While we've heard a lot about Apple's new low end 13-Inch MacBook Pro, there's been hardly any information about the upcoming 15" and 17" models.
CNet provides a rundown of what they've heard about today's announcements.
First, as we've heard, Light Peak is officially being branded as "Thunderbolt". We've seen the
photos already showing it on the 13" MacBook Pro.Thunderbolt will be found on the new MacBook Pros. Next, as we knew, Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors will be used in the new MacBook Pros. And, the 13" MacBook Pro will only use Intel's integrated graphics chip.
CNet, however, also reveals that the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros will use AMD (formerly ATI) discrete graphics cards alongside Intel's integrated solution. CNet offers no specifics about which graphics cards Apple will be offering. Current 15" and 17" MacBook Pros have NVIDIA graphics cards built in.
Article Link:
MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt, ATI/AMD Graphics?
As long as they don't generate the kind of heat that the Radeon Mobility X1600s did in the first and second rev (2006, Core and first gen Merom Core 2) MacBook Pros, I'm all for it.
So the 13" PRO will have Intel IGP?
Such a deal...
The 13" Pro has always been (at least since the white Unibody MacBook) the biggest rip-off in Apple's entire Mac line. Period.
The "refresh" is looking sweeter with each leak.
It's kinda hard to mess up a 15"/17" MacBook Pro release.
I have a Mobility Radeon 5870 in my Asus G73JH and have problems with it (GSOD) so I hope this time, they took the time to properly test it.
How is it with Apple and drivers? Do they use generic or have their own modified versions?
Apple works with the GPU manufacturer. As of recent, AMD has been more responsive in terms of putting out up to date drivers for their Apple supplied GPUs than NVIDIA has.
Can anybody shed some light on which generation of mobile GPU's could be included? I'm really surprised divers haven't leaked from OSX betas...
NVIDIA GeForce GT 4xxM or 5xxM where xx is either 25, 30, or 35, or an AMD Radeon HD 6xx0M where xx is either 65, 67, 75, 77, or 83 (skeptical as all hell on that one though).
I was hoping the 13" would get better graphics. I had heard goods things about the Intel IGP until recently when I heard it is less powerful than the NVIDIA 320M.
I wonder how quickly Apple will update its MacBook Air site, which says both:
"The new MacBook Air features the fastest integrated graphics on the market. The NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 48 processing cores . . ."
and
"MacBook Air features the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor the same one used in the 13-inch MacBook Pro. "
Apple might try to position the Intel IGP as faster than the 320M--you think?
I've been wondering how many pages will get refreshed in addition to the MacBook Pro page. I was shocked to find that they even edited in their Snow Leopard system requirements for OpenCL to include the 320M this time last refresh.
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This is ********. Give 13" like 256mb of low voltage discrete vRAM. Instead, we get graphics slower than last gen (on medium settings) that also takes almost 400mb out of my RAM.
That exists? Or rather, that, in a form that there'd be room for in a 13" Pro, exists?!
learn OpenCL? Its a little bit more clunky than CUDA but it's a pretty good standard IMO. Also, If you are doing CUDA work just SSH into a desktop with a card worth using for CUDA... It's really not hard to SSH...
Nooooooooooooooooo!
I need a 13" with decent graphics not a 15"!!!

15" is too big for me.
It's really not that much larger, honestly.
6830 isn't the highest end. It has 6850, 6870, 6950 and 6970 above it. The 68xx cards are 58xx rebrands.
Nope, the 68xx cards are the successors to the 5770 and the 5830 cards, no rebranding. The 67xx series, on the other hand, is a rebranding. Though I think that only applies to desktop cards.
Ive been reading all these rumors the last couple of weeks and managed to convince myself that there was no good reason for me to upgrade, BUT if this is true ill be getting a 15er, especially since mine evolved into this over the last few days
...And you don't have AppleCare?
Newbie Questions:
Compared to the Mac 13" model with the rumored model, is the new model better, similar, or worse?
Worse on graphics, better on CPU. Though I'm still skeptical that the model we saw is going to be the one announced tomorrow.
I seriously think the 13" MBP should be renamed "Aluminium Macbook" or something like that. It really doesn't live up to the "pro" tag.
It makes sense, especially given the negative tech PR associated with another Intel IGP.
It has already been confirmed that the leaked 13" with the Sandy Bridge integrated graphics is called a MacBook Pro. Check
this post. Altho the pic is not showing up for me atm, but it has the new MBP box with Thunderbolt and all.
I for one won't be upgrading my 2010 13" MBP to these. I'll most likely go with the 15" one next time I upgrade as I'm disappointed with how "Pro" the 13" is.
Edit: Also, I can't see them dropping the white plastic MacBook, the chix dig it and some other people too. It's a simple computer for simple people kinda. For people who'd use the SuperDrive the Air isn't the best option so I do think it's nice to have a very basic model in the lineup even if I'd personally never buy one.
Edit2: Quote the post and paste the link to a new browser tab if you can't see the pic.
(a) Pix can be deceiving; I'm still not ruling out a photoshopping. (b) The 13" Pro has always been a joke. Though to be fair the 320M is the closest it ever got, relative to every other IGP to come before it, to attaining even semi-Pro stature.
Wow, AMD GPUs? I guess Apple really doesn't want me as a customer again
ATI/AMD still can't write drivers to save their lives. AMD does make good main CPUs though.
I take it you're not a gamer? AMD was the only of the two providing its driver fixes for things like Steam (The Source Engine games) and StarCraft II for the Mac and having those drivers work on the first go. No CUDA cores, yeah, that sucks. AMD has Stream processors and for everything else, there's OpenCL, which ought to be mass-adopted anyway.