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The most awkward update to MBP...

RiCEADDiCTBOY

RiCEADDiCTBOY

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 26, 2007
699
1
yes we all know if you wait - something better will always be out later...however, in roughly 4-5 months the MBP could be seeing a nvdia 200+ placed inside and usb 3.0 and quite possibly expresscard 2...

the timetable on this update and the relatively close updates on three of the most anticipated (not including the new processors coming during the same timeframe) is enough to question a purchase so close to the refresh on hardware across all notebooks in general.

i know i am going to probably hold onto my 2 grand (although if i can find a previous gen 15" unibody macbook pro - i'll probably buy it and save the grand for the upcoming changes in the mbp that i will bet will occur december - january time frame). this upcoming refresh will be the influential change.

(this post isnt to change anyones mind about what they purchase but more for those questioning if to bite the bullet or not)
 
Buy what you need when you need it. Otherwise, you will be waiting for the next update in perpetuity.
 
On USB
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40865/135/

Readers who have been following the history of USB may remember that USB 2.0 was a rather underwhelming technology when it showed up in first products in late 2001. While it promised a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mb/s, the real life numbers were much closer to 250 Mb/s (). It took several years until the technology improved and finally came closer to its specification.

expresscard 2
What device that you use exceeds the current express card speed? Almost none.

nvdia 200
Yes people are always interested in having something "better" but if you are interested in paying for it you won't have the 13" MB. Probably will be for top end MBP only.

Also, anyone interested in better performance won't have 2gb of ram.
 
Apple better shoot for Clarksfield IMO

The lower end Clarksfield is 35watts and delivers quad core 1.6Ghz performance.

Arrandale is just not exciting for a notebook that calls itself "Pro"

IMO of course :D
 
We may be waiting closer to 8 months for Arrandale.

nuckinfutz said:
Apple better shoot for Clarksfield IMO

The lower end Clarksfield is 35watts and delivers quad core 1.6Ghz performance.

Arrandale is just not exciting for a notebook that calls itself "Pro"

IMO of course :D
Click to expand...
I agree completely, but I have my doubts.
 
getz76 said:
Buy what you need when you need it. Otherwise, you will be waiting for the next update in perpetuity.
Click to expand...
+1

All the people asking if they should buy now, or wait until the next update, probably don't need the computer.
 
Consultant said:
On USB
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40865/135/

Readers who have been following the history of USB may remember that USB 2.0 was a rather underwhelming technology when it showed up in first products in late 2001. While it promised a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mb/s, the real life numbers were much closer to 250 Mb/s (). It took several years until the technology improved and finally came closer to its specification.

expresscard 2
What device that you use exceeds the current express card speed? Almost none.

nvdia 200
Yes people are always interested in having something "better" but if you are interested in paying for it you won't have the 13" MB. Probably will be for top end MBP only.

Also, anyone interested in better performance won't have 2gb of ram.
Click to expand...

hate to break your heart but the 200 lineup has the 9400 replacement.
 
Tallest Skil said:
But Apple doesn't use 35w processors in their laptops. :(
Click to expand...

Sure they do though they constrain the 3.06 C2D proc to the 17 in MBP. It's a 35 watt TDP processor (T9900)

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=39312

I think Apple would be smart to do some engineering to give them a buffer.

Initially I thought that the low clock speeds of Clarksfield would pose a marketing problem but Intel has neatly avoided that with Turbo Boost Mode. When on the road you can use one or two cores and stay easily within the power envelope or say "the hell with battery life i'm going 4 core strong...plug it into AC and you've got all 4 cores humming away.
 
They carefully implied that they were just cutting prices, though. And so I would expect the bottom of the line to match the previous bottom of the line plus be upgraded. Had they simply said they were adding another, no big deal. But that haven't made it any cheaper to get a real pro notebook.
 
nuckinfutz said:
Sure they do though they constrain the 3.06 C2D proc to the 17 in MBP. It's a 35 watt TDP processor (T9900)

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=39312

I think Apple would be smart to do some engineering to give them a buffer.

Initially I thought that the low clock speeds of Clarksfield would pose a marketing problem but Intel has neatly avoided that with Turbo Boost Mode. When on the road you can use one or two cores and stay easily within the power envelope or say "the hell with battery life i'm going 4 core strong...plug it into AC and you've got all 4 cores humming away.
Click to expand...

The 3.06 is an option in the 15" now.
 
Consultant said:
On USB
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40865/135/

Readers who have been following the history of USB may remember that USB 2.0 was a rather underwhelming technology when it showed up in first products in late 2001. While it promised a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mb/s, the real life numbers were much closer to 250 Mb/s (). It took several years until the technology improved and finally came closer to its specification.

expresscard 2
What device that you use exceeds the current express card speed? Almost none.

nvdia 200
Yes people are always interested in having something "better" but if you are interested in paying for it you won't have the 13" MB. Probably will be for top end MBP only.

Also, anyone interested in better performance won't have 2gb of ram.
Click to expand...

+1

Why do people always assume that companies will just update new technology w/o a premium. You'll be paying way more for that expresscard 2 and USB 3...they're not going to upgrade them as a standard feature. Look at SSD's. By the time they're mainstream, they would have been on the market for 3 years. The technologies you mentioned are all brand new and I guarantee will NOT be on the next MBP updates in early 2010.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Oh, good; I was going to ask about the 3.06.

Well, that sucks. Now we don't know if the next update will be Clarksfield or Arrandale. :(
Click to expand...

I've got a hunch that we may see Apple split the Pro lineup.

MBP 17 - 1.73Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 15- 1.66Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 13- faster Core2 Duo

Then the next refresh will likely bring faster QC MBP and the 13" and perhaps lower end 15" will
transition to Arrandale.

Unprocessed1 said:
+1

Why do people always assume that companies will just update new technology w/o a premium. You'll be paying way more for that expresscard 2 and USB 3...they're not going to upgrade them as a standard feature. Look at SSD's. By the time they're mainstream, they would have been on the market for 3 years. The technologies you mentioned are all brand new and I guarantee will NOT be on the next MBP updates in early 2010.
Click to expand...

They only need to offer SSD as an option like they do now with the Air. I doubt USB 3.0 makes it but FW3200 has been ratified for a while and uses the same circuitry as FW800. We'll see if Apple takes it to the next level.
 
nuckinfutz said:
I've got a hunch that we may see Apple split the Pro lineup.

MBP 17 - 1.73Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 15- 1.66Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 13- faster Core2 Duo

Then the next refresh will likely bring faster QC MBP and the 13" and perhaps lower end 15" will
transition to Arrandale.
Click to expand...
That is a good thought and I have thrown this around in my head. I'm thinking something like the 4/8 core "split" in the Mac Pro (except with 2/4 cores). Apple did put in a low clocked 8 core model with higher clocked 4 core models, but I'm not sure if this will extend to other lines (iMac, MacBook Pro). They didn't put quad-core in the iMac.

A while ago I was also thinking that the MacBook and Air (and 20" iMac) might get an update with Core 2 Duo while the MacBook Pro (and 24" iMac) goes Clarksfield shortly after, then the lower-end Macs get updated to Arrandale.
 
nuckinfutz said:
I've got a hunch that we may see Apple split the Pro lineup.

MBP 17 - 1.73Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 15- 1.66Ghz Clarkfield
MBP 13- faster Core2 Duo

Then the next refresh will likely bring faster QC MBP and the 13" and perhaps lower end 15" will
transition to Arrandale.
Click to expand...

They have been doing just the opposite recently, actually merging 13" with 15" and 17" into one line, making 13" and 15" more similar to each other and different from 17" (matte option, ExpressCard). I would say if they're going to split this line it would be between 17" and the rest. If they even keep 17" as a "pro" model.
 
iMacmatician said:
That is a good thought and I have thrown this around in my head. I'm thinking something like the 4/8 core "split" in the Mac Pro (except with 2/4 cores). Apple did put in a low clocked 8 core model with higher clocked 4 core models, but I'm not sure if this will extend to other lines (iMac, MacBook Pro). They didn't put quad-core in the iMac.
Click to expand...

The more difficult task for Apple is explaining to people in a clear cut manner that the Quad Core 1.66Ghz computer is smart enough to shut down inactive cores and thus boost the remaining cores to a higher megahertz.

How do you effectively advertise a processor that can scale from 1.66Ghz to 2.8Ghz?

I think Arrandale is going to have Turbo Boost as well but no one knows for sure but Intel.
 
aleksandra. said:
They have been doing just the opposite recently, actually merging 13" with 15" and 17" into one line, making 13" and 15" more similar to each other and different from 17" (matte option, ExpressCard). I would say if they're going to split this line it would be between 17" and the rest. If they even keep 17" as a "pro" model.
Click to expand...

That would be a little confusing.

I guess a more clear way to put it.

All Macbook Pro that offer integrated GPU only will move to Arrandale.

All Macbook Pro that offer discrete GPU will move to Clarkfield.
 
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