Apple updates MacBook Pro line with Sandy Bridge, Intel's Light Peak

[Julio Franco]

Apple has brought their popular line of MacBook Pro notebooks up to date using Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors across the board, including quad-core CPUs in the more expensive 15" and 17" models.

While it was easy to anticipate all major PC manufacturers would be unveiling their 2011 models using Intel's latest platform around this time frame, in true Apple fashion a lot of speculation surrounded the revamp of the new MacBooks, though only part of the rumors held true.

Perhaps the most significant addition is the introduction of Intel's Light Peak high-speed interface. The technology will go by the name of Thunderbolt in the consumer space and it's making a first appearance on a shipping product with the new Macs. The proprietary optical cable interface boasts of a high 10 Gbit/s bi-directional bandwidth, meaning to render USB 3.0 unnecessary. The Thunderbolt port on the new Macs doubles as a DisplayPort connector and will also work with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays.

The main configurations and pricing for the new MacBook Pros are as follows:

• 17" 1920x1200 Display. 2.2Ghz Quad i7. 4GB RAM. 750GB HD. AMD 6750M 1GB -- $2499
• 15" 1440x900 (1680 option) Display. 2.2GHz Quad i7. 750GB HD. AMD 6750M 1GB -- $2199
• 15" 1440x900 (1680 option) Display. 2.0GHz Quad i7. 4GB RAM. 500GB HD. AMD 6490M 256MB -- $1799
• 13" 1280x800 Display. 2.7GHz Dual i7. 4GB RAM. 500GB HD. Intel HD Graphics -- $1499
• 13" 1280x800 Display. 2.3GHz Dual i5. 4GB RAM. 320GB HD. Intel HD Graphics -- $1199

Another obvious addition is the use of discrete AMD GPUs with switchable graphics on 15-inch and 17-inch models. The top-tier models will carry 1GB of dedicated graphics memory, while the baseline 15-inch MacBook Pro will use a more modest AMD 6490M 256MB configuration. Both 13-inch versions will rely on Intel's built-in HD 3000 graphics.

Apple is touting a new FaceTime HD camera capable of 720p video recording and communication along with a new software that will ease calls between FaceTime-equipped Macs and iOS devices. More details on the new MacBook Pros are available on Apple's website.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/42547-apple-updates-macbook-pro-line-with-sandy-bridge-intels-light-peak.html

 

[lawfer]

Goddamn those prices are ridiculous. I absolutely love Apple products for what they are --even though I hate Apple itself-- but you can't really blame me when you see those numbers.

 

[TorturedChaos]

Wow those prices are more than I spent on my last car.......

 

[Burty117]

$1000-$1500 for the 13Inch and it only uses the Intel Graphics card?! I could go and buy a top spec HP Envy and not only would it look just as good with the same specs bar the Intel Light Peak (yet) and I would get a top spec Graphics card as well! that pricing is absolutely mad! who the hell buys these things?

 

[yRaz]

burty117 said:
$1000-$1500 for the 13Inch and it only uses the Intel Graphics card?! I could go and buy a top spec HP Envy and not only would it look just as good with the same specs bar the Intel Light Peak (yet) and I would get a top spec Graphics card as well! that pricing is absolutely mad! who the hell buys these things?

people who've gone mad

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

"13" 1280x800 Display. 2.3GHz Dual i5. 4GB RAM. 320GB HD. Intel HD Graphics -- $1199" LMAOOO although LOLLL at all those prices! Ripoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gwailo247]

Today is a funny day to read tech web sites.

Yesterday all the Apple trolls were saying that SB inclusion is just a rumor, and that Apple does not include untested technology into their products.

Today, they're all heaping praises on how fast Thunderbolt is, and how USB 3.0 is a failed standard (never having used it at all).

 

[Jibberish18]

The lowest pricede 13" should be $999. Even then, it has a pretty weak GPU. At least Intel's latest Integrated GPU does a MUCH better job than all previous. Still, you can find other laptops with Nvidia GT335's and whatnot.

Not complaining btw ^. I own a Macbook myself. Like it, except for the terrible Intel IGPU. That and the loud *** fan.

 

[Whoaman]

Apple products are much more than just a hardware spec sheet. They come fully baked with a wonderful headache-free "ultimate version" OS and an excellent array of useful well-featured well-integrated applications tailored to run very well with it's surrounding hardware.

No driver issues.
No virus issues.
No junk\trial\crapware.
High-quality build.
The most copied but never matched or exceeded design in the business.

This adds up to years of relatively trouble-free productive use for its users and a high resale value at the end.

Add up the real COO and the Apple machines are a bargain.

 

[windmill007]

I think for less than 1/4 the price I would put up with all that ^^^^ LOL

 

[mario]

"High-quality build" this is the most overlooked characteristic of everyone complaining about the price. This notebooks are made to last with high quality materials and great industrial design (inside and out). Most laptop PCs that have a similar high quality build cost around the same as a Macbook, just take a look at the Macbook Air and you'll notice that its competitors are equally priced or even more expensive.

You get what you pay for and if you want a $500 computer please buy it , I'm sure you'll get your money's worth.

 

[madboyv1]

Whoaman said:
No driver issues.
No virus issues.
No junk\trial\crapware.
High-quality build.
The most copied but never matched or exceeded design in the business.

This adds up to years of relatively trouble-free productive use for its users and a high resale value at the end.

- I've had driver/stability issues working in OSX but I GUESS that was because I was replacing a part that was not EXACTLY the same as the spec part (oh shame on me).

- I've not had virus issues when working on OSX, but I've almost passed on a Windows virus that was not caught by the transmitting mac (it did not have AV, while I did). Think about this one for a moment.

- My Thinkpad back in the day did not come with crapwareand both that and apple were expensive, in part for the lack of third party software cuts. Even then it is usually simple enough to just remove them.

- High-quality, I'll give Apple that without stuttering, but that is ultimately subjective. For instance to me the ability to service a laptop is part of it's quality; something that is not as easy on a Macbook as it is with almost any other system. I think my thinkpad was high-quality, and it, one way or another, is still running/in one piece. I also know of an old Business Dell laptop that refuses to quit after... 6 years I think

- Please, what a loaded statement.

- Part of the reason Macs do not lose their value as fast is because there are simply far fewer iterations of the computers. a new batch of PC computers come out every month and they are constantly updated during their life at a faster pace than Macs. When you take that into account Macs depreciate about the same, though their individual parts and enclosures actually end up worth much more than the completed system. =p


Cost aside, the higher 15" with 1680 option and the 17" sound very nice... I might admit a some envy if I see anyone with these versions in the near future.

 

[TrekExpert]

I agree. These prices are absolutely ridiculous. "17" 1920x1200 Display. 2.2Ghz Quad i7. 4GB RAM. 750GB HD. AMD 6750M 1GB -- $2499" - You can get a better computer than that for just over $1,000. Mac's do have a few nice features but there is no way that they are worth paying over twice as much on your computer.

 

[Jibberish18]

It's funny, most Apple Laptop discussions turn into price wars. Apple charges more for technically less. It's just the way it is folks. There are ups and there are downs to all of this. And yes, most people would spend the money on a comparable laptop with Win7.

 

[Wagan8r]

Whoaman said:
Apple products are much more than just a hardware spec sheet. They come fully baked with a wonderful headache-free "ultimate version" OS and an excellent array of useful well-featured well-integrated applications tailored to run very well with it's surrounding hardware.

No driver issues.
No virus issues.
No junk\trial\crapware.
High-quality build.
The most copied but never matched or exceeded design in the business.

This adds up to years of relatively trouble-free productive use for its users and a high resale value at the end.

Add up the real COO and the Apple machines are a bargain.

Ugh. Fanboy through and through. Everything you mentioned is highly debatable. But since we're compiling a list of things Macs don't have let's keep it going!

No games (no, Photoshop is not a game)
No legal virtualization (Only available on OSX Server)
No uninstalling updates
No building your own (hence Hackintosh)
No right mouse click

etc.

 

[Burty117]

Apple quality?! Are you all insane! you don't pay for the quality?! look at the recent HP Elitebooks, they are way better speced and have a better design! and the Envy's?? What is everyone going on about this "wonderful" design Apples have? my bro has the 13 inch from the last update and the metal is thin as sh*t! he accidently lent on it too hard and managed to put a crease in the metal! i'm yet to come accross a HP laptop that breaks cos i've leant on it!

 

[Whoaman]

wagan8r said:

a) No games (no, Photoshop is not a game)
b) No legal virtualization (Only available on OSX Server)
c) No uninstalling updates
d) No building your own (hence Hackintosh)
e) No right mouse click

etc.

a) A lot of the good games do make it to "OS X" now. All of the fun lightweight ones do especially since porting to iPhone is so easy. Anyhow, my MBPro runs Windows natively better than any laptop I've ever owned and runs the PC games very very well. Too bad PCs in general are being marginalized when it comes to the big games now.

b) Huh? VMWare Fusion. Just run Windows OS natively with VMWare etc. if that's not adequate.

c) Time Machine - it's killer in so many ways!

d) Apple is a hardware vendor so this doesn't really apply. Do you roll your own Acer or Dell?

e) Completely and categorically untrue. I'm using it right now to copy and paste. Maybe at one time a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

 

[lawfer]

Whoaman said:

wagan8r said:

a) No games (no, Photoshop is not a game)
b) No legal virtualization (Only available on OSX Server)
c) No uninstalling updates
d) No building your own (hence Hackintosh)
e) No right mouse click

etc.

a) A lot of the good games do make it to "OS X" now. All of the fun lightweight ones do especially since porting to iPhone is so easy. Anyhow, my MBPro runs Windows natively better than any laptop I've ever owned and runs the PC games very very well. Too bad PCs in general are being marginalized when it comes to the big games now.

b) Huh? VMWare Fusion. Just run Windows OS natively with VMWare etc. if that's not adequate.

c) Time Machine - it's killer in so many ways!

d) Apple is a hardware vendor so this doesn't really apply. Do you roll your own Acer or Dell?

e) Completely and categorically untrue. I'm using it right now to copy and paste. Maybe at one time a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

You, sir, are delusional.

There is absolutely NOTHING of what you've mentioned that justifies spending $2500 on a laptop computer. Read this, nothing.

 

[madboyv1]

Wait a moment, for someone who at one point lived and breathed Photoshop, I can attest it most CERTAINLY IS a game... A puzzle game. =3

 

[gwailo247]

Saying that a Mac will run anything once you load Windows on it is hardly a shining testament for OSX.

 

[Arris]

My mate just ordered a 15" one of these. They aren't quite as stupidly priced with educational discounts, but still, you pay a premium for a shiny metal case...

 

[Burty117]

I like some Apple products, the iPhone being one of them, but Windows 7 and a decent laptop is far better than any Mac! Apple Crack fans freall are Delusional. and Gwailo has got it right, when a mac fan turns round and says "well in I install Windows it runs anything" then how can they justify the price for OSX?! stupidity! absolutely crazy!

 

[Whoaman]

lawfer said:

You, sir, are delusional.

There is absolutely NOTHING of what you've mentioned that justifies spending $2500 on a laptop computer. Read this, nothing.

There must be a lot of delusional people out there because Mac laptops are selling very very well and their customers are very satisfied (for years). And then they sell them second hand for a premium.

I'll say it again though it will probably fall on deaf ears... there is a heck of a lot more to value than a sticker price. If that's all one sees than I think the delusion most definitely lies there.

If you enjoy dealing with umpteen issues only to end up with a relatively worthless pile of plastic at the end, then by all means go the Win\Generic laptop route - at least you won't have paid as much upfront at the till and that seems to make a lot of arguably delusional people temporarily happier. However, if you spend a lot of time on your computer and that time is of value to you then Apple's laptop platform is a bargain.

The simple truth is that once you do the math on even just the resale value of Mac vs winPc, you are already ahead of the game. And yet there are many many other real world factors to take into consideration when looking at the true TCO and at this time the Mac wins most of them easily.

Believe it or not I am not a mac fanboy and I take issue with some of the directions Apple is taking But I have been servicing numberless clients on all the different hardware\software platforms for decades and this is what the results bare out. If I were going to be self-serving then I would not be writing this because I make most of my bread on the endless lineup of unhappy winPC\laptop owners knocking on my door to fix the endless list of mind-numbing problems they are having. All this downtime is costly for them and costly to get fixed. Taking into consideration the percentage of mac owners to winpc owners, I can estimate with a fair degree of accuracy that a winPC is more than six times as likely to end up in my shop compared to a Mac.

Sometimes I think that it is precisely this "make work" aspect of the winPC industry that is paradoxically behind its "success". Kind of like Ford and Chrysler - most of the profit comes from fixing them.

Luckily for me there are enough sticker tag worshipers out there (and on this site apparently) to keep filling my pockets.

Thanks for all the business.

(bring on all the empty arguments, rhetoric and name calling...)

 

[herpaderp]

lawfer said:

You, sir, are delusional.

There is absolutely NOTHING of what you've mentioned that justifies spending $2500 on a laptop computer. Read this, nothing.

You do realize that account was made more or less to preach about Macs? Quit feeding the troll.

Edit: Also, I could justify spending $2500 on a laptop....but not a mac

 

[Whoaman]

herpaderp said:

[You do realize that account was made more or less to preach about Macs? Quit feeding the troll.

Edit: Also, I could justify spending $2500 on a laptop....but not a mac

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum"

My posts are very much on topic and quite to the point. Just very well thought out and difficult to argue with.

Ironically, your post by definition fits quite nicely in trolldom.