Apple Speeds up the MacBook, but no Santa Rosa

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Apple today bumped up the speed of the Core 2 Duo processors offered in the 13.3&quot; MacBook line, but no Santa Rosa platform upgrade as some had hoped for.

The high-end black MacBook now comes default with a 2.16GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, Superdrive (8x dual-layer burner) for $1,499. You can also now bump the hard drive up to 200GB for a +$100 premium over the 160GB drive. So basically now you're getting more for the same price and the ability to configure a larger 200GB hard drive. The price breakdown is as follows:

• White MacBook with 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, Combo Drive - $1099
• White MacBook with 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB HD, SuperDrive (8x dual-layer burner) - $1299
• Black MacBook with 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, Superdrive (8x dual-layer burner) - $1499

The Apple MacBook 13.3&quot; widescreen notebook (view large image)

The front side bus stays at 667MHz, meaning there's no new Intel Santa Rosa platform inside. 802.11n is of course part of the mix now though. It's simply wait and see as to whether the MacBook Pro will be bumped up to Santa Rosa.

 

News Release from Apple

 

Thanks to Nick for the tip!

 

A real bummer, as the Intel 950 just isn't a good enough GPU. I can stand integrated, but not just that old.

 

Same here. With the x3100 GPU it would have been in the running if not my first choice.

 

I'm sure it will roll out soon enough. Apple are one of Intel's main partners, and they wouldn't want to miss out on a massive opportunity to sell their chips.

 

Yes, it definitely is bad news
After the delay of the Leopard and the bad news I have heard about IPhone, Apple might send Jobs packing again.

 

maybe the MBP cant handle the heat

 

From what the benchmarks indicate this might not be much of a problem.Maybe the drivers are to blame for this situation.

 

No santa rosa and integrated gpu? The cynic in me says another refresh in the near future...

 

I am waiting for the new Intel transistor technology that is faster and saves power.

A MBP with a santa rosa will definitely be a top seller if it comes to light.

I wish they can just make them foldable to fit a pocket, and also with a sim card slot... I got to stop drinking lol

 

Leopard's coming out in the fourth quarter. Bet Apple's holding off until then for the Macbook to get the new G965 chipset.

 

*yawn*

Still waiting for WWDC for some bigger changes.

I mean, common, a combodrive in a laptop? Laptops that don't have DVD burners are the "ultra budget" ones you find at best buy for 400$. Common, Apple.

 

this has to be the most disappointing upgrade I've ever seen out of apple... I mean aside from the VERY minor cpu upgrade, and bigger hard drives, what else have they changed??

 

What's the controversy? Santa Rosa wasn't expected for the MacBook in this update. This update is exactly what the rumor-mill projected. Also, GMA950 isn't that old. Sure, there's x3100 now, but it's not like x3100 is going to make a difference. It'll still get its ass kicked by any discrete graphics option from the past 3 years and will probably be owned by ATI's xpress 1250 integrated solution. Both GMA950 and x3100 are crap. One is just fresher. In any event, I can't wait to see what the MBP gets updated with, besides the LED-backlit display.

 

x3100 is crap? for an intergrated solution it looks ok to me, and its initial benchmarks are significantly better than the GMA950. So yes, it was a crappy "upgrade"

 

Main? I dunno. Apple's volumes aren't that huge. Plus, they can't afford to—or won't—pay top dollar to component vendors. Maybe bigger players will get the first shipments.

I'd like to see a more robust Mac Mini, but that also seems unlikely for now.

 

Santa Rosa is an inevitable upgrade for the Macbooks. Just wait. cy007 makes an interesting point...and perhaps that's what Apple is waiting for.

 

They'd better hurry up with the X3100, or they'll lose my business to Dell's new design.

 

Dell's new design? Link?

I am hoping to stock this new macbook by next week and see how they sell. I am sure people are willing to pay for the latest and greatest from Apple...

 

As a long, long time apple user I have to say apple should have just skipped this upgrade and waited for the SR release. It is almost like they wanted to join the crowd in updating their laptops - but just could not make it in time with SR - so they decided to release "something".

About the x3100 GPU - yes would be an improvement over the lame 950. But more importantly on the highend Macbook model - or as an option in the lower ones - Apple really should offer an entry level gaming dedicated GPU (ala X1400 or 7400). Since the Ati x1600 is in the Macbook Pro - having these other options would provide something in the middle and give a wider range of choices for graphics power to apple fans. Gaming has always been Apple's Achilles heel and with the adoption of intel processors they need better GPU options.

The ATI x1400 is one of the main reasons I bought my E1505 (my fist PC ever) instead of a intel macbook.

 

I find it very ironic that they made this upgrade. The reason is because the upgraded the specs of a regular macbook to almost the same as the MBP. The only difference that their stock packages offer is that MBP's lowest grade model offers X1600. The price difference however, is 500 dollars difference.

My question is, is X1600 really worth 500 dollars? With 500 dollars I can prolly get Geforce 8800GTS (320MB). I find this upgrade stupid since they didn't bump up the MBP as well.