Merom in Apples

Some spice before we end the week


http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/11/1657240&from=rss

 

Jeez, I wish I could just know the date this happens instead of the ambiguous 'end of this month, early sept' I was all ready to buy a MBP! AND! I leave the country on the 4th of september!

If only the exchange rate wasnt so terrible, I'd buy the MBP in Londong *sigh*

-c

 

The more I hear about Merom, the more I think I should wait for Santa Rosa, and I've already been waiting since April...

 

wow...when i preordered in april and finally got the laptop in june i thought that was a long time...i hope you have patience..it should be worth it

 

Yay!!! Rejoice! I hope it does come out in late August/early Sept...

Been waiting for this for awhile. Now I hope the CPU "whine" will be fixed once and for all, and the egg-frying heat on the 15" MBP will calm down by a few degrees .

 

maybe a few..but i thought that was the way MBP were made to effectively dissapate their heat

 

I wonder if merom equipped MBP still qualify for that $179 rebate ipod deal and $100 rebate for apple care...the deal ends around sept 16th.

 

Heres a quote from another poster who I found summed it up better than I could.

So did I make it so now you all want to wait for Santa Rosa to come out?

The point is, 64Bit is still barely used at all and that if you want something get it, it's still gonna be a LONG time before 64bit is fully used. If you want merom for the lower power consump, than by all means wait.

 

Yeah I'm going to wait for Santa Rosa. It still sucks that people just bought their Macbooks and now the processor is being upgraded. Hmmm...did Apple know they would do this? I think so.

 

What 100 dollar Apple care rebate? First I heard about that - only know its cheaper w student discount...

 

I'm not disappointed at all in the least that I bought my Macbook already, and I'm sure the same applies to many others who already bought one as well. I think the understanding among most of us is that something is always new is gonna come out, and to constantly say "oh im gonna wait for that, no wait! now that Im gonna wait for" We all needed one now, and plus the real goal I was shooting for was simply a dual core processor and when I was in the market for a new notebook, they just recently started having them.

 

I'll be more ticked if I can't run Leopard on my MBP. My plan is to keep my MBP until 64 bit becomes the obvious future. And when I make the switch (depending on soon 64 bit takes over), I'll have even better hardware, whether that means merom in santa rosa or some crazy mobile 16 core 64 bit processor.

 

Apple said that Leopard will be able to run on any Mac product that is currently being sold, as well as many of the PPCs. So you don't have to worry there. Like any smart company they made it 32/64bit. I feel by the time 64bit is really used is around the time you'll probably be looking for a newer notebook.

Only advantage that 64bit offers is more memory addressing, which is helpful in only certain type of software currently, more notabily AutoCAD.

 

http://bookstore.ucsd.edu/computers/hardware/apple.htm

If they have it, I'm sure other places would have it also...

 

I really still think people get too obsessed over the notion of what makes their computer "obsolete". If you consider your computer obsolete once some newer technology comes along, you'll never be satisfied, as that will always happen (and even moreso now that Apple has to upgrade on the same schedule as PC notebook manufacturers do).

But if you get full use out of your notebook and use it for as long as it does the job, it really becomes irrelevant what is newer out there.

For example, waiting for Santa Rosa; what specifically are you doing with your computer that you'll really need to use Santa Rosa? I mean, in what areas would a current system do what you need? I mean, it seems like the big things in Santa Rosa are not going to even be noticeable by most computer users.

I don't see the point in "waiting til Santa Rosa" if you genuinely need a notebook right now. If it does the job you need it to, what is the problem, really? Either way, it's not like "Santa Rosa" is some mythical platform that will never be improved on. Once Santa Rosa does come out, you could just as soon tell yourself to wait another 3-6 months for the next thing.

 

Mystical huh?

Couldn't really have said it better myself. I think Intel should start following Apples strategy, and NOT TELL anyone whats about to come, we would probably see about 25%-50% post reduction on this entire forum about the next upcoming processor.

 

Certainly Apple knew this just like every other notebook maker in the market. This is how successful business is conducted you market and release a product and repeat the process when newer technology is available.

Some people have the means to purchase the latest gadget and some people simply want the a product asap and it is their right to do so. That’s how the retail market works and corporations are oracle of this market.

Personally I’ll opt to wait a month or two because I want a 64bit system. I am not in the position to buy a new laptop every year. And yes the Santa rose will be released and yes we will have 4 core and 8 core processors but I want the peace of mind of owning a 64bit system. Speed will always increase but going from 32bit to 64bit is different altogether.

The potential resale value alone of a 64bit mac merits my patience.

Speed will increase. Graphics will become better. 64bit will remain a 64bit.

 

Well said mopete - I'm in the same boat and on the same waiting list .

 

An Intel Executive said they aren't planning on producing an 8 core processor.

From the article

 

Just as a side note - Merom won't use less power than the current Core Duos - it'll use the same amount. Merom will just get a 10-20% speed bump over the current Core Duos.

 

I'm waiting for 'Nehalem.'

No, in all seriousness, "Santa Rosa" is due around April, if not later. This is 7 months away, at the earliest. Folks, why not wait till holiday shopping season '07?....I hear holographic storage will be all the rage.

I love gadgets and theoretical specs as much as the next guy, and I know how easy it is to debate numbers all day, but hey, there must be some ingenious money well that I'm not aware of, because that carousel ride never ceases for some folks.

As someone previously stated, how many people on message boards such as this actually consider what they will realistically be doing with the machine, as opposed to what they could potentially do with it? Your credit card will thank you. If you're on a board talking about a platform that's almost 6 months out, well then, the NEED is simply not that justifiable.

 

but if you can wait why not hold off your purchase a few weeks and get the latest computer? i mean your spending thousands of dollars you want your computer to be top notch right? plus with merom you can have a 64 bit computer all ready for lepard!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1523745

Seems it pays to wait a bit.

 

Like a few other people here, it's all about 64-bit for me...

In early tests:

1) The speed boost appears to be negligible in real world performance (mainly due to the old chipset, especially FSB)

2) Battery life looks to be the SAME on average (at least so far... I've seen some tests showing a decrease in battery life and some with an increase, which makes sense - isn't tdp<max> higher in the merom?? 35 vs 31 I think...)

So we are left with 4MB vs 2MB of L2 cache and 64-bit... 64-bit IS the future and I can't afford to buy a $2000 laptop every 1-2 years so it looks like I need to wait just a bit longer...:apple:

 

I dunno if my reason for waiting is justified... but I am waiting for the Merom so that I have better resale value when I want to sell this notebook and get a new one. 3yrs down the line I do not think anyone would buy a 2nd hand notebook wiht a 32 bit processor but may still buy one with a 64 bit processor

 

It is worth the wait.

 

But the platform following "Santa Rosa" will REALLY be worth the wait!

 

Well, I think I've quieted my inner struggles and have decided to run off and buy myself a new MBP tomorrow morning! (I'm just running down to the apple store in deleware for no taxes! <--cheap)

The way I figure, as mentioned, 64 bit processors wont be taken advantage of for some time, and when they are - these initial version won't really be up to snuff. Therefore merom wont really be all that great of a wait. Topped off by the fact that I may be on my flight to England when they finally ship in that first week of Sept... Just not worth the headache.

From what I do (predominantly graphic design/3d), I tend to need a new machine every 3 years, maybe even 2. Although i hope that changes with the switch to a mac - time will tell as will intel. Anywho - thank to all the advise from these forums as it is where I got just about all of my help.

-c

 

Pretty much the same idea I go by.

anyways enjoy that new MBP although I'm getting a bit ticked all these other states have tax free day, and some in some cases don't have any for certain things.

 

Be glad you don't live in Europe then, sales tax of up to 25%
You guys have it good, even if you don't get 0% in all states.

 

whoa thats crazy, so if you were to buy a 1000 dollar laptop in US dollars, thats a 250 dollar tax. Ugh!

 

I wonder if these new core duo 2 mb's will run cooler....

 

they arent supposed to run any cooler. they use something like 10-20% less power to MATCH yonah... but running on the same power(read: heat), it is 10-20% faster.

So basically, its the same - only w the speed increase.

*Side Note: Ive had my MBP for a few days now... and i really cant say the heat is an issue... ive had it on my lap even when I only have a thin, old pair of soccer shorts on and i didnt mind it. The only place I'd call hot is on the top left on the left hand speaker... but why would you put your hand there anyway?

 

Someone who has notebook fetish?

 

Good to hear your MBP isn't running uncomfortablly hot. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for mine when it arrives.

 

It's bad news for people like me who were expecting to buy a macbook this september. Looks like it will take a little bit longer before they hit the shelves.

Probably end up buying one soon

link:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/index.php?p=266

 

Something to look for is the notice to retailers that the MacBooks or MacBook Pros are nearing end of life. They usually give them a 3 month window, and in that three months a new one could be announced at anytime. This way the retailers don't order too many. So keep an eye on those rumor sites. And as the article say Apple has a lot of CoreDuo MB and MBP's so don't be suprised if it is a little ways off.

 

Well i guess macbooks will get even hotter (literally)



http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1975

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3840

 

Ya I figured this would happen. Alot of hype and in the end when the real thing is released there is minor improvements and many of the things that were promised end up not coming true. Not that Merom isn't a great chip, it is. It happens with most every tech release, not just processors. At least those that got Yonah won't feel too bad now.

 

I'm perfectly fine with having a 32bit for a couple more years, but I laughed when I found out the TDP was higher. So it really comes down to this.

Yonah - 32bit processor with a TDP of 31 watts

or

Merom - 64bit processor with a TDP of 34 watts.

More watts means more heat, I believe by the time I'm in the market again for a notebook the 64bits then will be much better, plus there will be better motherboard support for it by then, which will take more advantages of the 64bit.

Guess those who were waiting for Merom should start waiting for Nahelm instead.

 

Sweet, I'm glad to hear that Merom isn't quite what is it cracked up to be. I was worried that I should have waited for it, but now....not so much.