Geekbench score again leaks 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro model, now with 8GB

My mother's in the market for a laptop. Still.

When the retina 15" came out, she wanted one until she asked me about a retina 13". I told her, 'we think October'. Now she won't leave me alone about it. 

Not that she knows she's even going to get one of those yet! It's just smart to have all four options on the table before you make your decision. Well, that's what I told her, at least.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizard69 


I'm not up to speed on NVidias latest chips but I will be blunt and say that they need a GPU that can do the job. The last thing they need to do is to put a GPU in the machine that results in a very noticeable performance regression. However power is a big problem for such a machine, so they will need to look closely at the chips available to get the best possible performance in a given power envelope.
As to GPU RAM, in anything called a Pro computer these days 1GB of RAM should be the minimal amount on hand. I'd rather have more video RAM even if it and the GPU where a bit slower. More RAM just means OpenCL is more viable for a wider array of uses. The other problem is apps are now stating that 512MB is a minimal configuration for GPU RAM.
All of this is contingent upon maintaining good battery life. In that regard Ivy Bridge can help out some. The problem is you really need a quad core in this machine so you end up loosing some of the advantage of Ivy Bridge. In the end it is a classical sort of engineering problem where you have to blance many factors to achieve a goal.

Yeah, Apple put 512MB on the $1800 MBP just to force our hands in getting the higher-end model, there's no reason for that BS.

But if they do get a 640M 1GB on it I will be satisfied. Then I won't have to buy the 15" Retina (always wanted a 13" MBP w/ dedicated graphics) and my wallet shall sing me praises.

Edit: Also, the 640M is power-efficient enough to be used in ultrabooks. So I wouldn't be concerned about power usage.

I hope this is true! Been waiting/wanting for a 13 in retina Macbook Pro! The 15 in is just too damn expensive!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizard69 


I'm not up to speed on NVidias latest chips but I will be blunt and say that they need a GPU that can do the job. The last thing they need to do is to put a GPU in the machine that results in a very noticeable performance regression. However power is a big problem for such a machine, so they will need to look closely at the chips available to get the best possible performance in a given power envelope.
As to GPU RAM, in anything called a Pro computer these days 1GB of RAM should be the minimal amount on hand. I'd rather have more video RAM even if it and the GPU where a bit slower. More RAM just means OpenCL is more viable for a wider array of uses. The other problem is apps are now stating that 512MB is a minimal configuration for GPU RAM.

They have done a couple silly things at times with regard to gpus. A lot of people simply measure them in gaming performance, which isn't a perfect metric for a company that produces a limited number of configurations. There are real situations where even in a notebook, 1GB can make a difference. Desktop cards are moving into 3GB on the higher end. I expect the next Quadros to come in at 3-4 along their midrange offerings. Anyway the only really silly one was the early 2011. The 6490m really had no place there. They held back on vram, but the 6770m was a much better option in the late 2011. These are very generalized solutions, so different use cases should be considered. One thing that impressed me somewhat with the rMBP is that it sounds like they may have solved throttling issues under heavy loads.

The 10.8.1 build is listed as 12A2066

Apple increments the letter with each point generally...10.8 release is 12A269. The current developer build of 10.8.1 is 12B13..so if this was an internal build of 10.8.1 it should have the B designation. If this had listed as Mac OS X 10.8 (Build 12A2066) or even Mac OS X 10.8.1 (Build 12B2066) I might be much more inclined to believe it.

This is the machine everyone's been waiting for. There's a huge weight of expectation being placed upon before it even appears. Apple has to get the balance of power to battery consumption right. They know this, of course, so I expect a very neat machine. I am sure a lot of people will complain, however good it is. It drives me crazy when a new machine comes out and it is maxed out in just about every area and some geek says wait! You need to wait for the second iteration, as they did with the 15" rMBP? Apparently, Haswell should bring some useful gains in battery life, integrated GPU performance (Is this right?) and SSDs should be a bit cheaper still. I'd love to see a machine with a 1 TB SSD, discrete GPU and 10 hours of battery life. The next generation is always better, right? Yeah, right. Buy if you need it now then buy it now is the cry, otherwise wait. The thing is Apple quality since the unibody MacBook Pros arrived has been so good, i could easily wait another 2 years before replacing my existing 13" MacBook Pro. Decisions, decisions. 

The thing with rev B rMBP is simply this, beyond a processor upgrade will they be able to offer significantly better parts?    I'm not sure, the turn over to better revisions of GPUs seems to drag out longer and longer.   

Supposedly Haswell will be ready for rev B but lately I'm not even sure Intel can deliver on time.   I mean really Sandy Bridge E took forever.  I guess what I'm saying is that there is nothing to guarantee that rev B rMBP will be all that much of a better machine.   

As to the Mini a speed bump wouldn't be that bad if it was significantly faster and introduced USB3.   The problem there is that hardware to deliver such a Mini has been out for months now.   I think this is what frustrates many in regards to the Mini and Apples thumbing of its nose towards desktop users.   There really is no excuse because frankly I don't give a damn about their iMac marketing programs or goals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter 

Okay let me be fair here. Comparing say the Rev. A Retina with say the Rev. A MBA is no comparison by any stretch. Though what I'm saying is, right now the Rev. A Retina is gold and has a chance to be platinum though probably will not reach that status until Rev. B.
As for the mini, I doubt we are seeing that much of an overhaul. If anything, we'll see more of an overhaul with Haswell probably along with the iMac and Mac Pro. 2012 will just be a speed bump.