Updated MacBook Pro to See Significant Performance Boost with Ivy Bridge

[outdata326]

ummm are you in the wrong thread?

and ya giving apple the monoply for wireless providing sounds like a swell idea

I removed the post. However, not a monopoly on wireless service provided just the soul provider for the iPhone. But I do concede that it would not be perfect. sorry to post off topic but I do not know how to change this to the other thread.

 

[azentropy]

Ditto. I don't get the 13" Air. I'd rather carry an extra 1.5lbs and be able to stick 2nd HDD/SSD drive in there and bump the memory to 8GB or 16GB.

... and have a faster CPU, and have firewire, and a security slot, and GB Ethernet and pay less.

 

[Moduz]

Oh man i just bought a 13" MacBook Pro.

Bum bum bum bum, Bwoooow!

 

[gotluck]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum, graphics wise. IMO, if they don't include a top performing graphics chipset, it's practically a deal-breaker for me.

I *do* like to play games on my machine occasionally, and don't want them to be a sluggish embarrassment when they're run on it.

Not only that, but when one attaches a large external display, the graphics performance becomes more of an issue too, when it has to refresh that many more pixels than the native resolution of the built in 15" screen.

For far too long, Apple has neglected graphics performance as only a minor/secondary concern, and that's the area where the Windows PCs keep stomping them. There's no reason it has to be that way.

I'm fine with Apple offering CHOICES, for people who don't care about better graphics performance -- but good, dedicated GPUs need to be an option for any notebook they put a "Pro" label on.

Agreed, the reason I am still on a windows PC : GPU

Apple has always neglected gaming.

 

[diamond.g]

HiDPI displays use the extra pixels to make everything clearer, not increase the real estate. Nothing would be smaller.

I am curious to see how that turns out. Does the display not report the true resolution? Typically the larger the resolution the smaller the items appear on the display.

 

[wisty]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum, graphics wise. IMO, if they don't include a top performing graphics chipset, it's practically a deal-breaker for me.

I *do* like to play games on my machine occasionally, and don't want them to be a sluggish embarrassment when they're run on it.

Not only that, but when one attaches a large external display, the graphics performance becomes more of an issue too, when it has to refresh that many more pixels than the native resolution of the built in 15" screen.

For far too long, Apple has neglected graphics performance as only a minor/secondary concern, and that's the area where the Windows PCs keep stomping them. There's no reason it has to be that way.

I'm fine with Apple offering CHOICES, for people who don't care about better graphics performance -- but good, dedicated GPUs need to be an option for any notebook they put a "Pro" label on.

Get a PC.

You'll never get anything more than mediocre performance on a laptop, and it costs way more. Well, some manufacturers cram desktop components into laptops, but Apple won't.

You can buy a MacBook Air or Macbook Pro (whatever fits your needs), and splash out $1000 on a game PC that will probably beat a MacPro (due to more choice of cards, and better 3D drivers).

Or you can buy a top-end Mac which does everything badly.

Apple doesn't make a cheap desktop, which is the best form factor for gaming.

 

[heisenberg123]

Bum bum bum bum, Bwoooow!

lol great sound byte especially for the post

 

[One Bad Duck]

These new 15" Pros with integrated graphics - does this mean theyre going to be replaced with a 15" Air like design. Then if you want discrete graphics you get the traditional design + optical drive option?

 

[bigdaddyc188]

All of these speculations and people asking questions... No one really knows for sure...

Sorry to sound like the cranky guy, but we are all in the same boat waiting for another quality product!

 

[iScott428]

Why does everyone hate the 13" MBP?

I would rather have a 13" MBA instead that's for sure. I love the 13" Pro's but they need quad core processors to set them apart from the Air's. Yes there are more connections, ports, larger hard drive, but there are simple solutions for all of those things with the air too. Thunderbolt really opens the door for the Air to do amazing things with peripherals.

 

[Kevinflo]

I also hope they remove the FireWire port. It's legacy, I don't need it, it's ugly, takes up space, and removing it will help push Thunderbolt forward.

Eeek, plz no! I need it in order to use my recording interface to record music! There are lots of people like me & there are enough fw only devices to warrant including the port (on 15" MBPs at least).

 

[Stridder44]

In other news, water is wet.

But really, we've known about the Ivy Bridge performance for a while now.

 

[heisenberg123]

Eeek, plz no! I need it in order to use my recording interface to record music! There are lots of people like me & there are enough fw only devices to warrant including the port (on 15" MBPs at least).

me too and i dont think "it takes up space" i can barely fit the tip of my pinky finger in the port

 

[TheMirrorsTruth]

Given an April 29 launch of Ivy Bridge, could April 24 be a possible launch day for new MacBook Pro's or would May 1st be the "first possible" launch day for MBP's?

 

[the read]

I got a MacBook Air when the redesign came out in late 2010, switching from a MacBook Pro. I love it, but it's underpowered. Hopefully these new Pros will be a bit more portable like the rumors suggest.

I'd like to see a decent-sized SSD as standard, lose the optical drive that I NEVER use (even on my iMac!), discrete graphics across all models, and 1080p resolution. I mean come on, Apple. 1440x900 for the "Pro." My Air has that.

Retina display would be nice, but I doubt we'll see it until next year at the earliest.

I agree, a 20% CPU increase is really disappointing. The intel GPU is also lame.
If they call it pro, make it so!!! We need lighter in weight, solid state, dump the cd and up the screen res, then I would be interested.

If the CPU is the big selling point, I'm out...

 

[Speedrope]

I think the 13in macbook pro is gonna be the new 13 in macbook air ... that way they'll launch the 15 and 17" Pro line early and the more popular 13" Air line later by itself. That's my guess anyways ... regardless, cheapest 15in pro with a dedicated gpu on day one for me. Hoping it gets released before diablo 3 on May 15th and it can max out the graphics Anyone think this is possible?

 

[heisenberg123]

Given an April 29 launch of Ivy Bridge, could April 24 be a possible launch day for new MacBook Pro's or would May 1st be the "first possible" launch day for MBP's?

ummmm yes

----------

I think the 13in macbook pro is gonna be the new 13 in macbook air ... that way they'll launch the 15 and 17" Pro line early and the more popular 13" Air line later by itself. That's my guess anyways ... regardless, cheapest 15in pro with a dedicated gpu on day one for me. Hoping it gets released before diablo 3 on May 15th and it can max out the graphics Anyone think this is possible?

i think the 13in idea you have is possible, if you asking about the game

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1356253/

 

[MikhailT]

Blast! Looks like another generation of 13" MBPs without dedicated graphics!

Maybe I'll target a 15" instead...

They're not going to go away from dedicated graphics, everything's moving toward to having everything integrated, which means Apple will eventually move toward integrated GPUs in a couple of generations as they'll continue to get better.

there wont be a RETINA display for a 15inch notebook. u know how much that would make everything smaller????

also. just spend 2 grand on the 2011 15inch. sell and buy 2012?

You should research the HiDPI mode on OS X, it's about making everything sharper rather than smaller. You don't see anybody complaining about the Retina display on iPad 3, do you?

Re: integrated graphics...

A faster turd is still a turd. These graphics chipsets (I'm loathe to even call them GPUs) have fundamental architectural design limitations that will ALWAYS result in crappy performance, no matter how much they try to hack them to be faster.

Intel excels at general purpose CPUs. They suck at graphics. They really should form a partnership with Nvidia (unlikely) or AMD (HAH!) if they want to be in this business.

They're getting much better ever year, eventually, they'll going to get as good as needed for casual gaming. Most people only do casual gaming and doesn't need powerful GPUs.

I don't think 10-20% is a "significant" performance boost. Unless you're encoding x264 videos all day you probably won't notice any difference, infact a SSD would make a much bigger difference in most cases.

Anyway Ivy Bridge isn't about improving performance, this is Intel's tick in it's cycle, so it's more about moving to a new process and increasing efficiency through a die shrink rather than performance gain with a new architecture. I wonder if there's a noticable increase in battery life with the new MacBook Pros, something which the current models struggle with.

Bingo, that's what the article is not emphasizing enough. It's about doing more stuff with less and that's what the tick about.

To be 5-10% better while consuming 10% less heat and power is actually a huge benefit.

When are we looking at seeing a generation of chips with ZERO chance of integrated graphics?

Never, everything's moving toward integration for a lot of reasons. Apple's about efficiency and size, the only way that can happen is toward integration.

Intel's getting much better with the integrated graphics and eventually, all Pro models will get integrated graphics with no dedicated GPUs. Apple has no interests in building a gaming laptop.

You'll be waiting years before a "retina" (lame term) display is released and doesnt drag the graphics performance to a complete standstill.

If a 6970m still has hiccups trying to drive a 2560 x 1440 panel, how on earth do people on here expect a HD 4000 with low amounts of shared memory to be able to drive more than that, let alone a 1200p display (should a 1920 x 1200 screen come to 15" MBP).

6970m has no problems driving 2560x1440s screen, even the integrated graphics (HD3000) have no problem handling it. I've used my 11" MBA to power the 27" Cinema, no issues there.

If you're referring to gaming, then yes, those GPUs are not fast enough to do 60fps with most games, especially the newer ones. Most Mac users are casual gamers and those type of games don't require a lot of GPU power.

Apple doesn't seem to have any problems driving 2048x1536 panels on their iPad 3 which are using CPU/GPUs that are weaker than the ones in their laptops.

The problem is with battery, can they drive the panel long enough without increasing the weight.

20% Increase in CPU speed? Wow - that's a lot less than expected. I'm happy I bought my iMac in November instead of waiting for the 2012 model.

The new MBA on the other hand should see much of an increase in GPU performance. If Apple would also add 8GB RAM, then we have a winner. Sucks that we probably won't see it until June though.

Remember, it's about the efficiency. A 20% increase in CPU speed and 10% less in power consumption that can add 1-2 hour of battery life? Huge improvement.

Is the macbook air expecting a refresh at the same time does anyone know?

Intel's planning to release Ivy Bridge with low TDPs for the MBA type of laptops in June, I believe. So, MBA update might be later than the MBP updates.

A 4-10% performance improvement makes no difference to me. I want a cooler running system with less fan noise. After that I want longer battery life. Performance has not been any kind of issue for me for years.

Heck, people have been returning the i7 based MacBook Pros and buying the i5 model because it doesn't run nearly as hot., so stop trying to push the cutting edge stuff.

That's what the Ivy Bridge is about, doing more with less.

I am curious to see how that turns out. Does the display not report the true resolution? Typically the larger the resolution the smaller the items appear on the display.

Don't have to be curious, check out iPad 3 in person and compare it to iPad 2, it's the same thing. Apple already have 2-3 years worth of Retina display experience and they'll apply it to OS X with the HiDPI mode, which is already showing up in Lion and Mountain Lion in pieces.

 

[bigpics]

there wont be a RETINA display for a 15inch notebook. u know how much that would make everything smaller????

also. just spend 2 grand on the 2011 15inch. sell and buy 2012?

Uhhh... ...I assume you didn't notice that NO display elements got smaller on the new iPad's Retina display... ...just sharper??

Apparently not. Sheesh!

 

[khovland92]

Still on a mid 2009 13" macbook pro. Still don't really see a point in upgrading until their is a PPI upgrade. Retina isn't necessary, this ain't an iPhone or iPad. But like 200+ PPI would be nice, I think right now its like 120-140.

 

[barnettebw]

they won't just release the 15, then the 13, it has always been all at once to show the entire line, realistically they won't be updated until at least june mark my words on that. probaly with Mountain Lion, im hoping for a longer battery, intel hd 4000, usb 3.0 and by some miracle quad core on the 13 inch it will probaly be dual core but i can dream, please remove the optical drive

In 2008 they updated the 13 and 15 inch models and held off for several months before updating the 17 inch.

It is true that the 17 inch is a much more niche product, though.

Regardless, I think it's possible we could see the 15 before the 13. I doubt Apple wants to wait a month just for Ivy Bridge dual core CPUs when the current 15 model could be updated.

 

[Boisv]

I would rather have a 13" MBA instead that's for sure. I love the 13" Pro's but they need quad core processors to set them apart from the Air's. Yes there are more connections, ports, larger hard drive, but there are simple solutions for all of those things with the air too. Thunderbolt really opens the door for the Air to do amazing things with peripherals.

Ok, got it. Thanks. I haven't really looked at the specs. It seems that the 13" MBP isn't really as "Pro" as its 15" and 17" counterparts.

 

[robvas]

I would rather have a 13" MBA instead that's for sure. I love the 13" Pro's but they need quad core processors to set them apart from the Air's. Yes there are more connections, ports, larger hard drive, but there are simple solutions for all of those things with the air too. Thunderbolt really opens the door for the Air to do amazing things with peripherals.

I had a couple 13" Pros and I have the current 13" Air. I think the 13" Pro gets a bad shake. You get the ability to have 8GB or even 16GB of RAM, you can have two hard drives inside (or mix SSD+HD), you have Firewire and Ethernet....

Best of all, it's a little 'thicker' but it takes up the same amount of room on a desk, or more importantly airplane seat tray.

The battery lasts a little bit longer but the 1280x800 really stinks if you have used the 1440x900 on the Air. They should really upgrade the screen. Thunderbolt is nice but it's very expensive, devices are rare, and you only have one port.

The 11" Air is the real true portable, but the screen makes it hard to get any real work down (only 768 vertical pixels? Hello 1995!) and the battery life leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[pandamonia]

I wouldn't mind a 15" Pro with only the Intel HD 4000 graphics. I don't do any games or 3D programming, I'll take the extended battery life, less heat, and cheaper cost.

They have a notebook for what you want..

Its called an Acer.

 

[heisenberg123]

I had a couple 13" Pros and I have the current 13" Air. I think the 13" Pro gets a bad shake. You get the ability to have 8GB or even 16GB of RAM, you can have two hard drives inside (or mix SSD+HD), you have Firewire and Ethernet....

Best of all, it's a little 'thicker' but it takes up the same amount of room on a desk, or more importantly airplane seat tray.

The battery lasts a little bit longer but the 1280x800 really stinks if you have used the 1440x900 on the Air. They should really upgrade the screen. Thunderbolt is nice but it's very expensive, devices are rare, and you only have one port.The 11" Air is the real true portable, but the screen makes it hard to get any real work down (only 768 vertical pixels? Hello 1995!) and the battery life leaves a lot to be desired.

i thought that thunderbolt devices have thunderbolt ports on them so you can always add more thunderbold devices off the first 1?