Apple quietly updates MacBook Pro lineup with faster CPUs, graphics

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  • Reply 41 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    That's a nice graphics upgrade. The 6770M will be able to play the latest games (Deus Ex, Rage) at very respectable settings. I know because I have an older iMac with slightly worse graphics and it plays them just fine.



    Apple's pages show a weird graphics performance DECREASE:

    (old on top)

    http://imgur.com/lAvek



    The Fine Print seems to offer the same Test scenario for Half Life E2, so why has it dropped form X3 to X2 performance? Will there be better battery life? (reviews showing 2.5 hours on the discreet graphics) or are the charts just wrong???



    FIne print from apple.com for old and new pages below:





    NEW

    Testing conducted by Apple in October 2011 using preproduction 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7?based 17-inch MacBook Pro units and preproduction 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7?based 15-inch MacBook Pro units with AMD Radeon HD 6770M.



    2.53GHz Intel Core i5-based 17-inch MacBook Pro systems with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-based 15-inch MacBook Pro systems with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M were production units.



    All systems were configured with 4GB of RAM.



    Tested at native resolutions using Half-Life 2: Episode Two v(4295)(420), Call of Duty 4 v(1.7.1), and Portal 2 v(4710)(620), with 4x anti-aliasing and high graphics quality. Half-Life 2: Episode Two timedemo test file: Storm. Call of Duty 4 timedemo test files: Timedemoambush, Timedemobog, and Timedemopipeline. Portal 2 timedemo test file: Laser stairs. MacBook Pro continuously monitors system thermal and power conditions, and may adjust processor speed as needed to maintain optimal system operation.









    OLD

    Testing conducted by Apple in February 2011 using preproduction 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7?based 17-inch MacBook Pro units and preproduction 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7?based 15-inch MacBook Pro units with AMD Radeon HD 6750M.



    2.53GHz Intel Core i5?based 17-inch MacBook Pro systems and 2.66GHz Intel Core i7?based 15-inch MacBook Pro systems with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M were production units.



    All systems were configured with 4GB of RAM. Tested at native resolutions using Portal v(4295)(400) and Half Life 2 Episode 2 v(4295)(420) with 4x antialiasing and high graphics quality. Half Life 2 Episode 2 timedemo test file: Storm. Portal timedemo test file: Mydemo1.



    MacBook Pro continuously monitors system thermal and power conditions, and may adjust processor speed as needed to maintain optimal system operation.
  • Reply 42 of 74
    zengazenga Posts: 267member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post


    I wish they would offer a higher res, non reflective screen as an option on the faster 13"



    Yeah! I was thinking the same thing, also since we're talking MacBook Pro they should add a dedicated video card 256MB at least for the high end 13"



  • Reply 43 of 74
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Zenga View Post


    Yeah! I was thinking the same thing, also since we're talking MacBook Pro they should add a dedicated video card 256MB at least for the high end 13"







    Combination of heat in a small space and battery life for why we don't see that happen.
  • Reply 44 of 74
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    As expected but a bit early.



    The real news will come this winter when Apple releases the iPad 3 and the MacBook Air with iOS on it with an A6 inside. So what will they call it since it is no longer a Mac?
  • Reply 45 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post


    LOL! Been watching Little Britain as well, have you?



    Cheers,

    PhilBoogie



    It's been awhile. I should rewatch the series when the US shows go back in hiatus.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    As expected but a bit early.



    The real news will come this winter when Apple releases the iPad 3 and the MacBook Air with iOS on it with an A6 inside. So what will they call it since it is no longer a Mac?



    With the Mac App Store this allows Apple to change up the architecture with a new SDK and a few months notice, but I assume they still call it a Mac.
  • Reply 46 of 74
    Great. Now, since the hardware has been modestly tweaked, very likely Snow Leopard will not boot these models and Lion is being shoved down our throats. I understand the business model, but more and more users will be pissed that they cannot have the alternative of Snow Leopard to support Rosetta, avoid autosave/versioning, etc. Let's hope there's an ample supply of the now-discontinued models available for quite some time.
  • Reply 47 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacSolu View Post


    Great. Now, since the hardware has been modestly tweaked, very likely Snow Leopard will not boot these models and Lion is being shoved down our throats. I understand the business model, but more and more users will be pissed that they cannot have the alternative of Snow Leopard to support Rosetta, avoid autosave/versioning, etc. Let's hope there's an ample supply of the now-discontinued models available for quite some time.



    1) System Preferences » Time Machine » Options » Uncheck Lock Documents should will turn off the accidental changes to documents that support Auto Save.



    2) if you have PPC apps that haven't been updated at this point you can't reasonably fault Apple. It's been over 6 years since they announced the transition. SIX YEARS!!! And they completed the entire transition to Intel in just over a year which means it's been over 5 years since all new Macs were Intel-based. FIVE YEARS!!! I wouldn't trust a SW vendor that has been that lax to update their software and can't imagine how many users from the PPC days there would be in comparison to those that have found Macs since the transition.
  • Reply 48 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacSolu View Post


    support Rosetta



    Anyone who needs software discontinued for six years won't be caught off guard by Lion.



    Quote:

    avoid autosave/versioning



    OH NO! Apple's making things easier and changing a paradigm that should never have existed in the first place! I'm instantly opposed!
  • Reply 49 of 74
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    The real news will come this winter when Apple releases the iPad 3 and the MacBook Air with iOS on it with an A6 inside. So what will they call it since it is no longer a Mac?



    1) We're talking probably late March or April (if they stick to prior iPad schedules), so it would be spring, not winter



    2) I don't buy the MBA becoming an ARM device running OS X or iOS personally. As low power as the ARM chips are tho, you could potentially produce something that had both intel and arm chips and allow for an iOS environment that ran on top of OS X, but again, I don't see a touchscreen laptop working out well.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I wouldn't trust a SW vendor that has been that lax to update their software and can't imagine how many users from the PPC days there would be in comparison to those that have found Macs since the transition.



    Some of us came from a PC and had software that was dual system (I'm specifically thinking Diablo II here, but I'm sure there are other examples of companies who support both sides) and when I bought my Mini in August I was disappointed when I was going to download the software for D2 only to find that it was entirely PPC code and thus would not run on Lion. I don't expect a game company to completely re-do software that is a decade old just to support Lion tho. Diablo III comes out early next year and I have Torchlight till then
  • Reply 50 of 74
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Bizarre, it's not even marked as "New" on the Online Store. Stealthiest upgrade yet.
  • Reply 51 of 74
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Bizarre, it's not even marked as "New" on the Online Store. Stealthiest upgrade yet.



    They don't always mark the speed bumps as new.
  • Reply 52 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Why not have a major event like they did with the iPhone? The changes to the MacBooks are comparable to the changes made to the i4.



    Because one is a flagship product and the other is not.

    Because one update was more significant than the other, and more significant than you sarcastically implied.

    Because one product is in a still fast-growing market and the other is in a mature market.

    Bacause ...



    Pick up your game, dude. You used to make good points, even when I disagreed.
  • Reply 53 of 74
    eluardeluard Posts: 319member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Damn_Its_Hot View Post


    I am not sure what you are referring to here (OD bugginess ). I know I for one, would appreciate an explanation.



    Not really sure I grok your post at all dude. \



    jOhn



    D is next to S on the keyboard. I'm sure he meant to refer to OS bugginess. But I am not seeing any real bugginess in OSX 10.7.2 so I can't explain any further what he might mean.
  • Reply 54 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    With no mention of the update, Apple on Monday improved its MacBook Pro lineup with slightly faster Intel processors, as well as new graphics processors and larger hard drives in some models.







    [Whispering] Shhhhhh....



    These "new" MacBook Pros have OPTICAL DRIVES! (Sorry; I should keep my voice down.)



    Apple's MacBook page doesn't give a hint of the minor spec bump that does not include Bluetooth 4.0, and the lone ThunderBolt port is the only way to get video-out.



    OH! And Shhhhhhh! The standard configs use...gulp...HARD DRIVES! SSD in an expensive option.



    The only Mac Apple wants any attention for is the MacBook Air, so Shhhhhh!



    And don't bet a large amount that there will ever be a new Mac Pro. It doesn't mesh with the ensemble. Shhhhhh....
  • Reply 55 of 74
    Okay I know these are just bumps but would be really nice if they had upgraded bluetooth to 4.0. Just seems strange with everything else getting it. After I can't see them releasing anything new in this area till at least March or April next year.
  • Reply 56 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elderloc View Post


    Okay I know these are just bumps but would be really nice if they had upgraded bluetooth to 4.0. Just seems strange with everything else getting it. After I can't see them releasing anything new in this area till at least March or April next year.



    i was thinking the same thing about bluetooth and i was sure when they update MacBooks bluetooth will also be updated to 4.0 instead of 2.1…

    let's hope for the next year's model when they update 13" MacBooks with ivy bridge quad core and bluetooth 4.0
  • Reply 57 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Anyone who needs software discontinued for six years won't be caught off guard by Lion.



    OH NO! Apple's making things easier and changing a paradigm that should never have existed in the first place! I'm instantly opposed!



    Ooh careful now. I'll give you the Rosetta point in a heartbeat, but suggesting that Lion's autosave/versions implementation is good is where I draw the line. On the contrary they are pretty scary; they make it hard to on-the-fly edit files for different dissemination channels, they at best confuse and at worst cause corruption when involving different drive formats, and most importantly, they firmly wrest control away from the user.



    Yes the paradigm makes sense, but only in the post-PC era with new tasksets - present day desktop work tasksets just do not work that way. I've yet to have a positive encounter with autosave in Lion.



    Directly on the thread topic, it was nice to see these updates coming quietly, especially with the base 15" GPU up. I have to wonder what if anything is in store for the 13" MBP going ahead though. Ivy Bridge should be seriously exciting whatever happens though!
  • Reply 58 of 74
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Macs2InfinityAndBeyond View Post


    These "new" MacBook Pros have OPTICAL DRIVES! (Sorry; I should keep my voice down.)



    The only Mac Apple wants any attention for is the MacBook Air



    Apple is still dependent on other suppliers before making any major upgrades. They have thrown down the gauntlet in front of Intel to get them to lower the power consumption of their chips and Ivy Bridge coming next year is where we see Intel attempt to meet the challenge.



    If they succeed, the 2012 MBP should ditch the optical, have a slimmer enclosure and have quad-core chips running at under 35W TDP and quite possibly SSD-only, although I suspect it will start out as a setup like the iMac with SSD + HDD so not MBA thin but the large size will allow better tapering.
  • Reply 59 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Eluard View Post


    D is next to S on the keyboard. I'm sure he meant to refer to OS bugginess. But I am not seeing any real bugginess in OSX 10.7.2 so I can't explain any further what he might mean.



    When I first read OD my brain was thinking it was the Microsoft directory system, but that's AD - Active Directory. Apple does have something called Open Directory, but I have no experience with it.



    Either way it sounds like an issue that some companies will see and the rest of us will not.
  • Reply 60 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MartiNZ View Post


    Ooh careful now. I'll give you the Rosetta point in a heartbeat, but suggesting that Lion's autosave/versions implementation is good is where I draw the line. On the contrary they are pretty scary; they make it hard to on-the-fly edit files for different dissemination channels, they at best confuse and at worst cause corruption when involving different drive formats, and most importantly, they firmly wrest control away from the user.



    Yes the paradigm makes sense, but only in the post-PC era with new tasksets - present day desktop work tasksets just do not work that way. I've yet to have a positive encounter with autosave in Lion.



    Directly on the thread topic, it was nice to see these updates coming quietly, especially with the base 15" GPU up. I have to wonder what if anything is in store for the 13" MBP going ahead though. Ivy Bridge should be seriously exciting whatever happens though!



    Something I do every day: open a report from yesterday or last week or last month, make some changes and Save as... a new document.



    The Snow Leopard way:

    Click on File : Open Recent : document name

    Edit

    Click Save as...



    The Lion way:

    Leave the application you're currently in

    Use Finder or Spotlight to locate the old document

    Use Finder to duplicate

    Use Finder to rename it

    Open new copy

    Edit



    I like the Snow Leopard way much better and so should Apple because it reduces the need to know where the document is stored. They seem intent on obfuscating the file system yet a Lion user must know exactly where their files are.



    I choose to stay with Rosetta because I have better things to do with my money than send it to Apple and other software companies to replace stuff that still works fine.



    I'll never be able to make full use of the features in Photoshop 7. Buying a newer version with even more features I'll never use would be stupid.



    The hardware updates were small enough not to disrupt the supply chain much, but large enough to keep up with "inflation". I like the GPU change in the 15".



    I hope Apple chooses to make MacBook Air style SSDs standard across the product line next year. A relatively small SSD boot drive paired with a high capacity hard drive would really be the best of both worlds for MBP and iMac users. Even the MacPro, if they choose to keep making one, would benefit from the change. SSD in slot(s) on the motherboard would free up all 4 drive bays for RAID.
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