AppleInsider: MEROM MACBOOK PRO'S AROUND SEPTEMBER 5th

[atad6]

atad6:

par·a·graph (pr-grf)
n.

1. A distinct division of written or printed matter that begins on a new, usually indented line, consists of one or more sentences, and typically deals with a single thought or topic or quotes one speaker's continuous words.

there, i did that just for you. can you understand it now? i also don't understand why some people get all upset because i have a differing point of view or opinion.

 

[bradc]

Who cares? Who cares about grammar on a Messageboard? His post was legibile and it was his opinion. You guys must have something up your a$$.

 

[danielwsmithee]

You guys must have something up your a$$.

Maybe that is why I had to go to the chiropractor this afternoon! I do agree with everything his post had to say. If that makes you feel any better.

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Can they even leave it anymore? Those chips are like $5 on the open market now, no? Hopefully they'll do a mass update across the lines so as not to do the underpower/overpriced redux a' la' the G4.

Whatever you do Apple, don't leave the Mini with the Yonah Core Solo it has now.

 

[guzhogi]

Why are so many of you so against the Core Solo? I know quite a few people who don't need dual cores. These people only word process, surf the web and check e-mail making dual cores/procs overkill. A lot of you seem to think that if you need the absolute fastest dual core computer, so does everyone else, which is not true. And before any of you flame me and say "I don't think that!" I said ->MANY<- of you ->SEEM<-. That doesn't mean I think all of you actually think that. But I think that Apple should lower the price of the Solo Mini.

 

[guzhogi]

i also don't understand why some people get all upset because i have a differing point of view or opinion.

Because those people are jackasses and think that they're always right and anything else is wrong and evil. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but a lot of people are like that. Just look how much hatred and violence there is between religious fanatics.

A while ago, I was thinking what it would be like if there was a computer where anything that can be external was external. I mean, the only things the computer would have would be a CPU, RAM, and a graphics card. Everything else (hard drive, monitor, DVD, etc.) would connect via Firewire/USB. That would really shave off the initial price, and let people choose what kind of drives they want. This probably won't be for the average person who doesn't know what everything is and there'd be a lot of stuff all over your desk, but just a thought. Plus, you don't even need a hard drive if you use something like NetBoot. For those who don't know what NetBoot is, it's a technology in Mac OS X where a Mac on a network can boot off a server. It's pretty cool. I use it at work which is an elementary & jr. high school district and we used it to make all the computers in the computer labs have the same software.

 

[atad6]

You expect him to use paragraphs when he can't capitalize the first letter in a sentence? One step at a time please. The content of his post is actually very good, it is just hard to get to through the grammar.

I apologize about the grammar. It's really late at night and it was a very quick post.

 

[roland.g]

The Paris Mac Revolution: off with it's head

Keep or ditch the Core Solo in the Mini. I don't really care.

Just give me a 1.83 or 2.00 ghz Merom in the Mini for $799 with a 128mb integrated graphics.

Better yet. A new cube with room one or two 160, 250, or 500 GB HDD's, dedicated graphics, up to 2 GB RAM, DVI out for dual screens, or one 30" ACD.

Base Model:
2.0 ghz Merom, upgradable to 2.33
160 GB HDD, upgradable to 250 or 500, plus a second 500 available.
512 MB RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
x1800 video + one pci slot, upgradable to support 2 screens or 30" ACD
airport & bluetooth
superdrive
keyboard & mouse
Front Row, remote, IR sensor

Base model price: $1499

Nicely equipped: 2.0 ghz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD - $1874
Bundled with 23" ACD - screen adds $949, with built in iSight.

 

[Ktulu]

I didn't say "most"--I said "some"--which is the truth.

However, from the tests I have seen, single-core Yonah IS a very fast chip, faster than a G4 Mini. It depends on the task of course. But regardless, for low-end buyers, a G4 Mini was adequate power to begin with, and still is. (In fact, almost every Mac user I know has less than a 1.5Ghz G4--thanks to the long useful life of a Mac--and that includes some professionals doing graphics work.)

The point is that for SOME people, a cheaper Mac is more important than having dual processor cores. This is the model that sets the minimum entry barrier for becoming a Mac user.

So you really can't say that Core Solo is for nobody, or "embarrassing." Not many months ago, it could outrun most laptops in the world!

I'd recommend a US$499 Core Solo Mac in a hearbeat--and a lot of people (not "most") would gladly take it instead of a $599 or $699 64-bit Core 2 Duo--or even a $549 Core Duo Yonah. $500 is a magic price point in some consumers' minds, and I think Apple would do well to reach it again.

EDIT: I run my business from a machine slower than Core Solo--and I'm far from alone

nagromme you summed it up perfectly. If it wasn't for a massive HD crash, I would be typing this on my old G3 B/W 450Mhz Power Mac instead of my work Dell laptop. Just because something isn't the fastest or the best, doesn't mean that it no longer suits your needs. Sure my machine was slow, but it ran Panther just fine along with PhotoShop, Flash MX 2004 Pro, iTunes, QT Pro 7, etc..

 

[danielwsmithee]

Base model price: $1499

That is what I am looking for too, except I think they can hit a lower price point at the low end. The $1299 MacBook uses a processor that costs the same as the 2.0Ghz Merom will cost. A 160 GB 3.5" hard drive is a significant savings over a laptop HD. The only item more expensive would be the use of dedicated graphics chip. I would be happy with and x1600 like the current iMac, or even integrated graphics if they could get the price down to about $1000. I just want to drive two displays, and I don't care about games, just text.

 

[Joshua CHung]

Merom in MBPs makes sense, but I'm not sure the iPod nano will be end-of-lifed so quickly. Bumped up in specs perhaps, but probably not retired altogether.

Look at Apple's Back-to-School Program and you will know when the iPod will become End-Of-Life: Last year, iPod mini was offer as free (4GB model) when a student/educator bought a Mac. Within a week after the program end day, it gone and iPod nano was introduced.

Looking at this year program and you can professionally predict what would happen.

 

[roland.g]

That is what I am looking for too, except I think they can hit a lower price point at the low end. The $1299 MacBook uses a processor that costs the same as the 2.0Ghz Merom will cost. A 160 GB 3.5" hard drive is a significant savings over a laptop HD. The only item more expensive would be the use of dedicated graphics chip. I would be happy with and x1600 like the current iMac, or even integrated graphics if they could get the price down to about $1000. I just want to drive two displays, and I don't care about games, just text.

I think the target is a high end iMac without the screen, so you won't get it for more than $200 less. Since the iMac comes with a 250, not a 160, make it a 250, adding $200 to got to a 500. I think the iMac will get the x1800 when it goes Core 2 Duo next month. So I just put that on par based on expecations. I think you have to go dedicated. The Mini is out there for anyone who can live with integrated graphics, and you can get a Ministack HDD for cheap to add storage from OWC. This appeals to those you don't want to fork out $2500 for a PRO and don't need it, but don't want an integrated display. It will also get a lot more switchers because gamers, though I'm not one either, will want good graphics to dual boot. You put in a second internal drive and you don't even have to partition for that. This machine would sell like crazy.

 

[ksz]

Look at Apple's Back-to-School Program and you will know when the iPod will become End-Of-Life: Last year, iPod mini was offer as free (4GB model) when a student/educator bought a Mac. Within a week after the program end day, it gone and iPod nano was introduced.

Looking at this year program and you can professionally predict what would happen.

The mini was introduced in January 2004 and retired in September 2005, a span of 20 months.

The nano was introduced in September 2005 and, if the mini example is to be repeated, the nano would be retired in May 2007.

 

[danielwsmithee]

MacWorld Paris

Looking at this year program and you can professionally predict what would happen.

Mac World Paris will be fairly substantial this year.

I predict:
Updated Nano -> magnesium enclosure upgraded to 8 GB.

Updated MBP -> Introducing the Merom.

Updated Black MacBook -> The Black MacBook is the small MBP, it will get Merom as well, white MacBooks will get a price drop and stay with the Core Duo.

Updated iMac -> Will get Conroe 2.66 Ghz 20" and 2.33 Ghz 17", also unlickely but possible introduction of iMac Extreme (23", Black, X1900, Core 2 Duo Extreme 2.99 Ghz)

Possible but not very likely:
New Headless Mac between mini and Pro, Video iPod, iPhone.

 

[danielwsmithee]

The Mini is out there for anyone who can live with integrated graphics, and you can get a Ministack HDD for cheap to add storage from OWC.

I agree I would buy one today if it could drive two monitors. Unfortunately it can not.

 

[shecky]

the 800mhz fsb merom chips that intel will come out with next year will make yonah and merom almost obsolete in comparison

incorrect statement and a false exaggeration. a 20% frontside bus increase + incremental core speed increase does not even approach putting the older chips into obsolescence. is it faster? yes. newer? yes. but it does not make the older chips somehow almost unuseable.

 

[Hunabku]

even though the next version of osx will be programmed in 64bit there won't most likely be any noticable difference performance wise for 99% of the applications people would use on a notebook plus the wide availablity of 64 bit apps won't probably happen for a while. for all the people waiting i'd say wait longer if you want a machine that'll scream.

Sure you can always wait longer for a faster machine and more 64 bit apps, but if you were in the market for one now, buying a 64 bit laptop would be a much wiser investment. Especially, if you are in the media industry and intend to use a laptop as a mobile editing station - then 64 bit is much more important.

And when more apps go 64 bit, then these machines will probably have even better resale compared to 32 bit machines. Yes I want one!

 

[atad6]

true, i completely agree. i was just trying to explain the extra cost to performace ratio that i feel is a bit exaggerated at times. also when i mentioned the yonah and merom being obsolete i was just being a bit sarcastic, taking on the same opinion that many of the people who are waiting for the merom have about the current yonah platform.

 

[btgordon]

Good news for all of us out here waiting for the new MBP.

​

As for everyone saying that there will only be about a 20% performance difference, I agree and disagree. While Merom only has a 20% performance difference versus Yonah at the same clock speed, don't forget that Apple isn't using the highest speed chip-the high end processor for the MBP is 2.16, versus the highest speed Yonah and Merom chips, which are 2.33 ghz.

​

So feasibly, if apple puts the highest speed Merom into the high end MBP, we could see slightly bigger increases in speed than 20% at most. We would probably see 20% on average, but on some intensive apps larger amounts. Of course, that is only based on the head vs. head Yonah vs. Merom benchmarks I have seen.

Anyway, I personally believe the difference will actually be the Yonah 2.16 32 bit versus Merom 2.33 ghz 64 bit, again assuming Apple gets the fastest Merom, and I don't see why they wouldn't.

As for the schedule, I think if they get it out by early September they will be beating most, not all, PC makers to the Merom punch. And that would set an excellent precedent for future releases, as has already been remarked on this thread. Early September is looking prime for a MBP launch, but that is to my laptop starved mind, so I could be completely off.

 

[fastlane1588]

Sure you can always wait longer for a faster machine and more 64 bit apps, but if you were in the market for one now, buying a 64 bit laptop would be a much wiser investment. Especially, if you are in the media industry and intend to use a laptop as a mobile editing station - then 64 bit is much more important.

And when more apps go 64 bit, then these machines will probably have even better resale compared to 32 bit machines. Yes I want one!

yea i think that once leopard comes out in 64 bit thats when these new proccessors will begin to shine

 

[macintel4me]

Base Model:
2.0 ghz Merom, upgradable to 2.33
160 GB HDD, upgradable to 250 or 500, plus a second 500 available.
512 MB RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
x1800 video + one pci slot, upgradable to support 2 screens or 30" ACD
airport & bluetooth
superdrive
keyboard & mouse
Front Row, remote, IR sensor

Base model price: $1499

Nicely equipped: 2.0 ghz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD - $1874
Bundled with 23" ACD - screen adds $949, with built in iSight.

Make it upgradable to 4 GB of RAM with a Conroe chip and I'd hit it!

 

[Multimedia]

1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo $599 Mac mini Will Be A Huge Hit • Rant Against Single Core Macs

Merom soon makes sense--in the Pro models and maybe iMac.

But Apple should certainly keep Yonah machines (Mini and MB) as well.

Yonah (even single-core Yonah) is already overkill power for some low-end users. So why make them pay for a pair of Merom cores?

Instead, let Yonah's price drop, and the bottom-end Mac models' price drop with it.

I couldn't disagree more. It's like the famous saying no one will ever need more than 32MB of RAM or IBM will probably be able to sell 10 computers to the entire world etc. With Leopard coming in only 9 months, Apple is sure to want to stop shipping 32-bit Macs as well as single core Macs as soon as humanly possible. Yonah is certainly NOT "overkill" for anyone since it has only ONE CORE. Looks like we have some "Core Challenged" here who can't envision the need to run more than one thing at a time as fast as possible. As long as computers have only ONE CORE, the "consumer" who "doesn't need more than one" will continue to be taught to "wait their turn" when they suddenly and unexpectedly do find the need for more processing power.

That Single Core 1.5GHz Yonah represents THE END of single core processing for the remainder of the Macintosh computing era in the annals of human history. And expunged it need be as soon as it is humanly possible.

You think Steve doesn't want to take the stage in Paris or San Francisco and declare the end of single core processing as well as the end of 32- bit processing at Apple? i can assure you he not only does but that he has been planning on it for years. It is the preemble to the presentation he will give upon the release of the first fully blown 64-bit version of OS X - Leopard 10.5 a few short months later.

Hear, hear. Back to $499 for the Mac mini!

1.66GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini does not prohibit a $499 price on the refurb page by Christmas. But in any event, I don't see how you can deny that, at $599, the 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo mini will still be an amazing value - especially for those who wait until after January 9th when it ships with iLife '07.

 

[Cinch]

multiple cores

That Single Core 1.5GHz Yonah represents THE END of single core processing for the remainder of the Macintosh computing era in the anals of human history. And expunged it need be as soon as it is humanly possible.

How about each core running at 400mhz for each application (8 cores sounds like a plan) to conserve battery. If one application is not running than the core shuts down. Asymetrical clock computer i think that is what they call it. I hope they keep the GHz of the upcoming MacBook down too conserve battery. How about a laptop that can run the entire day on a single charge? How about a true laptop. What we have now is a small computer that plugs into the wall socket.

Cinch

 

[AidenShaw]

That Single Core 1.5GHz Yonah represents THE END of single core processing for the remainder of the Macintosh computing era in the anals of human history. And expunged it need be as soon as it is humanly possible.

I think the spelling of the word that you intended is "annals", but the word that you used is also somewhat appropriate considering Apple's current leadership.

(I've said many times that Apple should have skipped Yonah and waited for Merom/Conroe/Woodcrest, so that *all* MacIntels would be 64-bit...)

 

[ezekielrage_99]

If we get Merom iMacs I am buying one.

My credit card is ready and waiting to buy one