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Late-2014 rMBP what will be new?
- Thread starter jimthing
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My hopes are display related: upgrade the resolution so 1440x900 is "best for retina", and change panel to IGZO to improve battery life/reduce power needs from the processor.
If they leave everything else alone I'm happy.
If they leave everything else alone I'm happy.
Not really. Before the launch, the previous Ivy Bridge model could be had for the everyday price of $1999 on Amazon, but that's not the source of sales for most people. There have been seasonal sales, bring the price down as low as $1750 (Best Buy, B&H). Furthermore, it's a new model; the old Retinas debuted for $2199 with virtually no price cuts. If you compare the price points at comparable points in the life cycle, the drop is real. I'm sure you'll see more non-seasonally adjusted cuts as the Haswell model ages as well.
Also, if you wanted to talk about actual average sales price, you should have said so. Somehow I'm not surprised, given that you're the same guy who continued to think his computer "runs too hot" despite the CPU running within the tolerances specified on Intel's own web site.
I've spent most of my life doing market research, including price elasticity studies. So yeah, I'd love that downrank option too. Sure would be useful for dealing with naive commentary. Seems that's all too common here, especially among certain posters who make the same amazingly poor comments time and time again.
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By the time intel caught up with the power of d-gpu by today's standards, the d-gpu would be much more powerful.
If apple is really stupid enough to get rid of it, then let them.
If apple is really stupid enough to get rid of it, then let them.
It's not "stupid." It's math. There's at tradeoff in terms of margin per unit versus incremental lost sales. The number of people who simply can't deal with an iGPU is relatively small, and decreasing. Broadwell should narrow that gap significantly, with its 30-40% (claimed) iGPU performance increase.
Also, 10 years is an awful long time frame for prognostication. It wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see no dGPU makers at that point in time—or for companies like Intel to have given up the graphics ghost.
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Modern games are not meant to be played at a native resolution with the current retina models. My 2012 rMBP can comfortably play any game I tried, including latest titles.
I'm happy to entertain you. But if you know something about how CPUs/GPUs work, this is suddenly not that funny, I assure you
I am not really talking about Apple, I am talking about the general tendency in the industry. GPUs will be most likely replaced by a cluster of general-purpose processing units. This makes a lot of sense to me - GPUs exist because we needed a lot of performance to deal with specific tasks, performance which could be only achieved by certain hardware hacks and parallelism. We started with 8087 as a specialised mathematical unit, which was then integrated to the CPU. A GPU is basically the same thing - a specialised coprocessor. We have already observed the transformation of a GPU from a pure graphics processor to a general-purpose stream processing unit with barely any graphics-specific functionality left. And modern CPUs gain more and more features of a GPU.Haswell can do a fused multiply-add and also has gather support; future CPUs will support 512-bit and even 1024-bit registers with scatter-gather support, essentially making them a GPU. By the time AVX-1024 arrives, Intel can probably eliminate the iGPU core altogether and do all the graphics computing using the SIMD cores.
Let's look at the following example. Haswell CPU can currently do two fused multiply-add instructions on 256-bit (8 floating-point values each) SIMD registers per clock. The Iris has 40 512-bit wide (16 floating-point values each) execution units. By doubling the width of the units to 1024-bit and integrating 16 units per CPU core, it could process 16*32=512 floating point values per clock. With 4 cores, its 2048 values, and at 2.0 Ghz we are looking at 4096 GFLOPs - which is in-line with the most powerful today's GPUs. And of course, the efficiency of the execution units will increase in the future.
Now, of course a dedicated stream processor will offer you more performance. But at some point this performance becomes unnecessary. If a CPU already provides enough performance to play a demanding game on a HiDPI screen, why would one bother with a GPU, even 4 times more powerful? The successors of modern GPUs will most likely become specialised computation units for supercomputers, but as I said, they will probably disappear from consumer computers.
I actually even expect RAM to disappear
I believe it will be stacked on the same die as the CPU at some point, just as Nvidia intends to do with Volta architecture. This also makes a lot of sense, both economically and performance wise - it increases reliability, decreases cost and package space, less energy while enabling crazy performance. For example, Micron is able to get 160GB/sec bandwidth with its hybrid memory cube engineering samples - using stacked 'old' DDR3 cells.Will it be worth it to wait for the 2014? I'm an application/web developer and I'd really appreciate it if Apple happens to make the base model have 8GB RAM and be quad-core... For the 13" Retina. I don't NEED a laptop right now... Just it'd be nice to have to do some self-development over college's winter break. What's the likelihood of the 2014 base 13 having quad core with 8GB ram?
Also, early-2014 or late-2014?
Also, early-2014 or late-2014?
Mid-Late 2014 release, 8GB RAM is possible for a base model. Quad-cores not so likely. Maybe in 2015 for high-end models.
I think they will like likely,
update HDMI, improve CPU marginally (Spec Bump), improve battery life, improve FaceTime HD, add USB 3.1, improve Discrete GPU in high end 15 strongly, improve integrated GPU marginally, add a quad core option in 13s, add 32 gb ram in 15s.
Mid 2014
Thanks
Shaown
update HDMI, improve CPU marginally (Spec Bump), improve battery life, improve FaceTime HD, add USB 3.1, improve Discrete GPU in high end 15 strongly, improve integrated GPU marginally, add a quad core option in 13s, add 32 gb ram in 15s.
Mid 2014
Thanks
Shaown
you mentioned TB3 in your post and that's my point, with TB2 just being released there is no TB3
My post was mostly meant as a joke.
Consumer laptops of course need both screen and keyboard.
However that is not true of computers in general. If we extend the definition of computer to tablets and gaming consoles, you have examples that have no keyboard and in one case only external screens. A server or workstation in the basement also doesn't need in or output devices, just some network connection.
But we are talking MBP here. This has always been Apples conservative line, while a lot of the newer stuff like SSDs, no optical drive etc have appeared on the MBA first, or on the iPhone/iPad in case of the retina screen. Taking that into account, I don't see much new stuff coming to the MBPs in the next year.
I was going to buy the high-end 15 inch model during the summer of 2014, but seeing as the new 800M series graphics cards were released I'm unsure of whether to wait for a Fall 2014 release. Is there a chance that some time during/before summer an updated version with 850/860M graphics will be released?
Doubt that. Apple's unlikely to come out with an rMBP that still uses a Haswell CPU but a Maxwell GPU.
Most likely they'll have a minor spec bump in mid/late-2014 (still Haswell) and still maintain the Kepler GPU.
Perhaps around early/mid 2015, depending on Intel's release of Broadwell, only then Apple will launch a new rMBP with Broadwell and toss in Maxwell GPUs along with it.
So if we believe the front page, there will be an update in september. Given that Broadwell won't be ready then, this can only mean the following:
- minor spec bump in fall (either for back to school or for the holiday sales window)
- Broadwell not before 2015.
- the 15'' could get a new GPU... or not...
Based on the current evolution of RAM and storage prices, I don't expect much in terms of higher specs. Maybe 8 GB as standard for the 13''.
- minor spec bump in fall (either for back to school or for the holiday sales window)
- Broadwell not before 2015.
- the 15'' could get a new GPU... or not...
Based on the current evolution of RAM and storage prices, I don't expect much in terms of higher specs. Maybe 8 GB as standard for the 13''.
Wait what? Why maintain a Kepler GPU in a possible mid/late 2014 release when the Maxwells are already out and consume much less power with better performance? Sounds like an Apple dream - better battery life AND performance.
Because after all the GT 750M is not really that powerful and many PCs are already using the 800M series. Apple is seriously going to be behind if they wait a year before they add in Maxwell - that is, unless Intel integrated graphics catches up before that.
The problem is, Broadwells aren't out yet. Knowing Apple, they'd be more likely to consolidate big changes together and not make one big change (Maxwell) with one small change (minor Haswell bump).
They've been in that position before, and in the past kept to their game plan. That is they don't try to follow others, but roll out updates when according to their schedule.
As for being far behind in the GPUs, other then gaming its impact may not be as far reaching as some people thing. Apple caters the laptops to the general consumer and the current setup is more then adequate for such sales.
Macs weren't built for gaming in the first place anyway. It's more commonly used as a media production tool by photographers, videographers, DJs..et cetera.
EDIT: I recalled that there was some lad around the TechInferno forums who posted instructions on rigging up a Thunderbolt eGPU (basically this guy connected a GTX570 into an 11" MacBook Air and played Windows games at high settings smoothly).
Maybe someone out there could also get a Maxwell and rig it up to an rMBP via Thunderbolt.
I expect the changes to be a lot more conservative than this. It looks like any refreshening of the MBP in 2014 will be very similar to that which Apple released in February 2013. Don't expect anything more than a 100MHz improvement in CPU clock rates.
In 2015, perhaps about March, we should see Broadwell MBPs, with bigger changes. The Broadwell MBP will probably drop the discrete GPU altogether, and may include HDMI 2.0 or USB 3.1 or both. The 13" and 15" models will probably still be limited to 16GB of DRAM. IGZO is a possibility. Don't expect to see a fingerprint scanner or any significant changes to the case. The FaceTime camera may be upgraded to 1080p. There is a good chance the 13" models may include a quad-core option. Battery life will probably improve by at least an hour. By Broadwell, at the latest, the 4GB DRAM option will be gone and there is a chance that the 128GB flash option might also be gone.
First off, while there is some minor chest beating in this thread most of you have some really well thought out opinions. And if there is one thing we can all agree on, Apple is on their own time table and frankly none of us know what they are planning or when.
I keep hearing folks talk about Broadwell, and has been noted by some knowledgable folks in here its been pushed to Q1 of 2015 for the higher end i7 class mobile CPU's. And man does that feel far away to me.
I don't think Apple is going to have much to offer spec bump wise outside the new 850m and a very light CPU bump. I read on a couple sites that the only chip that had been earmarked as a possible upgrade is the i7 4860 (currently is a 4850.) No one knows what the next iteration of the i7 4960HQ is (currently the 2.6ghz top tier processor.)
I think that Apple will bump the units with a minor CPU update that is the same CPU with a minor clock bump, and put the 850m in the unit because they can. As has been noted on the front page of Mac Rumors, a source with a very competent and reliable track record has said that the units are scheduled to be updated in September. Is that right? Who knows. It seems that Q1 of next year and Broadwells release would be a better time to do a full chassis update but this is any mans guessing game.
I am personally hoping for an 850m bump because I am in the market for a new machine and ready to buy next week. I'd love to get a Maxwell unit due to the 50% faster GPU. Diablo 3 running natively at 50-60fps sounds pretty sweet to me
Cheers everyone.
I keep hearing folks talk about Broadwell, and has been noted by some knowledgable folks in here its been pushed to Q1 of 2015 for the higher end i7 class mobile CPU's. And man does that feel far away to me.
I don't think Apple is going to have much to offer spec bump wise outside the new 850m and a very light CPU bump. I read on a couple sites that the only chip that had been earmarked as a possible upgrade is the i7 4860 (currently is a 4850.) No one knows what the next iteration of the i7 4960HQ is (currently the 2.6ghz top tier processor.)
I think that Apple will bump the units with a minor CPU update that is the same CPU with a minor clock bump, and put the 850m in the unit because they can. As has been noted on the front page of Mac Rumors, a source with a very competent and reliable track record has said that the units are scheduled to be updated in September. Is that right? Who knows. It seems that Q1 of next year and Broadwells release would be a better time to do a full chassis update but this is any mans guessing game.
I am personally hoping for an 850m bump because I am in the market for a new machine and ready to buy next week. I'd love to get a Maxwell unit due to the 50% faster GPU. Diablo 3 running natively at 50-60fps sounds pretty sweet to me
Cheers everyone.
Unless the 850M will cost less than the 750M, it's difficult to imagine any reason why Apple would want to go through the engineering and production expense and risk of switching. All this talk of an 850M this year seems to be based on nothing but wishful thinking.