MacBook, MacBook Pro To See Merom Upgrade Next Month?

[Unspeaked]

Everyone waiting on the Core 2 Duo MacBook needs to get a clue.

It's the same folks who were falling over waiting to WWDC to come so they could order their Core 2 Duo MacBooks after the keynote!

Apple IS NOT going to move the MacBook to a Core 2 Duo until they've updated:

1) MacBook Pro

2) iMac

3) Maybe even Mac Mini, since it's been out forever!

The MacBook is barely three months old. It may get a speed bump and/or price cut soon, but won't get a new chip.

All of you saying Apple has to upgrade it to a Core 2 Duo to complete with Dell, HP, etc - why? Why do they HAVE to? Will they explode if they don't? Will the sun stop shining? Will all the world's puppies die?

Of course they'll upgrade it eventually. That doesn't mean it needs to be upgraded as soon as the chips are available. If you look at other PC maker's sites, most of their machines don't even have the Core Duo chips yet; there's no rush.

You can't claim Apple will inevitable act a certain way now that they're on Intel chips; you don't know that. They have no history of using Intel chips. Just because your bright minds think it would be a good idea to move the MB line to the latest and greatest chip whenever a new one is released by Intel because "that's what the other guys are doing," it doesn't mean Apple agrees with you.

What we DO know for a fact is Apple like to differentiate between consumer and pro lines, and Apple has never been one to put the latest chips into the iMac or Mac Mini level machines - and I don't see either of that changing.

 

[IlluminatedSage]

apple needs to introduce a computer which is between the mac mini and the mac pro tower.

I want a mini tower, with 2 pci slots. you know something in the price range of $899-999 usd.

where i can upgrade the graphics card or order it with a better graphics card.

Some of us do not want to be tied to the imac screen/body. I love to be able to upgrade my own computer's graphics card.

Cmon apple. give us a mid tier system we can upgrade ourselves. The Macmini just doesnt cut it. virtually the only thing in that we can chance is the CPU, Memory or hard drive.

 

[dernhelm]

Why would they give the Macbook that but leave the iMac with the original Core Duo? Doesn't make sense. I would think all three would get it or just the Macbook Pro.

The report out of China was about companies supplying macbooks, not the one's supplying the iMacs. They said nothing about the iMac because they weren't in that model's supply chain. I would expect the iMac to updated at the same time as well. I'm also betting that the macbook pro and macbook both get core 2 duo chips, with MBP getting faster ones with 4MB L2 cache, and MB getting slower ones with lower L2 cache.

 

[dernhelm]

apple needs to introduce a computer which is between the mac mini and the mac pro tower.

I want a mini tower, with 2 pci slots. you know something in the price range of $899-999 usd.

where i can upgrade the graphics card or order it with a better graphics card.

Some of us do not want to be tied to the imac screen/body. I love to be able to upgrade my own computer's graphics card.

Cmon apple. give us a mid tier system we can upgrade ourselves. The Macmini just doesnt cut it. virtually the only thing in that we can chance is the CPU, Memory or hard drive.

The mini and macbook seem destined to use onboard video for the near (foreseeable) future. That's one of the differentiators Apple is using on those "consumer" brands.

When you think about it, it isn't unreasonable, if updating the iMac's video card weren't such a herculean effort, you could just point "pro-sumers" at the iMac, or 15" macbook.

The real problem is that they made video card upgrades on the iMac very difficult.

 

[jholzner]

Apple IS NOT going to move the MacBook to a Core 2 Duo until they've updated:

1) MacBook Pro

2) iMac

3) Maybe even Mac Mini, since it's been out forever!

Both the iMac and the MBP have been out longer than the Mini. The MBP has received slight CPU updates but the iMac has been out going on 8 months with no update at all.

 

[milo]

Well, hopefully the iMac will be updated sooner than the portables. Conroe is out and available in quantities now where as Merom won't be as available in quantities until the end of this month.

But the portables can be upgraded with no change to the motherboard. Conroe is a different socket, so it needs a redesign. I hope they take iMac to conroe, but it's possible they could do a merom update instead, at least as a temporary measure.

This is probably because merom is aimed at mainly at laptops, however there's no reason by they shouldn't put it in an iMac.

There are reasons. Biggest one is merom is more expensive than conroe. You'd be wasting money on power saving features that aren't needed.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it was my understanding that Yonah and Merom were being priced identically (at same clock speed) by Intel.

I doubt that will last. I assume Yonah prices will drop once merom ships.

Quad Xeons in the MacBook Pro, pretty please. After all, it is Apple's professional notebook line.

You're kidding, right? The xeon isn't a portable chip, the heat and power usage would make that impossible. Why don't you ask for three open PCI slots in your laptop while you're at it? And a pony?

NO!!!! I'm broke and have the midrange MB. I just cannot stand them releasing the much faster processor (IE: not just mhz increase) in my computer this soon!

It's not that much faster, probably about 20% at the same clock speed. That's nice, but not much different from a mhz boost.

I look at it this way, the iMac, MacMini, Macbook, and Macbook pro can use Merom as is. No changes except firmware. In the iMac's case, why mess with a good thing and spend millions on another reengineering job when you already have a machine that is fast and dead quiet right now? Conroe in an iMac only makes sense it you think of it as a prosumer Mac instead of a family machine. Then again the idea of the iMac as a prosumer machine doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Actually, you don't even need a firmware change, people have already done the swap and it works fine. Conroe does make sense in an iMac just because it's cheaper. And future chips will use the Conroe socket so they're going to need to update the design eventually anyway.

 

[3CCD]

I'm waiting after the new year with the release of OS X 10.5 and then possibly getting a MBP. When is the Pairs show? I keep reading September but what are the exact dates? Thanks.

 

[kenaustus]

I believe that the only reason why Apple has not made a full transition to Core 2 is the lack of sufficient supply from Intel. As soon as they have the inventory they will stop ordering Core and move fully to Core 2.

In terms of MB and MBP, the performance difference will be related to graphics - integrated -v- a graphics board. The MBP will also have the larger display size, lighted keyboard, etc. to place them "above" the MB.

The issue for Apple is not the difference between the MB & MBP, but the competitive position of the two in the general notebook market. Moving fully to Core 2 keeps both notebooks at the top of their market segments in terms of processors - not a bad idea since the costs of the new Core 2s is very similar to the costs they paid for Cores.

 

[Sam*]

I'm also betting that the macbook pro and macbook both get core 2 duo chips, with MBP getting faster ones with 4MB L2 cache, and MB getting slower ones with lower L2 cache.

i agree, this will set them the mb and mbp apart well

Although i still think the macbook will use core duo for a while to come with for now if the mbp's get merom, the mb will have the clock speeds of the current mbp's (2.0 and 2.16) when the new mbp is released,

But most of all i want conroe in the iMac

 

[Unspeaked]

Both the iMac and the MBP have been out longer than the Mini. The MBP has received slight CPU updates but the iMac has been out going on 8 months with no update at all.

Well yeah, but my point was they're going to move the pro lines to the Core 2 Duos before the consumer lines, regardless of the length of release.

 

[BenRoethig]

Actually, you don't even need a firmware change, people have already done the swap and it works fine. Conroe does make sense in an iMac just because it's cheaper. And future chips will use the Conroe socket so they're going to need to update the design eventually anyway.

Cheaper per chip price. Factor in all the design changes that would have to be made, and it might not be in the long run.

 

[daneoni]

Does this mean merom machines will return to the original pricing the yonah machines debuted with or will the pricing pick up from where it is now?

 

[CellarDoor]

...And please, for the love of all things holy, retire the Powerbook G5 "joke". It never was funny and it certainly isn't funny now.

Agreed.

 

[daneoni]

Agreed.

I like it

 

[Kelmon]

Well, I bought my iMac Core Duo this Wednesday. Yes, AFTER Tuesday. I kinda needed it since I've waited since June for a new Mac.

Heck, I've been waiting about 2-years now for the PowerBook G5/MacBook Pro Merom. I was gutted that they weren't announced on Monday but wasn't expecting them to be shipping anyway until much later this month or September. Anyway, looks like it'll be just over another month before an announcement plus however many days it takes to configure one and send it to me.

 

[jholzner]

I'm waiting after the new year with the release of OS X 10.5 and then possibly getting a MBP. When is the Pairs show? I keep reading September but what are the exact dates? Thanks.

September 12th-16th.

 

[Eidorian]

Merom vs. Yonah Benchmarks​

Cry me a river if you're using Yonah. Unless you need 64-bit or are encoding video/audio 24/7 on your laptop the gains aren't paramount.

 

[CommodityFetish]

Here comes Santa Claus

For the Holiday market they will want Merom in the high end (black) Macbook, if not all of them. That means Sept-Oct... Historically the iBook was updated in october... (see buyers guide...)

The difference between the MB & MBP is now the graphics card, screen size, expansion slot etc. With no 12" PB/MBP they can't afford to hold back the high end MB. If they are smart they will keep Yonah in the low end for a budget model, and Merom in the high end for pros who want a smaller & lighter laptop.

I'm guessing that's what the black MB is all about.

I'm also guessing there will not be a way to get the edu ipod deal with the new laptops, if apple's history is any indicator...

It is about time for the iMac and Mini's to update as well. It's a 64-bit marketing future for OSX and their sales of Leopard will suffer if the machines aren't out there to support this big new feature.

Come Nov. I'd say the Yonah will only be in the low end Mini and low end MB.

 

[DJMastaWes]

Do people really think were going to get Merom macbook pros at paris? I was thinkg we would see it on a tuesday before paris.

 

[daneoni]

For all who are saying Merom is not necessarily better..64 bit who needs it/no apps for it....marginally faster....waste of time waiting for it. We know we dont NEED it but we still WANT it.

Think of your cellphones they have tons of features most of us hardly use but we still like the fact that we have those features should we need em. Its ancient geek behaviour we want the best/fastest/superior no matter how marginal or ridiculously illogical/impractical.

 

[bluetorch18]

I really hope Apple gives the MBP a much better GPU that isn't underclocked out of the box. They would have my 2 grand in a second.

 

[amols]

Quite incorrect actually. The dfifference is not minimal and this isn't just a "speed bump". If you read up on the Yonah and Merom chip architectures, you'll see that that Merom has significant architectural improvements over Yonah, including a 4MB L2 cache and most notably 64-bit support over Yonah's 32-bit support. This is very significant since Jobs is pushing Leopard and its 64-bit goodness.

Umm..technically you are right, but the the difference of 5-15% is not very significant, especially compared to Conroe's 40% jump. Merom's power is limited by slower FSB which is not going to see any change anytime soon. I just hope they fix current MBP issues first like battery life, underclocked graphic card and Superdrives. CPU upgrade is just a ritual Apple has to perform to stay in the league.

 

[~Shard~]

I think he means it's a speed bump in terms of sales. Not technically. Though I may have him/her wrong.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I could see that being the case now that you mention it.

Most of the "goodness" isn't anything a laptop user will notice.

Quite true. Again, I was speaking from a technical perspective, but practically, yes, this is quite true.

Umm..technically you are right, but the the difference of 5-15% is not very significant, especially compared to Conroe's 40% jump. Merom's power is limited by slower FSB which is not going to see any change anytime soon. I just hope they fix current MBP issues first like battery life, underclocked graphic card and Superdrives. CPU upgrade is just a ritual Apple has to perform to stay in the league.

Gotcha, and agreed - see above.

 

[~Shard~]

Do people really think were going to get Merom macbook pros at paris? I was thinkg we would see it on a tuesday before paris.

I think Paris would be a logical time to unveil a new product. That being said, this is "just an upgrade", not a new product (it's not like the MacBooks are moving to Intel for the first time), so perhaps they will receive an update on "any given Tuesday" instead, and Paris will be reserved for something new, for instance a new full-screen touchless iPod.

 

[QCassidy352]

I've said all along the imac will get conroe. With woodcrest in the mac pro, I'd say it's pretty well guaranteed. The imac only got a laptop processor because it was the only choice. From here on out it'll get the desktop processor it deserves.

I also think the macbook will get merom sooner rather than later. The two lines will still be differentiated by size, screen res, casing, backlit keys, dedicated graphics, and express card slot. The macbook needs to compete against PC laptops, not the macbook pro. The processors will pretty similar on the G4 laptops before intel (1.33/1.42 for the ibook, 1.5/1.67 for the powerbook) and yet there were still plenty of compelling reasons to go for the powerbook. Same thing still applies.