New MacBook Pro's - Including Thunderbolt and Quad core cpu

Maybe I missed this, but can the MBP now drive 2 external monitors at once?
 
Unless if they screwed up major time, it should be capable of at least 2 + internal.
 
Stupid glare-type 1280x800 still on the 13" MBP, Apple just doesn't get it...
 
Ooh yay. Another port that I won't use for 3+ years (if I ever use it, ala firewire).
HD Webcam... Which won't do shit for anyone videoconferencing via wifi, like most laptop users.
LESS battery life, and a slightly faster CPU?
Still no higher resolution display on the 13", no option to switch the "HOLY FUCK 1W LASER IN YOUR EYES WHILE SITTING NEAR NATURAL SUNLIGHT" screen with a matte screen, nor any real upgrades to the 13" worth speaking about (no SDXC card?)

Really, really gets a HUGE "meh" from me... But only cuz I love my current 13" MBP so much!

Thunderbolt could make for a VERY interesting "external graphics card" type device for road warriors though. PS, the name thunderbolt is at least 600% too "buzzword" for me...
 
The ability to run 2 monitors would be neat but I don't see how that is very functional honestly. Its a laptop. I'll just hold on to my 13" MBP til the redesign.


What happened to the other thread the guy had "leaked" specs posted in? He said in his post that he was certain on the specs and couldn't wait for people to argue with him so his post would prove them wrong. Looks like he was wrong. lulz
 
For me, my laptop (MBP15) replaced my desktop. So I'd like to use 2+ monitors.
 
Just came back from the Apple store with a new base 13" MBP. Just ordered 1TB 2.5HDD and 8GB of RAM from Amazon as well.
 
What happened to the other thread the guy had "leaked" specs posted in? He said in his post that he was certain on the specs and couldn't wait for people to argue with him so his post would prove them wrong. Looks like he was wrong. lulz


Good question... I posted in that thread (saying that I had been wondering if the new MBPs would convince me to give my MBA to my fiance, but between the specs and the pricing, they definitely didn't), and that post is even gone from my posting history. Didn't realize we could ragequit that thoroughly, at least in threads others had posted in, if he was the one that deleted the thread...
 
Good upgrade on the 15" model, disappointing upgrade on the 13" model. Both the 13" and 11" Macbook Air have higher resolution displays by default. The 13" Macbook Pro should follow suit and share the same display as the 13" MBA.
 
Hmm... I might upgrade then. I'd love to run 2 external monitors.

nvm, I looked, and the only video output was the thunderbolt/displayport port... I'm sorry, just one output :(, since it's extremely doutable of that port being DP1.2...
 
Stupid glare-type 1280x800 still on the 13" MBP, Apple just doesn't get it...

This. I really want to upgrade while I can still get a little bit of something out of mine and I'd like something smaller. All I wanted was a cpu that isn't a 5 year old product line and a decent resolution display.
 
Stupid glare-type 1280x800 still on the 13" MBP, Apple just doesn't get it...

Well the first part of this is personal opinion. Clearly many people like the glossy displays, myself included... I think the sales numbers speak for themselves.

As for the second part, it's product differentiation. When Apple upgraded the MBA they were more-or-less approaching MBP specifications. As soon as all of us MBP owners saw the upgraded monitor on the MBA we all had hope that would move it also to the MBP.

They didn't because those two platforms are overlapping too much already. They know that their consumers that find the monitor to be the important part will move to the MBA and those that want the bumped up CPU will move to the MBP. (Of course now the MBA seems quite a bit slower because it's still sporting a C2D and a 320M.... though the Intel integrated graphics aren't much faster than a 320M.)

I'm not saying that I particularly like that decision either as a 13" MBP user, but from a business perspective it makes sense.
 
total "meh" update from my perspective. Been on a 13" MBP for 2 years now and love the thing to death, and was really hoping for something to upgrade to once the warranty finally ends - but I can't see "updating" to an intel graphics card (ick), don't care at all about processor performance (my desktop is still on C2D- just don't need the cycles for what I do), with worse battery life, the same screen still, and nothing else of benefit. I was also hoping the 15" would have a decent card, but the one in the base 15 is a bit of a joke, and I'm not dropping 2k on a laptop ever again so I won't even consider the nicer card.

Ah well :( I'll keep on keepin on till this one dies, decide what to do at that point.
 
total "meh" update from my perspective. Been on a 13" MBP for 2 years now and love the thing to death, and was really hoping for something to upgrade to once the warranty finally ends - but I can't see "updating" to an intel graphics card (ick), don't care at all about processor performance (my desktop is still on C2D- just don't need the cycles for what I do), with worse battery life, the same screen still, and nothing else of benefit. I was also hoping the 15" would have a decent card, but the one in the base 15 is a bit of a joke, and I'm not dropping 2k on a laptop ever again so I won't even consider the nicer card.

Ah well :( I'll keep on keepin on till this one dies, decide what to do at that point.

I don't think we'll ever see a compelling gaming gpu in the 13". Apple will want the 13 to hover around the 1K mark, making it affordable for students. The cost to put a nice gpu in such a small case puts the thing out of market. I'd love one too, I just doubt there is much of a market for it.
 
total "meh" update from my perspective. Been on a 13" MBP for 2 years now and love the thing to death, and was really hoping for something to upgrade to once the warranty finally ends - but I can't see "updating" to an intel graphics card (ick), don't care at all about processor performance (my desktop is still on C2D- just don't need the cycles for what I do), with worse battery life, the same screen still, and nothing else of benefit. I was also hoping the 15" would have a decent card, but the one in the base 15 is a bit of a joke, and I'm not dropping 2k on a laptop ever again so I won't even consider the nicer card.

Ah well :( I'll keep on keepin on till this one dies, decide what to do at that point.

Well, I'm not quite in the same situation as you, but I definitely understand how you feel. I'm on a (now) last gen 13" MBP and I was really looking forward to a resolution bump, i3 (so they jumped up leaps and bounds with a dual-core i7!), and a significantly faster discrete mobile GPU. With that it would be easy to have a very fast very mobile rig (8GB of RAM, and an SSD of course being options to complete that scenario,) but the current setup seems a bit underwhelming.

I sold off my 2008 MBP in order to gain mobility, but with this generation it seems like it would be necessary to move back to the 15" to gain the power. Like you, I think I'll stay with my current MBP. Then personally I'll wait for an iMac refresh and just do all of my power hungry computing on a desktop.
 
This is kind of a boring update. I was wondering if it would make me want to upgrade my MBA, but I think not.
 
I don't think we'll ever see a compelling gaming gpu in the 13". Apple will want the 13 to hover around the 1K mark, making it affordable for students. The cost to put a nice gpu in such a small case puts the thing out of market. I'd love one too, I just doubt there is much of a market for it.

There are cheaper gaming comps within a relatively similar size profile from Acer (3820TG - i5/HD5650 for 800usd), Dell (M11x - i7UM/335GTm for 700usd-1200usd, depending on deal time), Sony (HAhahahaa, around 1600usd and up for the Z13 series :p).

However, all are not directly comparible, as the Acer and Dell lack a DVD drive, while the Sony is really expensive... Though the Acer has GiGe to help compensate for that :p
 
Stupid glare-type 1280x800 still on the 13" MBP, Apple just doesn't get it...

seems all laptop and even monitor manufacturers are guilty of this. since when has 1200 > 1080 been an upgrade?
 
I don't think we'll ever see a compelling gaming gpu in the 13". Apple will want the 13 to hover around the 1K mark, making it affordable for students. The cost to put a nice gpu in such a small case puts the thing out of market. I'd love one too, I just doubt there is much of a market for it.

No argument there - I just wanted "faster" than the 9400M I have now. At most, this is a sideways step in performance, and a backwards step in driver support (no offense to intel - gaming / feature sets are not a priority for their cards). I wasn't expecting a major card, just hopefully a step forward in performance. :)

Or, a valid, usable card in the base 15".
 
I had the 2010 13 MBP and the specs sucked (from a PC geek viewpoint) but that thing rocked way faster than the specs would make you guess... I think it is mac magic... or Macgic. So my lesson to everyone is this:

Just buy a mac based on looks and don't worry, the Macgic will take care of you.


Edit: Unless you game, then pegASUS rapes the Macgic HARD.
 
I had the 2010 13 MBP and the specs sucked (from a PC geek viewpoint) but that thing rocked way faster than the specs would make you guess... I think it is mac magic... or Macgic. So my lesson to everyone is this:

Just buy a mac based on looks and don't worry, the Macgic will take care of you.


Edit: Unless you game, then pegASUS rapes the Macgic HARD.

The wonder of an optimized Unix operating system. I moved to Mac for productivity, and although I would describe it differently (mentioning things like hotkeys, spaces, and gestures) for what it's worth I agree*.


*With reservations.
 
I too was hoping for a refresh on the MBP13 with a higher rez screen. Yay, the internal goods have finally said bye bye to C2D, but still, the screen is what I look at to get stuff done.
 
I bit on one of the new higher model MBP15, can't wait for it to get here so I can install the RAM & SSD upgrades I've had lying around for a few months waiting for the day... :D
 
I bit on one of the new higher model MBP15, can't wait for it to get here so I can install the RAM & SSD upgrades I've had lying around for a few months waiting for the day... :D

That's going to be a screaming machine.

I'm trying to restrain myself from jumping in, too.
 
No argument there - I just wanted "faster" than the 9400M I have now. At most, this is a sideways step in performance, and a backwards step in driver support (no offense to intel - gaming / feature sets are not a priority for their cards). I wasn't expecting a major card, just hopefully a step forward in performance. :)

Or, a valid, usable card in the base 15".

Even then, the 9400M wasn't that much better than the 8600M the previous generation had- at least this update is an awesome one. I hate that Nvidia just re-brands their cards like this. The fact that the Intel HD 3000 integrated GPU is nearly as fast as the previous generation's discret GPU is pretty awesome. Glad Apple made the switch back to ATI/AMD.
 
I already have the previous generation 15" with i5.. tempted to try and craigslist it and buy a damn new one..
 
I bit on one of the new higher model MBP15, can't wait for it to get here so I can install the RAM & SSD upgrades I've had lying around for a few months waiting for the day... :D

Glossy or matte? I probably would have bought one if Apple decided to stock these options in store.
 
Matte all the way :D

Glossy does look stellar, but I can't stand seeing reflections in monitors... totally throws me off track when I'm trying to focus on working.
 
Even then, the 9400M wasn't that much better than the 8600M the previous generation had- at least this update is an awesome one. I hate that Nvidia just re-brands their cards like this. The fact that the Intel HD 3000 integrated GPU is nearly as fast as the previous generation's discret GPU is pretty awesome. Glad Apple made the switch back to ATI/AMD.

Yes, but it had real drivers - fully functional ones.

Awesome? How? A faster CPU (meh), Thunderbolt (meh for now), and a card that is no faster than the prior. I don't know where you're looking up your benchmarks, but everything I see says it's no faster than the prior card and has shitty drivers.
 
Yes, but it had real drivers - fully functional ones.

Awesome? How? A faster CPU (meh), Thunderbolt (meh for now), and a card that is no faster than the prior. I don't know where you're looking up your benchmarks, but everything I see says it's no faster than the prior card and has shitty drivers.

Card not faster than the prior? How so?
 
Card not faster than the prior? How so?

The benchmarks I've seen for the Intel HD 3000 are directly on par with the GeForce 310M that was in the 13" (pretty sure, IIRC, the 320M was only in the 15/17). Some things are a bit faster, some thing are a bit slower, but there definitely are some driver bugs.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html

Our performance tests with the high clocked mainstream version of the HD Graphics 3000 in quad-core processors showed a performance level on par with the current entry level generations from NVIDIA (e.g. GeForce 310M) and AMD (HD 5450). Some games even ran faster but still there are some driver glitches (like too dark scenes in Left 4 Dead 1&2 and Supreme Commander or not starting games like Mafia 2).

And that's the desktop clocked sample, so no idea what (if any) differences the mobile version has. May be slower, probably won't be faster, who knows - we'll see once it arrives

I'd say it's effectively no performance increase (minor if any), and there's a significant question about driver reliability. I don't know about you, but my encounters with the intel cards have been... "questionable"... since the original I740 (which I had). They're fine for desktop work, but anything significant outside of that is questionable if it'll work, and Intel has never been in a hurry to add features and fix gaming bugs on it.

I'm not expecting it to be a powerhouse, but I like to play from time to time, and I'd like it to run well - the 9400M was just fine for when it came out, I'm just disappointed in what I've seen so far of the HD3000. It looks just like another bland intel card.
 
The ability to run 2 monitors would be neat but I don't see how that is very functional honestly. Its a laptop. I'll just hold on to my 13" MBP til the redesign.


What happened to the other thread the guy had "leaked" specs posted in? He said in his post that he was certain on the specs and couldn't wait for people to argue with him so his post would prove them wrong. Looks like he was wrong. lulz

He wasn't that off, considering it was just rumors. The GPU was so way off that I knew he couldn't be right. I think he was right in VRAM(256 and 1024MB). I don't remember the rest.
 
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