Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Waiting for Haswell MBP Mega Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
I almost caved last night. I had the refurb 15" 2.6 with 16 and 512 in my cart, but the PCIe SSD and 802ac kept me from pulling the trigger.

I'm in a bad spot, I really want the portability of the 13" but need a quad and 16GB ram (future-proofing) and won't be able to afford an updated 15". Should I just get the refurb 15"?

EDIT: Because honestly, I highly doubt we're getting a quad in the 13" let alone a 16GB BTO.
 
mattshort said:
I almost caved last night. I had the refurb 15" 2.6 with 16 and 512 in my cart, but the PCIe SSD and 802ac kept me from pulling the trigger.

I'm in a bad spot, I really want the portability of the 13" but need a quad and 16GB ram (future-proofing) and won't be able to afford an updated 15". Should I just get the refurb 15"?

EDIT: Because honestly, I highly doubt we're getting a quad in the 13" let alone a 16GB BTO.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you should just get a refurb 15-inch if you want quad-core/16GB RAM yet can't afford the Haswell rMBP at full-price. But if you want upgrades like the PCIe SSD and .ac WiFi like you mentioned, then you have no choice but to spend the money on the new models.
 
mattshort said:
I almost caved last night. I had the refurb 15" 2.6 with 16 and 512 in my cart, but the PCIe SSD and 802ac kept me from pulling the trigger.

I'm in a bad spot, I really want the portability of the 13" but need a quad and 16GB ram (future-proofing) and won't be able to afford an updated 15". Should I just get the refurb 15"?

EDIT: Because honestly, I highly doubt we're getting a quad in the 13" let alone a 16GB BTO.
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll notice the performance improvement of the PCIe SSD over the current SSD. SSDs are so much faster than HDs anyway.

Whether or not the 802.11ac is worth waiting for depends on what you'll be doing with it and how fast your Internet connection is. Given that you are budget constrained, it's probably not worth it.

Seems to me you probably should go ahead and get the refurbished Ivy Bridge rMBP.
 
PDFierro said:
Sounds like you should just get a refurb 15-inch if you want quad-core/16GB RAM yet can't afford the Haswell rMBP at full-price.
Click to expand...

Well, I can afford the full price rMBP (but only up to ~$2300). I figure that would buy me a fully specc'd 13" but wouldn't get a 15" with the same specs. I'd really prefer a 13" as well, but again doubt we'll get a quad or 16GB as options.

mcarling said:
I doubt you'll notice the performance improvement of the PCIe SSD over the current SSD. SSDs are so much faster than HDs anyway.

Whether or not the 802.11ac is worth waiting for depends on what you'll be doing with it and how fast your Internet connection is. Given that you are budget constrained, it's probably not worth it.
Click to expand...

Maybe not today, but will I in 2018 when I'm getting ready for my next upgrade?


mcarling said:
Seems to me you probably should go ahead and get the refurbished Ivy Bridge rMBP.
Click to expand...

That's my thoughts too, but it's very disheartening to have to go from the 12" to the 13" to the 15" just to keep up with "top-of-the-line" at the time.
 
mattshort said:
Well, I can afford the full price rMBP (but only up to ~$2300). I figure that would buy me a fully specc'd 13" but wouldn't get a 15" with the same specs. I'd really prefer a 13" as well, but again doubt we'll get a quad or 16GB as options.

Maybe not today, but will I in 2018 when I'm getting ready for my next upgrade?

That's my thoughts too, but it's very disheartening to have to go from the 12" to the 13" to the 15" just to keep up with "top-of-the-line" at the time.
Click to expand...

Wireless ac is a draft standard and somewhat of a stop gap before wireless ad which should be around for much longer so it won't be a big difference.

I think the main advantages of Haswell well be battery life, and better iGPU if those 2 things don't matter then I would just pull the trigger now.
 
Intel and Apple mafia are the highest profitable companies... I hope AMD will do something about it to break this dark alliance...
 
So really stupid question, but when the MBPs are updated to Haswell, will the non-retina versions still be upgradable in terms of RAM? At the moment, aren't the non-retinas upgradable but the retinas aren't? Or am I completely incorrect?
 
nycmac212 said:
So really stupid question, but when the MBPs are updated to Haswell, will the non-retina versions still be upgradable in terms of RAM? At the moment, aren't the non-retinas upgradable but the retinas aren't? Or am I completely incorrect?
Click to expand...

The design/construction of the non-retina's would not be changed, if they were updated. But most people, including myself are fairly certain they're not even going to update them. They might drop them when the haswell refresh rMBP happens
 
nycmac212 said:
So really stupid question, but when the MBPs are updated to Haswell, will the non-retina versions still be upgradable in terms of RAM?
Click to expand...

In the unlikely event that Apple offer Haswell cMBPs, they might or might not include replaceable RAM. If Apple want to keep the costs down, they might move to integrated RAM, drop FireWire, drop the optical brick, keep the low-res display, probably keep the Ethernet port, and continue to offer rotating HDs. However, the fact that Apple discontinued the ordinary MacBook as early as they did suggests to me that Apple will not update the cMBP.
 
nycmac212 said:
So really stupid question, but when the MBPs are updated to Haswell, will the non-retina versions still be upgradable in terms of RAM? At the moment, aren't the non-retinas upgradable but the retinas aren't? Or am I completely incorrect?
Click to expand...

You are correct. It's unlikely, highly unlikely, the cMBP's will change with the Haswell update. In fact the concern is they might be discontinued. If you have your heart set on a cMBP now would be the time to buy one, especially if you want to buy it from Apple.
 
I made my mind and ordered yesterday a MD213LL/A 13 inch rMBP in the 2.5/8/256 configuration for $1141through the Amazon warehouse deals, which is around $250 less than the lowest price elsewhere (almost half its supposed MSRP of $1999). I thought the deal was great and if I keep it will most likely swap the 256 GB SSD with the one in my 2012 BTO 2.7 /16 / 768 15" rMBP, to then sell the 15 inch for around $2000(ongoing prices on that configuration seems to be around that, without AppleCare, which mine has, plus mine has the desirable Samsung display).

I don't need the extra screen size (or power) of the 15 inch rMBP anymore since I'm done in law school and the new machine will be used less in the road. The savings would be used on a future 13 inch Haswell rMBP next year (once factory refurbished are available).
 
Last edited:
mcarling said:
No, because it's not true. It's wishful thinking, seemingly from folks who have a quasi-religious preference for discrete components over integrated components. Just add up the TDP for each. The TDP for a discrete GPU is much greater than the difference in TDP for two otherwise comparable i7 Haswell CPUs differing only in Iris Pro HD graphics versus 4600 HD graphics.
Click to expand...
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/intel-iris-pro-5200-grafik-im-test/6/ Here you go. Tests of POWER DRAW for Iris Pro CPU and a combination of i7 HD4600 + GT750M.

Do I have to say anything more?

Edit, ah, yes, i can say one more thing. TDP is NOT Power Draw. Its two totally different things. Mobile Quad Core i7s can have Power Draw even at 90W but still will remain in 47W TDP.

According to notebookcheck reviews - Quad Cores have around 50W of Power Draw and were talking about ONLY those with HD4600. And its in regular stress. Models with Iris Pro have 80-85Watts of POWER DRAW(not TDP) in the same Scenarios.

Its because Iris Pro is more power Hungry than HD4600. HD4600 can be understand as iGPU. But Iris Pro, even if its built into CPU - not. Just because of Power Draw.

In terms of this - it will be weaker than GT750M.
 
Last edited:
Someone a few pages back mentioned the 13-inch coming with 256GB standard. Could this really happen? I don't think most of us are expecting that as a possibility.
 
fskywalker said:
Well, I just ordered an Amazon Warehouse deal 13 inch rMBP with the 2.5/8/256 configuration (MD213LL/A) for $1141. I thought the deal was great and if I keep it will most likely swap the 256 GB SSD with the one in my 15 inch rMBP (2012 BTO 2.7 /16 / 768) and then sell the 15 inch rMBP for around $2000 (has Applecare). I don't need the extra screen size (or power) of the 15 inch anymore since I'm done in law school and the machine will be used less in the road. The savings would be used on a future 13 inch Haswell rMBP next year (once factory refurbished are available).
Click to expand...


Hey ! I'm going to study law this year and am torn between 13 or 15 would you say you really needed the extra real estate on the 15 ?
 
So in regards to 13" rMBPs getting 16 gigs of RAM with Haswell, is there a potential limitation due to the chipset or the fact that the machine would probably need two 8 GB sticks which may not be possible, or something along those lines?

Basically is there a physical limitation/reason that the Haswell 13" couldn't have 16 gigs of RAM or would it just be an intentional Apple gimp?
 
idlemac said:
Hey ! I'm going to study law this year and am torn between 13 or 15 would you say you really needed the extra real estate on the 15 ?
Click to expand...

If you are just going to be typing and surfing the web then you will probably be fine with the 13". However, if you are doing any kind of gaming or if you are going to use it for any kind of hobbies such as photoshop or logic then I would go with the 15". The extra screen real estate on the 15" actually does make a big difference but if portability is more important to you then the 13" is better.
 
So who thinks that the announcement is gonna be on September 10th along with the iPhone? That's what all the reports are saying. I'm not getting my hopes upand I'm still thinking October is gonna be when, but it does make sense for the release to be earlier in September.
 
koyoot said:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/intel-iris-pro-5200-grafik-im-test/6/ Here you go. Tests of POWER DRAW for Iris Pro CPU and a combination of i7 HD4600 + GT750M.
Click to expand...
In two of the three tests, the i7 HD4600 + GT750M consumed substantially more power than the Iris Pro CPU. In the remaining test, the Iris Pro CPU consumed insignificantly more.

koyoot said:
TDP is NOT Power Draw. Its two totally different things. Mobile Quad Core i7s can have Power Draw even at 90W but still will remain in 47W TDP.
Click to expand...
TDP and power draw are not exactly the same but are closely related. The integral of both, over a long time, is the same. TDP is essentially a rolling average of recent power draw. Power draw can fluctuate very quickly, for example between 1W and 90W, for any period of time during which TDP may remain in, for example, the 45W to 47W range.
 
ryallen said:
So who thinks that the announcement is gonna be on September 10th along with the iPhone? That's what all the reports are saying. I'm not getting my hopes upand I'm still thinking October is gonna be when, but it does make sense for the release to be earlier in September.
Click to expand...

That's what we are all hoping for. I would be the happiest person in the world.
 
koyoot said:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/intel-iris-pro-5200-grafik-im-test/6/ Here you go. Tests of POWER DRAW for Iris Pro CPU and a combination of i7 HD4600 + GT750M.

Do I have to say anything more?

Edit, ah, yes, i can say one more thing. TDP is NOT Power Draw. Its two totally different things. Mobile Quad Core i7s can have Power Draw even at 90W but still will remain in 47W TDP.

According to notebookcheck reviews - Quad Cores have around 50W of Power Draw and were talking about ONLY those with HD4600. And its in regular stress. Models with Iris Pro have 80-85Watts of POWER DRAW(not TDP) in the same Scenarios.

Its because Iris Pro is more power Hungry than HD4600. HD4600 can be understand as iGPU. But Iris Pro, even if its built into CPU - not. Just because of Power Draw.

In terms of this - it will be weaker than GT750M.
Click to expand...

Are you saying the Haswell rMBP will include a dGPU?

:D
 
mcarling said:
In two of the three tests, the i7 HD4600 + GT750M consumed substantially more power than the Iris Pro CPU. In the remaining test, the Iris Pro CPU consumed insignificantly more.
Click to expand...

11%, 3%, 9%. all of those seem pretty insignificant to me. I don't know what percent of power CPU+GPU takes up in a computer like the rMBP, but I would guess that it's much less than 50% making the difference in battery life < 5.5%, 1.5%, or 4.5%. it looks to me like there won't be much of a battery life improvement due to dropping the GPU, but there will still be Haswell related improvements because of the low-power states, and don't forget the possibility, however unlikely, that IGZO will add to those improvements
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back