Personal computing discussed

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tanker27
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Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:18 am

Looks interesting but I am wondering why no i7 for the 17"?

To me the 15" i7 looks to be about the best.

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in three models: one with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive at $1,799; one with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $1,999; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive for $2,299.


(oh and I beat the front page :P )
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bthylafh
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:26 am

You can get a 2.66 GHz i7 for the 17". It's another $200.
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tanker27
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:34 am

bthylafh wrote:
You can get a 2.66 GHz i7 for the 17". It's another $200.



Oh I see, its an upgrade option, hmmm.
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derFunkenstein
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:42 am

Hey, discrete graphics all around. Wonder why you can't get at least an i3 in a 13" MBP - why redesign the motherboard to add discrete graphics and not go all out to add the new chipset? That's too bad.

The good news is that according to Notebook check, the discrete graphics aren't too shabby for mobile (though kind of low-rent for an $1800 machine - 256MB of VRAM is not sufficient, IMO). A huge leap over the GeForce 9400M, but that's not saying much.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeF ... 437.0.html - 48 shaders, 40nm DX10.1 parts.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeF ... 701.0.html - similar specs, probably lower speeds

I dunno, I love Apple but these machines are not good values for the money and they're late to market. I'm sure they'll sell fine but I think this was poor execution on Apple's part. I mean, they had Nehalem Xeons before anyone else yet they're like 3 months late to the mobile Core i5 party.

Also, I was informed on the front page that some dual-core parts are being labeled Core i7. I have to assume that the i7 in these machines (which runs 1.06GHz faster than the the Core i7 720M) is a 32nm dual-core part.
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Da_Boss
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:57 am

As I bought my first Mac last August when I pulled the trigger on a MBP 15", I can now say:

There's no worse feeling than watching your $2000 computer become outdated...
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grantmeaname
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:54 am

derFunkenstein wrote:
...The good news is that according to Notebook check, the discrete graphics aren't too shabby for mobile (though kind of low-rent for an $1800 machine - 256MB of VRAM is not sufficient, IMO)...

256MB of VRAM is sufficient for 1440 by 900, any day. That's only 1.2 megapixels!
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Skrying
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:25 am

Given products such as Asus's Ul30Jc-1A exist I don't think the MBP 13" still using C2D was a technology limitation. This refresh is disappointing. The MBP 13" was their best laptop value in terms of hardware only. It's no longer competitive, and this hurts more than it normally would given Apple's refresh cycles.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 2:59 pm

grantmeaname wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
...The good news is that according to Notebook check, the discrete graphics aren't too shabby for mobile (though kind of low-rent for an $1800 machine - 256MB of VRAM is not sufficient, IMO)...

256MB of VRAM is sufficient for 1440 by 900, any day. That's only 1.2 megapixels!

I'm talking about apps that use OpenCL and Grand Central scheduling - distributed computing apps on Windows already set 256MB as a minimum (CUDA-enabled SETI@Home for example) and I can't imagine that it'll stay that way for long. The GPU does more than graphics nowadays.
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tfp
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 13, 2010 3:37 pm

I'm not sure if crunching on a GPU in a laptop is such a great idea in general though I know people do it.
 
riviera74
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:52 am

Other than Apple's version of nVidia Optimus technology, and maybe faster CPUs, what is the big deal with the MacBook Pro upgrades?
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ssidbroadcast
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Sun Apr 18, 2010 12:03 pm

If anyone wants to make an offer on my comp, PM me. I'd like to get one of these MBPs soon.
 
SNM
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:11 pm

riviera74 wrote:
Other than Apple's version of nVidia Optimus technology, and maybe faster CPUs, what is the big deal with the MacBook Pro upgrades?

That's about it, but since Apple upgrades its computer line so rarely (compared to PC vendors) it's always a bit of an event. A lot of people don't like to buy except when their notebooks are brand-new since Apple almost never drops prices, so the value proposition is always best on launch day.
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themattman
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Mon Apr 19, 2010 2:26 pm

I'm glad Apple finally updated their product line to keep up with the times. I bet that the next update will also bring along some improvements in the physical device as well.

...and I am happy I did not join the "waiting for Arrandale" group. I would still be waiting to pick up a new 13"MBP.
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JustAnEngineer
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:33 pm

You probably don't want to put one of these Apple mini-furnaces on your lap. 101°C is HOT!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/2010 ... guy_tc1793
Christopher Null, Yahoo! News wrote:
Latest MacBook Pro CPU runs so hot it can boil water
Mon Apr 26, 7:08 pm ET

Buy a Mac and you know you're getting the state of the art when it comes to components (except for a Blu-ray optical drive — Steve Jobs hates Blu-ray). And that's a good thing, since you're probably paying a fortune for the privilege.

But as many an early adopter can tell you, when you push the envelope, unintended consequences can be the result.

Case in point: The 17-inch MacBook Pro uses the latest CPU from Intel, the Core i7-620M, an incredibly powerful chip already becoming prized by users for its performance. Those who buy a 17-inch laptop are the most performance-obsessed of the bunch, willing to sacrifice portability for something that will blow the benchmarks out of the water.

But with the i7-based MacBook, there's a bit of a snag: The i7 is a fast chip, but perhaps it's too fast for this chassis. The chip runs hot. So hot, in fact, that users report the whole laptop gets uncomfortably warm to the touch — with one source reporting it is "almost too hot" to touch.

PC Authority did some sleuthing to figure out exactly how hot the insides were when the machine was under heavy loads, and the results are alarming: One test showed the chip literally burning up at 101 degrees Celsius, hot enough to boil water.

Other computers using the same CPU don't get nearly this hot, so what's the problem? Chalk it up to the Mac's unique design and unconventional approach to cooling.

The all-aluminum design of the Mac isn't just for looks, it's also to help the interior of the notebook cool off. Rather than vent heat through a copper pipe and out a hole in the side or bottom of the machine, the entire body of a Mac is used to cool the machine as the heat radiates through the body and out into the air (although fans are also used to supplement this). This works most of the time, but when the machine gets really hot, it just can't keep up, and that's when the laptop gets uncomfortably hot — so much so that PC Authority had to run some of its tests with the machine on its side so that the base of the laptop would be exposed to cooling air instead of an insulating table.

When a machine overheats, several things can happen. Typically the chip will automatically start to run in a slower, "throttled" mode, so less heat is generated. But crashes and component failures can also occur as heat makes the system unstable.

There's no word from Apple on a fix — or even if one is possible — but power users should take note. Consider a cooling base or at least a stand to elevate your MacBook when you need all the power it has to offer.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Mac Book Pro Refresh

Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:29 am

The "fix" will have to come in the form of disabling Turbo or otherwise limiting performance, along with a fan speed increase if possible (though I have to think that at 101C, the fans are already going full-blast). Too bad about the first part; a big chunk of the i5/i7 low-thread-count performance advantage is from turbo.
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