Apple shipping MacBook Pros with faster processors
Apple Computer on Tuesday gave all of its MacBook Pro customers something sweet for Valentines Day: an unexpected CPU upgrade free of charge.
The company, which announced it will begin shipping the MacBook Pro this week, said each model will arrive with faster Intel Core Duo processors than previously announced, delivering even greater performance at no additional cost.
The $2,499 model now includes a 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from the previously announced 1.83 GHz, and will begin shipping this week, the company said in a statement.
The $1,999 model now includes a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from the previously announced 1.67 GHz, and will begin shipping next week.
In addition, customers may now upgrade to a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor as a build-to-order option on the Apple Online Store.
"We are incredibly excited to start shipping the MacBook Pro, a groundbreaking new notebook with dual-processor desktop performance in a thin, sleek design," said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The new MacBook Pro includes even faster Intel Core Duo processors than originally announced, up to 2.16 GHz, and we think customers are going to love them."
The first Mac notebook using Intel?s new Core Duo processor, the MacBook Pro features a sleek aluminum enclosure just one inch thin and weighing only 5.6 pound. It includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, the Apple Remote and Front Row software for a simple and powerful way for users to enjoy their content wherever they go. The MacBook Pro also sports Apple?s new patent-pending MagSafe magnetic power connector, designed especially for mobile users.
Every new MacBook Pro comes with the latest release of Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" and iLife ?06, the next generation of Apple?s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, running natively on the new Intel-based MacBook Pro for maximum performance.
Apple says Intel-based Mac customers now have more than 700 Universal applications to choose from, with the list growing each day as hundreds of developers including Adobe, Quark and IBM?s Lotus division have announced support for Mac OS X Intel-based applications. An updated list of Universal applications for Mac OS X is also now available.
Pricing and Availability
The new MacBook Pro will begin shipping this week and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The 1.83 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensora slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drivePCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memoryDVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately)built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Displaybuilt-in iSight video cameraGigabit Ethernet portbuilt-in AirPort Extreme WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDRExpressCard/34 expansion card slottwo USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 portone audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analogscrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboardthe infrared Apple Remote60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery and85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.
The 2.0 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB100GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensora slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drivePCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memoryDVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately)built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Displaybuilt-in iSight video cameraGigabit Ethernet portbuilt-in Airport Extreme WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDRExpressCard/34 expansion card slottwo USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 portone audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analogscrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboardthe infrared Apple Remote60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery and85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.
Additional build-to-order options for the 15-inch MacBook Pro now include the ability to upgrade to a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, as well as 120GB (5400 rpm) or 100GB (7200 rpm) hard drive, up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple USB Modem, and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
The company, which announced it will begin shipping the MacBook Pro this week, said each model will arrive with faster Intel Core Duo processors than previously announced, delivering even greater performance at no additional cost.
The $2,499 model now includes a 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from the previously announced 1.83 GHz, and will begin shipping this week, the company said in a statement.
The $1,999 model now includes a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, up from the previously announced 1.67 GHz, and will begin shipping next week.
In addition, customers may now upgrade to a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor as a build-to-order option on the Apple Online Store.
"We are incredibly excited to start shipping the MacBook Pro, a groundbreaking new notebook with dual-processor desktop performance in a thin, sleek design," said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The new MacBook Pro includes even faster Intel Core Duo processors than originally announced, up to 2.16 GHz, and we think customers are going to love them."
The first Mac notebook using Intel?s new Core Duo processor, the MacBook Pro features a sleek aluminum enclosure just one inch thin and weighing only 5.6 pound. It includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, the Apple Remote and Front Row software for a simple and powerful way for users to enjoy their content wherever they go. The MacBook Pro also sports Apple?s new patent-pending MagSafe magnetic power connector, designed especially for mobile users.
Every new MacBook Pro comes with the latest release of Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" and iLife ?06, the next generation of Apple?s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, running natively on the new Intel-based MacBook Pro for maximum performance.
Apple says Intel-based Mac customers now have more than 700 Universal applications to choose from, with the list growing each day as hundreds of developers including Adobe, Quark and IBM?s Lotus division have announced support for Mac OS X Intel-based applications. An updated list of Universal applications for Mac OS X is also now available.
Pricing and Availability
The new MacBook Pro will begin shipping this week and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The 1.83 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensora slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drivePCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memoryDVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately)built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Displaybuilt-in iSight video cameraGigabit Ethernet portbuilt-in AirPort Extreme WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDRExpressCard/34 expansion card slottwo USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 portone audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analogscrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboardthe infrared Apple Remote60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery and85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.
The 2.0 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB100GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensora slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drivePCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memoryDVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately)built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Displaybuilt-in iSight video cameraGigabit Ethernet portbuilt-in Airport Extreme WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDRExpressCard/34 expansion card slottwo USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 portone audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analogscrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboardthe infrared Apple Remote60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery and85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.
Additional build-to-order options for the 15-inch MacBook Pro now include the ability to upgrade to a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, as well as 120GB (5400 rpm) or 100GB (7200 rpm) hard drive, up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple USB Modem, and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Comments
Will they also get faster processors?
I wonder what happened internally at apple/intel to cause this...
normally this kind of upgrade took 3-6-9months - byebye PPC..
Good news. It presumably means they were happy with the hotter CPUs in the same enclosure too which bodes well for smaller models.
Originally posted by punica888
Interesting, so what about the iMacs?
Will they also get faster processors?
I would think it has nothing to do with the higher voltage chips found in the iMacs. The PowerBooks are using the low-voltage variant. I guess Intel's yields were better than expected.
Originally posted by OfficerDigby
Interesting,
normally this kind of upgrade took 3-6-9months - byebye PPC..
It's not really an upgrade since they hadn't released them yet. They should have been these chips first time round anyway. Everyone else was announcing faster clocked models than Apple, from Acer to Dell to IBM. Some of them thicker than the MacBook, some not.
With the transition, Apple is able to remove the low-end and add a higher top-end.
Oh have the times changed.
Originally posted by aegisdesign
It's not really an upgrade since they hadn't released them yet. They should have been these chips first time round anyway. Everyone else was announcing faster clocked models than Apple, from Acer to Dell to IBM. Some of them thicker than the MacBook, some not.
Show me one that is not thicker than the MacBook.
Originally posted by ATPTourFan
I would think it has nothing to do with the higher voltage chips found in the iMacs. The PowerBooks are using the low-voltage variant. I guess Intel's yields were better than expected.
The MacBook Pro now uses the same T2400 or T2500 as the iMac. The 2.16Ghz T2600 is the new addition BTO order. I'd imagine it'd drop straight in to an iMac.
Intel's low voltage series, the L2300 and L2400 are 1.5 and 1.66Ghz respectively.
Here's the current price list
http://www.intel.com/intel/finance/pricelist/
Originally posted by kim kap sol
When Apple was with Motorola/Freescale, they were forced to remove the top-end and add a new lower low-end.
With the transition, Apple is able to remove the low-end and add a higher top-end.
Oh have the times changed.
Nice bit of revisionism but Apple have almost always shipped faster Moto/Freescale chips than Moto/Freescale have had on their spec sheets.
The initial specs on the MacBook Pro with 1.66Ghz CPUs was decidedly meh compared to what IBM and even Dell announced. Glad to see Apple saw sense and realised their Pro models weren't very Pro.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Show me one that is not thicker than the MacBook.
The Sony SZ160 is a 1.83Ghz Core Duo laptop with a 13.3" widescreen display and is between 0.9" and 1.3" wide. Thicker at the hinge for the battery which lasts 7 hours. DVD Dual Layer burner unlike the Apple. Carbon fibre too. Nice kit. Sony are doing really nice small laptops just now. Pity they've such a shite OS though. :-)
Originally posted by aegisdesign
Nice bit of revisionism but Apple have almost always shipped faster Moto/Freescale chips than Moto/Freescale have had on their spec sheets.
The initial specs on the MacBook Pro with 1.66Ghz CPUs was decidedly meh compared to what IBM and even Dell announced. Glad to see Apple saw sense and realised their Pro models weren't very Pro.
They had no choice but to ship the fastest since they had to deal with a company with the lowest clock speeds of the chip industry.
Who cares...people bought the 1.6 expecting a 1.6 and a 1.8 expecting a 1.8. If this wasn't a huge surprise and update...what is?
It may have been meh but it doesn't change the fact that people that bought them early are getting more than they were expecting. Please stop being obtuse about the whole thing.
edit; oh shit... I almost forgot...find me a computer that isn't thicker than the MacBook Pro.
If they've bumped up the speeds of the MacBook Pro to at least 1.83Ghz, that leaves Apple with a nice gap for 1.66Ghz Core Duo iBooks.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
They had no choice but to ship the fastest since they had to deal with a company with the lowest clock speeds of the chip industry.
Come on, you sound like a Pentium 4 lovin' fanboi. It isn't about clockspeeds. If it was we'd all be moaning that they aren't putting 3.6Ghz Pentium D 960s in there.
Originally posted by aegisdesign
Come on, you sound like a Pentium 4 lovin' fanboi. It isn't about clockspeeds. If it was we'd all be moaning that they aren't putting 3.6Ghz Pentium D 960s in there.
Glad you cleared up that it isn't all about clockspeeds. It didn't seem obvious until now.
I had a weird feeling you were whining about the speedbump being the logical solution to somekind of problem.