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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > The new MacBooks; Enlighten me

The new MacBooks; Enlighten me
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Lateralus
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Feb 26, 2008, 04:55 PM
 
How are these better than the previous lineup? Particularly the low-end model, which I have.

I see a larger hard drive. I see a 100MHz faster CPU, but with one less MB of L2 cache.

What was the point of this update exactly? Because unless I'm forgetting something, it qualifies as one of the, if not the, worst refresh the iBook/MacBook line has seen.
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Xarthan
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Feb 26, 2008, 05:00 PM
 
i'm guessing they did this for the new cpus since the old ones were prob going to be hard to get since intel wasn't going to make them anymore? Since they did that they decided to up the HD and RAM since that went down in price.

Overall the bump didn't cost apple anything since nothing was changed hardware wise......

Unless the new cpus use a different motherboard?
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seanc
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Feb 26, 2008, 05:03 PM
 
I skim-read on the MacNN homepage that battery life is worse, not quite sure how that works out with the reduced power consumption of the processor, but oh well. Perhaps I should read the full article.

I saw this and thought DAMN, why didn't i wait?! But now I'm not bothered. The only difference that may have benefited me is the 120GB HDD which may have given me time to put off the HDD upgrade but I probably would have still bought the cheapest refurb with an X3100 which would still have had the 80GB HDD.

Not a big update in my eyes either, still the same weedy GPU that I have and that's the only thing that would really have annoyed me.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Feb 26, 2008, 05:18 PM
 
Yeah, now I'm smitten about having purchased my Combo mode back in November. Especially considering the jump to a 250GB only cost $150. (The 320 is down to $179 at NewEgg, BTW)

I'm really curious how this CPU will perform against the preview model's given that it has less cache.
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mduell
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Feb 26, 2008, 06:07 PM
 
The cache isn't a huge deal; the difference between 2MB and 4MB ranges from 0-10% and averages about 3.5% in Anandtech's benchmarking. The clockrate difference is 5% and the generational improvement Penryn over Merom) is about 10%, so figure about a 10% improvement overall.
     
imitchellg5
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Feb 26, 2008, 06:50 PM
 
The point of the update is that it keeps the line current. It's not meant to make you rush out and replace your last rev. MacBook.
     
chabig
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Feb 26, 2008, 07:22 PM
 
^^^ Perfect answer.
     
chabig
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Feb 26, 2008, 07:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by seanc View Post
I skim-read on the MacNN homepage that battery life is worse, not quite sure how that works out with the reduced power consumption of the processor, but oh well. Perhaps I should read the full article.
Apple just changed the way they report battery life. You should expect battery to be at least as good or better than current machines according to New MacBook Pro takes a dive on battery life? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
     
Cadaver
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Feb 26, 2008, 08:10 PM
 
According to posts I saw on another Mac BBS, the 2.4GHz Penryn processor scores about 5% faster on Geekbench benchmarks than the 2.2GHz Merom @ 800MHz bus speed (3038 vs. 2880). Will likely be much more than 5% faster at video encoding once apps are coded to take advantage of SSE4. But for general, everyday office-type apps, there will be only minor improvements. Evolution, not revolution.

I'd guess that the 45nm chips put out less heat, though, which is always a good thing.
     
mduell
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Feb 27, 2008, 01:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cadaver View Post
According to posts I saw on another Mac BBS, the 2.4GHz Penryn processor scores about 5% faster on Geekbench benchmarks than the 2.2GHz Merom @ 800MHz bus speed (3038 vs. 2880). Will likely be much more than 5% faster at video encoding once apps are coded to take advantage of SSE4. But for general, everyday office-type apps, there will be only minor improvements. Evolution, not revolution.
SSE4 is worth about 10% in preliminary Divx encoding benchmarks; that's not the only non-clockrate gain that Penryn has over Merom.
     
ajprice
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Feb 27, 2008, 05:41 AM
 
I'm happy with my year old 2.16GHz white Macbook. This update, and the previous one to the 2.2GHz, have both been Intel updates more than Mac updates. It could be worse, they could still have been trying to get a G5 in a laptop!

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
Simon
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Feb 27, 2008, 05:50 AM
 
The new MBs were updated because Intel is trying to move away form Merom rapidly. In terms of performance (apart from SSE4 code) expect hardly any difference. The increased clock will roughly make up for the reduced L2 cache. Battery life will be a tad better. Nothing much.

This update was about parts and availability. The current MB uses current parts. But it's not the type of update that really makes a difference in perceived performance. OTOH the MB has become an even better deal. The same money now buys you more RAM and a larger disk.
     
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Feb 27, 2008, 10:01 AM
 
Apparently the remote control is now sold separately.
     
MacosNerd
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Feb 27, 2008, 10:13 AM
 
Its odd, people have been aching for the new Penryn processor to make it into apple's lineup. Now that it is, people are complaining about it being such a small incremental update. It is a small update, but its not unexpected. I don't think anyone expected it to be earth shattering. I remember seeing threads here and elsewhere stating it will include a larger HD, maybe more memory and of course the Penryn processor.

Overall imitchellg5 summed it up the best imo. Its an incremental update to keep the line up current. I echo everyone's sentiment that it's not enough of an update for me to be tempted to sell my MBP and buy one of these.

To be honest, if these types of updates are going to occur more frequent, it makes little sense to bring the apple store down, but it seems apple likes the drama that results from said action.
     
ghporter
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Feb 27, 2008, 10:27 AM
 
I'm certainly not breaking out the credit card to replace my Core Duo (NOT C2D) MBP. I will probably wind up upgrading its hard drive, but I have no issues with how well, fast, "snappy", etc. it runs. On the other hand, my wife is considering moving from her 800MHz G4 iBook to a black MacBook in the foreseeable future, and this bump makes that look all the more attractive-though we're still not planning on an immediate purchase.

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imitchellg5
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Feb 27, 2008, 11:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by MacosNerd View Post
To be honest, if these types of updates are going to occur more frequent, it makes little sense to bring the apple store down, but it seems apple likes the drama that results from said action.
They just like fooling us and watching us get into an OMG APPLE STOREZ DOWN1! frenzy

Seriously though, Penryn might not seem like a huge deal now, but I think in the next year or so we will see a lot of benefits from the 45nm chips (especially for the Air).
     
Simon
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Feb 27, 2008, 12:16 PM
 
Penryn should also become more of a deal when programmers start making use of SSE4. Handbrake would be a nice example.
     
mduell
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Feb 27, 2008, 12:26 PM
 
Intel has announced the Centrino 2 platform (Cantgia + Penryn + Wifi/WiMax chip, although Apple will probably pass on the latter) for June 2008. Faster FSB, DDR3 RAM for lower power consumption, twice the graphics performance, etc. Expect to see a bigger MacBook update late in the 3rd quarter or even the 4th (which is getting awful crowded, with expected MBP/iM and MP/XS updates). More details here.

Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Penryn should also become more of a deal when programmers start making use of SSE4. Handbrake would be a nice example.
The main developer of x264 has stated that SSE4 offers basically no useful instructions whatsoever. From what I've been able to understand, SSE4 is only useful (in the media encoding world) for unoptimized full search algorithms, which Divx uses.
     
Simon
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Feb 27, 2008, 12:34 PM
 
Centrino 2 specs were already leaked a while ago. What I find more interesting is that Intel wants their customers to phase out non-Celeron Crestline already by the end of 2008. We'll be seeing MB and MBP updates as soon as June.
     
ort888
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Feb 27, 2008, 01:57 PM
 
The new MacBooks made me rush out and buy the 2 day old model.

Apple has refurbished 2.2 Black MacBooks for $1,049. Can't beat that.

I was going to max out the HD and RAM anyway, so the new bump in those departments meant nothing to me.

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hedmisten
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Feb 27, 2008, 03:29 PM
 
thats not a bad deal on a refurb black macbook. my maxxed out white was 1300 with edu discount.
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Cadaver
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Feb 28, 2008, 12:48 AM
 
Yeah, the upgrades are nice for those who are in the market to buy, but don't offer huge incentive for users of recent machines to replace them. I'll keep my 3 week old black MacBook.
     
Simon
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Feb 28, 2008, 04:48 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cadaver View Post
Yeah, the upgrades are nice for those who are in the market to buy, but don't offer huge incentive for users of recent machines to replace them. I'll keep my 3 week old black MacBook.
Agreed. Th new MB is a sweat deal for somebody looking for a MB now. OTOH previous MB owners don't need to worry about being stuck with a dated Mac.
     
   
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