[chucker]

The MacBook Pros have (finally) been updated.

13-inch ones have been bumped (I believe?) to 2.4 ($1199) and 2.66 GHz ($1499) configurations, now each with with 4 GB RAM, a GeForce 320M and ten hours of battery life.

The 15-inch ones can be had in 2.4 GHz Core i5 ($1799), 2.53 GHz Core i5 ($1999) and 2.66 GHz Core i7 ($2199) configurations, and the 17-incher in a 2.53 GHz Core i5 configuration ($2299), all with a GeForce 330M and "eight to nine" hours of battery life. This features seamless switching between the 330M and the built-in Intel graphics, presumably using Nvidia Optimus technology.

Finally, the 15-inch models now get a high-resolution 1680x1050 options ($100). The anti-glare option ($150) is high-resolution-only.

Also, the 85W power adapter has been redesigned to be smaller and use the new sideways MagSafe plug.

[Maciej]

Yikes, the edu memory upgrade isn't that expensive. $360ish for 8 gigs... hmmm I'm very very tempted to bite.

[Banana]

Gee whiz. It felt only yesterday when 2 GB RAM was standard...

[Partial]

A pretty weak update for the 13". Really weak, as a matter of fact. I wonder if it's due to heat or cost? i5 and i7 are significantly faster now.

[Miko]

Ahh the wait is over! I was going to pull the trigger on a refurbished 2.8GHz C2D - 15" for 1,949.00, but now seriously considering the 2.53GHz i5 - 15" for 1,999.00. The decision shouldn't be too hard.

[chucker]

Very tempted to go with the low-end 15-inch MBP but bump the display (1680x1050, anti-glare) and drive (7200 RPM 500 GB), US English layout, education pricing. €1899.24. Sweet.

[709]

Pretty friggin weak after a year of waiting.

[atoms]

BAM! Just pulled the trigger on a 17" with i7 glossy screen and 7200 RPM 500GB hard drive.

[Satchmo]

Interesting that the 13" is still DuoCore2.
Would an i3 processor have been much faster, hotter and more expensive?

The extra 3 hours battery life is nice. Don't know about the integrated video card.
But if there's not a huge difference, perhaps a refurb is a better route to take?

[Maciej]

Originally Posted by atoms BAM! Just pulled the trigger on a 17" with i7 glossy screen and 7200 RPM 500GB hard drive.

Almost same setup as me, was the ram upgrade just too much for you?

[joveblue]

The Apple website says the new graphics chip on the 13" is up to 1.8x faster than the previous model. Integrated graphics aren't that bad, these days, it seems.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/performance.html


13-inch MacBook Pro Graphics Performance
Up to 1.8x faster than previous-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro

1.8x
Doom 3

1.6x
Call of Duty 4

1.5x
Unreal Tournament 2004

1.3x
Quake 4

[thegelding]

Cool...I can wait for the next update and maybe the 13" will get similar to what the low end 15" just got...

While the new iPad is great, currently we don't have a single intel Mac in the house (2 G4 iBooks and 1 G5 iMac and one A4 iPad)...sooner or later we will have to update to an intel Mac...might as well be with the next update to the MacBook or MacBook pro...

g

[Mugge]

Originally Posted by chucker The MacBook Pros have (finally) been updated. 13-inch ones have been bumped (I believe?) to 2.4 ($1199) and 2.66 GHz ($1499) configurations, now each with with 4 GB RAM, a GeForce 320M and ten hours of battery life. The 15-inch ones can be had in 2.4 GHz Core i5 ($1799), 2.53 GHz Core i5 ($1999) and 2.66 GHz Core i7 ($21999) configurations, and the 17-incher in a 2.53 GHz Core i5 configuration ($2299), all with a GeForce 330M and "eight to nine" hours of battery life. This features seamless switching between the 330M and the built-in Intel graphics, presumably using Nvidia Optimus technology. Finally, the 15-inch models now get a high-resolution 1680x1050 options ($100). The anti-glare option ($150) is high-resolution-only. Also, the 85W power adapter has been redesigned to be smaller and use the new sideways MagSafe plug.

Aiee!!!

Still wanting one, though.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Mugge Aiee!!! Still wanting one, though.

I think I saw that mistake, then forgot to correct it.

[Jason]

Well, I thought the Mac Pro would see some love before these new machines. Having said that, this is where they are making money these days.

[SpecMode]

Interesting that they're using dual-core i5/i7 CPUs with hyper-threading rather than the quad-core versions. I guess the thermal environment inside still isn't quite there for them yet.

Also: GAH INTEGRATED INTEL GPU BLECHHH.

[Xaqtly]

Originally Posted by SpecMode Also: GAH INTEGRATED INTEL GPU BLECHHH.

All models are using discrete video cards, GeForce 320M in the 13" and 330M in the others. The 15" and 17" ones are also using Intel integrated video.

As for me, my gripe is not having a Core i5 in the 13". I think the cost of the 13" is now too high at this period in time to still be using a Core2Duo.

[curiousuburb]

Curious...

The 17 still has no SD card slot. Not a dealbreaker for most folks, I'm guessing.
(Do the 13 and 15 accept SDHD cards over 2GB?)

And the Core i5 and i7 max out at 4MB L3 (down from 6MB L3 in my C2D Penryn 2.5 GHz)

Still nice, though.

[CFP]

I retract my previous "W00T!!".

And replace it with a resounding MEH.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by SpecMode Interesting that they're using dual-core i5/i7 CPUs with hyper-threading rather than the quad-core versions. I guess the thermal environment inside still isn't quite there for them yet.

Quad-core mobile processors start at 45W. The ones Apple does use go up to 35W.

Originally Posted by SpecMode Also: GAH INTEGRATED INTEL GPU BLECHHH.

AFAICT, no model ships with just Intel graphics.

Originally Posted by CFP I retract my previous "W00T!!". And replace it with a resounding MEH.

I would have liked to see "replace optical drive with SSD" options, but other than that, I'm quite satisfied with this update.

What would you have liked?

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Xaqtly All models are using discrete video cards, GeForce 320M in the 13" and 330M in the others. The 15" and 17" ones are also using Intel integrated video.

The 320M is an IGP...it's part of the Nvidia chipset that includes the memory controller and I/O.

[Majost]

Originally Posted by Eugene The 320M is an IGP...it's part of the Nvidia chipset that includes the memory controller and I/O.

Exactly. Which explains why the 13" models are still C2D. On the i3/i5/i7 chips, Intel has effectively made it impossible to use a different integrated graphics chipset. The lawsuit is pending... but it seems as though Apple isn't happy about hamstringing its users with just the crummy intel graphics.

I believe that's also why the low-end 15" model now has a discrete graphics unit. Which rocks. That model is amazing.

[Mugge]

It says on Apple's website that the 15" & 17" MBPs change between IGP and GPU automatically, so this must mean they are using Nvidia's Optimus technology now.

Originally Posted by Apple The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models come standard with automatic graphics switching. It’s a breakthrough technology from Apple that switches graphics processors on the fly to give you performance when you need it (when you’re playing the latest 3D game, for example) and better battery efficiency when you don’t (such as when you’re reading email). MacBook Pro transfers the workload between the powerful discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor and integrated Intel HD Graphics so seamlessly, you won’t even notice.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/performance.html

Or maybe they rolled their own solution?

[chucker]

Also new: momentum scrolling, as known from the Magic Mouse.

And coming up: a mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, rumored to pass audio through as well (presumably only for the newest models). The specs page already mentions it, but it's not available from the store yet.

[Wrao]

Usually when Apple releases new laptops they are pretty decently priced against comparably specced Windows Laptops, this time around it seems as though the 13" form factor might have become too problematic for a more modern chip, so I'm curious about what the Windows notebook landscape looks like with regards to 13" computers and the types of chips they have. Is i5(or even i7) available for other 13" notebooks that are ~1" thick?

I'm also a little surprised there is no USB 3.0 or eSata on even the high-end model. I thought that was becoming pretty widely available these days?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Mugge It says on Apple's website that the 15" & 17" MBPs change between IGP and GPU automatically, so this must mean they are using Nvidia's Optimus technology now.

From my original post:

Originally Posted by chucker This features seamless switching between the 330M and the built-in Intel graphics, presumably using Nvidia Optimus technology.

[Noel]

It would seem Nvidia says otherwise.

[Mugge]

Originally Posted by chucker From my original post:

1-1

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Noel It would seem Nvidia says otherwise.

Interesting. Perhaps Nvidia wasn't willing or able to provide good Mac OS X drivers for it? Apple did a better job optimizing it?

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by Curiousuburb Curious... The 17 still has no SD card slot. Not a dealbreaker for most folks, I'm guessing. (Do the 13 and 15 accept SDHD cards over 2GB?) And the Core i5 and i7 max out at 4MB L3 (down from 6MB L3 in my C2D Penryn 2.5 GHz) Still nice, though.

Core 2 Duo chips did not have L3 cache, they had 6MB of L2 cache. The i5 and i7 chips have 2MB L2 cache and 4MB L3 Cache. The SD slot is SDHC compatible, I have used 8GB SDHC cards in the slot in my last generation 13" MBP without any trouble at all.