so i have some questions about the new MBP

[grooveattack]

hi there
i am considering selling my MBP ( see sig) to purchase a new one. BUT, like many i am a little nervous about a few things.

1. How good is the new graphics card? is there any benchmarks compared to the old one?

2. to swap between the two cards do you have to restart the comp?

3. how good/bad is the glass screen?

4. is the DDR3 RAM much better? (recommend a good price for 4GB in UK?)

5. what is your general view?

just for background, i use my MBP for everything under the sun: music, games, heavy internet, video editing, PS CS4, etc.

My niggle is that all the ports are on the left, all my stuff (HDD, speakers etc.) is on the right, how annoying! lol Thanks guys, you legends!

A great review here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Update-Apple-MacBook-Pro-5-1-Unibody-9600M-GT-9400M.12518.0.html

(oh and i know my machine is awesome anyway at the moment but as it works out i could sell mine and buy a new one out right so it would just be a swap. may as well)

 

[kolax]

Search the forums...every single question you asked has been discussed in great depth.

 

[grooveattack]

Search the forums...every single question you asked has been discussed in great depth.

i knew someone would say that but if everyone searched the forums there would never be any new posts. and i wanted definitive answers not arguments about these issues which, if you have not noticed, most of the other threads end up becoming.
thanks

 

[kolax]

for benchmark results.

You have to log out to switch between the GPU's. An Apple software update will allow switching on the fly eventually.

[url=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/584128/[/url] for the glass screen - this has been discussed so many times.

DDR3 is 1066MHz - depending on what you are doing will depend how much speed you see. Some people don't see anything, depends what you are doing.

i knew someone would say that but if everyone searched the forums there would never be any new posts

Exactly - you'd use the threads already dealing with that discussion and post there. That way, there is a huge load of information for people who have these queries to read, and ask questions.

And there isn't a definite answer for the glass screen or our general views, those are arguments

 

[clyde2801]

Honestly, if your machine is working fine, and meets your needs, I really don't see a reason to switch, unless it will be close to an actual swap.

Your machine MAY have issues with the nvidia card, but there's a chance you may get a (cosmetic) defect in the new model. I lucked out, knock on wood...

If you're within the one year on your 2.4, you may be better off buying applecare on it and waiting. When intel comes out with the new mobile quad chips like they're supposed to next quarter, it may be worth it then. And Apple may get over some of the QC issues that people are complaining about. And if, God forbid, your graphics card fries in a year and a half, you may end up getting one of the models anyway...

Just my two cents. I know how hard it can be once you get caught in the RDF and develop gadget lust (sigh).

 

[MowingDevil]

2. to swap between the two cards do you have to restart the comp?

No, you just log out by clicking the button, it only takes a second and its back up & running. This has been overblown in reviews, its pretty much on the fly imo.

3. how good/bad is the glass screen?

I've always used matte and was pissed they dropped the feature...that said, so far I'm in love with this screen its absolutely gorgeous! I haven't taken it out of the house yet though so we'll see how I feel then. So far so good.

4. is the DDR3 RAM much better? (recommend a good price for 4GB in UK?)

Just get it through Apple if you can, its the same price as anywhere else now. DDR3 is faster and more energy efficient.

5. what is your general view?

Your machine is still very good but if you can do a straight swap w/o spending too much money I'd go for it. These new models are solid!

 

[masse]

You have to be nuts to trade your current machine (if free from problems) for one of the new ones. Yeah they are great, better even, but not by a magnitude that would justify the hassle of selling yours and shelling out a few hundred for a newer one.

I'd hold off another release if I were you. That's just my take on it.

 

[kolax]

No, you just log out by clicking the button, it only takes a second and its back up & running. This has been overblown in reviews, its pretty much on the fly imo.

So, having to log out, thus closing all open applications, then logging back in and opening those again is pretty much switching on the fly to you?

 

[MowingDevil]

So, having to log out, thus closing all open applications, then logging back in and opening those again is pretty much switching on the fly to you?

Why in the world would you switch GPUs while running applications? The only reason i can see using the faster GPU is for playing intensive games or running a program that *needs* that kind of firepower. So why would you not do it BEFORE launching the program? The reason I say that is I've never switched over in the middle of using an app...so it only takes a couple seconds thus its "pretty much on the fly" imo. What I was getting at is its not as if you have to reboot, it really doesn't take that long.

 

[wheelhot]

mowingdevil, you made a good point, but don't you think its embarrassing that other notebook (the only one I can think of is Sony) can switch its GPU at the flick of a button and it doesn't need to log out from Vista (thank god for that, imagine the time to relogin into Vista)

 

[sk47]

i knew someone would say that but if everyone searched the forums there would never be any new posts. and i wanted definitive answers not arguments about these issues which, if you have not noticed, most of the other threads end up becoming.
thanks

you can find definitive answers not only within the multitudes of threads within this forum but also by googling the questions. if you knew that was coming, then you knew right.

 

[kolax]

Why in the world would you switch GPUs while running applications? The only reason i can see using the faster GPU is for playing intensive games or running a program that *needs* that kind of firepower. So why would you not do it BEFORE launching the program? The reason I say that is I've never switched over in the middle of using an app...so it only takes a couple seconds thus its "pretty much on the fly" imo. What I was getting at is its not as if you have to reboot, it really doesn't take that long.

Logging out is the same as having to reboot, only it takes less time! You still have to reopen all your applications.

If I want to run a program that needs the dedicated GPU, then either way, switching before I launch it, I'm still going to have to close everything I'm doing. I might be listening to music and talking to people on iChat - and just to launch an application that needs GPU power, I have to close them all then reopen.

Come on, on the fly switching means you don't even notice the two GPU's have swapped - you don't have to quit everything you're doing.

Apple will release automated on-the-fly switching eventually...

 

[THX1139]

Apple will release automated on-the-fly switching eventually...

Better yet, is to have the computer auto switch when it detects the need for more gpu power. I remember the old days when you had to manually allocate ram to applications. With the advent of OS X, ram allocation is decided and dynamically switched by the OS. I don't see why they could do something similar instead of having to log out.

 

[kolax]

Better yet, is to have the computer auto switch when it detects the need for more gpu power.

Hence why I said automated on-the-fly switching

 

[MowingDevil]

mowingdevil, you made a good point, but don't you think its embarrassing that other notebook (the only one I can think of is Sony) can switch its GPU at the flick of a button and it doesn't need to log out from Vista (thank god for that, imagine the time to relogin into Vista)

Logging out is the same as having to reboot, only it takes less time! You still have to reopen all your applications.

If I want to run a program that needs the dedicated GPU, then either way, switching before I launch it, I'm still going to have to close everything I'm doing. I might be listening to music and talking to people on iChat - and just to launch an application that needs GPU power, I have to close them all then reopen.

Come on, on the fly switching means you don't even notice the two GPU's have swapped - you don't have to quit everything you're doing.

Apple will release automated on-the-fly switching eventually...

Fair enough, I'm sure this will be addressed in a future OS update. I'm just saying its not the end of the world and only takes moments to do. I think addressing the trackpad issues and any other bugs will take priority but the GPU switching will come soon enough.