New Macbook Pros

[LJL]

True and that maybe the case but a E-sata connector is small and honestly if they did that , than no need for the express slot per say. Now if it did have the E-sata that would seriously interest me even though I just bought the 2.93 a couple months ago. Lot's of moaning going on about the loss of the Express card that Apple is getting more consumer like on the Apple forums. Have to agree with them, for many this may not matter but if you want to work outside the box than all you have is Firewire 800 which is nice but not nearly as fast as E-sata. A SSD card reader is a nice feature but it also spells consumer to me.

I agree, but it seems like there are some "competing" issues with some Apple stuff. They have not really embraced the eSATA side of things at all. Might be because there is no easy way to provide internal power, like FW can and some of the USB2 stuff can now. Do not even see it on the Mac Pro, except piping wires from the inside, or something. It seems like it would be an easy add, but for reasons unexplained, they are not going that way.

Seriously doubt that the 3.06GHz is going to be that much faster than your 2.93, Guy. They are the same platform, so only a very teeny speed boost. The Quad cores may be a different story, as even the lower clock speeds there are beating higher clock speeds on duo-core machines.

I still think Apple would be wise to configure the "pro" laptops with some "pro" connectivity, meaning FW800, eSATA, USB2 in more than one port each, plus DVI or whatever in a more standard config....or at least supply the connector without ripping folks off so much. Only the 17" has the greater utility and connectivity....plus that matte screen some of us prefer

The other "loss" of the ECC/34 card on the smaller machines means no easy non-WiFi/BT connection. Would be nice if they started to build in a wireless card that worked on any network (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, etc.). At least with the EC/34 slot, you could get a card. And since AT&T has NOT yet allowed tethering with the iPhone, the smaller MBPs, like the Air, can only get Internet connection via hardwire or WiFi, and those are not always available when and where you might want/need them sometimes.

Sorry if much of this sounds like grousing, but by this point, the manufacturers should have a pretty good idea what the "pro" users, or serious business users could really use and then build that into their "pro" level machines. Not sure why it is such a problem, and now, with the even more restricted ports, it becomes even harder to configure things with possible third-party solutions. Sorry, but USB2 is NOT the best answer.

LJ

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

I'm surprised that there's still no eSATA, and only two USB and one FW port. That limits usability. On the other hand, the SD slot is a very positive development.

The only surprising thing about SD is that it isn't standard on all cameras. They are cheaper, have enough capacity, there are no pins to bend (I understand why Apple don't want to deal with that) and they can be bought almost anywhere. Another reason to buy a K7, I guess. Or an M8?

The 13" seems like a good travel option. Pity that I just bought a netbook

 

[Lars]

Guy, do you see the possibility of tuning up the new 13" Pro with dual SSD's like you did with your 15", or is it pointless due to limited resolution and graphics performance?

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Well you could certainly rip out the optical bay on them depending on how it looks inside. Certainly the same space as the 15 inch. I'm sure maxupgrades would have a bracket out fairly soon to do that. If it can push a 30 inch display with a closed lid and you can calibrate it okay than it might be fine. I wonder if the color gamut would be okay and they did say this is the improved screen so it should be pretty good. I think if you are going to make a race horse from this though maybe the 15 inch might be the better option with a better graphics card and more Vram. I think when Snow leopard comes out it will take more advantage of Open GL and that is when the higher end graphics cards might boost some performance. Maybe Jack and Lloyd could address what Snow leopard may bring to the table more with regard to Open GL.

I think this is only L2 3mg cache compared to L2 6mg cache in the 15 inch. Have to check this

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Yup what I suspected

2.53GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed; or 2.8GHz or 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Now here is the graphics what they don't tell you if you have to close the lid on the 13 inch i suspect you do

All models: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory4
Selected models: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz configuration; or 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.8GHz and 3.06GHz configurations
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Now this is my unit

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT:

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0647
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3385
gMux Version: 1.7.3
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Built-In: Yes
Cinema HD:
Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Rotation: Supported
Adapter Type: Mini DisplayPort To Dual-Link DVI Adapter
Adapter Firmware Version: 1.02

 

[Guy Mancuso]

As you can see i am running both the 30 inch and the laptop together with the 9600.

 

[Lars]

Big difference even within the 15" configurations then - you have to step up to 2.8GHz to get 6MB L2 cache and fully loaded graphics memory.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Yea looks like it

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Here is where the rubber may hit the road and if C1 can take advantage of this and all the Raw processors than maybe just maybe us MBP users won't feel the dual core as a disadvantage over the MacPro when we process files that the software is more core dependent. There is some hope here

From Macrumors

Meanwhile, Apple also details which GPUs will be supported for their upcoming OpenCL API. OpenCL will allow developers to easily offload additional processing tasks to the computer's GPU. Some tasks may find greater benefit from this than others, but could potentially offer substantial performance boosts. The list of supported GPUs include:

- NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GTS, Geforce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130.
- ATI Radeon 4850, Radeon 4870

In one specific example, one company found a 5-fold increase in video encoding when using OpenCL-like technology on the PC.

 

[LJL]

And the plot thickens a bit more. Just read that Snow Leopard will only work on Intel-chipped machines. Guess it is the end of the line for supporting the PowerPC machines if one wants to run the most recent OS. We probably saw it coming, but the old G5s and stuff some of us still run will now become servers and stuff, I guess.

Here is a link to an article on the topic:
http://news.cnet.com/one-more-thing/?tag=rb_content;overviewHead

LJ

 

[Terry]

Now the question on the 13" is:

live with the 5400 drive and replace later this year with an SSD
swap the 5400 for one of the new 500gb very fast 7200's now for $154
or
swap the 5400 for one of the new 500gb very fast 7200's now for $154 and still do the SSD later this year.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I would personally immediately swap for the 7200 drive in about 5 minutes after I owned it. LOL

Seriously Terry get the computer all setup for yourself order the 7200 drive and next week I will swap the drives out for you. Just let me know I need my little enclosure and my screwdrivers to bring but grand total about a half hour to reboot. Just that simple.

But if you wanted SSD now the Intel 160gb as a single drive is the ONLY one I would buy right now http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167015

I have 2 80gb drives like this running Raid 0 the only thing faster would be running two E class drives but that is a 1400 dollar upgrade right now and just too much money. 619 is not bad for the M 160 gb drive it will go lower and actually has but it may never get below 500 dollars. Pick your price point

But let me give you a couple very solid reasons for SSD.
I simply cannot hear this machine run at all
Runs very cool
More rugged nothing spinning
Better at altitude
The read times are blazingly fast
Power up and applications are much quicker to open
CS4 takes less than 3 seconds to open, not that it means a damn thing in work load but certainly fun

 

[Terry]

So the laptop will keep running at high altitude even if I've already passed out. Good to know.


terry

 

[LJL]

So the laptop will keep running at high altitude even if I've already passed out. Good to know.


terry

And if you were doing a video conference through iChat or something, you could share that experience with others.:ROTFL::ROTFL:

LJ

 

[Guy Mancuso]

So the laptop will keep running at high altitude even if I've already passed out. Good to know.


terry

Actually someone did take this up to Mt Everest with SSD on board

 

[jonoslack]

The only downer is the hard drive. Comes with a 5400 and there are no 7200's on build to order. That doesn't bother be as I am happy to swap drives but now it is built like the 17" where you have to take it apart. Shame I thought it was really in a good spot on the first round of unibody machines.

HI Terry
if the 13" is like the 17" (and I'm sure it is) then changing the drive is really easy - there are a few screws on the bottom plate, but after that it's absolutely simple, and it IS a user replaceable part, so there aren't warranty issues.

 

[Lars]

Actually someone did take this up to Mt Everest with SSD on board

Considering the fatality rate of Everest climbers I'd say that someone has some seriously twisted priorities.

 

[jonoslack]

Now the question on the 13" is:

live with the 5400 drive and replace later this year with an SSD
swap the 5400 for one of the new 500gb very fast 7200's now for $154
or
swap the 5400 for one of the new 500gb very fast 7200's now for $154 and still do the SSD later this year.

I was planning to swap my 5400 drive out of my 17", but I simply can't get hold of the 7200 500Gb in the UK - they don't seem to exist (everyone shows them, but nobody has them). I guess apple have bought them all for new machines.

I'll go to SSd, but I'm going to wait until they get up to at least 300Gb (I can leave my main photo library at home, but not my itunes library!).