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Penryn chip Macbook first thoughts?

A

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
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Just wondering what you guys think of the new Penryn chip Macbooks (those who have them). I will be getting my 2.4 GHz version today from Amazon. Will report back later with my thoughts.

I upgraded from the old 2.2 GHz version that I purchased 2 weeks ago. It's going to be interesting to see the differences first hand.
 
First thoughts: what is up with the combo drive in the $1099 unit? I don't see the need to go to the $1299 version. But I need a SuperDrive! Lame. It's 2008 and a DVD burner still isn't standard? So you get iDVD for free and no DVD burner. Nice.
 
Chris Blount said:
I upgraded from the old 2.2 GHz version that I purchased 2 weeks ago. It's going to be interesting to see the differences first hand.
Click to expand...

I would imagine those differences are going to be very, very minor. Probably nothing that you can measure without controlled tests. Aside from the fact that it's a Penryn and not a merom, you're gaining 200 mhz, losing 1 mb of L2 cache, and that's about it. The new ones come with more RAM and bigger HDs, and that's great, but the max capacity has not changed, only what comes standard.

These results are for the Penryn MBPs, not the MBs, but basically you're going to see similar differences (or lack thereof, as the tests show) in the MB line.
 
I just sent back my refurbished 2.2GHz white memron macbook before I even opened it because the new ones were releases before I recieved it. I need the computer for photoshop and aperture and I am begining to think I might just buy the same memron macbook I ordered refurbished again instead of the new 2.4GHz white macbook if I am not going to see a difference and save myself 200 dollars. I really do not get why they would go from 4mb cache to 3mb. I really think this was a poor upgrade on apple's part. Or intel... Either way...:( I have to make a decision soon and it seems like the newer one is not worth it.
 
crazyskillz07 said:
I really do not get why they would go from 4mb cache to 3mb. I really think this was a poor upgrade on apple's part. Or intel... Either way...:( I have to make a decision soon and it seems like the newer one is not worth it.
Click to expand...

According to the front page news reports, intel is aggressively pushing apple (and others, presumably) to phase out merom chips and adopt penryn. So I would guess that the reason the macbooks saw this (very fast) update is because apple wanted to play nice with intel and use the new chips.

I have not seen any benchmarks on the SR vs. Penryn macbooks yet, but if the MBP benchmarks are any indication, there will be very little difference. The 200 mhz will matter, but the change from merom to penryn seems to have little if any effect on performance, if the chips are at the same clock. When you factor in the drop in L2 cache on the penryn machines, they will probably be only the slightest bit faster than the previous generation.

That said, I still think it's a good update because the penryn chips run cooler (longer battery life and less heat), and you now get more RAM and more HD space for the same price.

But having said *that,* I should mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that I just bought a refurb blackbook because I think they're a great deal at $1050. :D
 
Does anyone know if they've improved the overall construction of the case? I was sure I'd get a MBP but am now thinking about the MB. I was reading on the Apple support forums about MB cases cracking a bunch. I've had a 12" powerbook for 3 years now and it pretty much looks the same as the day I got it . A crack on a new MB would be a huge bummer. I read some posts that it might be the magnetic latch. Any chance they've fixed the issue?
 
cibby said:
Does anyone know if they've improved the overall construction of the case? I was sure I'd get a MBP but am now thinking about the MB. I was reading on the Apple support forums about MB cases cracking a bunch. I've had a 12" powerbook for 3 years now and it pretty much looks the same as the day I got it . A crack on a new MB would be a huge bummer. I read some posts that it might be the magnetic latch. Any chance they've fixed the issue?
Click to expand...

along with that could you see if it still scratches easy.
 
Benchmarks mean nothing to me, nor does the speed increase or decrease. What I care about is the heat. I hate laptops that get hot, this laptop should be cooler.... For me it's worth it just for that.
 
~~Hello~~ said:
Macbooks crack, Macbook Pros dent.
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The posts I read were people who swear they treated their MB with the utmost care. Do the pros dent under those conditions? My powerbook never has. If you drop something, sure I'd expect it to be damaged. But if it cracks from the wrist rest not being supported properly or the magnetic latch being too strong, that's a design flaw I'd hope Apple would address.
 
crazyskillz07 said:
Wow. I am not going to complain ever again. I just ran geekbench on the PC I am on now and it ran a 1007.... HAHAHA.. And looking on the geekbench website it looks like the new macbooks score about 100-200 higher than the SR macbooks. However they are slower at "stream" Not that I know what steam is. But Im sure some one does.

Late 2007 2.2GHz....
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/similar/41691/4

Early 2008 2.4GHz....
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/similar/41782/4
Click to expand...

The latter three are all my results. First is default config but wasn't registered, second still default and registered, third is with 4GB memory. ;)
With my former 2007 Late BlackBook I got slightly above 3k, somewhere around ~3020...

Speed isn't really different but default 2GB was A LOT snappier than older 1GB base config.
 
kamm said:
The latter three are all my results. First is default config but wasn't registered, second still default and registered, third is with 4GB memory. ;)
With my former 2007 Late BlackBook I got slightly above 3k, somewhere around ~3020...

Speed isn't really different but default 2GB was A LOT snappier than older 1GB base config.
Click to expand...

I ran a geekbench on the new blackbook in the apple store and got a score above 3100. It also only had 2GB's of ram. So I am convinced enought that it isnt slower then the previous macbooks(which was my concern as dumb as it sounds). I should have mine tomarrow night so ill run it before and after I put my 4GBs of RAM in.
 
cibby said:
The posts I read were people who swear they treated their MB with the utmost care. Do the pros dent under those conditions? My powerbook never has. If you drop something, sure I'd expect it to be damaged. But if it cracks from the wrist rest not being supported properly or the magnetic latch being too strong, that's a design flaw I'd hope Apple would address.
Click to expand...

I've had my MacBook for over a year and it looks as good as the day I bought it. And for $1400 I pamper it accordingly. People that complain about their laptops breaking and denting, etc need to take a little more care and pride in their stuff. So no, it's not a design flaw.
 
Pros
-a few bumps to standard options

Cons
-no back lit key board
-no LED screen
-no BTO video card
-no BTO BluRay
-no multi touch (you got to be kidding me)
-over priced (unless it included above features)

I myself am going to wait hoping the June bump will be more significant. Also fingures crossed for a re design. With a smaller form factor 13 mb is almost same size as 15 mbp and mbp come with BTO video cards. I am realy hopping for a re deghin with a new material cause the acrylic plastic that they use brakes way to easy i have had my mb in for 2 case replacements and i baby the thing and its cracking again. Though i do use my laptop and i think apple did not make them to be used but to sit on a desk and look prity.

Non the less its a decent upgrade and if i did not already have one and was in the market for a laptop i would get one.
 
krye said:
First thoughts: what is up with the combo drive in the $1099 unit? I don't see the need to go to the $1299 version. But I need a SuperDrive! Lame. It's 2008 and a DVD burner still isn't standard? So you get iDVD for free and no DVD burner. Nice.
Click to expand...

I agree! Talk about lame...
 
Last night I had a chance to sit down with my new Penryn Macbook.

First, no benchmark scores. These are simply my observations. I am comparing this against my previous Macbook which was the 2.2 GHz version with 2 GB of RAM installed.

First off, definitely more zippy. Not much more but I could tell the difference when loading web pages.

DVD Ripping and encoding, faster. The internal fan went on a few times but didn't stay on the entire time like in the old Macbook.

Programs also load slightly faster.

The bottom feels cooler but to tell you the truth, it isn't that much cooler. It's still gets pretty warm.

Battery life? Don't know yet. I haven't been able to run it down yet.

My recommendations:

1. For those who can return their old Macbooks and not pay the restocking fee, Do it! It's worth the upgrade!

2. For those who will have to pay a restocking fee, purely a judgement call. You will have to decide if the extra money is worth the slightly better performance. Personally, I feel comfortable knowing that I have the latest version. If you have the extra money and don't mind paying the restocking fee, I would say go for it. If you are dead set against paying, be happy with your current Macbook. It's not really such a bad device after all.
 
Chris Blount said:
I'm sorry you don't believe it but that's what I see. I did, howerver, say that the improvements were slight. Nothing drastic.
Click to expand...

you're seriously telling me a .2 increase from an already way more than you need for surfing the web 2.2 makes a detectable difference?

Sorry mate, but in this case I really think you must be imagining it. pages load on my powerbook faster than I can blink - and that's some seriously actually old tech! perhaps the wifi reception is better on the new computer but i really doubt it's got anything to do with the processor.
 
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