Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Montevina... What is it and why should we wait for it?

J

johngardiner

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2008
137
0
Hey guys, I'm new to the Mac world, outside of my iPhone and iPod, and am looking at finally getting my first Mac. Right now I have my sights set on the 2.5 Macbook Pro with the 512mb gpu. My question is this... what exactly is the Montevina update... and how is it going to benefit the Macbook Pro. If it isn't announced at WWDC should I wait until it is? Is that worth it?

Thanks a lot!
 
Faster 1066Ghz FSB

X4500 GMA graphics

DisplayPort support and Blu-ray support in Intel chipset.

Quad Core support

WiMax

Security and Manageability features.
 
nuckinfutz said:
Faster 1066Ghz FSB

X4500 GMA graphics

DisplayPort support and Blu-ray support in Intel chipset.

Quad Core support

WiMax

Security and Manageability features.
Click to expand...

Yes it does have a faster FSB, but no it's not DisplayPort or Blu-ray support in the chipset; we already have that in the GPU. We will getting HD decoding capabilities in the chipset which would benefit the MB more.

Yes the GPU for MBs will be upgraded to GMA 4500

Santa Rose may already support quad core CPUs. It's just that Intel has not made any!

Yes.

Improvements yes, but unless we get a TPM there isnt' any improvements.
 
wait a year for nehalem, itll be a much better update, now Nehalem is the CPU, montevina is the chipset they are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, like santa rosa and penryn (which is the current setup)

more energy efficient and faster CPUs pretty much a whole new architecture, including on die memory controller so the same clockspeed chip will be a lot faster

kinda like how a 2.4ghz core 2 duo beats the crap out of a 3.2ghz Pentium D
 
squeeks said:
wait a year for nehalem, itll be a much better update, now Nehalem is the CPU, montevina is the chipset they are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, like santa rosa and penryn (which is the current setup)
Click to expand...

Yes but Nehalem will also move the memory controller from the Northbridge to the CPU die which will remove the FSB entirely.
 
Satori said:
Quite a while to wait for someone who is looking to buy machine now and wondering whether to wait a bit longer for updated models!:confused:
Click to expand...

If it were me I'd buy whenever I wanted, not based off some reported release schedule.
 
Satori said:
Quite a while to wait for someone who is looking to buy machine now and wondering whether to wait a bit longer for updated models!:confused:
Click to expand...

Nehalem, is on schedule, is due before year end. I'm not sure I'd wait if I needed a new Macbook Pro now but it's a substantial architecture improvement.

Thought the lack of a FSB and inclusion of a ondie memory controller (connected w/Intel Quickpath) will be evident for applications sensitive to memory latency but overall throughput probably won't be all that noticable.

It's a highly configurable microprocessor. I'm looking forward to seeing the initial configs that Intel ships.

Montevina though wouldn't be a bad choice because it's running on fairly proven technology. It's not like Nehalem is going to obsolete current hardware overnight.
 
im waiting for whats after MV. thatll be better, and i just picked up a penryn MBP in march.

ill take the next MBP that has the quad in it :) yummy.

Nehalem brings an on-die memory controller too yes? :)
 
alphaod said:
If it were me I'd buy whenever I wanted, not based off some reported release schedule.
Click to expand...

Ah! "Buy it now if you want it, don't discuss it." $2000+ is a lot for some people, including myself. We want our money's worth. My advice would be: if you can wait until an official announcement, and if it is announced that it will be released and the release date is within your waiting time, wait for it and get it a little after it releases. That way, you'd have a new generation MBP and by the time the update after that comes, your MBP will be very similar in specs so you can just ignore that update. If there's no announcement in June (is that when?) then just go ahead and get yourself a MBP.
 
i respect the all the suggestions from the other forum members..

but everyone forgot to ask the OP how he/she will use the MBP.
if it's for general use like surfing the net/ book reports/ itunes/ connecting his iphone to his MBP..

then there's really no STRONG Compelling reason to wait.. especially a year.

i find it amazing how majority of forum members are expecting/waiting for updates that they don't really need. =)

just my 2 cents
 
markrivers said:
i respect the all the suggestions from the other forum members..

but everyone forgot to ask the OP how he/she will use the MBP.
if it's for general use like surfing the net/ book reports/ itunes/ connecting his iphone to his MBP..

then there's really no STRONG Compelling reason to wait.. especially a year.

i find it amazing how majority of forum members are expecting/waiting for updates that they don't really need. =)

just my 2 cents
Click to expand...

I know...but I also know what it's like to be on the precipice of a large computer spend and second guess yourself. No Mac purchased today or even this summer will lose much value even when the next hotness comes out. But the fear of buying end of cycle is relevant.

I wouldn't mind have a MV Macbook with X4500 graphics myself.
 
The mobile editions of Nehalem are not scheduled until about this time next year, so you need to decide how long you want to wait. I would not be surprised to see Montevina appear on the MacBook Pro line around WWDC so I am holding out to see if it does happen.
 
lol said:
Ah! "Buy it now if you want it, don't discuss it." $2000+ is a lot for some people, including myself. We want our money's worth. My advice would be: if you can wait until an official announcement, and if it is announced that it will be released and the release date is within your waiting time, wait for it and get it a little after it releases. That way, you'd have a new generation MBP and by the time the update after that comes, your MBP will be very similar in specs so you can just ignore that update. If there's no announcement in June (is that when?) then just go ahead and get yourself a MBP.
Click to expand...

See that's thing. It's not about getting your money's worth anymore; it's about getting what you believe is going to be better. Yes $2000+ is a lot of money; I will not disagree with that, but basing purchases by chasing rumors will only cause pain. I also didn't say don't discuss it; I just try not to follow the rumors mills and let it haunt me.
 
I'm buying an MBP sometime before the start of the new school year in September, maybe as early as next week. If I buy soon, I know somewhere I can get a good price, and if I wait I can get a student discount and a free iPod.

Obviously a new model would be nice but I'd still buy whenever provided the price is right. Can always sell your current stuff and buy anew later! Macs hold their value incredibly well
 
alphaod said:
See that's thing. It's not about getting your money's worth anymore; it's about getting what you believe is going to be better. Yes $2000+ is a lot of money; I will not disagree with that, but basing purchases by chasing rumors will only cause pain. I also didn't say don't discuss it; I just try not to follow the rumors mills and let it haunt me.
Click to expand...

I guess I can understand where you're coming from. But from my point of view, I'd wait until an upgrade (if it's within my waiting range) and then buy it so that I wouldn't feel as if I just but a last gen system and could've gotten a better one at the same price (Yes, I am a very picky person and little things annoy me :)).

It depends on whether or not the OP likes what I'm getting at or what you're getting at.
 
If the MBP gets a redesign, you may want to wait or else you will turn green when the refresh comes.
 
hey guys, thanks for all your responses.

I think my new plan is going to be to wait until WWDC just in case something big goes down, even if it's not likely. My uses for the laptop are mainly school related, word processing, email internet all that jazz... but I also play games hence why I'm steering towards the 512 mb 2.5ghz 15" model. It doesnt really sound like the montevina update will do that much for what I'm using the computer for so I wouldn't be too upset if I missed out on it. Thanks again!
 
squeeks said:
wait a year for nehalem, itll be a much better update, now Nehalem is the CPU, montevina is the chipset they are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, like santa rosa and penryn (which is the current setup)
Click to expand...

Montevina is not the chipset, it is the platform (which I believe is officially renamed to Centrino 2). The chipset is called Cantiga.
 
yeah. Montevina is the new Centrino platform (Labled Centrino Pro 2)
I think I'll wait for teh Calpella platform though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back