Waiting for Haswell (June) rMBP

[Tri-stan]

After taking a good look at the rMBP in the Apple store I am having a hard time now not buying one. Originally I was going to buy a new iMac but the retina screen on the macbook just blows the iMac's away. Something about using this macbook just makes the computing experience more close and personal than using the iMac and easier to use to boot.

If I was to get one it would have to be the next generation as the specs are really going to be epic for a portable computer that would be my first ever proper desktop replacement.

Entry level 15" Haswell rMBP:

Improved battery life
higher core clocks/performance
better gpu maybe even Maxwell
better integrated gpu
more consistent retina screen
faster bigger ssd
increased ram

If Apple can deliver this I am sold.

 

[Crzyrio]

After taking a good look at the rMBP in the Apple store I am having a hard time now not buying one. Originally I was going to buy a new iMac but the retina screen on the macbook just blows the iMac's away. Something about using this macbook just makes the computing experience more close and personal than using the iMac and easier to use to boot.

If I was to get one it would have to be the next generation as the specs are really going to be epic for a portable computer that would be my first ever proper desktop replacement.

Entry level 15" Haswell rMBP:

Improved battery life
higher core clocks/performance
better gpu maybe even Maxwell
better integrated gpu
more consistent retina screen
faster bigger ssd
increased ram

If Apple can deliver this I am sold.

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-roadmap-confirms-20nm-maxwell-gpus-2014-kepler-refresh-arrives-1h-2013/

It would be insta buy if they did release them with maxwell.

Otherwise yeah, the rMBP is awesome. My C2D is kicking well so I am willing to wait for the next release. If they include everything you mentioned, I wont think for a second.

Also dont forget WiFi ac

 

[WhiteIphone5]

After taking a good look at the rMBP in the Apple store I am having a hard time now not buying one. Originally I was going to buy a new iMac but the retina screen on the macbook just blows the iMac's away. Something about using this macbook just makes the computing experience more close and personal than using the iMac and easier to use to boot.

If I was to get one it would have to be the next generation as the specs are really going to be epic for a portable computer that would be my first ever proper desktop replacement.

Entry level 15" Haswell rMBP:

Improved battery life
higher core clocks/performance
better gpu maybe even Maxwell
better integrated gpu
more consistent retina screen
faster bigger ssd
increased ram

If Apple can deliver this I am sold.

i think only a higher core clock and better GPU obviously.
depending on Haswell maybe better life but thats about it :/

 

[Ploki]

After taking a good look at the rMBP in the Apple store I am having a hard time now not buying one. Originally I was going to buy a new iMac but the retina screen on the macbook just blows the iMac's away. Something about using this macbook just makes the computing experience more close and personal than using the iMac and easier to use to boot.

If I was to get one it would have to be the next generation as the specs are really going to be epic for a portable computer that would be my first ever proper desktop replacement.

Entry level 15" Haswell rMBP:

Improved battery life
higher core clocks/performance
better gpu maybe even Maxwell
better integrated gpu
more consistent retina screen
faster bigger ssd
increased ram

If Apple can deliver this I am sold.

Few problems:
1) If they improve performance over all (Maxwell + higher clocks), bye bye battery. (Note: the battery remains the same if they use the same level components)
2) see 1
3) see 1
4) most certainly with aswell.
5) you mean better quality control on the assembly line?
6) Bigger, perhaps, but they already have the biggest SSD on the planet (Except PCIe solutions)
faster? SSDs are nearing the SATA6 throughput, but aren't quite there yet.
To do anything significant you'd need to go SATA 3.2 (chipset needs to support it) and significantly re-engineer the SSD.
7) I doubt they'll go 32GB on the laptop this year.

Maybe 2014?

 

[Tri-stan]

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-roadmap-confirms-20nm-maxwell-gpus-2014-kepler-refresh-arrives-1h-2013/

It would be insta buy if they did release them with maxwell.

Otherwise yeah, the rMBP is awesome. My C2D is kicking well so I am willing to wait for the next release. If they include everything you mentioned, I wont think for a second.

Also dont forget WiFi ac

Ow yeah I forgot about WiFi ac.

I think Maxwell will be a bit out of reach for this refresh (they were saying 2013) but i think we can take performance figures in that report with a pinch of salt so to speak. No way are they going to be doubling the performance to watt ratio. I would of thought that Maxwell was more about the die shrink and Keplar would still get the latest architecture on a 28nm die.

I think the second generation rMBP will be a good solid base to work off having all the revisions and tweaks coming off the back of gen 1.

 

[Liquinn]

Ow yeah I forgot about WiFi ac.

I think Maxwell will be a bit out of reach for this refresh (they were saying 2013) but i think we can take performance figures in that report with a pinch of salt so to speak. No way are they going to be doubling the performance to watt ratio. I would of thought that Maxwell was more about the die shrink and Keplar would still get the latest architecture on a 28nm die.

I think the second generation rMBP will be a good solid base to work off having all the revisions and tweaks coming off the back of gen 1.

I thought the early 2013 rMBP is the second gen?

 

[Tri-stan]

Few problems:
1) If they improve performance over all (Maxwell + higher clocks), bye bye battery. (Note: the battery remains the same if they use the same level components)
2) see 1
3) see 1
4) most certainly with aswell.
5) you mean better quality control on the assembly line?
6) Bigger, perhaps, but they already have the biggest SSD on the planet (Except PCIe solutions)
faster? SSDs are nearing the SATA6 throughput, but aren't quite there yet.
To do anything significant you'd need to go SATA 3.2 (chipset needs to support it) and significantly re-engineer the SSD.
7) I doubt they'll go 32GB on the laptop this year.

Maybe 2014?

For the most part I am looking at a spec boost for the base level rMBP. So it will stay the same price but all of the specifications will be increased without having to spend an outrageous amount of money.

I only really want to upgrade the cpu and ram to 16GB unelss it is removable this time round.

In terms of the ssd OWC does around 550mb read 500mb write this is what I want to see in the macbook from stock. The current ssd speeds are poor at the moment.

The rest is pretty certain, Haswell will increase battery and better both processors, Nvidia will bring better gpu's.

----------

I thought the early 2013 rMBP is the second gen?

I think that just goes down as a spec bump rater that being an official second gen device.

 

[Ploki]

For the most part I am looking at a spec boost for the base level rMBP. So it will stay the same price but all of the specifications will be increased without having to spend an outrageous amount of money.

I only really want to upgrade the cpu and ram to 16GB unelss it is removable this time round.

In terms of the ssd OWC does around 550mb read 500mb write this is what I want to see in the macbook from stock. The current ssd speeds are poor at the moment.

The rest is pretty certain, Haswell will increase battery and better both processors, Nvidia will bring better gpu's.

Well with every mac update of the same model you get a spec-bump for the same price tag (or lower) until the new model is introduced. Pretty much.

Poor? Well, 400/450mbs. not as good as OWC but not too shabby. But I agree. Thats why I got the 256gb version and will upgrade to OWC.

 

[Mac32]

You're gonna wait a long time for Maxwell, it's slated for sometime in 2014. However, Maxwell looks extremely promising!

 

[Ryan1524]

Anything over 12 months away always look very promising.

I wish I never heard of Maxwell.

 

[Asuriyan]

Don't you all mean Broadwell? Or am I missing something here

Edit: realized we're talking 20nm GPUs here. Stupid naming scheme, too similar to Intel's.

 

[dblissmn]

I always thought the rMBP SSD had advantages over OWC products in terms of dealing with non-compressed data (i.e. the majority of what's on the drive) but lagged behind in dealing with compressed data. That's worthy of a little talk, and perhaps might affect some peoples' choices. Also, the Apple SSD has tested out very well on power consumption.

Also, what would we actually see from a Haswell refresh?

Price cut? Apple just dropped the SSD prices sharply to finally better reflect market conditions . . so there's not that much more scope there. Maybe $100.

Graphics? This is where most of the opportunities are. The big increases in speed being talked about with integrated graphics might allow Apple to offer all 15 inch models, Retina included, without discrete graphics. That has a benefit in terms of heat generation and power consumption, not to mention purchase price. Alternatively, they might at least remove the firmware block against 15 inch models running external displays on integrated. And they could certainly stand to update the HDMI port to version 1.3, to support 2560x graphics, or even to 1.4, to support 4K graphics, an Ethernet channel and audio return (while most people won't have use for 4K for years, the other features would be great for hooking up with web-capable TV sets, with video, two-way audio and Internet all over a single HDMI cable and no compatibility troubles all around). Anandtech did mention in October that Haswell will support 4K output over a single cable, so presumably all Apple have to do for HDMI 1.4 is to allow it in firmware.

Better battery life? Probably only if they address the graphics issues above.

New tech? What else is there to add? Maybe giving us back the standard microphone jack? USB3 and Thunderbolt and Retina and 6 gigabit SATA are as high as they'll go right now.

I can't really think of anything else, unless they find space on the logic board for an extra 16GB of RAM.

Any comments on how likely the above is to unfold in practice?

 

[TheNewDude]

All i'm expecting of the update will be Haswell chipset. A cheaper price to upgrade to 16GB and MAYBE a small design change. Maybe make it a bit thinner and lighter.

But it all still remains to be seen!

 

[Count Blah]

All i'm expecting of the update will be Haswell chipset. A cheaper price to upgrade to 16GB and MAYBE a small design change. Maybe make it a bit thinner and lighter.

But it all still remains to be seen!

You know that is their goal. Whether is actually makes sense to do that, or not(iMac redesign).

 

[Cergman]

Waiting for Haswell to take the plunge as well. Fingers crossed for some spec bumps and larger/faster SSDs.

 

[andy9l]

Is this really going to happen in June? I've been waiting around for a while now, primarily due to the supposedly imminent refresh of the Thunderbolt Display.

If Haswell is released in June, Apple could only release from that point onwards...and Apple, being Apple, will probably only update the 15" rMBP initially. That would leave the 13" until late this year...which begins to get silly if you're already waiting.

I really want a 13" rMBP, coming from a 15" MBP. Portability + 27" TBD to use at home? Perfect. I just don't trust Intel HD4000 for Photoshop, etc. on a 27" TBD, and Haswell looks extremely promising for the 13".

Easy to get stuck in a constant waiting game with Apple!

 

[TheNewDude]

You know that is their goal. Whether is actually makes sense to do that, or not(iMac redesign).

On a laptop, thinner and lighter makes a HUGE difference. So if they can deliver that with Haswell, I'd be sold. I'm really thinking 15" for me. The larger screen really is stunning and I'm okay with a bit larger size.

 

[Count Blah]

Depends on what they use for the integrated graphics. For laptop use, there will be G2/HD4600 and G3. G2 will be in line with the general progression of 3000->4000->4600. The G3 will be another leap beyond that. I don't know if the G3 will be available at launch, but I could see the G3 eventually making it's way into the rMBP eventually.

One of the main selling points of Haswell is improved battery life, BTW.

 

[PabloGS]

Better Battery Life?

I doubt the better battery life...

Thermal Power Dissipation (TDP) for the Haswell chips is usually about 2 Watts higher than for the current chips.

If you're wondering what the specs are and what the mobile chip looks like you can find some pictures here:

http://heise.de/-1814985


This is the CPU with DIE:

 

[bill-p]

I doubt the better battery life...

Thermal Power Dissipation (TDP) for the Haswell chips is usually about 2 Watts higher than for the current chips.

This is true and factual.

I kept having these... discussions with people who somehow believe that Haswell will magically fix all current problems.

----

But you don't get 2x graphics performance improvement for nothing.

Power efficiency is higher in Haswell, but that doesn't mean power consumption will drop. It's likely the same or more based on what Intel has shown, so your next MacBook is most likely going to be hotter + have less battery life.

 

[Pentad]

I thought the early 2013 rMBP is the second gen?