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MacBook Pro Upgrade At Photokina?
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ckodonnell said:
Ah yes I can see that point. Personally if there is a radical redesign down the track I will certainly want to hold out for that, or more realistically get a cheap 2nd hand/refurb MBP to tide until then, take a small loss in resale value, and sell it then.
The Albook design has been around for eons, and quite frankly I don't like the design that much, it is nice looking, but not practical for real world use, and hence if the next speedbump does not at least incorporate at least the HD replacement panel (it is one thing about the Albook design that really bugs me, it does not affect my usage profile, but it bugs me... as with the easily dented and scratched case), I'd be glad to just... sit it out completely.
I'd have gotten a Yonah MBP in the past if it had the panel at least, heck, even a PBG4 just to make a point. I do not need that much mobile computing power after all. But I do appreciate the ability to be able to quickly resolve/fix issues with my own computer by myself without having to turn it in to a service centre and have it away for weeks or even months on end.
Rocket Science Will Not Be Necessary To Tell If First C2D MBP Is A Winner Or Not
1. Does it have an Easy Access HD Bay?
2. Does it have more ventilation slots-holes so it'll run cooler?
That's all I'm looking for. All the rest is gravy to me.
generik said:Alright, I guess this settles it, if no redesign this year then I will just get it in MWSF. If no redesign in MW then I am screwed
Well I've been in the no re-design no sale club since day one. They completely redesigned the iBook and not the PowerBook so Duh! It won't take a rocket scientist to tell if the first C2D is a winner or a loser in about one minute.azzurri000 said:
1. Does it have an Easy Access HD Bay?
2. Does it have more ventilation slots-holes so it'll run cooler?
That's all I'm looking for. All the rest is gravy to me.
azzurri000 said:
That's kinda what I started to figure... I've been needing a notebook for some time now, but trying to hold out for the C2D MBP. Got to the point where I really couldn't wait anymore -- I bought a refurb'd MBP 15" 2GHz from Apple. Not a bad deal at all. I already had 2x1GB to put into it that I bought a few weeks back when I saw RAM prices were starting to climb and I swapped out the HDD for a 120GB Hitachi. All in all, I'm very pleased with the unit and I'm into it for less than $1900 after all the taxes and dust have settled. I've only had it three days now though.
I just figured that the price was pretty good and this way I can keep it about a year or dump in when the next major revision does arrive. From all indications, any "refresh" of the MBP this year, will just be a CPU upgrade with a few minor fixes (if needed).
Originally I really was waiting for the C2D MBP because I could use more than 2GB in a system and I was hoping that I could install 2x2GB modules and have the full 4GB addressable. Unfortunately, this won't be possible until Intel ships the Santa Rosa chipset, which will be next February at the earliest according to the latest info. That means March/April before it ships in retail systems. So I'll just be happy with what I just bought until the next major revision of MBP comes along and then I should be able to have my 4GB (maybe more?) and some other updated features. My current system shouldn't lose too much value between now and then, but if it does, it won't matter the thing looks like it will more than pay for itself in no time.
Ok... could you exlpain this whole concept and why it will be better?ergle2 said:One more time, with feeling: "Santa Rosa isn't a chipset, it's a platform".
Thanks For The Kentsfield Link
Meanwhile I'm getting stoked about the upcoming Dual Clovertown 8-core Mac Pros. Gonna be a killer Mac toting 2.33GHz x8 = 18.64GHz of power - almost twice as much as today's 2.66GH x4 = 10.64GHz Mac Pro for no more money than today's 3GHz x4 = 12GHz model, i.e., more than 150% more power across 200% more cores for the same money in only about 4-5 months time - August '06 to January '07 (worst case guess). It's a miracle.
For those of you unfamiliar with all this, Kentsfields may not be paired into 8-core computers - only Clovertowns may do that. So Kentsfield's place is where Conroe is today - nowhere in the Mac landscape.
Thank you. Hope Apple can figure out a home for Kentsfield in 2007.ergle2 said:
Meanwhile I'm getting stoked about the upcoming Dual Clovertown 8-core Mac Pros. Gonna be a killer Mac toting 2.33GHz x8 = 18.64GHz of power - almost twice as much as today's 2.66GH x4 = 10.64GHz Mac Pro for no more money than today's 3GHz x4 = 12GHz model, i.e., more than 150% more power across 200% more cores for the same money in only about 4-5 months time - August '06 to January '07 (worst case guess). It's a miracle.
For those of you unfamiliar with all this, Kentsfields may not be paired into 8-core computers - only Clovertowns may do that. So Kentsfield's place is where Conroe is today - nowhere in the Mac landscape.
Multimedia said:
Bear in mind as you add more cores it's a case of diminishing returns, esp. since you're doubling the cores for the same pair of FSBs.
Still, it'll blow the current Woodcrest machines away on the stuff that parrallelizes well, like video encoding.
Not true. A friend of mine has had his Dell C2D notebook for at least 2 weeks now.mrdice87 said:
coday182 said:
It's just my pedantry -- it irks me to keep seeing Santa Rosa described as a chipset when it's not. Yeah, I was being a jerk
It's a platform, consisting of a processor (Merom), a chipset (crestline, aka i965 Mobile Express) plus a mobile ICH8 variant, a wifi chipset (kedron) and optionally onboard flash mem (aka Robson technology). Oh, and an optional integreated graphics solution.
Santa Rosa itself offers a few benefits. The ability to have more than 4GB of physical address space was already mentioned. A faster FSB (667 -> 800). The wifi is supposed to be 802.11n, assuming it's ratified in time.
There's also a few other benefits such as remote management (even if the system's off, apparently).
Most of the changes are incremental and probably won't make a huge difference to the user, outside of the flash mem tech. which has a lot of potential, depending on how you work and what software you use.
Of course, others may disagree; that's pure opinion.
coday182 said:
Try flipping back at least a few pages in this thread. You'll find at least 5 explanations.
Might be quicker.
Hmmm... at this point maybe instead of getting (or waiting for) a 15.4" MBP C2D for around $2500, I should just buy a 20" C2D Imac for $1600, then a bit later on buy a MB (either CD of C2D) for around $1300 (total of imac and mp being $2900, only $400 more than the MBP)...
it would be nice to have the portability now, but it's not crucial and I really need a new machine now for work... argh...
it would be nice to have the portability now, but it's not crucial and I really need a new machine now for work... argh...
lolsdaka said:
From what I heard, the only reason the FW port on the 15.4" was FW400 and not 800 because the 800 wasn't out yet. I'm 100% sure the new one will include this if there is a redesign. As for the 13" having an Express Card, have you seen inside the 13"? The disassembly instructions are 4 or 5 times longer than the 15" for a reason, believe me. If they took out the internal optical drive, then probably, but at that point they might cut it down to 12" instead.
EDIT: For reference, here's the instructions on MBP disassembly:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Pro/Logic-Board
Here's the instructions for MB disassembly:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook/Complete-Disassembly
C2D 20" iMac + C2D MacBook = C2D 17" MacBook Pro
Yes that sounds like a better plan. Hold out for the C2D MB while you break in the C2D iMac and you'll be flyin' high when Leopard ships.myke323 said:
coday182 said:
Nobody said anything about better, it is just progress. It will always be for the better
Basically with Santa Rosa you get Robson caching, predraft wireless-N, and 800Mhz FSB (very small improvement btw)
The new C2D chips will also have a new pinout so they will no longer fit the existing sockets.
lolsdaka said:
No, they will include FW800, if they do more than drop in a new chip. If it's the same case with just a new processor, I would say it will probably not have FW800 (though its possible that they make this minor change and no other revisions). Whether or not they include a FW800 is one of the things I'm going to use to decide if I'm going to get a C2D MBP or wait until the Santa Rosa platform, due to the fact that the FW800 upgrade would be a likely tell to upgrades to other parts of the computer.
FW800 Has Been "Out" For About 4-5 Years
I hope so. It's in all the Aluminum 15" PowerBooks since 3 years ago. Was quite a shock to see they'd removed it. But alas the MacBook is not priced to include such advanced features as the Expresscard slot.lolsdaka said:
Pardon me AlphaAnt but you have been misinformed Big Time. FW800 has been around for many years and was in every 15" Aluminum PowerBook G4 since 3 years ago when it came to market. It missing in the 15" MacBook Pro was one of the biggest shocks to we veterans.AlphaAnt said:
AlphaAnt said:
I disagree on this, the 17" MBP has a FW800 port, so they may be using FW800 as a differentiate factor between the 15" and 17". Nevermind the fact that you might need a smaller computer, to Apple the consumer has no needs beyond what they offer!
I'm still not convinced that there won't be some sort of improvement. There might not be, but adding in a few features that they have made standard on the MB line wouldn't necessarily need a complete redesign. A slight modification, yes, but not to the extent that the AI rumor report at least leads me to conclude is on the horizon.
I at least think that this big redesign would be something that would happen after SR makes its debut, which would be further into '07 sometime, so a minor revision now wouldn't seem out of line.
I guess that is if you consider an easier access HD, FW800 in the 15", and updated GFX minor. I do, and for something major as the AI rumor report mentions, I'd consider that a complete revision/overhaul. (edit) To include enclosure, internal layout, platform, etc. (/edit)
I at least think that this big redesign would be something that would happen after SR makes its debut, which would be further into '07 sometime, so a minor revision now wouldn't seem out of line.
I guess that is if you consider an easier access HD, FW800 in the 15", and updated GFX minor. I do, and for something major as the AI rumor report mentions, I'd consider that a complete revision/overhaul. (edit) To include enclosure, internal layout, platform, etc. (/edit)