Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... **** **** **** ************!!!! OK, I'm SO returning my 2.3GHz/8GB even though it's been 45 DAYS and BTO'ing the 2.6GHz for $100 more......................
This is a total departure from Apple usually forcing us to buy the high-end model of any given series (MBP, MBA, iMac) to be able to customization of the entire insides...so this is good news, as we can look forward to every (or most) product line and customize the whole thing ourselves. It's also totally reasonable on the part of Apple to charge $100 for a 300MHz bump in CPU's (2.3GHz to 2.6GHz). Same goes for $200 for 8GB, to go from 8GB to 16GB.
However, I'm not paying another $250 for the 2.7GHz (from the 2.6, so $350 to from the 2.3 to 2.7).
I'm also not paying another $500 for an additional 256GB Flash (for a total of 512GB Flash), never mind $1,000 to get the full 768GB in Flash.
200 bucks for an additional 8 gigs of ram, which can be purchased from Newegg for 43 dollars right now? That's insane, even for Apple's standards.
Except you're not simply buying 8 GB more RAM. If Apple used DIMMs, then you'd have to replace 2x4 GB with 2x 8GB, so you'd spend at least $105 for 16 GB of RAM (keep in mind it's a laptop, not the desktop RAM you quoted). And even then, there'd be no guarantee that it would work - Apple has a history of buying RAM which is of higher spec and more reliable than third party RAM. Many people are willing to pay that level of premium for the security of knowing their RAM will work - and not having to replace it manually.
More importantly, look at the competition. Dell Precision Workstation, for example. $431 to upgrade 2 DIMMs to 8 GB each. Or Dell Latitude - no 16 GB option, but it's $175 to upgrade from 4 GB to 8 GB.
While Apple RAM was very expensive at one time, that's no longer true.
200 bucks for an additional 8 gigs of ram, which can be purchased from Newegg for 43 dollars right now? That's insane, even for Apple's standards.
8GB as in ONE DIMM? Didn't think so, you probably looked at 2x4GB. Either way, you can't upgrade the new MBP anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
Apple can keep their Retina display nonsense, just stick the higher resolution screen that the 13" MBA ships with into the 13" MBP (or at least give me the damn option to upgrade at purchase) and I'd be happy. I'm getting ready to upgrade from a 2009 MBP, and as much as I love that higher resolution screen in the MBA, the shallow keyboard would annoy the hell out of me if I had to type on it on a daily basis.
You go, girl. Be sure to let us know how you're making out with your sixte... Ugh, wait, you can't upgrade the 2009 MBP to more than 8GB, if that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
Eh, maybe I'll just hold off and wait to see if they release a thinner 13" MBP with the higher res screen in the fall like rumors say they will. Fingers crossed it won't be a bloated overpriced glued down piece of proprietary junk the 15" model turned out to be.
I know what ya mean...Lugging 4 pounds around can be hard on yer back. And no, the 13" Retina MBP won't be upgradable either, so expect lots of that proprietary glue. Let's hope Apple won't have to shut down if they lose your business.
Not sure why YOU would. But apparently, many indeed would, as evidenced by Apple's trouble in fulfilling demand for this notebook. I don't remember the last time I updated RAM in any computer, times have changed, and its not as necessary as it once was. Yes, reuirements change over time, but even the lowest end model has 8GB of RAM which I think for 95% of people would be more than sufficient for a few years to come. I do absolutely everything on my Macbook Air, including heavy design work, and so far 4GB has handled everything incredibly well. You're really generalizing when you state this is bad for the consumer, the pros of having a thinner/lighter/more reliable soldered RAM for every single person that buys the laptop seems to outweigh the cons of a very small percentage of purchasers wanting to up the RAM down the line. Also, I'd think those who put down that kind of money on a MBP would be making an educated decision about what they need and don't need.
Absolutely, and I want to reinforce your thrust here with an analogy, which may sound a bit bizarre at first blush, but totally makes one of your (and other rational posters') key points I think.
I was a pre-med student and took "comparative vertebrate anatomy." We dissected animals from various phyla. The 55 articulated bones in a codfish skull (which I once had memorized - every single one - and could find and ID on an exam table) - have over eons become the six heavily sutured ("glued together" in this analogy) ones in the human skull.
I can just see "codfish surgeons" complaining about human skulls being so much harder to operate on and how difficult they make it to get at the brain, etc.
(and I'm talking to you too, iFixit!)
And now think about the "evolution" of PC's from 1977 to today. Form follows function, the survival of the fittest and an improving tool kit.
If anyone can drive down costs of SSD Apple can by adoption on this scale.
I installed SSD as my boot drive in a 2010 MBP i7 (Replaced the optical, added Trim Enabler) and it is like using an iPad now for speed, it totally shocked me how fast it is now. HDs are the new floppy, they have to go!
Apple definitely IS NOT driving the price down for SSDs that they charge Apple's customers.
The latest generation SSDs cost less than $0.80 per GB retail. Apple is charging $500 to get only an additional 256 GB. That's $2.00/GB - more than double! Factor in the price of the base 256GB SSD, which you pay for, but don't get to keep, and the cost is effectively MUCH more.
Apple is in no way driving down the cost they charge you for SSDs. They are charging HIGHLY inflated prices for SSDs.
Apple definitely IS NOT driving the price down for SSDs that they charge Apple's customers.
His statement was slightly misplaced in that Apple seems to care more about soldered NAND than packaged SSDs, but he's not wrong.
They are charging HIGHLY inflated prices for SSDs.
No one else makes these cards. Apple is therefore charging the cheapest of anyone for the retina MacBook Pro's hard drives. They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Though that seems to be the case with nearly everything Apple does.
It's interesting to see this upgrade in the base configuration, but my problem with the new MBP is its weight. Last year I moved to my MBA because I needed a light laptop (I was hurting my back, serious). Yes, the new MBP is lighter than the older one, but it still weighs double a MBA. I'm happy with the performance of my late-2010 MBA, and it's certainly the best purchase I've made these years, but I hope they don't leave the MBA for netbook use in the future, because I want a 2.3 pounds (1 kg) laptop for my work.
Please Apple, either make the MBP lighter, or keep the MBA as a good performing machine for work!
His statement was slightly misplaced in that Apple seems to care more about soldered NAND than packaged SSDs, but he's not wrong.
No one else makes these cards. Apple is therefore charging the cheapest of anyone for the retina MacBook Pro's hard drives. They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Though that seems to be the case with nearly everything Apple does.
I heard OWC is coming out with ssd upgrades in this form. Not sure when it will be released. I bet others will follow. I really like the rmbp, but my gut says wait until at least the next rev to let the dust settle on this.
They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Please. There will be PC ultrabooks with stick-based SSDs by November.
It's interesting to see this upgrade in the base configuration, but my problem with the new MBP is its weight. Last year I moved to my MBA because I needed a light laptop (I was hurting my back, serious). Yes, the new MBP is lighter than the older one, but it still weighs double a MBA. I'm happy with the performance of my late-2010 MBA, and it's certainly the best purchase I've made these years, but I hope they don't leave the MBA for netbook use in the future, because I want a 2.3 pounds (1 kg) laptop for my work.
Please Apple, either make the MBP lighter, or keep the MBA as a good performing machine for work!
There's a tradeoff. You can make a computer lighter, but you sacrifice performance and features. In theory, there's almost a continuous spectrum of weights and performances that could be chosen.
However, your "new MBP weighs double and MBA" statement is false. The 15" rMBP is less than twice the weight of an 11" MBA - which is obviously a silly comparison. If you compare it to the 13" MBA, it's only 50% heavier - and even that's not a good comparison because of the screen size. The MBA models are 2.4 and 3 pounds. The MacBook Pro is 4.5 pounds. It's pretty hard to imagine that there's a significant market for something in between those numbers with the performance penalties that would be required.
I heard OWC is coming out with ssd upgrades in this form. Not sure when it will be released. I bet others will follow.
They have them for the MacBook Air already, and I'm certain they'll do the retina Pro, too. But the timeframe is always tricky. To my knowledge, they're also the only ones that offer anything for the Air, so I doubt anyone else will follow when Macs are still just 5% worldwide.
Originally Posted by Conrail
Please. There will be PC ultrabooks with stick-based SSDs by November.
If will be's and mights could solve all our plights, then the Courier was released last Christmas.
Apple definitely IS NOT driving the price down for SSDs that they charge Apple's customers.
The latest generation SSDs cost less than $0.80 per GB retail. Apple is charging $500 to get only an additional 256 GB. That's $2.00/GB - more than double! Factor in the price of the base 256GB SSD, which you pay for, but don't get to keep, and the cost is effectively MUCH more.
Apple is in no way driving down the cost they charge you for SSDs. They are charging HIGHLY inflated prices for SSDs.
So lets say you buy the RMBP with the smallest SSD card, 256GB, so you can then buy an after market SSD card from Newegg.
Using your prices — even though your comparison isn't ffair because you choose the cheapest ones you could find — you are looking at $1.60 per GB. now I guess you might be able to sell your old one but that seems doubtful for many reasons and if you do I doubt you'll get a decent price for it. So basically what you're complaining about it that the entry-level price is too low and that Apple — just all other OEMs — is trying to upsell you. The horror!
PS: Samsung 830 Series 512GB SSD is $920 reduced to $720 on Newegg. That is $220 more than what Apple charges and it's not even built or marketed for Apple's RMBPs. Just wait until those aftermarket SSD cards hit.
It looks like the SSD upgrades aren't the only thing new to the lower-priced option—the 1GB GT650M used to be relegated to the 2.7GHz model, but is now standard on all Retina Display models:
no... all MBP Retina models have always come with 1gb GDDR5 GT 650m GPUs... its the ONLY option and that is NOT changed. You may be thinking of the classic MBP 2012 15" low end that has a 512mb version... but its always been 1gb on the retina.
Comments
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... **** **** **** ************!!!! OK, I'm SO returning my 2.3GHz/8GB even though it's been 45 DAYS and BTO'ing the 2.6GHz for $100 more......................
This is a total departure from Apple usually forcing us to buy the high-end model of any given series (MBP, MBA, iMac) to be able to customization of the entire insides...so this is good news, as we can look forward to every (or most) product line and customize the whole thing ourselves. It's also totally reasonable on the part of Apple to charge $100 for a 300MHz bump in CPU's (2.3GHz to 2.6GHz). Same goes for $200 for 8GB, to go from 8GB to 16GB.
However, I'm not paying another $250 for the 2.7GHz (from the 2.6, so $350 to from the 2.3 to 2.7).
I'm also not paying another $500 for an additional 256GB Flash (for a total of 512GB Flash), never mind $1,000 to get the full 768GB in Flash.
Except you're not simply buying 8 GB more RAM. If Apple used DIMMs, then you'd have to replace 2x4 GB with 2x 8GB, so you'd spend at least $105 for 16 GB of RAM (keep in mind it's a laptop, not the desktop RAM you quoted). And even then, there'd be no guarantee that it would work - Apple has a history of buying RAM which is of higher spec and more reliable than third party RAM. Many people are willing to pay that level of premium for the security of knowing their RAM will work - and not having to replace it manually.
More importantly, look at the competition. Dell Precision Workstation, for example. $431 to upgrade 2 DIMMs to 8 GB each. Or Dell Latitude - no 16 GB option, but it's $175 to upgrade from 4 GB to 8 GB.
While Apple RAM was very expensive at one time, that's no longer true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
200 bucks for an additional 8 gigs of ram, which can be purchased from Newegg for 43 dollars right now? That's insane, even for Apple's standards.
8GB as in ONE DIMM? Didn't think so, you probably looked at 2x4GB. Either way, you can't upgrade the new MBP anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
Apple can keep their Retina display nonsense, just stick the higher resolution screen that the 13" MBA ships with into the 13" MBP (or at least give me the damn option to upgrade at purchase) and I'd be happy. I'm getting ready to upgrade from a 2009 MBP, and as much as I love that higher resolution screen in the MBA, the shallow keyboard would annoy the hell out of me if I had to type on it on a daily basis.
You go, girl. Be sure to let us know how you're making out with your sixte... Ugh, wait, you can't upgrade the 2009 MBP to more than 8GB, if that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
Eh, maybe I'll just hold off and wait to see if they release a thinner 13" MBP with the higher res screen in the fall like rumors say they will. Fingers crossed it won't be a bloated overpriced glued down piece of proprietary junk the 15" model turned out to be.
I know what ya mean...Lugging 4 pounds around can be hard on yer back. And no, the 13" Retina MBP won't be upgradable either, so expect lots of that proprietary glue. Let's hope Apple won't have to shut down if they lose your business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
Not sure why YOU would. But apparently, many indeed would, as evidenced by Apple's trouble in fulfilling demand for this notebook. I don't remember the last time I updated RAM in any computer, times have changed, and its not as necessary as it once was. Yes, reuirements change over time, but even the lowest end model has 8GB of RAM which I think for 95% of people would be more than sufficient for a few years to come. I do absolutely everything on my Macbook Air, including heavy design work, and so far 4GB has handled everything incredibly well. You're really generalizing when you state this is bad for the consumer, the pros of having a thinner/lighter/more reliable soldered RAM for every single person that buys the laptop seems to outweigh the cons of a very small percentage of purchasers wanting to up the RAM down the line. Also, I'd think those who put down that kind of money on a MBP would be making an educated decision about what they need and don't need.
Absolutely, and I want to reinforce your thrust here with an analogy, which may sound a bit bizarre at first blush, but totally makes one of your (and other rational posters') key points I think.
I was a pre-med student and took "comparative vertebrate anatomy." We dissected animals from various phyla. The 55 articulated bones in a codfish skull (which I once had memorized - every single one - and could find and ID on an exam table) - have over eons become the six heavily sutured ("glued together" in this analogy) ones in the human skull.
I can just see "codfish surgeons" complaining about human skulls being so much harder to operate on and how difficult they make it to get at the brain, etc.
(and I'm talking to you too, iFixit!)
And now think about the "evolution" of PC's from 1977 to today. Form follows function, the survival of the fittest and an improving tool kit.
Deal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
If anyone can drive down costs of SSD Apple can by adoption on this scale.
I installed SSD as my boot drive in a 2010 MBP i7 (Replaced the optical, added Trim Enabler) and it is like using an iPad now for speed, it totally shocked me how fast it is now. HDs are the new floppy, they have to go!
Apple definitely IS NOT driving the price down for SSDs that they charge Apple's customers.
The latest generation SSDs cost less than $0.80 per GB retail. Apple is charging $500 to get only an additional 256 GB. That's $2.00/GB - more than double! Factor in the price of the base 256GB SSD, which you pay for, but don't get to keep, and the cost is effectively MUCH more.
Apple is in no way driving down the cost they charge you for SSDs. They are charging HIGHLY inflated prices for SSDs.
Originally Posted by cosmolee
Apple definitely IS NOT driving the price down for SSDs that they charge Apple's customers.
His statement was slightly misplaced in that Apple seems to care more about soldered NAND than packaged SSDs, but he's not wrong.
They are charging HIGHLY inflated prices for SSDs.
No one else makes these cards. Apple is therefore charging the cheapest of anyone for the retina MacBook Pro's hard drives. They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Though that seems to be the case with nearly everything Apple does.
It's interesting to see this upgrade in the base configuration, but my problem with the new MBP is its weight. Last year I moved to my MBA because I needed a light laptop (I was hurting my back, serious). Yes, the new MBP is lighter than the older one, but it still weighs double a MBA. I'm happy with the performance of my late-2010 MBA, and it's certainly the best purchase I've made these years, but I hope they don't leave the MBA for netbook use in the future, because I want a 2.3 pounds (1 kg) laptop for my work.
Please Apple, either make the MBP lighter, or keep the MBA as a good performing machine for work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
His statement was slightly misplaced in that Apple seems to care more about soldered NAND than packaged SSDs, but he's not wrong.
No one else makes these cards. Apple is therefore charging the cheapest of anyone for the retina MacBook Pro's hard drives. They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Though that seems to be the case with nearly everything Apple does.
I heard OWC is coming out with ssd upgrades in this form. Not sure when it will be released. I bet others will follow. I really like the rmbp, but my gut says wait until at least the next rev to let the dust settle on this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
They are also leading the charge into this stick-based SSD market and they truly will be driving the price down. By the time everyone else in the industry gets their heads out of their butts and realizes they should be doing this, Apple will have done it for a decade, know how to do it the most efficiently, and be able to provide the best quality in doing it.
Please. There will be PC ultrabooks with stick-based SSDs by November.
There's a tradeoff. You can make a computer lighter, but you sacrifice performance and features. In theory, there's almost a continuous spectrum of weights and performances that could be chosen.
However, your "new MBP weighs double and MBA" statement is false. The 15" rMBP is less than twice the weight of an 11" MBA - which is obviously a silly comparison. If you compare it to the 13" MBA, it's only 50% heavier - and even that's not a good comparison because of the screen size. The MBA models are 2.4 and 3 pounds. The MacBook Pro is 4.5 pounds. It's pretty hard to imagine that there's a significant market for something in between those numbers with the performance penalties that would be required.
Originally Posted by Groovetube
I heard OWC is coming out with ssd upgrades in this form. Not sure when it will be released. I bet others will follow.
They have them for the MacBook Air already, and I'm certain they'll do the retina Pro, too. But the timeframe is always tricky. To my knowledge, they're also the only ones that offer anything for the Air, so I doubt anyone else will follow when Macs are still just 5% worldwide.
Originally Posted by Conrail
Please. There will be PC ultrabooks with stick-based SSDs by November.
If will be's and mights could solve all our plights, then the Courier was released last Christmas.
So lets say you buy the RMBP with the smallest SSD card, 256GB, so you can then buy an after market SSD card from Newegg.
Using your prices — even though your comparison isn't ffair because you choose the cheapest ones you could find — you are looking at $1.60 per GB. now I guess you might be able to sell your old one but that seems doubtful for many reasons and if you do I doubt you'll get a decent price for it. So basically what you're complaining about it that the entry-level price is too low and that Apple — just all other OEMs — is trying to upsell you. The horror!
PS: Samsung 830 Series 512GB SSD is $920 reduced to $720 on Newegg. That is $220 more than what Apple charges and it's not even built or marketed for Apple's RMBPs. Just wait until those aftermarket SSD cards hit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avelino Maestas
It looks like the SSD upgrades aren't the only thing new to the lower-priced option—the 1GB GT650M used to be relegated to the 2.7GHz model, but is now standard on all Retina Display models:
no... all MBP Retina models have always come with 1gb GDDR5 GT 650m GPUs... its the ONLY option and that is NOT changed. You may be thinking of the classic MBP 2012 15" low end that has a 512mb version... but its always been 1gb on the retina.