New Macbook Pro-

-Blanco-

So after waiting on this all summer it's finally out and even though some people are apparently disappointed with what apple had to offer today I personally can't wait to get my hands on one of the new MPSs.
Still it's alot of money to part with and I need convincing!
I'm pretty much set on an apple machine , but I'm wondering would it be wise to wait afew weeks instead of buying asap to see if there are any initial issues with the new notebooks?
Also, when inquiring about the previous gen MBPs, I was told to avoid the 2.4ghz base model because they simply aren't great in comparison with the next model up (2.5ghz). I was under the impression that even the base model MBPs are brilliant machines more then capable of complying to my needs (mainly using autocad,photoshop and various other rendering/design programs) so I'd be thankful if people that have had experience with these notebooks could offer me some friendly advice.

J-blk

I like the new MacBook/MBP line-up and I'm very tempted to get one of the new MacBooks, as it's essentially more like a "baby" MBP now. It might be wise to wait a few days (weeks?) for reviews/issues to be out of the way but on the other hand, I don't mind buying now since it won't be my only machine - so if something goes wonky, it can always get replaced under warranty and I have another Mac to fall back on.

-Blanco- wrote: »

Also, when inquiring about the previous gen MBPs, I was told to avoid the 2.4ghz base model because they simply aren't great in comparison with the next model up (2.5ghz).

I haven't heard this before and can't see why that would be the case? I have one of the 2.4Ghz MBPs and have maxed out the memory to 4GB (which is cheap, easy to do and highly recommended) - other than 0.1Ghz and a larger hard drive, what does the 2.5Ghz really offer? The only other difference is the video RAM which is 512MB instead of 256MB, but unless you're working with huge textures, that won't help as much as some people think. I'm not a heavy Photoshop user though and I haven't used AutoCAD so maybe others here who have can chime in.

whiterebel

Having worked in Apple Tech Support, I woudl always wait for the initial problems to surface, especially with a completely redesigned product. I preach to the deaf here though:p, they usually can't wait to get their credit cards out.

I Was looking to get either a MBP or MB a couple of months ago, and looked seriously at the junior MBP, but I never heard a word said against it horsepower wise. I never go for the top-of-the-range machine usually, just max RAM where possible, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

440Hz

Why oh why oh why are we forced to have glossy screens???

Very tempted to upgrade my 'Level 2 15" MBP' to the new equivalent... sole reservation: gloss!

tricky2beat

I recently sold my 17in MacBook Pro for a good price and was all excited about the new ones but I must admit Im a little disapointed.

NO FIREWIRE 400 - that does not make any scence to me. The amount of external HD and Digital cameras that rely on that is massive.

GLOSSY SCREEN - I dont know anyone who is pro glossy screen.

NO 17in UPDATE - Ok a small speed bump but why didnt they finish the line up?

Right now my sister is in the states buying me one but if it were not for the fact that I need a machine very quickly and she can get it cheaper, I would defenialy wait until they revise this product again. Plus the next spped bumps will be close to 2.8Ghz which you can already request from apple.

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www.mymactutorials.com

heggie

Apple seem to be moving away from the design industry, with their newest ACD glossy also. It's a strange move imo, although I design on a glossy imac and think it's great, it would be an issue for someone with a lot of glare in the room.

440Hz

heggie wrote: »

although I design on a glossy imac and think it's great, it would be an issue for someone with a lot of glare in the room.

Nightmare for photographers, or anyone who requires a properly calibrated image. What you see is NOT what you get! :mad:

Sad Professor

Hey 440Hz. Long time no see.

Apple really have their heads stuck in the sand on the glossy screen front. Little things like this must lose them a lot of sales.

johnk123

I'm just finished watching the Keynote now. Another quality presentation from our friend Steve.

K.O.Kiki

tricky2beat wrote:

NO FIREWIRE 400 - that does not make any scence to me. The amount of external HD and Digital cameras that rely on that is massive.

You can fix that with a $5 9-to-6 pin cable.

pleasant Co.

Hehe, the new line up just made me love my current setup even more..well until it's graphics card fractures :P

jester77

I've been waiting since June to get one, I gave in last night and went for the 2.53 model. Hopefully there will be no problems with it, usually would have waited a few weeks but I really need the laptop from November.

Passenger

tricky2beat wrote: »

NO 17in UPDATE - Ok a small speed bump but why didnt they finish the line up?

And why did Apple keep the previous models design for the 17" MBP. They didn't update the design which is pointless not to update the entire range.

pleasant Co.

Maybe because the old design, dare I say, looks more professional...?

Actually, I didn't know they hadn't updated the 17" MBP, til now

J-blk

Passenger wrote: »

And why did Apple keep the previous models design for the 17" MBP. They didn't update the design which is pointless not to update the entire range.

Perhaps the manufacturing process cannot be applied to the bigger size chassis yet? They started with the 13.3" used in the Air and now have moved to the 15.4" for the MBP - maybe 17" is too complicated/expensive yet. I agree it's wonky though, now both the MacBook (plastic alongside the aluminum ones) and the MBPs look disjointed, rather than two families of notebooks...

Elessar

440Hz wrote: »

Nightmare for photographers, or anyone who requires a properly calibrated image. What you see is NOT what you get! :mad:

Any photographer worth his salt would not be using a 15 inch laptop screen to process his images. The quality of the image from both the matte and glossy apple displays pail in comparison to that of a dedicated monitor, calibrated or not. Which is why my MBP is glossy (more vivid colour for everyday tasks) and I use my 24 inch for image processing.

440Hz

Elessar wrote: »

Any photographer worth his salt would not be using a 15 inch laptop screen to process his images. The quality of the image from both the matte and glossy apple displays pail in comparison to that of a dedicated monitor, calibrated or not. Which is why my MBP is glossy (more vivid colour for everyday tasks) and I use my 24 inch for image processing.

Yes, all of that is true. However it is personal preference and I prefer to get a more accurate view of my images regardless of whether I am processing or just viewing them. EVERY machine should have a matte or glossy option. I have to say that out of all the Mac heads I know (and that is a lot), that I only know one person who chose to go glossy, and that person regrets that decision.

440Hz

Sad Professor wrote: »

Hey 440Hz. Long time no see.

Thanks SP, yeah life has been pretty manic of late. Just about back to a consistent online presence now, so you'll be seeing more of me

Creamy Goodness

440Hz wrote: »

Thanks SP, yeah life has been pretty manic of late. Just about back to a consistent online presence now, so you'll be seeing more of me

whoo, you were missed \o/

440Hz

Cremo wrote: »

whoo, you were missed \o/

*PayPal payoff complete*

:pac:

Elessar

I'm honestly not impressed with these new machines. There is virtually nothing to differenciate between the macbook and pro models. Certainly nothing worth spending an extra grand on.

They have not updated the screen resolutions (Come on Apple, seriously).
The Unibody is actually two pieces when you factor in the bottom piece.
Very little performance increases compared to the last models.
No Blu-ray.
Fewer connectivity options (MiniDisplay? No Firewire400?)
They actually force you to pay for a display adaptor for external monitors.
They won't even include the apple remote as standard.

I'm thoroughly unimpressed. As much as I love Apple hardware, imho the current MBP is much better looking than these, has more connections and a real DVI port on the machine! (Plus mine included the remote AND a VGA adaptor.)

Good look to anyone who is buying one but I would seriously wait until the next update to justify getting one of these at all.

Phototoxin

I'm new to the mac thing (well 10 months or so new!) and I do think that the touchpad with no button thing is a FAIL idea. They need 1 more button not 1 less !!!

babypink

Cremo wrote: »

whoo, you were missed \o/

*sniff*

Red Alert

I think they look gorgeous but I've still got serious misgivings about the lack of a docking station, especially on the 15" MBP models. I use my 24" BenQ display at home with the lid closed on my 17" MBP and it's a right pain to connect and disconnect the network/video/keyboard cables.

Brian

Phototoxin wrote: »

I'm new to the mac thing (well 10 months or so new!) and I do think that the touchpad with no button thing is a FAIL idea. They need 1 more button not 1 less !!!

Trackpad buttons are old hat now. My Eee has multitouch and I never use the buttons. One finger for left click, two fingers for middle click / scroll, three fingers for right click.

Funkstard

I've heard people saying to not order the uprgade in RAM from Apple but to buy it seperately and cheaper and have it installed. Where can you get this done? Any issues with voiding the warranty if you adapt the model you bought? If I'm buying a MBP I will be upgrading to 4gb RAM, but will do it on the cheap if it's safe

J-blk

Funkstard wrote: »

I've heard people saying to not order the uprgade in RAM from Apple but to buy it seperately and cheaper and have it installed. Where can you get this done? Any issues with voiding the warranty if you adapt the model you bought? If I'm buying a MBP I will be upgrading to 4gb RAM, but will do it on the cheap if it's safe

Upgrading the RAM yourself is very easy and does not void the warranty. You can buy the RAM from a lot of places, but I (and many others here I believe) have found www.crucial.com to be well priced and offer quality RAM.

However, things seem to have changed with the new MacBooks which use DDR3 (the previous ones were using DDR2) and Apple's own prices are not that far off Crucial's. E.g, to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB with Apple will cost €140 and with Crucial, the upgrade will cost €122.19 + shipping (around €7.50 I believe) so your saving would be a tenner, plus you'd have to install it yourself.

The reason why people were advising you upgrade the RAM yourself (me included), was that on the DDR2 MBPs (the previous generation), you would pay around €190 for 4GB from Apple, but to get it from Crucial (including delivery) cost under €90, a huge saving... I actually did that with my current MBP.

DDR3 is a new type of RAM and by definition more expensive. I've ordered one of the new MacBooks with 2GB - and I'll upgrade the RAM later myself, as it gets cheaper. If you think you can live with 2GB for now, that may be the best option, as you can easily upgrade both the RAM and HDD yourself down the line...

Funkstard

Thanks for that. €140 isn't a huge price in context of the overall cost of the machine so I might just upgrade it to 4gb off the site.

Read this review today

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=310477





I want one. Didn't know the touchpad actually depressed and clicked, thought it was just touch sensitive

Brian

Yeah. It's not "there's no buttons", it's "it's all a button!".

MACHEAD

Agree with above post, Crucial are one of the best for compatible Apple memory. Their web page has a handy search function which takes you through Make, Series, Model etc and selects modules for that actual machine.
I've bought generic memory from cheaper suppliers in the past for Macs with mixed results. Anything I got from Crucial done exactly what it said on the tin!

J-blk

Funkstard wrote: »

I want one. Didn't know the touchpad actually depressed and clicked, thought it was just touch sensitive

I'm very much looking forward to getting mine too . The touchpad seems pretty cool, though a lot of people are concerned it will be a nightmare to use - personally, I like the features it brings. Even with my current MBP, I'm so used to certain things unique to Mac touchpads.... that I try to use two fingers to right click on any Windows laptop I happen to use .