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TDP doesn't mean much. When Intel introduced the first batch of the 45nm refresh Penryn they had the exact same TDP classes although test showed them to suck only 2/3 the power of the 65nm generation.
The same TDP calsses means little. It is still odd though that there is such a little clockspeed increase and still the same TDP classes when Intel promised 22nm TG to be like a two node step. If it was more clock speed or lower TDP classes should have been even in the first batch.
Nobody really knows until tests show up.
They might just play it safe as AMD is not threatening them and 22nm is rumored to have some problems much like 40nm at TSMC had. Haswell also looks better in comparison if they make IvyBridge look worse than it is on paper. Chances are they will release lower TDP chips a few months after the launch much like as it was with the 25W Penryn.

Well they certainly don't have any threat from AMD in the mobile space (and sadly with Bulldozer flop not in the desktop space anymore either). But I am inclined to think that Intel may have been overstating in the first place the benefits that IB would really bring. I expect that Haswell or one beyond (the name doesn't come to mind now and I'm too lazy to look it up) is where we'll see big improvements.

To me IB, at least on paper, doesn't look like it is the huge jump that Intel and others said it was going be.
 
To me IB, at least on paper, doesn't look like it is the huge jump that Intel and others said it was going be.

It's a die shrink. Slightly lowered power usage with slightly improved performance. Add the 60% faster integrated graphics with full openGL support and this is a great step forward for the Air and 13'' Pro.

Then, the TDPs are equal... but this just specifies the power consumption under full load. The idle consumption might easily drop by 20%. Furthermore, IV will have a programmable TDP - not sure how Apple will make use of this, but I see a number of possibilities here to increase battery life under light and medium load, something the current Sandy Bridge MBPs are not very good at.
 
Furthermore, IV will have a programmable TDP - not sure how Apple will make use of this,
Apple has a history of under clocking - particularly the GPU, I wonder if its feasible that apple will alter the TDP to keep temps down but at the expense of performance.
 
You're wrong. It will start a week before. :p

You're probably right. I'll most likely buy when Sandy Bridge E hits. as I require more power, but I don't like to buy on the tail end of a product cycle. I'm not concerned about mac pro cancellation. If by some chance it does happen, I'll move to Windows as the mac pro is the only machine that can be equipped with anything resembling a workstation grade gpu, and I like internal storage, and I can run tasks overnight without worrying about the stability of the machine.
 
So in this thread we have a group of people voting to buy now for the OP because Ivy League does not represent a large jump in performance and another group of users voting to wait because it will include USB 3, better GPU and in fact will have a 20-25% increase in CPU performance.

Since the OP is without a Mac and he's needs to wait until his mother or mother's boyfriend (I'm losing track) has to wait for the tax refund, it makes sense then to wait for Ivy bridge because we're now talking about waiting a month or two when all is said and done with.
 
So in this thread we have a group of people voting to buy now for the OP because Ivy League does not represent a large jump in performance and another group of users voting to wait because it will include USB 3, better GPU and in fact will have a 20-25% increase in CPU performance.

Since the OP is without a Mac and he's needs to wait until his mother or mother's boyfriend (I'm losing track) has to wait for the tax refund, it makes sense then to wait for Ivy bridge because we're now talking about waiting a month or two when all is said and done with.
That's why I just bought a Mac yesterday (not my MBP) and now atleast I have a Mac to use until the MBPs come out :)
 
That's why I just bought a Mac yesterday (not my MBP) and now atleast I have a Mac to use until the MBPs come out :)

The other thing to consider is reselling the mac, so buy a MBP now, sell it on craigslist and then buy the ivy bridge model. While you'll not get what you paid for, Macs typically do hold the value very well.
 
The other thing to consider is reselling the mac, so buy a MBP now, sell it on craigslist and then buy the ivy bridge model. While you'll not get what you paid for, Macs typically do hold the value very well.
I'll keep my Mac Mini box and stuff and bare that in mind. :p (Tis the only mac I have at the moment ;() =[

I can't wait for an Ivy Bridge MBP though :)
 
UPDATE!!!!!

I thank all of you for the advice on the 13 inch. I did A LOT of heavy thinking, and agreed with some other people I need to get a 15''. I'm getting the base model 15" with the 512MB video card. I'm 75% sure I'm wanting to wait until April. I might have to anyway. Remember how I said my Mom wanted to pay the extra money for me to get a 15"? I might have to wait until she gets her tax return. So, I guess if I Have to wait until around April for her to get her tax refund, it'd be logical to wait for the new models?

This is a good idea. I got the early '11 MBP 13" and wish I would've gone with the 15" just so I could put the SSD in as main drive and put the factory HD as a secondary storage HD. Definitely get the 15" as it's more screen real estate and not THAT much bigger.

----------

They won't if the Ivy Bridge chipset is in it means there are USB 3.0 controllers. They could still only wire the USB 2.0 but there would be absolutely no excuse to do that. Peopel would go crazy.
There was an excuse in this generation as USB 3.0 required an extra chip which needs space on an already cramped logic board that they wanted to put the really big Thunderbolt chip on already.
Also they know that Thunderbolt is no replacement for USB it is something different, something that might be useful at times but nothing beats the cheapness of USB and that matters more than anything else for most peripherals like printer, cameras, harddrives, flashdrives.
A Flashdrive with Thunderbolt would mean that the controller would probably make up more than 95% of the entire production cost of that thing. Also the current small Thundebolt controller is as big as some Flashdrives in whole.

USB 3.0 will show 100%.

I agree it's not a replacement but it's nice getting a Thunderbolt to HDMI w/ audio support cable for external monitor's/TV's. ;) One cable FTW.
 
I've had a huge development. Firstly, I sold the iMac for way more than expected. I got $530 for it. Secondly, my Mom's BF somehow got a big beefy paycheck for $2500. I have enough cash now to pay for the MBP. He's paying the excess for the 15". I need to make a decison within this week. Do I buy a Late 2011 MBP now, or do I put the other half of the money in a savings account, and wait until the 2012 models?
 
I've had a huge development. Firstly, I sold the iMac for way more than expected. I got $530 for it. Secondly, my Mom's BF somehow got a big beefy paycheck for $2500. I have enough cash now to pay for the MBP. He's paying the excess for the 15". I need to make a decison within this week. Do I buy a Late 2011 MBP now, or do I put the other half of the money in a savings account, and wait until the 2012 models?

Lol, now you're really screwed :D

What kind of computer do you have right now? Not having a computer for 6 month sucks!

Also, consider that when the Ivy Bridge MBPs finally appear in may/june, it might only be 6-7 month before Haswell CPUs become available. No matter what and when you buy, your system will be obsolete in less than a year.
 
I need to make a decison within this week. Do I buy a Late 2011 MBP now, or do I put the other half of the money in a savings account, and wait until the 2012 models?

Also, consider that when the Ivy Bridge MBPs finally appear in may/june, it might only be 6-7 month before Haswell CPUs become available. No matter what and when you buy, your system will be obsolete in less than a year.

apple does have a history of waiting a month or three before releasing an updated model after a chipset was released. So while the mobile flavors of ivy bridge is due out april/may, you may not see an updated model until this summer as thundersteele mentioned.

All things being equal, my recommendation is that you buy now and enjoy it now. The current model will not stop working when Ivy bridge finally hits the street.
 
I've had a huge development. Firstly, I sold the iMac for way more than expected. I got $530 for it. Secondly, my Mom's BF somehow got a big beefy paycheck for $2500. I have enough cash now to pay for the MBP. He's paying the excess for the 15". I need to make a decison within this week. Do I buy a Late 2011 MBP now, or do I put the other half of the money in a savings account, and wait until the 2012 models?

Buy now and enjoy is all I can say.

Waiting is (dare I say) a stupid decision especially with Apple... and especially when nothing is concrete yet. For all we know, they may just release the same Pros as this year (same chassis, same screen, same layout) but with IB instead of SB CPUs.

When there are more information about the 2012 Pros, and you feel like you can't live without some of the features, then sell your 2011 Pro back and get the 2012.
 
For all we know, they may just release the same Pros as this year (same chassis, same screen, same layout).
That has happened before and infact apple has issued a speed bump when people expected the new chip architecture as well.
 
That has happened before and infact apple has issued a speed bump when people expected the new chip architecture as well.

I think they pulled the same move in 2011. Early 2011 and Late 2011 models didn't really differ that much except for a speed bump.

What I think may happen is that they released the Late 2011 models so that they can freely delay the 2012 lineup until August or September and take their sweet time... Which would make sense considering their roadmap is now crowded with an (much anticipated) improved iPad 3, a worthy iPhone successor, and something to do with a TV.
 
I think they pulled the same move in 2011. Early 2011 and Late 2011 models didn't really differ that much except for a speed bump.

What I think may happen is that they released the Late 2011 models so that they can freely delay the 2012 lineup until August or September and take their sweet time... Which would make sense considering their roadmap is now crowded with an (much anticipated) improved iPad 3, a worthy iPhone successor, and something to do with a TV.
True, this is why I just bought a Mac Mini (not a Macbook Pro) I know. I guess if you're always going to want the newest thing you're never going to buy anything.
 
The other thing to consider is reselling the mac, so buy a MBP now, sell it on craigslist and then buy the ivy bridge model. While you'll not get what you paid for, Macs typically do hold the value very well.

I may do this but get an Ivy Bridge Air. My 2011 MBP really hasnt been used to capacity and I think the added portability would be better for me. I'll wait and see if the MBP gets a redesign though.

I was expecting Hellhammer to chime in since he seems to be a beacon of knowledge and common sense on subjects such as these ;)
 
I think they pulled the same move in 2011. Early 2011 and Late 2011 models didn't really differ that much except for a speed bump.

I'm basically in that quandry now. Do I wait for Ivy Bridge or do get what is known to be an extremely capably, fast and solid computer. I don't have to upgrade as my 2010 era MBP is a solid machine.
 
I'm basically in that quandry now. Do I wait for Ivy Bridge or do get what is known to be an extremely capably, fast and solid computer. I don't have to upgrade as my 2010 era MBP is a solid machine.
Yeah true, I'm going to have to make do with a Windows laptop and VNCing to my Mac until I get my MBP, I will live :p

Hoping the new MBPs are good machines, as it will be my 2nd Mac,
 
I'd buy now.

However, if you feel like waiting, maybe you could get a rubbish netbook and install Ubuntu Linux on it? It sure beats Windows.



Rich::
 
hi

im currently using a macbook (the white version - 2008 model i think). I've had to replace the battery on it (I use it extensively) however the current battery is going again and the performance is not what it used to be.

I'm thinking about upgrading to a 13" mackbook air, however I have done some research and it looks like I should hold out until April (which I'm happy to do). The question i have is, someone mentioned the MBP won't see as noticeable performance improvements as the MBA -- why is that the case? Will the MBA be a lot better?

I will be using the MBA as my sole computer (I have an iPad 2 and iPhone 4s, however I would like to study using Windows for Mac), so want to make sure it will last me for at least 3 years like my current macbook has. I'm not really interested in the MBP - dont want something big and heavy.

Cheers
Jonny
 
True, this is why I just bought a Mac Mini (not a Macbook Pro) I know. I guess if you're always going to want the newest thing you're never going to buy anything.

If there is anything I have learned with Apple, it's that they almost never release an update that has all the things people want.

So I'm sure that even if they were to do a redesign, they'll leave out just enough in the 2012 lineup to make it so that 2011 owners wouldn't feel so bad... and then 2013 they can still get something that makes sense for them, if they choose to.

I'm basically in that quandry now. Do I wait for Ivy Bridge or do get what is known to be an extremely capably, fast and solid computer. I don't have to upgrade as my 2010 era MBP is a solid machine.

Another way I look at what I wrote above is that... the first iteration of Apple's redesign was always imperfect in some way. The second time would see a remedy, but then the third would always make it the ultimate to get, and then the forth time was when they did a redesign. Almost always.

I guess that's why people are expecting a redesign, since Apple has run with the Unibody design through 3 generations of chips (Core 2, then 1st gen Core i, then Sandy Bridge), but... personally, I don't feel that that's a rule at all. I think that if they wanted to do a redesign, and if it were to come any time soon, we would all have heard about it already. For all we know now, there's only the 15" MBA in the pipeline, which... I suspect was a failed experiment in the lab, so... there doesn't look like to be anything.

For all we know, they might have nothing in the lab at this time. It makes sense, because Intel still has yet to ship Ivy Bridge, and without Ivy Bridge to draw a board for, Apple would have nothing to base the design on.

It might just be me, but personally, I feel that nothing is set in stone yet, so whether you choose to update or not might just make a difference in your wallet but not much else.
 
Another way I look at what I wrote above is that... the first iteration of Apple's redesign was always imperfect in some way. The second time would see a remedy, but then the third would always make it the ultimate to get, and then the forth time was when they did a redesign. Almost always.

I guess that's why people are expecting a redesign, since Apple has run with the Unibody design through 3 generations of chips (Core 2, then 1st gen Core i, then Sandy Bridge), but... personally, I don't feel that that's a rule at all. I think that if they wanted to do a redesign, and if it were to come any time soon, we would all have heard about it already. For all we know now, there's only the 15" MBA in the pipeline, which... I suspect was a failed experiment in the lab, so... there doesn't look like to be anything.

For all we know, they might have nothing in the lab at this time. It makes sense, because Intel still has yet to ship Ivy Bridge, and without Ivy Bridge to draw a board for, Apple would have nothing to base the design on.

It might just be me, but personally, I feel that nothing is set in stone yet, so whether you choose to update or not might just make a difference in your wallet but not much else.

Yeah, buying a revision 1 apple product has been a bit risky in the past, and if I buy now, I'm getting a known quality. Still with the possible 15 - 25% performance increase some have estimated, it might be a wise move for me to hold off. The addition of USB 3 is icing on the cake.

As for the case redesign, apple has shown an unwillingness to make a change until it absolutely has too. Just take a look at how long the pre-unibody MacBook Pros had that design, it was from the G4 powerbook days. The Mac Pro's design itself is also from the G5 era as well.

I have a core i7 desktop that I upgraded to Lion recently and I'll use that as my main machine until Ivy Bridge comes. If my 2010 MBP was the only machine I had, then I'd be more inclined to get one now.
 
As for the case redesign, apple has shown an unwillingness to make a change until it absolutely has too. Just take a look at how long the pre-unibody MacBook Pros had that design, it was from the G4 powerbook days. The Mac Pro's design itself is also from the G5 era as well.
That wouldn't be so bad. A redsign would mean 16:9 ratio with almost absolute certainty and that would suck. I'd much rather have a 16:10 but wouldn't complain about higher res options.
 
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