[aehaas]

...But will they make it so you can get a BTO with 4 gig of RAM and a faster 7,200 RPM drive? Will it have a faster bus finally and faster RAM? It seems we are so far behind right now. If the RAM had a lower current draw, that would be a big bonus. I would pay the extra, just make it available. Make it an option.

Why does Apple not want to fly over the competition for once. How about a better LED 15" screen. There is so much out there now. We have none of these better features at this time, Why?

Where is a low power, high performance video card with a bunch of faster RAM?

There are other missing features.

aehaas

[KP*]

I don't want to speculate too much, but I am also looking to buy one soon. I figure they're due for an upgrade around the time of WWDC, so I'm waiting. I hope it will be something other than just a speed bump, like the LED screen or one of the next-gen optical drives. I don't know what to expect, but I'm definitely not making a move until June.

[mfbernstein]

3GB RAM limit ends when Santa Rosa comes out (it's a chipset limitation of the i945). Faster drives are a good bet too, given that the 160GB 7200RPM drives are now generally available.

LED screen is a longshot. Nobody is shipping in mass quantities yet.

I don't know how you want Apple to 'fly' over the competition: they use the same components everybody else does. They don't make most of the stuff, so they have to make do with what's available. The main way they can distinguish themselves is packaging and software.

[mduell]

965 mobile should support 4GB@667Mhz (with all 4GB addressable) alogn with an 800Mhz FSB. Memory power usage won't improve until they move to DDR3, which is expected to happen next year with the successor to Santa Rosa.

160GB@7200RPM and 250GB@5400RPM are both obvious upgrades (other OEMs are shipping both), as is an LED-backlit screen.

There isn't much new in the world of mobile video cards (nothing in the DX10 generation yet)... maybe they can put a better chipset (more shaders) in and underclock it to keep the power/heat reasonable.

High def optical drive should be an option. Apple has really lagged the rest of the industry with high def optical drives (in all their models) as well as high def screens in the laptops (other OEMs have had them for 4 years).

Originally Posted by mfbernstein 

3GB RAM limit ends when Santa Rosa comes out (it's a chipset limitation of the i945).
<snip>
I don't know how you want Apple to 'fly' over the competition: they use the same components everybody else does. They don't make most of the stuff, so they have to make do with what's available. The main way they can distinguish themselves is packaging and software.

945PM/GM supports 4GB RAM; it is entirely Apple's decision to limit users to 3GB. 945PM/GM can only address about 3.4GB of the 4GB, but that's still ~400MB more RAM and dual channel performance that the MBP/MB is missing out on.

Apple has (most of) the components that everyone else had when the MBP C2D was released; they don't have the components that the other OEMs are offering now. While other companies continuously update their models as newer/faster/better components become available, Apple sticks to big spread out updates; so they're at best on-par with everyone else and at worst well behind.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by aehaas 

...But will they make it so you can get a BTO with 4 gig of RAM and a faster 7,200 RPM drive?

SR will be released by Intel on May 9. SR MBPs will make use of 4 GB RAM. It makes no economical sense to install 4 GB RAM in the current Napa MBP.

Will it have a faster bus finally and faster RAM?

The FSB will be 800 MHz rather than Napa's 667 MHz.

It seems we are so far behind right now.

Maybe it seems like that to you, but Napa is all Intel has right now. The chipset won't change till SR arrives on May 9. Apple can't offer a faster FSB because Intel doesn't have it. OTOH it is true that Apple can increase their HD, GPU or screen specs regardless of Intel's chipset schedule. However, Apple is a company that choses to update in cycles. That's fairly different from a PC DIY box where you put in whatever you can buy right at the moment. That's also one of the reasons you see so many of these " is now a good time to buy my new Mac or should I wait" threads.

If the RAM had a lower current draw, that would be a big bonus. I would pay the extra, just make it available. Make it an option.

That won't happen with SR. However, if Apple choses to adopt Robson with SR caching will possibly reduce HD activity which in turn reduces power draw. This will however not be a huge effect.

Why does Apple not want to fly over the competition for once. How about a better LED 15" screen. There is so much out there now. We have none of these better features at this time, Why?

They do every once in a while for a certain product. For example they are currently the only manufacturer to sell workstations with the Xeon X5365 and they had one of the very first CD notebooks out. But again, they upgrade in cycles and we're at the end of one of them. That said, the current MBP definitely has a lot of upgrade potential and chances are it will see a revision within the next weeks.

Where is a low power, high performance video card with a bunch of faster RAM?

Again this is only partially an Apple problem. There are lower powered GPUs, but they are weaker and that's not what Apple wants to do on their flagship notebook. There are also faster GPUs, but they won't fit the thermal design of the 1" thick MBP w/o serious underclocking (which makes no sense because you make an expensive GPU perform like a less expensive GPU). This will change when new GPUs come to the market, but currently there's not much you could upgrade the MBP's GPU to.

There are other missing features.

There will always be missing features on a notebook. Personally, I'd like a docking station port on my MBP and eSATA. I'd also like it to be easier to exchange the HDD or the optical drive. But it's currently just not an option. Nevertheless, I wouldn't chose another notebook because of all the advantages a MBP running Tiger has. If you however come to another conclusion, you should seriously consider another notebook.

[mfbernstein]

There are literally dozens of features Apple could have added but didn't. I personally would like a good WUXGA screen on the MBP or 3lbs 12" model, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen, not because Apple is stupid, but because they've judged it as unnecessary for the market.

As for the complaint that Apple is behind most PC OEMs, it really depends who you compare them with. I could just as easily complain that Dell and HP offer no backlit keyboard, sudden motion sensor or 5.5 lbs weight for their high-end machines. The infrequent refreshes of the product lines has the advantage for Apple that everything is standardized and consistent.

[solofx7]

i am not sure if any of the forthcoming updates will be huge ones.
i am going to wait for a full redesign so that some of the current issues go away...
and yes i know that gives way to new ones.

[RogueSqdn]

Personally, I'm just hoping SR comes to the MBP in May... I'm now in a position to buy one (wanting a 15.4") but it's just a test of my patience.

Here's hoping for a beefier video card, as I plan on using it with BootCamp for gaming (sold my desktop gaming PC).

[AppleTalk]

I'm not sure SR will make that much of a difference to the MBP, to the MB yes but not so much the MBP.

I was hanging out until WWDC when Leopard was being released but with the delay until October, in May I'm getting a MBP one way or the other.

[dagamer34]

There's not much reason to wait for Santa Rosa unless you need 4GB of RAM (and are willing to buy now). All other things Santa Rosa will bring aren't really worth waiting for. Increased FSB might cause a bump up in chip speeds, but the difference between the current 2.16Ghz C2D and it's 2.33Ghz brother isn't enough to spend more money on.

Of course, wait if can, but don't feel bad if you bought now. Apple takes some time to fix bugs anyway.

[solofx7]

Originally Posted by dagamer34 

There's not much reason to wait for Santa Rosa unless you need 4GB of RAM (and are willing to buy now). All other things Santa Rosa will bring aren't really worth waiting for. Increased FSB might cause a bump up in chip speeds, but the difference between the current 2.16Ghz C2D and it's 2.33Ghz brother isn't enough to spend more money on.

Of course, wait if can, but don't feel bad if you bought now. Apple takes some time to fix bugs anyway.

i agree, remember that the current machines are monsters...
they run well and are highly configurable software wise. i can do nearly anything that i want fast. i am not sure any update is worth waiting for. if you have to have the latest greatest, then buy now sell later and take the price hit, but then you get the new car on the block ...

[Un-Inferior]

i was going through this earlier. i got my mbp in early april. i figured i would be happy with it and of course that turned out true. its definitely doing what i need it to do.