Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

marco.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 90 posts

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#71

Post by yuhong »

masklinn wrote: post #39
cletus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compilation is notoriously singlethreaded, generally speaking. I believe Apple has made a deliberate choice that quad core offers little benefit over dual core with unjustifiably higher power usage. So I wouldn't be surprised if the next gen is also dual core only. I don't expect the MBP to die in the next gen either. Performance is much better than the Ars.

> I believe Apple has made a deliberate choice that quad core offers little benefit over dual core with unjustifiably higher power usage. It's more along the lines of Intel not having any quad arrandale in acceptable TDPs.

Yea, Sandy Bridge is the first 32nm quad-core with integrated graphics.

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#72

Post by bradleyland »

statictype wrote: post #51
ugh wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“We started off this article making it intentionally limited in scope as we weren't expecting, in a OS that doesn't support TRIM, to find anything all that interesting. What we found was the exact opposite: an OS that doesn't appear to be affected by SSD performance degradation, at least if you stick to the SSD Apple provides - but if you do stick with that SSD, you get, by modern PC standards, decidedly substandard…

Interesting. So TRIM isn't needed because newer Flash disks handle overwrites properly?

It appears that way. TRIM has always had its own issues. It doesn't work for disk images (hello, virtualization) or on RAID arrays. IMO, it was an interim solution to a problem that was looking for a lower-level fix.

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#73

Post by cyrus_ »

They could just extend the MacBook Air line up to 15" and leave the MacBook Pro line in the same form factor, "pro" ports and all (please god no more variants of video out).

I wouldn't mind being given a choice between an optical drive and an extra battery or hard drive in that space.

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#74

Post by notJim »

trezor wrote: post #49

The only thing which put me off getting a MacBook Pro last time I was shopping for laptops was the lack of built in 3G. So instead I got a Dell Studio XPS laptop, with a Core i5 CPU, 256GB SSD, builtin 3G, full-HD display. For $1000 less than a "similarly" speced MBP (Core2, 128GB SSD, sub HD-res unless you want a 17" beast) no less. I really don't regret my decision, but if Apple would just consider adding a 3G modu…

> where 3G is everywhere and wifi is a hastle.

I'm an American, and don't understand this statement. Why is WiFi a hassle? And how does the 3g work? Do you just get it through your normal mobile phone provider?

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#75

Post by trezor »

notJim wrote: post #74
trezor wrote: post #49

The only thing which put me off getting a MacBook Pro last time I was shopping for laptops was the lack of built in 3G. So instead I got a Dell Studio XPS laptop, with a Core i5 CPU, 256GB SSD, builtin 3G, full-HD display. For $1000 less than a "similarly" speced MBP (Core2, 128GB SSD, sub HD-res unless you want a 17" beast) no less. I really don't regret my decision, but if Apple would just consider adding a 3G modu…

> where 3G is everywhere and wifi is a hastle. I'm an American, and don't understand this statement. Why is WiFi a hassle? And how does the 3g work? Do you just get it through your normal mobile phone provider?

Yes. Wifi is hastle because you have to search for open hotspots, ask at the counter what the password is etc etc. And lots of times they don't provide instant connectivity, but redirect you to and force you to go trough some sort of user-agreement where you have to click "I agree" and maybe even pass out your email before you can actually start using their network.

This is annoying.

3G is basically what your phone has with theoretical speedlimits up to 3-4mbps. Get a laptop with a built in 3G-adapter, insert the SIM card. You're done. You now always have internet. Always. Anywhere.

No asking anyone for anything. No confirming silly agreements. No need to stay in one specific place to stay connected. Heck, you can use it in the back of a car while getting driven off somewhere. Why would I want place-restricted wifi over this?

Yes, it's probably slower than Wifi, but watch me care: It just works(tm).

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#77

Post by chrisbolt »

hrktb wrote: post #33
whakojacko wrote: post #3

Maybe its just me, but I have no issue with the size and weight of the 15" MBP (again, this could be because I came from previous larger 15" laptops). But I would love to see the optical drive dropped in place of more battery life.... Oh, and 1920x1080 would be nice. But I doubt that'll happen...

Same here. Using it mostly as a tabletop machine, compromising ethernet or firewire performance for a few mm of thickness would be a no-no. Apart from the screen resolution, though the actual model is already nice, an increased trackpad area or basic layout improvement would be great.

New, on the new 15" MacBook ProAir: Micro-Ethernet! All of the speed of GigE with 100% more dongles.

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#78

Post by code_duck »

moeffju wrote: post #14
code_duck wrote: post #5

I'd be glad if they changed the glass on the 15" to plastic. The glass has caused me two problems so far: I was in bed with it moving around, and the notebook went off balance. The edge of the screen part hit me in the nose. If it was plastic, it would have been a lot less heavy. Next, the glass broke when the lid was closed with a USB cable near the hinge, between the top of the keyboard the screen. It didn't take m…

I always assumed hackers would get the AntiGlare screen anyway. Isn't that plastic already?

Alas, I should have gotten a hires matte screen, but I was overly eager and bought one a store had in stock... If only I'd known!

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#79

Post by code_duck »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #9
code_duck wrote: post #5

I'd be glad if they changed the glass on the 15" to plastic. The glass has caused me two problems so far: I was in bed with it moving around, and the notebook went off balance. The edge of the screen part hit me in the nose. If it was plastic, it would have been a lot less heavy. Next, the glass broke when the lid was closed with a USB cable near the hinge, between the top of the keyboard the screen. It didn't take m…

Talk about edge cases. Have you ever considered applying to be an Apple tester? ;)

The edge of the notebook actually cut my nose... I bet they never thought of that? Perhaps they owe me a position out of decency.

Re: Speculation on the next MacBook Pro

#80

Post by icegreentea »

m3koval wrote: post #8
hendler wrote: post #4

Why no mention of "Sandy Bridge" quad core? That's the most significant performance boost I'm expecting. (I'd comment on the page, but there are no comments enabled).

The author mentions the new CPUs in a footnote: "Except new CPUs, but who cares? CPUs are the least exciting (and usually least relevant) upgrades in modern mass-market personal computers." For the vast majority of users, including many power users, moving from a "very fast" processor to an "extremely fast" processor is much less of a performance gain than moving from a HDD to a SDD. That's not to say that I don't wi…

Well, Quick Sync (the new transcode stuff built into Sandy Bridge) is suppose to be the shit. As in just as good, or better than GPU solutions, and less power draw.

Zooom.

Honestly, I'm actually super excited about Sandy Bridge. I think if you downclock the i7s enough, you can get a quad core under 40W, probably clocked round 2.6 or something. And it'd still have turbo boost on, so single/dual thread performance will still be really competitive.

Post reply on HN