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Cloud · Apr 13, 2007, 11:51 PM

I was actually planning on buying a Powerbook when Leopard comes out but since its delayed do any of you think there is something worth waiting for from now until its release in October?

If not then I'll just go and grab one, kinda disappointing but what can you do.

Cloud

Zeeb · Apr 14, 2007, 12:02 AM

Did you mean a Macbook Pro? Apple doesn't make Powerbooks anymore. I think there will probably be a hardware update before October. Competitors will come out with new models just before the start of school year and my best guess is Apple will want to keep up. However, who knows?

wilsonng · Apr 14, 2007, 01:28 AM

Tiger is perfectly fine for use. All of today's applications runs fine under Tiger.

I am going to wait until my mission-critical applications are compatible with Leopard before upgrading.

So there's really no need to wait for Leopard. You're gonna be waiting at least 6 months for a Leopard release date in October 2007.

You'll never know what programs will break under Leopard. You'll also have to wait for many of the developers to update their programs to either be compatible with Leopard (i.e. not crash) or update it to take advantage of the new Leopard features.

brassplayersrock² · Apr 14, 2007, 05:35 PM

rumor has it that there will be a new config for the 17'' mbp

C.A.T.S. CEO · Apr 14, 2007, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

rumor has it that there will be a new config for the 17'' mbp

Link?

Sijmen · Apr 14, 2007, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

rumor has it that there will be a new config for the 17'' mbp

Indeed, there will probably be an update on the MBP's in May or June.

TailsToo · Apr 14, 2007, 08:14 PM

I doubt there will be an update before Santa Rosa in May - kinda dumb to upgrade the MacBook Pro line when a better platform is less than 30 days away.

shabbasuraj · Apr 14, 2007, 08:19 PM

20" comes in Sept.

...allegedly.

peeb · Apr 14, 2007, 09:18 PM

20 inch MBP? Isn't that freakishly large?

mduell · Apr 14, 2007, 09:20 PM

Yea, Centrino Pro (Santa Rosa) is released May 8th.. I'd expect Apple to pick it up pretty quick... faster FSB, flash memory acceleration, etc.

C.A.T.S. CEO · Apr 14, 2007, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj

20" comes in Sept.

...allegedly.

No way that will happen, too big, nobody would buy it

SEkker · Apr 15, 2007, 12:08 AM

There's the modbook about to be released by OWC. That might be the most significant new form factor since the release of the first AL powerbooks.

Simon · Apr 15, 2007, 05:32 AM

Expect a Santa Rosa MBP release in May or June. Probably not a whole lot of changes. But a faster FSB and NAND caching will certainly be nice improvements. Possibly a new GPU as well.

mfbernstein · Apr 15, 2007, 09:02 AM

Still dreaming of a Mac subportable... But the odds of one of those appearing between now and any time soon are just about the same as a 20" MBP: nada.

Under-the-hood improvements like Santa Rosa are quite likely on the other hand.

(Incidentally, most of the rumor sites that have been making noises about 'new' MBP form factors, MacBook thin etc. were also the ones that until last week claimed Leopard would ship in June.)

danviento · Apr 16, 2007, 03:07 AM

Just to respond to the "no one would but the 20-inchers," I distinctly remember seeing configs for this size with PC companies a while back. Personally, if I was a bit more mobile, I would definitely want one. The only stipulation would be for a sized backpack instead of a messenger bag. I'm certain that you wouldn't want to carry it by handles very far, but what is 10 lbs. on your back? Nothing to worry about, even with 5 more or so of aditional gear.

I don't know about you, but even 17" seems cramped somtimes when you work in aps that fill the screen with tool panes.

SierraDragon · Apr 16, 2007, 01:10 PM

There definitely is a market for maximum strength portable computers. All us folks who really need power (e.g. all pro DSLR photographers as well as videographers) but find a portable computer a necessity. A bit extra weight and size would be totally acceptable to folks like me if the extra size (and concordant less heat per cm2) would allow things like 6+ GB RAM, multi-GPU graphics support, dual hard drives, etc. The extra screen size and pixels of a 20" display would be added bonus.

Large boxes like my 17" C2D are not as ideal for transport with smaller laptops obviously easier to carry. However, if like me one only carries the laptop to the SUV from office/house/photo shoot the amount of transporting is not that big a deal compared to all the other gear a pro photog transports. A 20" would even fit in the laptop slot of the backpack I use for air travel.

-Allen Wicks

onlyone-jc · Apr 16, 2007, 03:18 PM

Speaking of displays, have we reached the upper resolution limit of LCDs yet? I'd love the 17" MacBook Pro to get an upgrade from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200. Or, is this just not physically possible?

onlyone-jc.

romeosc · Apr 16, 2007, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by C.A.T.S. CEO

No way that will happen, too big, nobody would buy it

I'd buy two..... One for office.... one for home! Whoops I mean 3 One for travel!

Waragainstsleep · Apr 16, 2007, 04:52 PM

Given that 1920x1200 is the res of the 23" cinema display and the 24" iMac, and that the 20" ACD is still at 1680x1050, I doubt you are going to see that kind of res on a 17" panel anytime very soon.

A 20" MBP would definitely be stupid. The 17" is almost too large as it is. Look at the other 20" laptops about. Utterly ridiculous.

But Santa Rosa seems a good bet. Apple need something to better diffrentiate the MBP from the MacBook. At the moment, a bigger LCD and a better GPU just don't justify the massive price difference. Not everyone needs a bigger screen that badly, and given most of the cheaper wintel laptops have 15" widescreen displays (and I mean cheaper than the MacBooks) Alot of people use laptops solely for internet, email, word processing and watching films/listening to music. None of these tasks are going to stretch anycurrent Mac, even if you do them all at once, but if thats all you want, are you really going to spend an extra £1000 to get an MBP over a 15" toshiba or Dell (probably with a longer warranty)?
I would, since I am a die-hard Mac lover and Windows hater, but most people are not like me. Plus I don't have £1000 (not even close), so its easy for me to say.

mduell · Apr 16, 2007, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by onlyone-jc

Speaking of displays, have we reached the upper resolution limit of LCDs yet? I'd love the 17" MacBook Pro to get an upgrade from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200. Or, is this just not physically possible?

1920x1200 in a 15" (~150 dpi) is no problem; the PC OEMs have been doing it for about 4 years now and the price these days isn't much higher than a low-res panel (~$75 over a 1280x800). Even 200 dpi panels are available, but the refresh rate isn't as high (only ~40 Hz instead of 60).

Simon · Apr 17, 2007, 03:46 AM

Before OS X and its most prevalent apps gain complete GUI resolution independence there certainly won't be ~150 ppi screens on Apple's portables, i.e. no 1920x1200 on the 15" or the 17" for that matter. And when this resolution appears it will likely be a BTO option with a hefty price tag.

Aron Peterson · Apr 17, 2007, 07:04 PM

What's the currently rumored top clockspeed of C2D at the time Santa Rosa ships? Dell and Alienware are already shipping factory overclocked 2.66Ghz and 3.1Ghz laptops. I'm thinking of getting my first MacIntel but I want a 3Ghz machine before I budge. And Intel is saying end of 2008 laptops will have quad-cores. These multi-core days are making it harder than ever to know when to buy.

mduell · Apr 17, 2007, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by Aron Peterson

What's the currently rumored top clockspeed of C2D at the time Santa Rosa ships? Dell and Alienware are already shipping factory overclocked 2.66Ghz and 3.1Ghz laptops. I'm thinking of getting my first MacIntel but I want a 3Ghz machine before I budge. And Intel is saying end of 2008 laptops will have quad-cores. These multi-core days are making it harder than ever to know when to buy.

2.4Ghz will be out at launch time, 2.6Ghz in Q3, and 2.8Ghz by the end of the year.

The 2.6 and 2.8 parts will sort of be a mobile extreme edition, possibly with a higher TDP.

I think you're going to have to wait for Penryn mobile to see 3Ghz in a Mac notebook.

dagamer34 · Apr 17, 2007, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by onlyone-jc

Speaking of displays, have we reached the upper resolution limit of LCDs yet? I'd love the 17" MacBook Pro to get an upgrade from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200. Or, is this just not physically possible?

onlyone-jc.

It's not that a laptop screen can't get those resolutions, but it's much more expensive. Laptop screens are already the most expensive part of a laptop due to the high DPI they have compared to a desktop screen of similar proportions. It's a cost/sales ratio that manufacturers have to consider.

Aron Peterson · Apr 18, 2007, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by mduell

I think you're going to have to wait for Penryn mobile to see 3Ghz in a Mac notebook.

45nm Penryn looking good to go @ 3.33Ghz. Is that model good enough for MacBook Pros in terms of energy efficiency and heat?

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04...n_benchmarked/

mduell · Apr 18, 2007, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Aron Peterson

45nm Penryn looking good to go @ 3.33Ghz. Is that model good enough for MacBook Pros in terms of energy efficiency and heat?

The one you're seeing benchmarked now is the workstation/server version of Penryn (Wolfdale/Yorkfield). But I wouldn't be surprised to see Penryn launched at 3+Ghz in early 08 (Merom will be at 2.8Ghz by then).