I'm still holding out hope that the Intel HD 3000 is on par with the NVidia 320M. Right now NVidia has no interest with laptop IGP type GPU's ... their all about Tegra2/2.5/3 going forward since their patent deal agreement with Intel means Intel cannot touch that Tegra technology.
NVidia has no interest with any sort of IGP chipsets at all because Intel barred them from making IGP chips such as the 320m for the Core i architecture, and there's little market for non-AMD IGP's in AMD-based systems.
Oh and this talk about Apple couldn't use a dedicated GPU with Intel Core i (2nd gen chips) is bullcrap as Samsung, Asus, and a few others have ALREADY begun doing so in their lineups - be damned with Intel. Apple just has a tighter restriction with Intel going in bed with ThunderBolt and with no AMD focus backup to the 320M/330M in terms of efficiency and power.
You're neglecting the fact that Apple is indeed using dedicated AMD GPU's with their higher-end notebooks. In fact, the 320m/330m was NOT a dedicated GPU, but a complete I/O chipset with IGP, which
is specifically barred by Intel for the Core i series CPU's, primarily because Intel intends to actually integrate the IGP onto the CPU itself in most applications.
That's a very arrogant view to take. I've been playing all sorts of games on my mid-2009 13" MBP, from Mass Effect 2 to New Vegas to Street Fighter IV and so on.
You are also sadly not of the majority of students who would be looking to buy 13" MBP. What he said is very much on the mark, as the price/performance crown for ~13" notebooks has always belonged to someone other than Apple in recent history, and most serious gamers favor absolute performance for the money at a given size over factors such as longevity, system weight, industrial design, and battery life. Apple always tries to go for a balance of performance, portability and overall design (aesthetic as well as engineering), but that means that compromises have to be made on all fronts to create a balanced package. One issue being that 13" simply isn't big enough to fit a dedicated GPU alongside a large enough battery to squeeze out decent battery life in addition to handling heat dissipation issues. At less than 1" thin, the 13" barely has enough cooling capacity to handle the CPU and I/O chipset, let alone having to deal with a separate GPU. The 320m was an I/O chipset with IGP, so it reduced the number of significant heat sources and required footprint on the logic board. Since they can no longer do that, Intel graphics integrated onto the CPU is the only realistic, up-to-date option Apple had.
In the case of the new 13" MBP, the target demographic is getting more of what they need and less of what they don't by trading graphics power for raw processing power. Intel's new IGP is enough for everyday tasks that involve heavy 2D multi-media, even though it is lacking in 3D graphical prowess.
It's like beating a dead horse. Do we need to call the waaaahmbulance?
