the pro notebooks aren't available with even a low-end Mobile Quadro or Fire Mobility option, because even the lowe-end models are 10 times better than any gamer card in 3D modeling performance.
Thus, nearly all gaming cards these days are designed primarily for DirectX, then for "gaming OpenGL", and that's it. "Pro" graphics cards are the only ones designed for OpenGL as it is used by pros. The main pro graphics cards these days are NVidia Quadro and ATI FireGL.
Apple's Pro desktop line is available with very high end "Pro" graphics -- the Quadro FX4500. It's a shame the pro notebooks aren't available with even a low-end Mobile Quadro or Fire Mobility option, because even the lowe-end models are 10 times better than any gamer card in 3D modeling performance.
Definitely getting a MacBookPro come January. A present to myself... late Christmas ? ah well, the iPhone was suppose to be early Christmas, but hey, you only live once.
Is the good money still on new macbook pros come January? Or is that gonna be put off by the update last week to the 2.6?
Any news on these yet i've finally decided to make the switch to a mac after struggling with vista for the past couple of months pretty much settled on the top end 15inch. I found this site whilst mooching for info on macs and now i'm in 2 minds do i wait until jan to buy one or get it next week i wouldn't be too bothered if it was just the insides upgraded but a casing change etc would make it feel outdated after a month. I know thats slightly shallow but spending so much money on a shiny new thing only to have it changed completely in a month or less would be horrible especially as i have to walk past an apple shop most days seeing a new version of what i've just bought in the window every day. On the other hand i want one now because vista has annoyed me so much and i'd be gutted if i struggled on for another month for nothing. Thanks for any help guys.
pretty much settled on the top end 15inch. I found this site whilst mooching for info on macs and now i'm in 2 minds do i wait until jan to buy one or get it next week i wouldn't be too bothered if it was just the insides upgraded but a casing change etc would make it feel outdated after a month. I know thats slightly shallow but spending so much money on a shiny new thing only to have it changed completely in a month or less would be horrible especially as i have to walk past an apple shop most days seeing a new version of what i've just bought in the window every day. On the other hand i want one now because vista has annoyed me so much and i'd be gutted if i struggled on for another month for nothing. Thanks for any help guys.Any news on these yet i've finally decided to make the switch to a mac after struggling with vista for the past couple of months
Honestly, since you are in the market for a Macbook Pro, it did just receive the option to go to 2.6 GHZ...that to Apple constitutes an "update." The only reason Apple will release one at Macworld will be if this recent "Touchpad" is as interesting as 9-to-5 mac claims it to be and a re-haul of the design is coming. For the record, 9-to-5 Mac has been spot on this year with rumors, so there is some credibility there.
If I were you, I would wait until Macworld unless you need the computer. If speed/performance is your only concern, the current model is more than powerful enough...if you are concerned with hardware features like the rumored multi-touch Trackpad, then wait and see if Apple surprises us in January.
Not to be redundant but, "Is it worth the wait?"
Options for MBP...
Am still browsing the forums to try to figure out whether to get it now or wait for upgrade to Penryn in January or February (assuming the rumors are true).
Son has MBP and complains of over-heating and battery issues. As an amateur photographer, I want the max RAM (will probably order separately through another vendor to save $$$). I also want the matte high resolution screen due to more realistic color saturation and representation.
Have been considering 15" but although I want portability when needed, this will also serve as my desktop, so I'm thinking that the 17" might serve me better. Also, I tend to have many applications and many windows open at once, so 17" will probably give me better immediate access visually.
Am not in a HUGE hurry, but my old Dell laptop is on its last legs and is very very slow (and does not have the features I need at this point), so the sooner the better, except that I am hearing that the Penryn will not have the heating issues and will be faster (?) so really am torn as to whether to ride it out on my Dell or buy now.
Another thing is that when the new MBP comes out, there will probably be bugs to be ironed out; not sure I want to have to deal with that; buying a 'tested' system such as the current MBP may be the way to go.
Advise?
Options for MBP...
Am still browsing the forums to try to figure out whether to get it now or wait for upgrade to Penryn in January or February (assuming the rumors are true).
Son has MBP and complains of over-heating and battery issues. As an amateur photographer, I want the max RAM (will probably order separately through another vendor to save $$$). I also want the matte high resolution screen due to more realistic color saturation and representation.
Have been considering 15" but although I want portability when needed, this will also serve as my desktop, so I'm thinking that the 17" might serve me better. Also, I tend to have many applications and many windows open at once, so 17" will probably give me better immediate access visually.
Am not in a HUGE hurry, but my old Dell laptop is on its last legs and is very very slow (and does not have the features I need at this point), so the sooner the better, except that I am hearing that the Penryn will not have the heating issues and will be faster (?) so really am torn as to whether to ride it out on my Dell or buy now.
Another thing is that when the new MBP comes out, there will probably be bugs to be ironed out; not sure I want to have to deal with that; buying a 'tested' system such as the current MBP may be the way to go.
Advise?
Options for MBP...
Am still browsing the forums to try to figure out whether to get it now or wait for upgrade to Penryn in January or February (assuming the rumors are true).
Son has MBP and complains of over-heating and battery issues. As an amateur photographer, I want the max RAM (will probably order separately through another vendor to save $$$). I also want the matte high resolution screen due to more realistic color saturation and representation.
Have been considering 15" but although I want portability when needed, this will also serve as my desktop, so I'm thinking that the 17" might serve me better. Also, I tend to have many applications and many windows open at once, so 17" will probably give me better immediate access visually.
Am not in a HUGE hurry, but my old Dell laptop is on its last legs and is very very slow (and does not have the features I need at this point), so the sooner the better, except that I am hearing that the Penryn will not have the heating issues and will be faster (?) so really am torn as to whether to ride it out on my Dell or buy now.
Another thing is that when the new MBP comes out, there will probably be bugs to be ironed out; not sure I want to have to deal with that; buying a 'tested' system such as the current MBP may be the way to go.
Advise?
I think your last sentence answered your question. If a radical new design is released in January, it might very well have bugs to be ironed out in subsequent versions.
Plus:
- It looks like Apple is getting away from matte screens (unfortunately, in my opinion), so their new MBPs might be all glossy.
- If your heart is set on a 17", it's not certain they will come out with a new version in January. In the past Apple has sometimes waited a while after releasing new 15" models before introducing a new 17". A lot of the rumors now are about a new smaller 13" MBP.
When will the macbook pros ever arrive in stores? because you guys (and everywhere else) are saying that it will be announced in the macworld expo. I heard that it will take another +-1 month before it actually reaches the stores.
im going to buy a macbook pro in the december holidays but if it's just going to be a speed bump then i think i should just get it then. if apple releases a newer screen (higher res) for the 15" then i'll definitely wait... aargh how frustrating.
im going to buy a macbook pro in the december holidays but if it's just going to be a speed bump then i think i should just get it then. if apple releases a newer screen (higher res) for the 15" then i'll definitely wait... aargh how frustrating.
I think that for the most part, Apple retail stores do get newly announced models fairly quickly. 3rd party retailers might not, but Apple Stores certainly do. Are you near an Apple Store (or will you be near one)?