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MacBook Pro Targeted 2.8GHz Core i7 Processors Due Later This Year

No quad core = form over function = pleasing fanboys

No quad core? That sucks, but the fanboys will be happy because they care more about the thin form factor instead of increased functionality.

Quad core is a huge step in performance, especially while running multiple applications simultaneously. However, fanboys would be against it if it made the form factor more bulky.

The "Pro" in the MacBook Pro name stands for...get this..."professional." That means doing stuff more than iTunes and iLife while trying to impress other fanboys at Starbucks. And please don't give me any crap about quad core causing decreased battery life. Duh! Of course it will decrease battery life. It is a professional grade product, or at least that is how Apple markets it. Nearly every major laptop manufacturer except Apple is offering a quad core option. [Now is where the fanboys reflexively tell me to stop complaining and just go buy one of those brands. Or that no one is forcing me to buy Apple.] I prefer OS X and think Windows sucks. It's a shame that Apple is not giving us the option to realize how great OS X would perform with a quad core processor in a laptop.
 
DesmoPilot said:
SSDs do a lot more for performance while running multiple apps than any number of cores do.
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Correct for some applications, wrong for others.

If you're doing grunt work like video/audio encoding or Photoshop - you'll be better off with more cores.

And yes, the fans will be spinning and if you aren't plugged in your battery will be dead in an hour.

And that's fine for people who need a portable workstation for professional use rather than an ebook reader or movie player for a trans-ocean flight.
 
davidjf said:
I concur. Replace the optical drive in the MBPs with a SSD (40gb or so?) for running the OS on. If people really need to use optical media, give them the option of a USB drive.
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Sir, please buy a MacBook Air and kindly leave my MBP options alone.:)
 
niuniu said:
as an option :)

I'd be happy to see the back of optical drives altogether..
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Keep the optical drives! Keep the optical drives! Keep the optical drives!

No optical drive one good reason for me not to consider a MBA or for that matter a net book. The last thing I would want to do is have to lug and plug an external for a computer that I would be using on a regular basis.
 
Anyone think the mbp's will have a speed bump soon.

I want to pick up a 2.66 i7 refurb with hi-res anti-glare screen $1999, but I wonder if apple brings a speed bump will that lower the price of the refurbs?
 
November at the earliest.

Most likely Jan-Feb. Honestly, do you encode video or use photoshop all day?

If not, you probably won't notice a huge difference from 2.66 to 2.8GHz. And even in those tasks you probably won't notice a huge difference.

And yes, you'll see more refurbs, but I don't think the price will be much different. $1999 is a pretty good deal. I saw that one and it's almost the same as mine. I paid over $2200 with student discount on mine.
 
djpuma said:
Anyone think the mbp's will have a speed bump soon.

I want to pick up a 2.66 i7 refurb with hi-res anti-glare screen $1999, but I wonder if apple brings a speed bump will that lower the price of the refurbs?
Click to expand...

To add to millertime021's comment, you can go here to get a rough idea of when the next update will be:

https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//

If you lose the link, go to the top of the MacRumors web page and click the "Buyer's Guide" tab.

For MacBook Pro, it says it's probably mid-cycle right now, so if you need a computer, you might as well get it. That's not a bad price.
 
djpuma said:
Anyone think the mbp's will have a speed bump soon.

I want to pick up a 2.66 i7 refurb with hi-res anti-glare screen $1999, but I wonder if apple brings a speed bump will that lower the price of the refurbs?
Click to expand...

I think it might be worth waiting, there could be more of a speed update, the new releases are getting some good screens and updates .. Im in the same situation, I want to get the top of the range 15" mbp but I would be hitting my self if the price drops a month after I get it !!!
 
Same

Same processor in the current 27" high end Corei7 iMacs.

They Geekbench pretty close to 10,000.

They're quite fast.

Here's a screenshot of the turboboost feature. It's interesting:

TurboBoost.jpg
 
millertime021 said:
November at the earliest.

Most likely Jan-Feb. Honestly, do you encode video or use photoshop all day?

If not, you probably won't notice a huge difference from 2.66 to 2.8GHz. And even in those tasks you probably won't notice a huge difference.

And yes, you'll see more refurbs, but I don't think the price will be much different. $1999 is a pretty good deal. I saw that one and it's almost the same as mine. I paid over $2200 with student discount on mine.
Click to expand...

I don't encode video all day, but I do use Vegas (bootcamp side) and eventually I'll use FCP, but it's mainly to replace my old 2.4C2D 2007 model

It's mainly a gig laptop but would be nice to render videos on it, but I have a mac pro for most of my rendering anyway.
 
I've been following the buyers guide for years now.
It may say noob on my profile, but I've been on macrumors for over two years now, just never signed up.

I see the imacs just got a speed bump and finally a new mac pro line.

I don't really mind if they do a speed bump.
I don't want to purchase one and have them do a full on new version in a few months, with usb 3.0 or something like that.
 
I'm n the market for a new MBP, the i5 is already fast enough for me but the 330M GT is pretty much an embarassment for a notebook of that price in this day and age, so should I wait for this fall for a refresh with new GPUs, or will it probably be a long way off?
 
aliensporebomb said:
Same processor in the current 27" high end Corei7 iMacs.
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No, not at all really. CPU (you're referring to) in the iMacs is a desktop i7 860 Quad Core; the CPU they're talking about to be put in the MBPs is just a speed bumped dual core Arrandale that's already in the MBPs.

PadreQuevedo said:
I wanna see IPS LED display;
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You can than look forward to a decently high price-hike.
 
I want quad-core with Turbo Boost.

But unless it has USB 3.0, FireWire 3200, SATA 6Gbps, and ExpressCard 2.0, I'm not touching it.
 
Yixian said:
I'm n the market for a new MBP, the i5 is already fast enough for me but the 330M GT is pretty much an embarassment for a notebook of that price in this day and age, so should I wait for this fall for a refresh with new GPUs, or will it probably be a long way off?
Click to expand...

Anyone?
 
Yixian said:
Anyone?
Click to expand...

If you can wait then wait. If you absolutely positively need a machine right now then obviously go out and get one ASAP.

I need one but am not desperate as I'm happy to sit indoors and use my Mac Pro. But cabin fever is beginning to set in so will need a laptop by close of play this year just to get outside and work :)
 
I just picked up a 17" i7 2.66 refurb. Couldn't pass it up due to price. Hopefully apple won't release a new version for at least 3 or 4 months.
Not worried about speed bumps I mean like usb 3.0 or something extraordinary
 
scouser75 said:
If you can wait then wait. If you absolutely positively need a machine right now then obviously go out and get one ASAP.

I need one but am not desperate as I'm happy to sit indoors and use my Mac Pro. But cabin fever is beginning to set in so will need a laptop by close of play this year just to get outside and work :)
Click to expand...

Well, it really depends on the likelihood of the next refresh (fall?) bringing a new GPU.
 
millertime021 said:
November at the earliest.

Most likely Jan-Feb. Honestly, do you encode video or use photoshop all day?

If not, you probably won't notice a huge difference from 2.66 to 2.8GHz. And even in those tasks you probably won't notice a huge difference.

And yes, you'll see more refurbs, but I don't think the price will be much different. $1999 is a pretty good deal. I saw that one and it's almost the same as mine. I paid over $2200 with student discount on mine.
Click to expand...

I thought that Apple usually made "speed bumps" in September.

They've definitely done this with the Mac Pro's and I'm sure they've done the same with Mac Book Pro's too.

If by mid September they haven't released any info about a speed bump I'll have no option but to go for the 2.66.
 
11 Pages of Fighting? Really??

Ok, so I don't understand why there are 11 pages of argument between two clean cut DIFFERENT groups that will not change their minds. Personally, I think it makes total sense to omit the ODD from the MBP because of the commonly overlooked fact that it is their PRO machine. Most professionals don't use a laptop as their sole computer, for example, I do video editing and graphics with Final Cut and Adobe CS5. There's no need for an ODD on the MBP when its sacrificing more battery life, or a huge ssd, or a better cpu, when I have my quad core i7 imac at home..

THAT ASIDE

Before Im quoted to mars by people who still apparently need both a professional laptop, and the use of discs more than 8 times a year, let me express that there doesn't even have to be an argument.

Look at what they did with the mini. I don't see why Apple cant continue the current roadmap with their notebooks, following a natural progression, fitting more and more in around an ODD, and then as a parallel option for the dual system professionals, (or just the ones who don't load up CD-ROMS and DVDs every day, and could deal with an external when say, installing Final Cut or what have you) and have a system that takes advantage of that empty 20% of the case, and packs it full of improvements.

Normally that would seem like too much work for Apple, to fork the road and accommodate everyone's needs (as outdated and misplaced as they may be), but seeing as they released a better Mac Mini with no drive last year, I think that would be easier on everyone. To each his own, and let me carry my mobile powerhouse, and the next guy carry his 17 inch 3000 dollar portable dvd player.
 
Ok I'm just gonna ask straight up, what do you guys think is the chance of a new GPU in the refresh? High, 50/50, little, no chance?
 
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