The Recent MacBook Pro Updates, Getting It All Figured Out...

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm looking to buy a new 17" MBP after owning two previous models and two Powerbooks prior to those. I'm just trying to figure out all the specifics here in one post because there's a few confusing things about the latest update.



1. At the announcement at WWDC of the MBP updates, it was said that the 15" models will have "an improved LED-backlit display with 60 percent greater color gamut"... I thought they already had the amazing LED screens... are Apple now including a higher-end or more advanced LED screen on the 15"? If so, is it the same screen quality on the updated 17" where this was not mentioned?



http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...book_pros.html



2. Solid state hard drives are supposed to have lower power consumption (longer battery life) and feature nearly instant data access due to the lack of spinning parts for data access (no bouncing dock icons, no loading icons in finder etc.). With this in mind Apple makes no reference to speed or lower power consumption with these SSD. Also, I keep hearing how there are low-end, middle, and high-end SSD's, with the lower and middle-end being no better than your basic magnetic HD... with only the high-end, such as Intel's version being truly faster and more efficient than a standard HD. What "quality" are these SSD Apple are using and why no mention of the features that would be a huge deal if available (speed, less power etc.)? Is it because these are the lower-end SSD's?



3. The new 3.06 processor is said to be a new P9700. The Intel site says that chip is 28w. Is it better for the chips to be higher or lower watts? Some of the older ones range from 35w to 25w. What is the difference in power consumption and processing power between the old and just updated processors? Are the 2.8 and 3.06 the same series, watts etc?



T9550:



http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...es=SLGE4,SLGEL



P9600:



http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...ec-codes=SLGE6



T9600:



http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...8N,SLG9F,SLGEM



P9700:



http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...ec-codes=SLGQS

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post


    3. The new 3.06 processor is said to be a new P9700. The Intel site says that chip is 28w. Is it better for the chips to be higher or lower watts? Some of the older ones range from 35w to 25w. What is the difference in power consumption and processing power between the old and just updated processors? Are the 2.8 and 3.06 the same series, watts etc?



    Lower power is better. All the power is converted into heat (note that the TDP is the maximum likely "real-world" power consumption, in normal operating conditions power consumption varies and will normally be lower); lower power means longer battery life and cooler running.



    If you are comparing chips within the same architecture (e.g. Core 2 Duo vs. Core 2 Duo, Atom vs Atom, Pentium vs Pentium), computing power is determined by the clock speed. If you've got two Core 2 Duo with the same clock speed they'll have the same computing power, so the one with lower TDP is more efficient.



    You'll need to wait for tear-downs to appear online as Apple have used a mix of T and P Core 2 Duos in the MacBook Pro. For example, in the first rev. of the Unibody 15", the 2.4 GHz model used a P, whilst the higher speed models used a T.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post


    I'm looking to buy a new 17" MBP after owning two previous models and two Powerbooks prior to those. I'm just trying to figure out all the specifics here in one post because there's a few confusing things about the latest update.



    1. At the announcement at WWDC of the MBP updates, it was said that the 15" models will have "an improved LED-backlit display with 60 percent greater color gamut"... I thought they already had the amazing LED screens... are Apple now including a higher-end or more advanced LED screen on the 15"? If so, is it the same screen quality on the updated 17" where this was not mentioned?



    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...book_pros.html



    2. Solid state hard drives are supposed to have lower power consumption (longer battery life) and feature nearly instant data access due to the lack of spinning parts for data access (no bouncing dock icons, no loading icons in finder etc.). With this in mind Apple makes no reference to speed or lower power consumption with these SSD. Also, I keep hearing how there are low-end, middle, and high-end SSD's, with the lower and middle-end being no better than your basic magnetic HD... with only the high-end, such as Intel's version being truly faster and more efficient than a standard HD. What "quality" are these SSD Apple are using and why no mention of the features that would be a huge deal if available (speed, less power etc.)? Is it because these are the lower-end SSD's?



    3. The new 3.06 processor is said to be a new P9700. The Intel site says that chip is 28w. Is it better for the chips to be higher or lower watts? Some of the older ones range from 35w to 25w. What is the difference in power consumption and processing power between the old and just updated processors? Are the 2.8 and 3.06 the same series, watts etc?



    T9550:



    http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...es=SLGE4,SLGEL



    P9600:



    http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...ec-codes=SLGE6



    T9600:



    http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...8N,SLG9F,SLGEM



    P9700:



    http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id...ec-codes=SLGQS





    I bought a previous gen 15" MBP on the 6th. Then I returned it, getting a new one last week. The screen appears exactly the same as far as I can tell. It's fantastic btw, the best screen I've ever used on a notebook. It's also my first glossy screen. Glare is easier to manage because you can see where it is exactly. Colors are amazing. It's like looking at my photos for the first time.



    Loungeppop is correct on wattage. Lower will reduce power consumption and help with batt life and I would think, heat.



    Oh, and as a 15" user, I should ask: Do you need the larger screen? The specs are very similar to the 15" 2.8GHZ. The 15" is like $200 less. Just a thought.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    Loungeppop is correct on wattage.



    I think you mean Mr. H



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    Oh, and as a 15" user, I should ask: Do you need the larger screen? The specs are very similar to the 15" 2.8GHZ. The 15" is like $200 less. Just a thought.



    I've got a Unibody 15" MBP too and love it, but I recently set up a non-glossy 17" unibody for my mum, and... I want one! It's absolutely stunning. Don't forget the 17" has much higher screen resolution. If Apple offered a 15" with non-glossy 1680 x 1050 resolution screen, it'd be the perfect laptop.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    Anyone have any additional info on my questions?
  • Reply 5 of 15
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    doh! ignore me...
  • Reply 6 of 15
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post


    Anyone have any additional info on my questions?



    You're welcome.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    I mean, thank you Mr. H... that is very helpful! Does anyone have any additional info on my questions.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post


    I mean, thank you Mr. H... that is very helpful! Does anyone have any additional info on my questions.



    Thank you.





    I don't have definitive answers on your other questions, but for the first one I would guess that it's the panel (the LCD bit) that's changed, and the backlight (the LED bit) is the same. It could be a combination though as an improved backlight could deliver better colour range but I don't think it could deliver a 60% improvement by itself. If it's important to you the only viable solution is to go to an Apple store or reseller and check them out for yourself.



    With the SSDs, I don't know. You could trying poking around www.ifixit.com to see if it's been covered in any of their tear-downs, after that you'll have to resort to google; I doubt any Apple store or a reseller would know.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post




    2. Solid state hard drives are supposed to have lower power consumption (longer battery life) and feature nearly instant data access due to the lack of spinning parts for data access (no bouncing dock icons, no loading icons in finder etc.). With this in mind Apple makes no reference to speed or lower power consumption with these SSD. Also, I keep hearing how there are low-end, middle, and high-end SSD's, with the lower and middle-end being no better than your basic magnetic HD... with only the high-end, such as Intel's version being truly faster and more efficient than a standard HD. What "quality" are these SSD Apple are using and why no mention of the features that would be a huge deal if available (speed, less power etc.)? Is it because these are the lower-end SSD's?





    In regards to this, I would read this article. It debunks and dekinks and lays out some up-to-date information about SSD vs regular as far as battery power and speed.



    SSD's vs HDD's



    I know it isn't directly related to the Mac SSD's, but you mentioned about power consumption data access.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    maccpumaccpu Posts: 14member
    Loungepop:



    "The new 3.06 processor is said to be a new P9700."



    Who said that? Please read the following thread and Intel's specs more carefully. The 3.06 CPU is the T9900 not the P9700.



    "Which CPU's in Macbook Pro?":



    http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=99089
  • Reply 11 of 15
    maccpumaccpu Posts: 14member
    This site seems to have a good idea of which CPU's are in each model:



    http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...acbookpro.html



    Regarding adding to the confusion, the P series is available in some of the Macbook Pros. Apple to date is not publishing this information.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    winterwinter Posts: 1,238member
    This may or may not help but I asked a question here about the SSD in the MBP. I found out that Apple is using ones made by Samsung and the read/write speeds are significantly slower than ones currently being developed by Intel.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccpu View Post


    This site seems to have a good idea of which CPU's are in each model:



    http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...acbookpro.html



    Regarding adding to the confusion, the P series is available in some of the Macbook Pros. Apple to date is not publishing this information.



    Ok... so the 3.06 processor I'm getting in my MBP will be the T9900... that processor is $530 on the Intel site vs. $348 for the P9700, although I gather the P9700 is better for power consumption... and I see the T9900 lacks something referred to as "turbo boost technology".



    Given the cheaper price and supposed better performance, why has Apple not included the P9700 in the high-end MacBook Pros?



    And as far as the SSD Apple offers, I guess no one knows the speed / quality of these Samsungs yet...
  • Reply 14 of 15
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loungepop View Post


    Ok... so the 3.06 processor I'm getting in my MBP will be the T9900... that processor is $530 on the Intel site vs. $348 for the P9700, although I gather the P9700 is better for power consumption... and I see the T9900 lacks something referred to as "turbo boost technology".



    Given the cheaper price and supposed better performance, why has Apple not included the P9700 in the high-end MacBook Pros?



    And as far as the SSD Apple offers, I guess no one knows the speed / quality of these Samsungs yet...



    You may be focusing too much on specs. In general, the SSDs are going to be quicker and have slightly less power consumption. On the flip side, I've heard conflicting reports of their reliability. One member here (I forget whom) said he had two fail. I know someone that upgraded is MBP to one and said it makes a large difference (and he's had no problems).



    Right now I don't think the tech is there for the price. Put a 7200 rpm drive in it for half the price. Wait until your next machine and things may be different.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    I agree with SDW. Go for the 17" latest unibody with antiglare and 7200rpm hard drive. Enjoy. Sorry I can't answer your questions. Brain not worky well today.
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