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

Santa Rosa-Based MacBook Pro 'Very Soon'... Next Week?

robk said:
The thing is whatever it is it's not going to be a new MBP book in 2 monhts time, it's going to be on sale the next day, I will be supprised if it's some major revolutionary technology, I'm thinking Santa Rosa, LED screens , slightly better GFX and that's probably it, maybe NAND

I really hope we see a 12inch model with a high res screen, that'll make my day, I used to have a 12inch powerbook and loved it to bits, don't really understand why I got rid of it :(

Hense my return to apple
Click to expand...

If they throw an 8600GT in there and a case that lets you swap hard drives, I'll be happy.
 
robk said:
The thing is whatever it is it's not going to be a new MBP book in 2 monhts time, it's going to be on sale the next day, I will be supprised if it's some major revolutionary technology, I'm thinking Santa Rosa, LED screens , slightly better GFX and that's probably it, maybe NAND

I really hope we see a 12inch model with a high res screen, that'll make my day, I used to have a 12inch powerbook and loved it to bits, don't really understand why I got rid of it :(

Hense my return to apple
Click to expand...

I would be very happy with Santa Rosa and LED screens. Actually very happy with my BlackBook, but the finish is too high maintenance for me. Thus I'll be opting for the latest MBP when it comes out. Lose a bit of money on the MacBook, but hey, this is my MAIN computer for everything and it needs to be awesome in every way.
 
scrambledwonder said:
I would be very happy with Santa Rosa and LED screens. Actually very happy with my BlackBook, but the finish is too high maintenance for me. Thus I'll be opting for the latest MBP when it comes out. Lose a bit of money on the MacBook, but hey, this is my MAIN computer for everything and it needs to be awesome in every way.
Click to expand...

I'm actually kind of neutral about LED screens myself... I don't really know enough about them to know all of the advantages they offer. I really oughta just looked at some of those Sony LED-backlit laptops and see what difference it makes. As for Santa Rosa, again, not a big deal to me unless they use Robson caching (that would be amazing). One thing I'd really like to see in a MBP is a better graphics card, and possibly a cheaper upgrade to a 200GB hard drive that runs at 5,400 rpm instead of 4,000. Then I'd put Windows on a 100GB partition and OS X on the other 100GB.

BTW, looks like the 17-inch's next upgrade won't include HD: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/308668/
 
kingofkolt said:
I'm actually kind of neutral about LED screens myself... I don't really know enough about them to know all of the advantages they offer. I really oughta just looked at some of those Sony LED-backlit laptops and see what difference it makes. As for Santa Rosa, again, not a big deal to me unless they use Robson caching (that would be amazing). One thing I'd really like to see in a MBP is a better graphics card, and possibly a cheaper upgrade to a 200GB hard drive that runs at 5,400 rpm instead of 4,000. Then I'd put Windows on a 100GB partition and OS X on the other 100GB.

BTW, looks like the 17-inch's next upgrade won't include HD: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/308668/
Click to expand...

Sums up my feelings really. The CPU is fast enough for my needs at the moment. The only thing I'm really holding out for is a GPU upgrade, though I've been informed that no other GPU really does what the x1600 any better than the x1600 already does (balancing power and heat). And yes, 200GB 5400rpm hard drive option would be nice...a 250GB option would be nice, as such drives have just (or are just about to) become available.
 
kingofkolt said:
I'm actually kind of neutral about LED screens myself... I don't really know enough about them to know all of the advantages they offer. I really oughta just looked at some of those Sony LED-backlit laptops and see what difference it makes. As for Santa Rosa, again, not a big deal to me unless they use Robson caching (that would be amazing). One thing I'd really like to see in a MBP is a better graphics card, and possibly a cheaper upgrade to a 200GB hard drive that runs at 5,400 rpm instead of 4,000. Then I'd put Windows on a 100GB partition and OS X on the other 100GB.

BTW, looks like the 17-inch's next upgrade won't include HD: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/308668/
Click to expand...

The LED screens use a lot less power and they don't contain any mercury, which is a big deal. They are more vivid and bright, that's for sure. They also don't require high voltage, so they generate less heat in a system. Still, these heat and power savings will probably be devoured by a faster processor and a better graphics card. ;)

Then again, Santa Rosa offers the dynamic bus speed which Intel claims will help with battery life. I would be very happy if the next MBP had similar battery life to the current MacBook, about 4 hours on a charge. I believe that it will.

Again, the main reason for the upgrade would be for the aluminum case. Sounds really really silly, but case material is super important for somebody who uses their notebook day in and day out. It needs to be relatively fingerprint and friction wear proof. Plastic will, over time, wear smooth and become shiny and yucky. The aluminum finish does not. Then again, perhaps I was absorbing aluminum through my palms all those years while I was using my 12-inch PB. . . :rolleyes:
 
FleurDuMal said:
Sums up my feelings really. The CPU is fast enough for my needs at the moment. The only thing I'm really holding out for is a GPU upgrade, though I've been informed that no other GPU really does what the x1600 any better than the x1600 already does (balancing power and heat). And yes, 200GB 5400rpm hard drive option would be nice...a 250GB option would be nice, as such drives have just (or are just about to) become available.
Click to expand...

Is the x1600 really that bad?
 
FleurDuMal said:
I've been informed that no other GPU really does what the x1600 any better than the x1600 already does (balancing power and heat).
Click to expand...

I wish there was a way to set whether you want the GPU to focus more on performance or on minimizing power consumption. Because I want a GPU that can run Battlefield 2 really well, but then maybe be able to turn down its power usage when I'm unplugged and on the road or something.

scrambledwonder said:
Again, the main reason for the upgrade would be for the aluminum case. Sounds really really silly, but case material is super important for somebody who uses their notebook day in and day out. It needs to be relatively fingerprint and friction wear proof. Plastic will, over time, wear smooth and become shiny and yucky. The aluminum finish does not. Then again, perhaps I was absorbing aluminum through my palms all those years while I was using my 12-inch PB. . . :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Wait.. so you do like the current MBP case or you don't? The current MBP is aluminum, right? If they "upgraded" the case to something else, it might be plastic. I personally like the current case and hope they don't change it (although the keyboard is slightly unattractive, but otherwise...).
 
kingofkolt said:
I wish there was a way to set whether you want the GPU to focus more on performance or on minimizing power consumption. Because I want a GPU that can run Battlefield 2 really well, but then maybe be able to turn down its power usage when I'm unplugged and on the road or something.



Wait.. so you do like the current MBP case or you don't? The current MBP is aluminum, right? If they "upgraded" the case to something else, it might be plastic. I personally like the current case and hope they don't change it (although the keyboard is slightly unattractive, but otherwise...).
Click to expand...

Oops, I mean I have a BlackBook right now and my main reason for upgrading to the MBP is case material. Well, case material first screen size second. Processor and GPU improvements are probably wasted on me, however I do use Aperture. . .
 
scrambledwonder said:
Oops, I mean I have a BlackBook right now and my main reason for upgrading to the MBP is case material. Well, case material first screen size second. Processor and GPU improvements are probably wasted on me, however I do use Aperture. . .
Click to expand...

Ah, gotcha... Aperture can run on a MacBook? I'm surprised...
 
scrambledwonder said:
Is the x1600 really that bad?
Click to expand...

Depends on what you need it for. For basic desktop usage-web browsing, playing videos, using Word, etc., it's fine. For games, it was judged not acceptable over a year ago. Even worse now.

It's actually a low end part that ATi tried to pawn off as being mid range. In the desktop market it quickly got heavily discounted below Nvidia's actually mid-range Geforce 7600 line.
 
Wolfpup said:
Depends on what you need it for. For basic desktop usage-web browsing, playing videos, using Word, etc., it's fine. For games, it was judged not acceptable over a year ago. Even worse now.

It's actually a low end part that ATi tried to pawn off as being mid range. In the desktop market it quickly got heavily discounted below Nvidia's actually mid-range Geforce 7600 line.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. So what's the latest greatest notebook card? I mean, lower power consumption but descent performance? What would you like to see in the next MBP?
 
scrambledwonder said:
Ah, I see. So what's the latest greatest notebook card? I mean, lower power consumption but descent performance? What would you like to see in the next MBP?
Click to expand...

The best has been the Geforce 79x0GTX for over a year. In terms of power/performance...well, also the 79x0GTX.

Apple should have put at least a mid range GPU in there, for the prices they charge. Last year that would have been a 7600GT, this year it would be an 8600GT, which is hopefully what they're switching to.
 
scrambledwonder said:
Ah, I see. So what's the latest greatest notebook card? I mean, lower power consumption but descent performance? What would you like to see in the next MBP?
Click to expand...

Radeon Mobility HD 2600.

Even better, the XT variant, possibly underclocked, but who would care? Would be an expensive, but exceptionally powerful alternative.

(Am I correct in assuming that the HD 2600 XT will simply be the best quality HD 2600's picked out and massively overclocked? Therefore a HD 2600 XT underclocked to the normal 2600 speeds would draw less power?)
 
kingofkolt said:
Even in spite of the ATI/AMD merger? (i.e., AMD and Intel are rivals)
Click to expand...

PowerBook and MacBook Pro has had ATI chip for as long as I care to remember. Changing GPU manufacturer is likely forcing a motherboard redesign, which I believe Apple is not going to do now. I'm expecting a minor (feature) update and not a major (case) redesign...
 
That thing needs a case redesign anyway, so it can finally have user replaceable hard drives.

That said, there's no reason an 8600GT wouldn't work if an x2600 did. Though the x2600 will likely draw more power, when it actually launches.

I hope they finally just ditch ATi, as they've trailed Nvidia since the very first notebook GPU was launched (only briefly catching up during one generation). Plus I can't stand ATi's paper launches. (Or terrible drivers, though that's not really relevant on OS X I suppose.) I've never understood why they continue to mostly use ATi.
 
JFreak said:
PowerBook and MacBook Pro has had ATI chip for as long as I care to remember. Changing GPU manufacturer is likely forcing a motherboard redesign, which I believe Apple is not going to do now. I'm expecting a minor (feature) update and not a major (case) redesign...
Click to expand...

But the iBook and my old 12-inch PowerBook G4 had Nvidia GeForce Go GPUs.
 
JFreak said:
PowerBook and MacBook Pro has had ATI chip for as long as I care to remember. Changing GPU manufacturer is likely forcing a motherboard redesign, which I believe Apple is not going to do now. I'm expecting a minor (feature) update and not a major (case) redesign...
Click to expand...

But Santa Rosa is essentially a new motherboard. . . wouldn't it be a redesign anyway?
 
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