[HouseSold]

Apple won't be left out of the Merom party, apparently.

I just read this: http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20060811PB201.html

Do any of you remember the post on the posted engineering defects on the Yonah cpu and where to find the posting either here or Intel?

Also, this same info should show the numbers on the Merom processor as well.

I believe, MDuell had posted some info too.

Thanks

My prediction of September in Paris, may come true; it is back to school for laptops season witnessed by all the Centrino Duo PC laptop blowout pricing sales in all the papers and emails.

[pat++]

Sounds very likely...

[mduell]

Oh sure, call me out.

The errata ("engineering defects") list for Yonah as a "news" story was blown completely out of proportion. Every CPU (from AMD, IBM, or Intel) ships with a list like this. Specification update/errata links:
Core Duo (Yonah)
Core 2 Duo (Conroe)
Xeon 5100 (Woodcrest)
I don't see one up for Merom yet, but I expect it will be very similar to Conroe.

The MacBooks going Merom in September will be a nice surprise.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by mduell

Oh sure, call me out.

The errata ("engineering defects") list for Yonah as a "news" story was blown completely out of proportion. Every CPU (from AMD, IBM, or Intel) ships with a list like this. Specification update/errata links:
Core Duo (Yonah)
Core 2 Duo (Conroe)
Xeon 5100 (Woodcrest)
I don't see one up for Merom yet, but I expect it will be very similar to Conroe.

The MacBooks going Merom in September will be a nice surprise.

Mark,

Thanks, you always come up with such interesting stuff, I knew you'd be on top of this.

Do you think Merom will have the teething pains in the MacBooks that Yonah is having?
(Processor whine, moos, heat and logic board random shutdowns)
We Mac users think that our Macs should be seen, not heard.

Looks like Apple is electing to move right along and not lose any sales to other makers.
Keep winning with a Winner.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by HouseSold

Do you think Merom will have the teething pains in the MacBooks that Yonah is having?
(Processor whine, moos, heat and logic board random shutdowns)

Processor whine isn't really coming from the processor (but wouldn't that be neat? ok, back on topic), but rather the DC electronics supplying power to the processor. I assume Apple will start a replacement program for the MacBook DC electronics, just like they have with the MacBook Pro. Swapping the CPU is unlikely to change this.

I don't know what a computer moo is, but it's most likely a resonance or interference issue with the fan(s). Again, swapping the CPU is unlikely to change this.

Heat, ah, finally an issue related to the CPU. There's no significant change in power consumption from Yonah to Merom, so I expect it will be unchanged. Many users have reported decreased temps on the MBPs following the DC electronics replacement; it could be an actual hardware change, or people just aren't running the (power sucking) "whine fixes" anymore.

Random shutdowns may be fixed with the same refresh, but unrelated to the CPU. Merom is a drop-in upgrade from Yonah, so Apple doesn't really need to change anything there.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by mduell

Processor whine isn't really coming from the processor (but wouldn't that be neat? ok, back on topic), but rather the DC electronics supplying power to the processor. I assume Apple will start a replacement program for the MacBook DC electronics, just like they have with the MacBook Pro. Swapping the CPU is unlikely to change this.

I don't know what a computer moo is, but it's most likely a resonance or interference issue with the fan(s). Again, swapping the CPU is unlikely to change this.

Heat, ah, finally an issue related to the CPU. There's no significant change in power consumption from Yonah to Merom, so I expect it will be unchanged. Many users have reported decreased temps on the MBPs following the DC electronics replacement; it could be an actual hardware change, or people just aren't running the (power sucking) "whine fixes" anymore.

Random shutdowns may be fixed with the same refresh, but unrelated to the CPU. Merom is a drop-in upgrade from Yonah, so Apple doesn't really need to change anything there.

Mark,

Thanks again.......I meant generally the switch to the Merom edition processor version, not blaming the processor itself, but referring to the 'whole enchilada' upgrade. What if Apple had socketed the logic/motherboard on the MacBooks? What kind of headaches/sales effects might there be considering the target market?

Not really a build it yourself PC, I guess.

[Nuks]

Alright, I was planning on getting the 2.0 ghzMacbook W/ 1 gig of ram from the apple education store (canada) for 1460 Canadian. However, I was going to get it before the Nano promotion was up, and therefore, could sell the nano and make back about 260 (or so) Canadian. Is it worth it to wait for Merom, and not make back the 260? What are the benefits of Merom?

Basically, is it worth $260?

[brokenjago]

Apple would most likely never socket a chip in a portable. It takes up way too much space to fit into their target form factor.

As for you, Nuks, is the likelihood of a magnetic latch, a DL layer burner, a user upgradeable hard drive, more easily upgradeable RAM and POSSIBLY (I hope) FireWire 800 worth $260 to you? Also, there is a chance they'll announce the new notebooks before the Sept. 16th deadline, so you'll be able to save them anyway.

[Nuks]

Doesn't the macbook already have a magnetic latch and an easily upgradeable HD?

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by brokenjago

Apple would most likely never socket a chip in a portable. It takes up way too much space to fit into their target form factor.

As for you, Nuks, is the likelihood of a magnetic latch, a DL layer burner, a user upgradeable hard drive, more easily upgradeable RAM and POSSIBLY (I hope) FireWire 800 worth $260 to you? Also, there is a chance they'll announce the new notebooks before the Sept. 16th deadline, so you'll be able to save them anyway.

What's this 'Sept 16th deadline' ?

[Nuks]

^That's when the free Nano Back-to-school promotion ends.

I'm gonna repeat my question to Brokenjango (I think he may have thought I waas getting a MBP, but anyway):

Originally Posted by Nuks

Doesn't the macbook already have a magnetic latch and an easily upgradeable HD?

Also, I think it may make more sense to wait. The potential $250 extra is probably worth it in the long run, as 64bit would enable me to keep my laptop longer without needing to upgrade.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by Nuks

^That's when the free Nano Back-to-school promotion ends.

I'm gonna repeat my question to Brokenjango (I think he may have thought I waas getting a MBP, but anyway):





Also, I think it may make more sense to wait. The potential $250 extra is probably worth it in the long run, as 64bit would enable me to keep my laptop longer without needing to upgrade.

OK..Thanks.

There will always be new features arriving to tempt us; that's what sells computers.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Nuks

I'm gonna repeat my question to Brokenjango (I think he may have thought I waas getting a MBP, but anyway)

Doesn't the macbook already have a magnetic latch and an easily upgradeable HD?

Yes, it does have both. The MBP doesn't. I think he was talking about that.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by HouseSold

Thanks again.......I meant generally the switch to the Merom edition processor version, not blaming the processor itself, but referring to the 'whole enchilada' upgrade. What if Apple had socketed the logic/motherboard on the MacBooks? What kind of headaches/sales effects might there be considering the target market?

That's the thing, with the Yonah->Merom upgrade, Apple doesn't need to do a "whole enchilada" upgrade. They can literally start soldering on different CPUs, maybe need a firmware upgrade, and shove them out the door.
Socketing instead of soldering wouldn't make any real difference; you'd end up with a thicker MacBook, but I doubt it would change any "headaches" or help with any sales.

Originally Posted by Nuks

as 64bit would enable me to keep my laptop longer without needing to upgrade.

No, it won't. Some other parts of the updated, unrelated to being 64-bit, may give it a longer useful life, but 64-bit is highly unlikely to do anything significant for you.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by mduell

That's the thing, with the Yonah->Merom upgrade, Apple doesn't need to do a "whole enchilada" upgrade. They can literally start soldering on different CPUs, maybe need a firmware upgrade, and shove them out the door.
Socketing instead of soldering wouldn't make any real difference; you'd end up with a thicker MacBook, but I doubt it would change any "headaches" or help with any sales.



No, it won't. Some other parts of the updated, unrelated to being 64-bit, may give it a longer useful life, but 64-bit is highly unlikely to do anything significant for you.

Unless, of course, Apple engineers don't drive trains, they read the MacNN posts instead on the upgraded 965 GPU and pair that with the Merom...

I hope Apple doesn't take Sony's prior digital camera fix approach; Sony rarely would fix a camera problem, would just release a 'newer, better' replacement model. I had a few of those.......I know.......and stayed loyal.....up to a point.

[brokenjago]

My god, I am an idiot. Ignore basically everything I said, and I second mduell... 64 bit isn't going to make a huge difference for you.

[mduell]

Oh great, now the idiots on my side.

[brokenjago]

Originally Posted by mduell

Oh great, now the idiots on my side.

By the way, I believe the "idiots" should actually be "idiot's," as in the contraction of "idiot is."

Just a thought.