New 13" MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz vs Late 2008 15" MBP 2.53 GHz
I currently have a late 2008 15" MacBookPro (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.53 GHz with 4 MB RAM).
I am thinking of "upgrading" to a new 13" MacBookPro 2.66 GHz with 8 MB RAM, partly because I want a smaller Mac to lug around (but not ready for the compromises that come with the Air).
Other than double the RAM (which I realize is significant) and slightly faster CPU (which I realize is less significant), the two seem evenly matched power wise.
Will the new 13" MBP be a noticeable upgrade over my old 15"? (I can't quite determine if the chip architecture and graphics have changed between the two models). I realize the chips in the new 15"s are a big leap above the core 2 duo, but I'm sort of wanting to get the smaller computer and not sure I want to wait until the April rumored announcement of a new MBP line).
Thanks for your thoughts!
New 13" MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz vs Late 2008 15" MBP 2.53 GHz
I am thinking of "upgrading" to a new 13" MacBookPro 2.66 GHz with 8 MB RAM, partly because I want a smaller Mac to lug around (but not ready for the compromises that come with the Air).
Other than double the RAM (which I realize is significant) and slightly faster CPU (which I realize is less significant), the two seem evenly matched power wise.
Will the new 13" MBP be a noticeable upgrade over my old 15"? (I can't quite determine if the chip architecture and graphics have changed between the two models). I realize the chips in the new 15"s are a big leap above the core 2 duo, but I'm sort of wanting to get the smaller computer and not sure I want to wait until the April rumored announcement of a new MBP line).
Thanks for your thoughts!
New 13" MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz vs Late 2008 15" MBP 2.53 GHz
Comments
not sure I want to wait until the April rumored announcement of a new MBP line
I don't think they'll update in April. The Final Cut Pro crowd push rumours about updates coinciding with NAB in April and FCS updates and I personally have weighed NAB into update considerations but while it's nice to think that Apple cares enough about the Pro Apps to do this, they just don't any more and it's not necessarily a criticism, it's just the way things worked out. That particular rumour is also baseless:
http://www.electronista.com/articles...r.discredited/
The information we do have is that Sandy Bridge is arriving in 4 weeks so this gives Apple new processors to use. The problem on the low-end is that with Intel blocking NVidia from putting IGPs in the North Bridge for the last chips, Apple had no option but to use older Core 2 Duo chips. NVidia have said they are no longer making IGPs for Intel chipsets and Apple almost certainly can't push Core 2 Duo beyond 2 generations unless they drop the low-end MB and MBP in favour of the MBA.
If they use Intel's Core i chips in the low-end they either have to relegate those users to inferior performance to the last generation and have no GPU OpenCL support (not gonna happen) or they find a way to put a dedicated GPU in there like Sony have done.
By removing the optical drive and using the dual-graphics feature seen in the 15" MBP, this is a possibility.
We don't know what's coming but it's one of the combinations and all of them will be worth waiting until January 6th to find out. 10 months is the longest its ever taken to update the MBP and January will be 9 months since the last one. If they put Light Peak in them (which I expect) you don't want to miss out on it.
I think I'm going to take a deep breath and hold off doing anything for now. I'm just so bad with delayed gratification... But given the current MBPs are due for a significant overhaul (something more than just swapping in a faster CPU), it makes sense to wait....
I have to wait, but my patience is weak
A question : Is it technically possible to match a Core 2 Duo processor and the NVidia 330M GPU in a 13" MBP ?
Apple doesn't offer a discrete GPU option on the 13". Or any GPU options of any kind.
A question : Is it technically possible to match a Core 2 Duo processor and the NVidia 330M GPU in a 13" MBP ?
Yeah but they wouldn't do that. If they were going to use the 330M in the 13", they'd use the Sandy Bridge chips. Intel block NVidia from using core-i chips with NVidia motherboards (what you get in the low-end Macs with the 320M) so they aren't designing new ones any more. If Apple used the 330M, they'd use an Intel motherboard and there would be little point using Core 2 Duo as they aren't cheaper.
I don't really know why they haven't used Intel motherboards with dedicated chips in the low-end. Maybe it's a lot more expensive to do this or it could be their preference of separating the Pros from the poor. They used to have dedicated chips in the old 12" Powerbooks.
If space or heat were issues, like I say, removing the optical drive should solve this.
What would be interesting is if they dropped the 13" MBA in favour of a new 13" MBP that combines both.
You'd have the 11" MBA priced the same as the white Macbook and then they drop the white Macbook. 128GB - 256GB SSD.
They redesign the 13" model like the Air but with Core i3 chips and a 330M. It could use a ULV chip too. 256GB - 512GB. Possibly priced at the current MBP level not the MBA so $100 less than the current Air.
The 15" MBP gets the non-ULV i5/i7 Sandy Bridge chips with the next NVidia GPU like the 415M or 420M. Redesigned with no optical and SSD but possibly with a 2.5" drive on top.
For people who might complain about the storage on the low-end, Light Peak addition gives you the option to add a portable 1TB drive that maxes out the transfer rates.
That lineup would look quite good I think.
We don't know what's coming but it's one of the combinations and all of them will be worth waiting until January 6th to find out. 10 months is the longest its ever taken to update the MBP and January will be 9 months since the last one. If they put Light Peak in them (which I expect) you don't want to miss out on it.
what's happening on january 6th? special announcement?
i am also in need of a desperate upgrade from my 2006 black macbook, i almost pulled the trigger on a 13" MBP but when comparing tech specs, well perhaps i'm wrong but it feels like the differences are not as big as a 4 year leap would seem to require: 0.2ghz faster cpu, 0.4ghz faster front bus, 1mb less L2 cache, 128mb more vram but still gpu and of course aluminum body ... so is this seriously enough enhancements worth for me to plunge $1200 or is there really a next-gen 13" upgrade around the corner?? i could wait till january but certainly not april...
what's happening on january 6th? special announcement?
CES 2011 - Intel will launch the Sandy Bridge processors as well as the new 25nm SSD (should be half the price per GB). Light Peak is a possibility too.
it feels like the differences are not as big as a 4 year leap would seem to require: 0.2ghz faster cpu, 0.4ghz faster front bus, 1mb less L2 cache, 128mb more vram but still gpu and of course aluminum body ... so is this seriously enough enhancements worth for me to plunge $1200 or is there really a next-gen 13" upgrade around the corner?? i could wait till january but certainly not april...
Yeah the CPUs should have quadrupled in performance by now for the same price. The important point is the CPU price. The i5 chips cost around the same as the Core 2 Duo ones but still at this point only really double the performance at best.
Sandy Bridge will offer a 20% bump over current i5 and Ivy Bridge late in the year will be a die-shrink so they will be moving all of the low-end to quad-core. They might under-clock them a bit but I'd expect a further 50% at least from going to 4 physical cores. This will mean that late 2011 should offer nearly quadruple performance/price vs 2006.
I certainly wouldn't buy anything right now, wait until CES to see what is announced. The MBP is almost certain to get an upgrade soon but the 13" models are a bit uncertain.