MBP, update?

Okay, as you may know I'm about to enter the Apple world.

I've few days ago did read about the Ivy bridge..

Now, I know what this will bring, slightly better performance, better batterylife etc.

This are the main reasons why I buy a MAC, not the performance really, as I get much enough out of my ACER (signature) for now, but the batterylife is important.

Then why did I create this thread? WHEN do you think Apple will upgrade their series?

I wanted the 15'' but, I'm going for the 13'' because of the ATI/AMD thing.

What about a 15'' with Intel grapichs?

 

What "ATI/AMD thing?"

 

The ATI GPU in the 15".

I do not like ATI, that's just like it. And therefore I'm buying 13" insted of 15".

 

Ah, ok. I thought you were implying that there is a problem with the current AMD GPU. The 6750M and 6770M are quite decent.

 

No, there is a problem between me and AMD/ATI.

 

How so? The AMD GPU works fantastically on these notebooks. Automatic graphic switching in Mac OS is flawless (unlike comparable Windows machines). If you do decide to run Windows, you only deal with the AMD GPU. There's no switching whatsoever.

 

I can see that. But that is not the question...

Any ideas when Apple will update their series?

But thanks for the tip

 

No idea. A quick search of the forums would have yielded results regarding future Apple updates in that nobody truly knows what Apple is going to do until they officially announce it. I can tell you that the 2011 MBP series is approaching the one year mark, that is about it. Ivy Bridge also isn't slated to come out until April of this year, that is just for mass ordering. That means that notebooks featuring Ivy Bridge chips may not come out until May or June 2012. Apple was pretty much the first company to get Sandy Bridge chips but that may not be the case with Ivy Bridge.

Either way, if you insist on waiting for Ivy Bridge, you will likely have a 4-5 month time period.

 

Thank you for your reply!

I'll have to figure out of I want to wait that long then..

I see you got the 2011 13'' MBP, just wonder, how many hours of battery life do you get with your setup? If I buy it, it will be with i7, 8GB RAM, SDD.

Also, if I buy it now, will it be early 2012? Or are those acording to production dates?

REP added.

 

You don't like AMD graphics, so you go for Intel?

Interesting choice.

 

Yes my friend, but keep in mind that this laptop will not be used for any other task then surfing, mail, skype, synching my iphone and ipad, and watching 1080p movies..

And I bet Intel grapichs will do 1080p movies fine..

ugh, also the main reason is to get familiar with the OS.

 

It depends on what I am doing. I can easily get over Apple's 7 hour estimate (by 30-45 minutes) if I am just playing back video content either stored on my SSD or a USB thumb drive (USB/Firewire powered hard drives consume more power). I normally get around 6-6.5 hours if I am just surfing the internet with bluetooth off (wi-fi on), the backlight brightness below half, etc. That gets cut down to 5.5 hours if I open up Word, Excel, or Keynote for some work.

I don't recommend buying it from Apple like that. The dual-core Core i7 isn't that much of an upgrade over the i5 in the 13" MBP. I highly doubt I would notice a difference between the two. Even benchmarks put the two at pretty close levels. The main gain the i7 has over the i5 is that the HD 3000 IGP can over over clocked at a faster rate. That is only helpful if you plan on gaming and even then I don't know how much of a real world difference it would make.

I added the RAM and SSD myself as aftermarket upgrades. Apple charges way too much for 8GB of RAM ($200 when I spent about $80 and that included the cost of a screwdriver set to open my MBP's bottom). Their SSD upgrade price ($100) is reasonable but they still might be using older SSD models. Even then you will be able to find a rather nice 120/128GB SSD for less than $200 that would beat whatever Apple was throwing in. That and you would be able to buy a $25 enclosure for the HDD that came with the MBP and make a nice external option for storing extra content.

Either way, I would just go with the baseline 13" MBP. It is $1100 through Apple's educational store. Order 8GB of RAM and a 120/128GB SSD from Amazon or Newegg and you will spend about $1380 on everything. That is much better than spending $1400 just for the notebook itself and $1680 for every component especially whenever you definitely aren't going to notice any performance differences (in terms of the different CPUs).

There is no need to spend an extra $300 as your uses aren't going to justify the i7. Now, if you were going to do some extreme multi-tasking, then you would want to upgrade to the 15" MBP that has a quad-core Core i7 CPU. The Core i7 in the 13" MBP (just like the MBA) is dual-core only.

 

That is quite good actually. Better then what I've hoped for!!

I've had to use my Google skils for that one actually, and I've ended with the result as you said...

But, I will go for the i7 'edition' as if I'm not happy with it I'll try to sell. And when you have the 'topmodel' you can just advertaise as it and people will run to you. Here in Norway, 8/10 don't have a single clue of how a computer work. The most expensive is always the best. Well...

If I recall correctly there was one in my last therad about (almost the same) topic said that they used Intel SSD drives? Now, from what I've know Apple is quality, don't tell me they throw in cheap SSD's to a 2 500 USD laptop?

The 13'' with i7 here (Norway) is about 2 504 USD. Don't go like
It is Norway...

For the SSD, I do have the M4 (signature), I can use that one, and RAM is now cheap like never before.

Just one last question, how is the sound quality with the 13''? I listen to a lot of music, and that is actually a important part for me.
I know it won't sound like my Acer (signature) which has a Suboofer. But I don't want it to sound as my ASUS either, it is thiny as it gets.. But when I compare my iPad or my iPhone 4S to my let's say HTC Sensation or HTC Desire HD, the sound is much much better on the iPhone/iPad. The sound isin't irritating and there is a kind of more bass.

 

So you would be willing to pay extra for something that you aren't even going to notice just on the off chance that you can sell it? That isn't very logical to me but you can do whatever you want with your money. Just know that the less expensive option isn't going to provide you with any less of an experience.

I am not sure what brand of SSDs Apple uses but, last time I checked, they were still using SATAII models and not SATAIII. The SATAIII SSDs support faster read and write times (for the most part). The use of SATAII SSDs signifies that they are older. So Apple might be using a quality brand (again, I don't know) but they would be older.

I find that my MBP 13's speakers sound above average for a 13-15" system. I can use them to listen to content but headphones are always going to be the best option. The spec sheets somewhere say that there are two small "subwoofers" in there but they aren't really subwoofers (just as your Acer doesn't really have a true subwoofer either). 99.99999999999999% of "subwoofers" on notebooks are nothing more than larger speakers whereas true subwoofers are completely different.

Either way, the MBP 13's speakers really aren't that bad and will provide more than adequate results for listening to music and watching movies. As I said, a pair of headphones will always provide a better experience. I have a nice pair of Bose noise canceling headphones (the QuietComfort 15) so I am always using those.

 

Actually yes. Not only to sell it, but just to have it And basically because price is not a limit at this point. As there is no upgrade possibility either. I have no idea what summer will bring, maybe there will be a lot of PS, maybe not. And, I didn't include it with my other post, but when I'm away from my Windows, I might need to run some of my daily applications thorugh a virutal machine. However, maybe one or two once a month. (I'm aware of the fact that i5 will do it just as good, as the i7 also is a Quad core.)


That Apple uses outdated SSD's for their laptop does not really sound very logical to me, but it might be a way to keep the costs down, as I said earlier most of the MAC users does not even know what a SSD drive is. (This does not include the NBR Mac users...)

That is good. Just as I expected. My Acer however, have a separate tube that is called Suboofer. It does not provide any sound, only the bass. I've disabled it once, and the sound was actually worse then my ASUS Something, I'll never do again. However, beside that I have a Qosimo X300, that must be the best sound on laptop ever. My Acer isin't near as good. But then agian, of course, I do not expect to a 13" MAC to beat that.

 

Again: the 13" MBP does not come with a quad-core processor at all. Both the Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs that come in it are dual-core only. You have to upgrade to at least a 15" MBP if you want a quad-core CPU. Hence why spending so much extra money "just to have it" makes zero logical sense. Additionally, if price really were not a limit, you should be looking at a 15" MBP instead.

 

HD3000>6750m/6770m?

 

I know the i7 in 13" is a dual core. That was clear from the first point!

If it weren't for the ATI card, I would go for the 15"

And the second reason why I go for the 13" is because of it is 13". The iPad is cool, but it can not take over for a laptop at all!! This will save me a bit of money.

If the 15" had a Intel integrated grapich, I would go for that, but then I also had to buy a Air or something..

Welcome Troll. Enjoy your stay.

You guys don't get the point do'ya?

I dislike AMD/ATI so much I can taste it. And, since it is not going to be used for any gaming, why should I even think about it?






If the 15" had Intel (or nVidia switchable) grapichs, I would have bought a 15" and a Air (or 13"). But then I would sold my ACER. At this point, I'm keeping my Acer, allready sold off my ASUS..

With my lifesetup, I need at least 3 working laptops.

Currently I do have, ACER (signature, main laptop), ASUS (sold, deliver in 1 week), HP DV5series, Toshiba Qosmio X300, another ASUS.

The MBP will take over for my ACER, and the ACER will take over for ASUS.

Acer will be a laptop that only is at home, no travelling while the MBP will be my mobile and main PC.

I'm 80% of my time traviling. 15% home with my GF (this is where ACER comes in). 5% at office.

 

Something have crossed my mind, why go for the mbp, when you could go for the mba? it will have a higher res and about the same battery life, since what you are doing aint processor intensive, it could be a great thing to get the air, more mobile on top of that

the SSD apple uses are Samsungs, there are some toshiba drives on the mba line, but for the 2.5'' they are all samsung.

 

The reason is because I want to replace my ACER with the MBP. The reason why I want 13" is because I watch a lot of movies and as I said music is a big part of my life. I want to be able to watch movies and enjoy them. MBA Is again a bit too small, so that would only be used in work situations. And speakers? I even sleep to music.


Do you know if it is Sata III? I'll contact apple only however.

 

The MBA is 13", some as the MBP. Why couldn't you watch movies on an Air? I'm pretty sure the MBA includes speakers as well.

 

the base 13 inch MBA is more expensive than the base 13 mbp, and seeing as how it costs him 2500 USD for a base mbp, chances are he doesn't want to pay more for less considering portability is not his extreme priority here. That said the they both have the same res so I don't understand why one is better for movies than the other..?

And I don't think he thinks the intel is better than the ati switchable, he's obviously had bad experiences with ati in the past and is unwilling to support them or laptops that use their products.

I agree with others though, you really shouldn't blow the extra money on an i7 for a few extra mhz and 1mb of more cache. I doubt the money spent on the upgrade will increase the resale value by that same amount if or when you plan to resell it. if you're just doing it for bragging rights, then it's gonna cost you. Speakers also shouldn't be a deciding factor between the 13/15 because chances are they're the same hardware inside. And if you really want any type of quality listening no laptop speaker will ever outperform a good pair of headphones. You can use the i7 upgrade money towards that instead. If portability is a concern but not your utmost concern, then I see no reason to get the 15. None of the extras it offers you are applicable to your usage except the sweet hi-res glossy/matte screen options (for your movies) and if you want even more bragging rights for the quadcore, but honestly for music movies and productivity a quadcore is overkill. But if the size and weight aren't worth the screen res increase to you, then just get the 13.

 

I know it have speakers. That's not the point. The quality? Good luck with a dvd movie..

This. 13'' is limit for my main laptop I'll say. I could never imagine myself trying to enjoy a movie on 11''. But I could use it for few hours of work I think.. But if I had a MBA and MBP 15''; the 15'' would most likely travle in my cars trunk. In case needed.

This. Finally, someone understands me!!

I know it is gonna cost me, but then again, when I pay 2250 for a laptop, to pay about 350 extra is nothing. I do have good headphones, but that is just stupid to sit with those in the office, so I usually use them only at he plane or if my girlfriends sleeps and I need to do some work etc. That said, I do have the Logitech Z906, at home, this should be a no-problem. Nothing in the world can beat he Z906 The Quad is going to be overkill, I know that. The good thing about the 15'' is I can get a antiglare screen, bad thing about it, it has a ATI card. So, no 15''.

I think I'll start up with this setup:
2,8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2 x 2 GB
750 GB Serial ATA-harddisk 5400 RPM
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Upgraded to:
2,8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 4 x 4 GB
128GB Crucial M4 Solid State Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

And, if I do get well into the Mac world, the ACER is most likely going to replaced on the same day Apple offers the 15'' with either only Intel grapichs or with nVidia swithable.

This is really going to be a love-hate thing for me.

 

1. Base MBP 15's cost $1799, and I believe they always have been around that price.

2. The MBP 13 costs $1199, the MBA 13 costs $1299. Only a $100 difference.

1. The MBA 13 is made with the same materials as the MBP 13, so quality can't be an issue.

2. As the name suggests, the MBA 13 has a 13" screen. Check it out here:

MacBook Air - Buy MacBook Air notebook computers - Apple Store (U.S.)

The MBA 13 screen is actually better than the MBP 13 screen. It is higher resolution.



Final point, please stop acting like you are above our suggestions. If you didn't want anyone to question your plan, do not post it on NBR. You asked us, we are giving our opinions.

 

Lets make this clear, all ssds that apple uses are sata 2.

For me I would wait for the refresh of the mba, sincerely, because you are doing such light tasks, and both have about the same great battery life. The point is that regarding music, I would go for neither, there isnt a model with good speakers. they do have a great sound output via headphones.

I had trouble with most of the vga manufacturers, intel, via, nvidia, ati... so if you aint willing to try again, its your loss. All of them have or had problems, for example currently I have to rollback my intel drivers to play ME in this mbp 13 that I have, I had disappearing lines in shogun 2 with my 4670m, I had trouble with a NVS4200 and ME2... the via problems and other issues with manufacturers are too old for me to remember.

 

Not really. You are adding superfluous updates from Apple's page that cost way more than they should. Additionally, an increase of $300 in a total price of $2500 is a lot no matter how you think you can spin it. The issue is that we see what you are wanting to do but your logic doesn't make any sense, you are contradicting your statements, and it seems as if you are set in your ways making your questions really have no point behind them. Here is a prime example:

Why even bother asking the question (which has already been answered) if you are only going to contact Apple for the answer? You ask for advice, people are giving it, and you are ignoring some of it while giving these convoluted reasons for your decisions.

You can want a 13" MBP all you want. That is the model and I went with the 13" version for my own reasons. I didn't need a quad-core processor, I didn't need anything beyond what the Intel HD 3000 graphics are capable of, the baseline 15" MBP was too expensive, and the 15" MBP was too heavy since I carry my MBP in my backpack everywhere I go on a college campus that forces me to walk up and downhill everyday. See? I gave logical reasoning as to why I wanted the MBP I purchased. I didn't makeup something having to do with AMD/ATI and I wasn't dead set on wasting money by purchasing the Core i7 version. At the time, no one had any experience with the Core i7 version and the benchmarks had yet to be released so I went with (what I thought) was the best. Had I been given the opportunity to do it again, I would have just purchased the baseline Core i5 version. My reasoning for going with the Core i7 edition wasn't as convoluted as saying "I wanted the best even though it doesn't matter, it looks good on paper!" either.

That is what people are getting at. I think your best option would be to take a step back and re-evaluate everything and actually take suggestions seriously instead of just passing them off and saying "that is not the best" or ignoring the facts (i.e. the MBA comes with either an 11" or 13" display, Apple uses SATAII SSDs with the MBPs, etc.).

 

Okay, let's make this clear.

Go back to my first post. This therad isin't even what I'm going to buy. It was YOU telling me that I didin't needed the i7. Well, I did take your suggestions but non of you get me. Let's start all over again.

First of all; I want to try out a MAC. This is not for it's look, it is because of the software and batterylife. Let me say this way; I never bought a i5 while i7 is available, and this won't change this time either, espessialy while Apple lock you down to non upgradable CPU. It maybe costs either, but hey guys if I wanted to save money I wouldn't go for a Apple product at all, would I?

I can't move away from Windows based PC's. That is basically because of my work. But, if I really do get in to this, I'll most likely switch out my 3 main laptops with MAC. Virutal machines may sort this out, I'm not that far yet.

I just switched over from HTC to iPhone because of the stable software and iCloud. Basically because talk-to-my-other-i-devices.

Now for the size; the size of 15" is not the main issue for me. It is the ATI/AMD grapich card. I had bad experience with it, and this is just like this. I once bought a AMD CPU based laptop with ATI grapichs and it didn't really work out. I also gave Eny series with i5 and ATI grapichs a go. That didn't really work out either. My mother uses it now. My issues may be only related to the HP but, then again, I'm done with it. I don't even know how many nVidia based laptops I've had but the first GPU failuare came with my Acer. The GT 130M. That was bascially me trying to understand how much of a voltage and overclock it could take.

Now back to my question, when do you think Apple will update their series? Well, I know that nothing yet is official. But, I was just wondering if they had a kind of pattern on it. As I know from the iPhone.

My other question came a little bit later which was how much batterylife the kornchild got out of his/her setup. I got a pretty detalied information about that too.

Last thing, the reason why I'm ask is because I'm really wondering if they use outdated solid state drives in their system while other components are actually able to handle a newer generation. That is really really not Apple in my world.

tHE j0KER, I don't understand why I should get a MBA when it is (from what I've seen) just a MBP without CD/DVD-ROM. The mobiliti of course, 1+ for that, it all is pointless when I need to carry a external drive with me to watch a movie. We also still use CD's at work as we get pictures from diffrent manufactures (high-res). And again, for your last line, I wasn't asking about what I've should buy.

I hope this was clear enough. I don't know why but I hate infcat that most of the Apple threads turn ugly. I hope we can stop this one.

Let me know if there still is something you wonder about, and I'll do the best to clear it up.

 

He clearly said the base 15 inch available to him in Norway was 2500 USD.
He also said that 13" was an acceptable and preferred form factor to the 15". So why buy the 15 when all it will give him that's advantageous to his use is the high res screen? Furthermore he clearly doesn't want an ATI video solution. And on the flip side why tell him to buy a more expensive (100 bucks is still a 100 bucks, and I don't know what the price difference is in Norway) MBA that places portability as #1 priority, when the 1/3 inch larger and 1.5lb heavier 13" is an acceptable form factor to him, costs slightly less, and has more features in terms of ports, is more powerful, and is easier to upgrade? Unless he desires that extra portability in terms of weight and thickness, there's no sense in recommending the MBA over the MBP. It offers a slightly higher res, and better quality screen, but from what I can glean from his posts he's not inclined to sacrifice the power or pay more for that plus.

I still don't agree with the choice of the i7, and I think upgrades like an SSD and more RAM should always be done after purchasing the base drive/ram, there isn't a manufacturer out there who doesn't rip you off for those upgrades, but it's his want/purchase. I just don't think the MBA is a good suggestion based on what he wants.

 

My intent wasn't to suggest he buy a MBP 15, I realize he doesn't want one. I forgot he was in Norway, and when he said $2500 for a base model, I was surprised. I posted the MBP 15 info for price comparison.

Also, remember tuηay stated he doesn't require the fastest CPU out there, a LV i5 or i7 would be plenty.


To answer tuηay's most original question, I believe Apple might come out with a 15" Air, with Intel graphics. But, we won't know for a few more months. I am keeping my HP until IB is out, and there's a decent 15" thin and light out.

 

Dear MAA83,

I don't know what to say. Such a well written post. It is like you are reading my mind I'm only going to buy the i7 base modell and add the RAM and Solid State Drive myself. I'm not willing to pay for any SATA II drive.

Let's make the prices clear shall we?

11" base model with 1,5 i5 64GB = 1373.60 USD
11" base model with 1,5 i5 128GB = 1717.00 USD
13" base model with 1,7 i5 128GB = 1768.51 USD
13" base model with 1,7 i5 256GB = 2163.42 USD
13" base model with i5 = 1717.00 USD
13" base model with i7 = 2232.10 USD
15" base model with i5 6750M w. 512 MB GDDR5 = 2575.51 USD
15" base model with i7 6770M w. 1 GB GDDR5 = 3090.61 USD
17" base model with i7 Quad Core = 3519.86 USD

Prices from Apple ( www.apple.no), rates from my bank ( www.dnb.no). Clock 3:19AM, 1/12/2012.

WHATSOEVER, it will cost me apox. 2200 - 2500 USD.

And for last time guys, I'm not making up those prices. Feel free to compare yourself.

I still do not see a valid argument why I should go for a MBA insted of MBP.

EDIT:

I was just looking for price for RAM and SSD, but hey Curtial have own MAC series?
I've found the 8GB Kit CMSA8GX3M2A1333C9
The best part is the price, it is 300 NOK! That is 2 big macs at MC Donald's.

Do you need to have any of the MAC branded ones or does any DDR3 sticks work?

 

Honestly, no, I don't get your point. I don't understand hatred for a company and its products so much; it's the same response I give to people who hate Apple.

I have had bad experiences of some kind with nearly every single electronic company I have bought a product a from, at least at some point in time. However, I'm always willing to give products from a company another chance if the product itself has been reviewed well and works well for others.

Can I ask what turned you off AMD/ATI so much?

 

Not if you want a straight answer from him.

 

What does it matter? He doesn't want ATI graphics. Will knowing his reason change the fact? He did mention what laptops he had them in, you want an official inquiry or something?

 

Seriously dude, did you even read any of my posts?

MAA83 you should be the member of the year. And I don't even know why people keep bringing this up it is even not the topic.

 

I don't recall seeing much in your posts aside from the fact you had them in a couple of your laptops. And forgive me for asking a question on a forum, of all places.

 

It was just a question, as I'm genuinely curious. Relax sparky.

 

It wasn't directed at you.

 

Asherek, hehe, no problem. But've got this question so many times that I honestly don't know what to say.. And therad isin't even why I disklike AMD/ATI.