New Macbook Pro 13 specs?

[TheMacBookPro]

Too bad, because one of the biggest issues about the Vaio Z-series is noise and heat. Sony used a standard voltage Sandy Bridge in the Z2 as opposed to the ULV versions used on most other laptops. Its performance did speak for itself, not so much when it had to cool a 35W space heater in a sub-1" laptop case. Barring significant changes in its IB refresh, it's only going to get worse.

Heat is not a major issue in my experience. Noise... yes, it is there, but no louder than my MBP was at high loads.

Not very meaningful, and I'd be really concerned at the heat that laptop puts out onto the battery slice directly below it.

The main fan is on the left side of the laptop. I doubt Sony engineers haven't thought it through, it's not like they're a random startup with no experience making laptops

Until a few months ago, you cannot use TRIM on SSDs running under RAID 0, so a well-used Z2 is going to feel slower than those running just one physical SSD with TRIM. Never mind getting into the reliability issue of SSDs under RAID 0...

The garbage collection function of the Samsung SSDs work fairly well.

Discounted the memory card reader from that list. The ability to use a MS adapter filled with a pair of microSD cards, with less average performance than a cheapo USB2 flash drive... uh no.

There is also a regular SD card slot.

Performance isn't going to be an issue as long as he's not running applications or an OS off of it- for file storage or something like that it's perfectly serviceable.

8GB non-upgradeable RAM max... uh no.

Most ultra-slim notebooks max out at 8GB anyways, why would it be any different here?

With a base price that's worse than a base model 15" MBP, worse than a 11" Clevo gaming laptop in every single way except the screen... uh no.

Weight/size is a fairly important factor for some people... otherwise we'd all be carrying around monstrous desktop replacement laptops solely because they're powerful.

It will for a 35W CPU on the Z-series.

Not on mine it doesn't, perhaps there's something wrong with yours?

Considering that batteries and heat are not bedfellows, and that battery slice adds considerable cost to the laptop price, I'd rather not.

Heat dispersion does not appear to be an issue so far (one year in) with the battery slice. All things considered, $150 is not that expensive for doubling the battery life.

Even without the slice I can get over 5.5 hours of battery life: it's certainly not a must-have anyhow.

Abysmal sequential reads and even worse random performance than a bog standard 5400rpm hard drive, uh no. I've already tried a similar setup as yours, and the actual performance is horrible.

I've actually got a sizable portion of my full-fat iTunes library living on a 64GB SD card which sits permanently inside the SD card reader. No performance issues I can see. Library loads quickly and songs play with nary a delay.

The difference? It's the flagship of Sony's consumer mobile computer line. It's very expensive, and it's non-upgradeable. You can get away with this sort of logic with ultrabooks, but on a top-of-the-line laptop? No way in hell is this acceptable.

Say what? It's designed to be ultraportable, much like how the Air is. Just because one pays more for a laptop doesn't somehow make it possible to magically integrate several large RAM slots and a SATA connector with a 2.5" HDD housing in space which just isn't there.

The MacBook Pro is Apple's flagship laptop performance-wise, and the Air is Apple's flagship ultraportable. Yet the Pro's battery cannot be removed without some screwdrivers and the Air's internals... well.

In the same vein, the Z is Sony's flagship ultraportable, but there are other Sony laptops with better performance (and more DIY upgrades possible, if that's what you want).

My point is, there are always sacrifices made by manufacturers to make the lightest or slimmest laptop. I don't see why it should be any different just because it's expensive. The Air is expensive and non-user-upgradeable too.

Oh dear, you overpaid for an inferior laptop.

Do elaborate. Better performance, much better display (which is more important than you make it out to be: after all, it is what your eyes will be focused on 99% of the time), lower weight yet comparable battery life (with the possibility of extending batt. life yet still yielding a lower weight than a 13" Pro).

So tell me... how is it inferior? (leaving out the obvious Mac vs Windows debate)

 

[pgiguere1]

The switch to 'OS X' was made even before the launch of Lion and that press release.

June 8, 2011:
http://web.archive.org/web/20110608074531/http://www.apple.com/macosx/

Point I'm trying to make is that I'm not saying that the picture is real, but the label showing 'Mac OS X' is not a proof that the picture is definitely a fake.

That's why I said "in all the images I posted".

The transition to simply "OS X" had already begun a year ago but it was only in the new Lion promo material. It took Apple some time to update all their website and it's pretty recent that all the images I posted dropped the "Mac" completely.

But I'll still agree with you, it's true that you could argue that the transition isn't completely over as the "About this Mac" window still says "Mac OS X". I'd find it weird that Apple would still say "Mac OS X" on boxes of new products at this point, but it's true that it's not completely impossible, thus not a proof that this image is fake, although it does raises questions.

 

[jcpb]

Say what? It's designed to be ultraportable, much like how the Air is. Just because one pays more for a laptop doesn't somehow make it possible to magically integrate several large RAM slots and a SATA connector with a 2.5" HDD housing in space which just isn't there.

The point of the Vaio Z boils down to this:
Unplug the dock and you have something close to an ultrabook on the field.
Plug in the dock and you can do more things with it than you normally can without.

That guy bought it without the dock.

I have a hard time rationalizing this argument in a positive light as a PC user, but whatever.

The MacBook Pro is Apple's flagship laptop performance-wise, and the Air is Apple's flagship ultraportable. Yet the Pro's battery cannot be removed without some screwdrivers and the Air's internals... well.

MBP batteries are not soldered directly to the logic board.
Vaio Z's memory is.

This is a hopeless debate.

 

[Triple22]

I have waited, hopefully they will update the macbook pro into the thin design (like the air) and hopefully put a decent amount of storage capacity on it. With the air i didn't really wanna pay 800-900quid for a laptop that has 64gb storage. You might as well buy an ipad for 600 and do your bits and bobs. im hoping that they put atleast 128gb first in the macbook pro

 

[88 King]

The point of the Vaio Z boils down to this:
Unplug the dock and you have something close to an ultrabook on the field.

The Vaio Z have an Ivy Bridge quad core that is more powerful than the current 15" mbp, also the internal GPU is cloaked higher the the ULV model. So I don't understand why you think it is only "close to an ultrabook".

Imaging a 13" macbook air with same CPU and screen resolution as a 17" mbp, RAID 0 SSD setup, and same battery capacity with extended battery. It will murder any ultrabook on the market in term of performance and battery life, all of this costing £40 less than current entry 13" mba.

MBP batteries are not soldered directly to the logic board.
Vaio Z's memory is.

This is a hopeless debate.

I don't want to carry this on as well, but feel it is right to correct you that the RAM is not soldered on to the motherboard in the Vaio Z. The RAM have proprietary connector (it is Sony so what do you expect). However, they can be upgraded, even if it will be more expensive than standard SODIMM, since you can only get it from Sony.

You can see from the pics the RAM sticks are removable.

 

[iamthedudeman]

How does a leaked spec for a 13" MBP indicate that the 13" MBP is going away? You seem fully aware this spec is for a 13" MBP and you seem aware that it is like the 13"MBP and 13" MBA will co-exist, what is the deal with this sentence:



I assume there is a typo in there I failed to notice.

Typo? Just because they 'update' keyword being 'update' or refresh the 13 MBP you think that it's not going away? Everyone else gets it, so I am confused on what you mean by 'typo'.

Being that it's a 'refresh' and not a 'redesign' like the 15 MBP may be. I will explain for you again.

Since the 13 MBP is just getting a 'refresh' and not a redesign should tell you something. This was my guess over a year ago, and turns out it seems to me that this is the case. As soon as the 13 Air can provide the same performance in the same thermal envelope as the 13 MBP, the MBP will be gone. Apple must think this is soon as they are going with the same design but updated the specs. It doesn't make sense to have two laptops that are 13 inches with the same amount of performance and thin design. Why would they? This may be the last 13 MBP you see or once they converge the Air and MBP lines. The 13 form factor is their best selling laptop, so the 13 inch isn't going away, but it will not be the same form factor you see now.

They are not going to 'redesign' the 13 inch MBP and make it like the 13 Air while they sell the 13 Air and both provide the same amount of performance. They must feel that the 13 Air which as yet to be released for 2012 still cannot provide the performance as the 13 MBP. Hence the 13 MBP still has the same form factor.

You can only make a laptop so thin without giving up performance. A 15 Air or Pro you have some space to work with thin or not, a 13 not so much.

But Apple might surprise everyone expecting a new thin 15 MBP, when they might release a 15 Air. The Air and MBP lines are converging sooner than later. Once technology catches up to the Air form factor and can provide the same level of performance as the MBP, you will only see a Thin MBP or Air or whatever Apple wants to call it.

They might call them plain old Macbooks once they converge the lines, who knows.

 

[pragmatous]

So in order to upgrade or replace the RAM you have to take the motherboard out.

Sounds like fun *waiting for next macbook pro*

The Vaio Z have an Ivy Bridge quad core that is more powerful than the current 15" mbp, also the internal GPU is cloaked higher the the ULV model. So I don't understand why you think it is only "close to an ultrabook".

Imaging a 13" macbook air with same CPU and screen resolution as a 17" mbp, RAID 0 SSD setup, and same battery capacity with extended battery. It will murder any ultrabook on the market in term of performance and battery life, all of this costing £40 less than current entry 13" mba.



I don't want to carry this on as well, but feel it is right to correct you that the RAM is not soldered on to the motherboard in the Vaio Z. The RAM have proprietary connector (it is Sony so what do you expect). However, they can be upgraded, even if it will be more expensive than standard SODIMM, since you can only get it from Sony.

You can see from the pics the RAM sticks are removable.

 

[iamthedudeman]

Heat is not a major issue in my experience. Noise... yes, it is there, but no louder than my MBP was at high loads.



The main fan is on the left side of the laptop. I doubt Sony engineers haven't thought it through, it's not like they're a random startup with no experience making laptops



The garbage collection function of the Samsung SSDs work fairly well.



There is also a regular SD card slot.

Performance isn't going to be an issue as long as he's not running applications or an OS off of it- for file storage or something like that it's perfectly serviceable.



Most ultra-slim notebooks max out at 8GB anyways, why would it be any different here?



Weight/size is a fairly important factor for some people... otherwise we'd all be carrying around monstrous desktop replacement laptops solely because they're powerful.



Not on mine it doesn't, perhaps there's something wrong with yours?



Heat dispersion does not appear to be an issue so far (one year in) with the battery slice. All things considered, $150 is not that expensive for doubling the battery life.

Even without the slice I can get over 5.5 hours of battery life: it's certainly not a must-have anyhow.



I've actually got a sizable portion of my full-fat iTunes library living on a 64GB SD card which sits permanently inside the SD card reader. No performance issues I can see. Library loads quickly and songs play with nary a delay.



Say what? It's designed to be ultraportable, much like how the Air is. Just because one pays more for a laptop doesn't somehow make it possible to magically integrate several large RAM slots and a SATA connector with a 2.5" HDD housing in space which just isn't there.

The MacBook Pro is Apple's flagship laptop performance-wise, and the Air is Apple's flagship ultraportable. Yet the Pro's battery cannot be removed without some screwdrivers and the Air's internals... well.

In the same vein, the Z is Sony's flagship ultraportable, but there are other Sony laptops with better performance (and more DIY upgrades possible, if that's what you want).

My point is, there are always sacrifices made by manufacturers to make the lightest or slimmest laptop. I don't see why it should be any different just because it's expensive. The Air is expensive and non-user-upgradeable too.



Do elaborate. Better performance, much better display (which is more important than you make it out to be: after all, it is what your eyes will be focused on 99% of the time), lower weight yet comparable battery life (with the possibility of extending batt. life yet still yielding a lower weight than a 13" Pro).

So tell me... how is it inferior? (leaving out the obvious Mac vs Windows debate)

Can we stop talking about a Sony laptop. It runs Windows, so regardless of what hardware it has it will all go to crap in the long run. It can have 3000Ghz ram, golden fleece wires made by the the sirens of Olympus, and a processor made by Zeus, and it still will not provide the experience you get with a Mac.

Can we get back on topic now?

 

[Tombs]

Can we stop talking about a Sony laptop. It runs Windows, so regardless of what hardware it has it will all go to crap in the long run. It can have 3000Ghz ram, golden fleece wires made by the the sirens of Olympus, and a processor made by Zeus, and it still will not provide the experience you get with a Mac.

Can we get back on topic now?

Because the Mac is sooooo superior and never goes wrong...right? Boll x to that statment, I love my imac, iphone and mini mac and I will be getting a macbook pro ...but hardware wisethe mac range can struggle compared to some PC competitors who are packing a punch with their specs.

----------

So in order to upgrade or replace the RAM you have to take the motherboard out.

Sounds like fun *waiting for next macbook pro*

To the masses of PC users this procedure is very easy....as they understand how a computer goes together.....

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Ignoring the fact that you've ignored pretty much everything I posted...

The point of the Vaio Z boils down to this:
Unplug the dock and you have something close to an ultrabook on the field.
Plug in the dock and you can do more things with it than you normally can without.

Incorrect.

Without the dock, the Z is more powerful than a 15" MacBook Pro in aspects apart from the graphics.
With the dock, the Z is more powerful graphically as well.

The dock does not have a different processor or additional memory, the only performance gain is graphics-wise.

Either way, it is immensely more powerful than any ultrabook you will find on the market today. How an ULV processor is 'close' to a regular-voltage processor is beyond me.

That guy bought it without the dock.

I have a hard time rationalizing this argument in a positive light as a PC user, but whatever.

...perhaps 'that guy' does not need the graphics chip as he isn't planning on doing gaming or other such graphically intensive tasks? As previously stated, the only applications which see a major performance gain with the dock plugged in are graphically intensive ones. Many tasks are still processor dependent.

MBP batteries are not soldered directly to the logic board.
Vaio Z's memory is.

The Pro is a full blown, 5.xx pound laptop measuring 1" thick. The Z series is a 2.xx pound, 0.65" thick laptop, similar to the MacBook Air. Perhaps you should be comparing the Z to the Air instead?

This is a hopeless debate.

Correct. You seem to be comparing the Z series to a regular laptop, which is simply ridiculous.
At the end of the day, it is still an ultraslim and ultralight laptop which will suffer from the same expandability issues as any other ultraportable due to space limitations. Paying $2000 does not make it possible for Sony to integrate things like a 2.5" HDD bay or regular DIMM slots in space which is not there.

So in order to upgrade or replace the RAM you have to take the motherboard out.

Sounds like fun *waiting for next macbook pro*

Try upgrading RAM on a MacBook Air beyond 8GB. Nah, I'll make it easier: beyond 4GB. I'll even let you configure it directly from Apple. No? I thought so

Can we stop talking about a Sony laptop. It runs Windows, so regardless of what hardware it has it will all go to crap in the long run. It can have 3000Ghz ram, golden fleece wires made by the the sirens of Olympus, and a processor made by Zeus, and it still will not provide the experience you get with a Mac.

Can we get back on topic now?

Hahhaha. Funny man. At least it's about computers, eh?

 

[undies1993]

I hope these are not the specs. I have a late 2006 MB and want to upgrade it to a Retina MBP. I can't see myself dropping the money on a 15 inch so I really need the 13 inch Retina. Since I have read this, I have had nightmares. lol

 

[pragmatous]

So do I! Much more than you do. I, unlike you, don't have time to spend. Maybe if I was 12 years old like you living with mom with no job nor any responsibilities (ie kids) I'm sure I would have plenty of time to take out a motherboard just to upgrade my RAM.

Because the Mac is sooooo superior and never goes wrong...right? Boll x to that statment, I love my imac, iphone and mini mac and I will be getting a macbook pro ...but hardware wisethe mac range can struggle compared to some PC competitors who are packing a punch with their specs.

----------



To the masses of PC users this procedure is very easy....as they understand how a computer goes together.....

 

[mikeo007]

So do I! Much more than you do. I, unlike you, don't have time to spend. Maybe if I was 12 years old like you living with mom with no job nor any responsibilities (ie kids) I'm sure I would have plenty of time to take out a motherboard just to upgrade my RAM.

Personal insults...the sign of someone desperate on the losing end of a debate.
Whether you're right or wrong, you just failed.

 

[pragmatous]

Err I don't want the macbook air. I will never buy a system with RAM integrated into the motherboard. Same with the idea of taking out a motherboard just to upgrade my RAM. It's stupid.

Ignoring the fact that you've ignored pretty much everything I posted...



Incorrect.

Without the dock, the Z is more powerful than a 15" MacBook Pro in aspects apart from the graphics.
With the dock, the Z is more powerful graphically as well.

The dock does not have a different processor or additional memory, the only performance gain is graphics-wise.

Either way, it is immensely more powerful than any ultrabook you will find on the market today. How an ULV processor is 'close' to a regular-voltage processor is beyond me.



...perhaps 'that guy' does not need the graphics chip as he isn't planning on doing gaming or other such graphically intensive tasks? As previously stated, the only applications which see a major performance gain with the dock plugged in are graphically intensive ones. Many tasks are still processor dependent.



The Pro is a full blown, 5.xx pound laptop measuring 1" thick. The Z series is a 2.xx pound, 0.65" thick laptop, similar to the MacBook Air. Perhaps you should be comparing the Z to the Air instead?



Correct. You seem to be comparing the Z series to a regular laptop, which is simply ridiculous.
At the end of the day, it is still an ultraslim and ultralight laptop which will suffer from the same expandability issues as any other ultraportable due to space limitations. Paying $2000 does not make it possible for Sony to integrate things like a 2.5" HDD bay or regular DIMM slots in space which is not there.



Try upgrading RAM on a MacBook Air beyond 8GB. Nah, I'll make it easier: beyond 4GB. I'll even let you configure it directly from Apple. No? I thought so



Hahhaha. Funny man. At least it's about computers, eh?

----------

Name the insult please. Thanks.

Personal insults...the sign of someone desperate on the losing end of a debate.
Whether you're right or wrong, you just failed.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Err I don't want the macbook air. I will never buy a system with RAM integrated into the motherboard. Same with the idea of taking out a motherboard just to upgrade my RAM. It's stupid.

Understood. I'm just saying that the Z is not to be compared to the Pro but rather the Air.

Name the insult please. Thanks.

Calling others 12 years old and insinuating that others are still living off of their parents is an insult- what you're basically saying 'you're immature and I'm much smarter than you because I'm older and have responsibilites- now go pound sand.' You can sugar-coat it all you want, it's still an insult.

Nobody was telling you to take out the mobo to upgrade the RAM. If you need more than 8GB then the Z is not the computer for you. Simple as that.

 

[undies1993]

Final predictions?

 

[undies1993]

Final predictions?

Final final.

 

[salmoally]

So do I! Much more than you do. I, unlike you, don't have time to spend. Maybe if I was 12 years old like you living with mom with no job nor any responsibilities (ie kids) I'm sure I would have plenty of time to take out a motherboard just to upgrade my RAM.

Yet you have to time to troll on the forums, let me guess...low paid white collar job doing basically nothing. I can make assumptions as well.

 

[Havok83]

Not even close:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5697/...es-keplers-and-fermis-and-die-shrinks-oh-my/2

It's at the very bottom of the GF 600M-series lineup, which means it's only marginally faster than HD4000. A max-specced GT 620M could be about as powerful as HD4000 times two, which doesn't say much about its potential improvement over the Ivy Bridge iGPU.

That makes the ZBP as good as half a 15" base model MBP. It might well outperform this year's MBA refresh, but is the additional non-money cost really worth it? My crystal ball says "doubtful".

Maybe in terms of graphics card but I dont do laptop gaming so thats irrelevant to me. The Prime UX32VD is closer to a MBP in terms of size and functionality. Its the UX31 which is more in line with a MBA

 

[undies1993]

Maybe in terms of graphics card but I dont do laptop gaming so thats irrelevant to me. The Prime UX32VD is closer to a MBP in terms of size and functionality. Its the UX31 which is more in line with a MBA

Man wish the New Generation MBP included a 13"

 

[slumpey326]

Man wish the New Generation MBP included a 13"

I thought there was a picture floating around that said August release but nothing was mentioned in the keynote. This stinks....

 

[KylePowers]

Holding out for a 'new generation' 13in *sigh*

 

[Havok83]

I thought there was a picture floating around that said August release but nothing was mentioned in the keynote. This stinks....

you are referring to this but its false considering the new 15' is nowhere near that price

 

[slumpey326]

you are referring to this but its false considering the new 15' is nowhere near that price

Image

this is the one I am referring to:

 

[Havok83]

this is the one I am referring to:

that says absolutely nothing about the release date