The MacBook Pro is finally worth the money.

[cootersgarage6]

At first, I thought that the '13 inch MacBook Pro was not good enough to pay the extra $200 dollars, because it had the same power. The only thing that was different was the looks and outer features. So you can't really call it a pro in terms of power. I mean heck, that thing still used the really old Intel Core 2 Duo chip, and the graphics weren't any better than the MacBook. Everything was the same power and feature wise, only thing different was the outside looks, SD card slot, and keyboard.

But I have been blown away now! the 13 inch now has an i5!!! I would ONLY expect a i3 or something, that is a great buy. AND it has the Light Peak, or thunderbolt on it, and enhanced graphics to the extreme. That thing is like.. under priced... for a mac anyways.

 

[henrikrox]

enhanced graphics? on the 13?

stop smoking. the igp is crapware

yes i5 is very good. res is bad. slow hdd.

and they arent any uses for lightpeak yet as there is no devices for it, also its rev1

 

[Beaverman3001]

Uh, the graphics are a downgrade. Lightpeak is cool but there are zero devices made to use it. i5 is great and all, but you can get the same cpu in a 500$ laptop. All the cpu power in the world won't fix a 5400 rpm drive.

 

[Treeman574]

Enhanced graphics to the extreme? I agree with you about the other improvements, but the intel 3000 integrated is really bad compared to the 15" and 17" proper ATI dedicated graphics.

If the 13" had ATI graphics I would get one without a doubt, but I require the 15" for graphics power.

 

[Buck987]

enhanced graphics? on the 13?

stop smoking. the igp is crapware

yes i5 is very good. res is bad. slow hdd.

and they arent any uses for lightpeak yet as there is no devices for it, also its rev1

you sum it up well..good process, new port but the rest...hohum on this model

 

[Yinmay]

Graphics didn't get any better. If anything they decreased in medium/high quality gaming performance.

Edit to add: anyone who thinks other aspects are a downgrade aren't being fair. The resolution is NOT a downgrade. Yes it didn't go up to match the latest 13" Air but it's not like they reduced it either.

Yes, gaming performance aside, the refresh is an upgrade no matter how you put it. There's no arguing about this fact.
Is it an underwhelming upgrade upgrade? For those like me who were hoping a complete redesign and discrete graphics yes. For those who don't play computer games, there's no question, no, not at all.

 

[Tyrion]

Disagree. 25% of the internal space is still dedicated to a mechanical drive for dead media.

 

[kopite19]

i5 is great and all, but you can get the same cpu in a 500$ laptop.

I want a SandyBridge i5 cpu in a $500 laptop please...do you have a link??

 

[cootersgarage6]

How are the graphics a downgrade? And why would they totally change the deign? That should be saved for OSX Lion.

 

[Beaverman3001]

How are the graphics a downgrade? And why would they totally change the deign? That should be saved for OSX Lion.

Because the GPU is worse in any intense 3d environment? What is hard to understand? worse performance = downgrade

 

[ddoolin0]

Because the GPU is worse in any intense 3d environment? What is hard to understand? worse performance = downgrade

Indeed. Intel has always been NOTORIOUS for simply bad OpenGL support. Sandy Bridge IGP can barely handle Minecraft, lol.

 

[eaf7s]

I agree...because I finally know someone at Apple willing to give me their discount

 

[KPOM]

How are the graphics a downgrade? And why would they totally change the deign? That should be saved for OSX Lion.

The Intel Graphics are not nearly as good as the NVIDIA 320m integrated processor Apple used in the old MacBook Air. They couldn't use the 320m in the new model because Intel won't give NVIDIA a license to build a version for the Core i3/i5/i7. The Intel graphics are more on par with the older NVIDIA 9400m graphics processor.

Apple didn't have much choice since there isn't enough room for a second graphics processor the way there is on the 15" and 17" models. Gaming performance will be worse than the previous model, but you are correct that in other respects, this is an upgrade, and a pretty significant one at that.

 

[LillieDesigns]

I upgraded this morning to a 13 inch high end and I'm loving it. This is my first unibody and I love the build quality, the future of thunderbolt, and blazing fast i7.

Just buy a computer and enjoy it. I've been on these forums for 6 years and have never seen people stressing so bad.

It's a computer; buy and enjoy!

 

[devilstrider]

Uh, the graphics are a downgrade. Lightpeak is cool but there are zero devices made to use it. i5 is great and all, but you can get the same cpu in a 500$ laptop. All the cpu power in the world won't fix a 5400 rpm drive.

Crushing dreams. lol.