New MacBook Pro 13", FAIL!

[DonaemouS]

Today I had the chance to place my hands on the brand new MacBook Pro with sandy bridge... The CPU is a great boost compared to the previous generation, and is not a news, thx to the speed bump offered by the sandybridge technology, but the GPU is a FAIL!!! Especially on the MacBook Pro 13", and I wonder how we can call "Pro" a system with integrated graphics.



From the picture above, you can see how the previous generation of GeForce GT 320M is faster compared to the HD3000 integrated_on_die intel graphic chipset!

The thing go a little better with the entry level AMD Radeon 6490 (the AMD 64xx chip generation is low budget):



Now the CPU... No words... But was easy to understand. Sandybridge lead the pack giving to the MacBook Pro 13" the same CPU crunch performance of the previous top end MacBook Pro 15":



While on the MacBook Pro 15" side, giving to the new notebook the same performance of the iMac Core i7 desktops:



It mean, Apple is still sleeping in the OpenGL world, also cause the Lion next OS update will introduce OpenGL 3.1 support (the AMD Radeon 6490 is OpenGL 4.1 compliant). Also, the OpenCL environment in which Apple should be involved (nVidia is developing CUDA, kicking the rest of the manufactures ass) is still in the limbo. How they could push the OpenCL acceleration pedal, while using HD3000 Intel chipsets?!?

But mainly, how a 1149 Euros (1199 dollars) professional system, can feature an integrated chipset?

[NoNameBrand]

Apple was between a rock and a hard place, since there are no chipsets for the i3/i5/i7 CPUs that have non-Intel integrated graphics— that's why they skipped the previous generation of i3/i5s in favour of the Core 2. I'm not sure they could stick with a C2D for another generation in this market. The CPU is such a leap forward that for most people this is a significant upgrade.

The base 15" is also worse than the previous one in terms of GPU ability. They did have a similarly neutered 15" in 2009, with only the integrated nVidia chip that the then 13" and Minis had.

I'm super excited about Thunderbolt— there's a pretty decent chance that when I (eventually) replace this Mac Pro it'll be with a Mini, with these awesome quad core mobile chips and a RAID box hanging off the Thunderbolt port.

[DonaemouS]

I'm super excited about Thunderbolt— there's a pretty decent chance that when I (eventually) replace this Mac Pro it'll be with a Mini, with these awesome quad core mobile chips and a RAID box hanging off the Thunderbolt port.

In a couple of weeks, will be release a third parties Light Peak controller as well for Mac Pro. Also cause the Mac Pro will not get a revision before the 2012.

[djpimley]

In a couple of weeks, will be release a third parties Light Peak controller as well for Mac Pro.

I'm very interested in the possibilities of Thunderbolt. I think it will take time but it could be very cool for all kinds of applications. I was reading a couple of days ago about the switch from optical (Light Peak) to copper (Thunderbolt) and how it was done by Intel to keep the cost of parts low.

Everything about the copper system is equivalent to the optical except the maximum cable length is now 3 metres instead of 100 metres! The positive side is that the optical version could not carry power but the copper can. Intel plans to develop a cable with integrated copper to optical converter for people who want to use very long cables (for example for use as a videocamera connector in a studio situation or for shared storage environments.)

[Toad]

Looks like everyone here is pretty much on the same page, kind of a disappointment with these new machines. Even the high end i7 has only a mid level graphic processor, and that's going to set you back between $2500 and $3000+ (€1790 and €2145) to max the ram and a faster drive.

I needed a new MBP, but for now, Thunderhole can't do much for me. So I nabbed a refurb 2.66GHz core2duo 13" on Apple's site for $1010 (€722). Over to OWC, for 8g ram, and a 128g SSD drive for a toadal of $357 (€255). Put the stock 320g 5400 drive in an inclosure. Spent $100 less than the stock new 13" 2.7GHz, getting better graphics performance, and good enough processing. Not a good gaming setup, but I'm calling the whole thing pretty.

Aside: Was running rFactor on my iMac on lowish settings, but the poor thing blew up in a race (logic board, was able to walk away from the wreck). I was considering building a very competent PC to replace it ($1200) but for many reasons have decided to go back to more casual racing. I suspect the new little MBP will handle Redline just fine, and I hope to see you all again soon.

[DonaemouS]

Aside: Was running rFactor on my iMac on lowish settings, but the poor thing blew up in a race (logic board, was able to walk away from the wreck). I was considering building a very competent PC to replace it ($1200) but for many reasons have decided to go back to more casual racing.

You don't need it. I can help you to choose the hardware for a good Hackintosh. Otherwise, you can play rFactor on the MacBook 13" as well, cause of the GeForce 320M and Crossover. rFactor run perfect here.

On another topic I just ordered a Sapphire Radeon HD5770 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM, Dual DVI and HDMI for about 93 Euros B2B price. I will flash this video card to work inside my Mac Pro. Stay tuned!!!

[djpimley]

I suspect the new little MBP will handle Redline just fine, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Looking forward to it.

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