Waiting for Broadwell MBP Thread

[thebrobrah]

im going to do the yearly replacement as well

rationale being, i expect to lose around 200 dollars per year on resale...but i dont pay for applecare ....and its really a small amount to have the latest and greatest

even if it was 300, i would still do it

i use my computer quite heavily for business and pleasure

 

[Rbk23]

im going to do the yearly replacement as well

rationale being, i expect to lose around 200 dollars per year on resale...but i dont pay for applecare ....and its really a small amount to have the latest and greatest

even if it was 300, i would still do it

i use my computer quite heavily for business and pleasure

:d

 

[Erphern]

:d

( ‾ʖ̫‾)

 

[thehornedone]

Today we know the rMBPs have had a minor spec bump and minor price reduction. With my gov't discount, I can get the TTOL 15" for $2,300. If I plan on getting this model, which has the GT 750M, would waiting for the Broadwell instead be pointless if the major advantage is improved integrated graphics? That is, unless there really will be a major update/redesign with Broadwell.

I've read rumors of in-key displays, button-less touchpad redesign, etc. I guess nobody knows at this point, so it's a tough call on whether to wait until mid-2015 or buy one of these new 2nd gen Haswell machines.

Thoughts?!

 

[MattZani]

Buy the Haswell IMO.

Broadwell will bring better battery life, supposedly better iGPU and a better dGPU (Maybe the last one to have dGPU)

Skylake after that will be the big innovation IMO, with a redesign etc, and even that could be pushed back so that we have a Broadwell refresh too.

Buy now, then in a few years get the Skylake update.

 

[fcortese]

Today we know the rMBPs have had a minor spec bump and minor price reduction. With my gov't discount, I can get the TTOL 15" for $2,300. If I plan on getting this model, which has the GT 750M, would waiting for the Broadwell instead be pointless if the major advantage is improved integrated graphics? That is, unless there really will be a major update/redesign with Broadwell.

I've read rumors of in-key displays, button-less touchpad redesign, etc. I guess nobody knows at this point, so it's a tough call on whether to wait until mid-2015 or buy one of these new 2nd gen Haswell machines.

Thoughts?!

I'm kind of in line with thehornedone, that is, I use my mid 2010 MBP mainly for emails, web surfing, word-excel docs with the biggest load of work being photo management and post-processing using Aperture (who knows if I switch to Lightroom after I see what Photos will be like), NIK and PS. I do not do gaming, large video stuff or the like. Also, my MBP is my "desktop" computer taken on the road when I am photographing out of town. So what exactly will Broadwell give me that this present update would not for the way I use a laptop?

 

[mcarling]

Please do. Nothing anyone has said "shot down" my arguments. Not even close.

Now it's a moot point. Apple has shot down your argument. Now it would be unfair to kick your argument after it's already dead.

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Buy the Haswell IMO.

For anyone who does not yet have a Retina MBP, I agree. Now is an excellent time to buy a rMBP.

Broadwell will bring better battery life, supposedly better iGPU and a better dGPU

Known fact, known fact, and wild speculation.

Maybe the last one to have dGPU

The last MBP to have a discrete GPU will almost certainly be either Haswell or Broadwell.

Skylake after that will be the big innovation IMO, with a redesign etc, and even that could be pushed back so that we have a Broadwell refresh too.

All indications are that Skylake will follow Broadwell within about six months.

Buy now, then in a few years get the Skylake update.

Agreed.

 

[Gpulvi]

Buy the Haswell IMO.



Broadwell will bring better battery life, supposedly better iGPU and a better dGPU (Maybe the last one to have dGPU)



Skylake after that will be the big innovation IMO, with a redesign etc, and even that could be pushed back so that we have a Broadwell refresh too.



Buy now, then in a few years get the Skylake update.

I do agree too.

 

[Fraser28]

Now it's a moot point. Apple has shot down your argument. Now it would be unfair to kick your argument after it's already dead.

Wow, Apple has not shot my argument down in any way, shape, or form. Maybe you need to go back and refresh your memory, or you have reading comprehension issues? My argument was that it would not make sense for Apple to drop the dGPU from the 15" models. And...it has not done so. Carry on being a dick.

 

[thebrobrah]

so 8gb ram will be the baseline standard for all pros going forward

nice

 

[psik]

so 8gb ram will be the baseline standard for all pros going forward

nice

that is a great change by apple too imo.

 

[PDFierro]

so 8gb ram will be the baseline standard for all pros going forward

nice

I was shocked when the 13-inch had 4GB RAM last year. Made no sense other than to make Apple more money. 8GB should be the standard these days.

 

[thebrobrah]

i agree..

but nonetheless

 

[TheDrift-]

I'm kind of in line with thehornedone, that is, I use my mid 2010 MBP mainly for emails, web surfing, word-excel docs with the biggest load of work being photo management and post-processing using Aperture (who knows if I switch to Lightroom after I see what Photos will be like), NIK and PS. I do not do gaming, large video stuff or the like. Also, my MBP is my "desktop" computer taken on the road when I am photographing out of town. So what exactly will Broadwell give me that this present update would not for the way I use a laptop?

I am in a very similar boat mid 2010 MBP (15 inch), and use for a few reports (pages (the old version!!) and excel) but the main heavy use will be photography. was going to upgrade end of last year..then was waiting for march refresh...I think I'm going to go for the this mac and if anything major comes out maybe upgrade again in 2/3 years.

My machine is getting pretty slow these days but I am assuming the new top spec 15 inch (base model, with 17 and 16gb ram) will be a big improvement over my I5 8gb? 2010? Does anyone have any idea how much quicker etc?

 

[imm22]

I've just ordered mine

 

[thehornedone]

I am in a very similar boat mid 2010 MBP (15 inch), and use for a few reports (pages (the old version!!) and excel) but the main heavy use will be photography. was going to upgrade end of last year..then was waiting for march refresh...I think I'm going to go for the this mac and if anything major comes out maybe upgrade again in 2/3 years.

My machine is getting pretty slow these days but I am assuming the new top spec 15 inch (base model, with 17 and 16gb ram) will be a big improvement over my I5 8gb? 2010? Does anyone have any idea how much quicker etc?

The 16gb of RAM vs. 8gb doesn't make a huge difference during daily use unless you're actively video processing or doing some high res photo editing. The SSD makes the biggest difference in speed for my use. Applications launch instantaneously.

 

[Damtoft]

How likely is it that DDR4 will be added to the Broadwell MBP?

 

[kramjam]

Anyone have any idea of what kind of improvements to expect for the integrated graphics? I wouldn't mind doing some gaming when away from the gaming rig at home.

 

[andrewtm]

So with all the talk about Skylake being the big upgrade...is it worth it to get the Haswell now, and skip Broadwell? I would like a new computer ASAP but if Broadwell is going to be THAT much better I don't mind waiting til 2015.

And for the fanless design, is that going to be on the 15" as well?

 

[Cougarcat]

How likely is it that DDR4 will be added to the Broadwell MBP?

No chance, DDR4 is for Skylake.

So with all the talk about Skylake being the big upgrade...is it worth it to get the Haswell now, and skip Broadwell? I would like a new computer ASAP but if Broadwell is going to be THAT much better I don't mind waiting til 2015.

And for the fanless design, is that going to be on the 15" as well?

This is what I'm leaning on doing, especially with deals going on for the old Haswells. Broadwell will have slightly improved integrated graphics, but the CPU is just more power efficient.

The fanless design is for the new low-power chip, so no.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

So with all the talk about Skylake being the big upgrade...is it worth it to get the Haswell now, and skip Broadwell? I would like a new computer ASAP but if Broadwell is going to be THAT much better I don't mind waiting til 2015.

And for the fanless design, is that going to be on the 15" as well?

Fanless? No, definitely not happening. The Broadwell parts for fanless systems are rated for a 4.5W TDP and I'd be amazed if they can maintain that without active cooling (probably more like 3W in load over time situations). Even if we imagine Skylake seeing a doubling of power efficiency (which is an insane prediction just for the sake of argument) that means you might see performance in the current Air range in a fanless Skylake system. In reality that won't happen.

rMBPs use 47W TDP parts, and they will actually exceed that power limit as long as the thermal situation is good. It will be years before a fanless system can match this performance, and by that point a system with active cooling will still be way, way faster. The kind of person who needs a 15" rMBP today is never going to volunteer for the huge performance loss that dropping active cooling would entail.

 

[andrewtm]

Fanless? No, definitely not happening. The Broadwell parts for fanless systems are rated for a 4.5W TDP and I'd be amazed if they can maintain that without active cooling (probably more like 3W in load over time situations). Even if we imagine Skylake seeing a doubling of power efficiency (which is an insane prediction just for the sake of argument) that means you might see performance in the current Air range in a fanless Skylake system. In reality that won't happen.

rMBPs use 47W TDP parts, and they will actually exceed that power limit as long as the thermal situation is good. It will be years before a fanless system can match this performance, and by that point a system with active cooling will still be way, way faster. The kind of person who needs a 15" rMBP today is never going to volunteer for the huge performance loss that dropping active cooling would entail.

Thank you both for the great responses! So realistically, is Broadwell going to be THAT much better than Haswell now, that it's worth waiting until April for? Besides the graphics, are there going to be noticeably different improvements that an average consumer would see? Right now my Mid-2009 works great but at times I could cook an egg on this thing!

 

[dlim]

Any speculations on what Broadwell vs Skylake will be like?

Or pretty much if it's recommended to skip broadwell for Skylake if I'm not in dire need of an upgrade since they seem like they're gonna fall within months of each other.

My situation is I've got a late 2013 13" rmbp 8gb/256gb that's been serving me just fine.

With these deals going on after the 2014 refresh, I'm contemplating on picking up a late-2013 15" rMBP 8gb/256gb for $1565 after taxes and selling my current 13" one.

Should I:

-keep current. Wait for broadwell or Skylake. And pick up either late-2013 13" 8gb/256gb for $1173 or 15" 8gb/256gb for $1565 and sell it new to make some money

Or..

-sell current. Pick up late-2013 15". Wait for Skylake

Thanks guys!

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Thank you both for the great responses! So realistically, is Broadwell going to be THAT much better than Haswell now, that it's worth waiting until April for? Besides the graphics, are there going to be noticeably different improvements that an average consumer would see? Right now my Mid-2009 works great but at times I could cook an egg on this thing!

I went from a sandy bridge (2011?) 13" MBA to a haswell 13' rMBP and I've been extremely pleased across all angles. The screen itself is amazing. Battery life. Performance (youtube videos used to make my MBA fan go crazy and have it heat up, but on my MBP it's been fine)

I think people are speculating about a 30% increase in performance, better battery, and better GPU from haswell to broadwell. And depending on your needs, you may not notice the increase.

Seems like broadwell won't come out until early-mid 2014 either so it'd be quite a wait. I know everyone says if you can wait, wait bc apple will always release something better. But I think picking up a late-2013 haswell right now, if you don't have one, is a steal due to places unloading them for the mid-2014's.

 

[andrewtm]

Any speculations on what Broadwell vs Skylake will be like?

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[/COLOR]

I went from a sandy bridge (2011?) 13" MBA to a haswell 13' rMBP and I've been extremely pleased across all angles. The screen itself is amazing. Battery life. Performance (youtube videos used to make my MBA fan go crazy and have it heat up, but on my MBP it's been fine)

I think people are speculating about a 30% increase in performance, better battery, and better GPU from haswell to broadwell. And depending on your needs, you may not notice the increase.

Seems like broadwell won't come out until early-mid 2014 either so it'd be quite a wait. I know everyone says if you can wait, wait bc apple will always release something better. But I think picking up a late-2013 haswell right now, if you don't have one, is a steal due to places unloading them for the mid-2014's.

That sounds like a great idea getting Haswell instead. I'm just concerned for the better battery life on the Broadwell. My MBP 2009 now gets about 4 hours, which I'm not too impressed with.'

I'm also nervous about getting one now because what if the Broadwell has a redesign? Considering this is a very large investment for me (college student) I wouldn't want my brand new computer to go obsolete too quickly!

 

[PDFierro]

im going to do the yearly replacement as well

rationale being, i expect to lose around 200 dollars per year on resale...but i dont pay for applecare ....and its really a small amount to have the latest and greatest

even if it was 300, i would still do it

i use my computer quite heavily for business and pleasure

I'm moving out of America in a month, but I too plan to do the yearly replacement. Like you said, Macs hold their value well, but that may change for me when I have to pay more for technology outside of America and also not as good of a resale market.

If I don't upgrade to Broadwell, I'm definitely getting Skylake. I jumped from an Air to the Pro with the Haswell refresh and around that time my computer needs changed drastically, so I guess staying current on Mac hardware is for me.

The 13" rMBP is the best piece of technology I've ever owned.