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Merom?

M

mattjgalloway

macrumors member
Original poster
May 21, 2006
95
0
Hey people, first post!

Yeh I know this has kinda been done a few times now, but every post I read ends up with a debate about the MB and it's power / heat / etc. I just want a straight answer if possible...

So does anyone have any remote idea about when we'll see the Intel Core 2 Duo (i.e. the Merom) out in the MacBooks?

I was going to get an iBook a few weeks ago but then when I came to look on the site it was the day they stopped selling them on the main store... so I got reading and realised an intel one wouldn't be all that bad as I could have a reason to use BootCamp (i'm a linux user completely but I have a few apps for my GPS which only run on windows and having them on my laptop would be great for on the move).

Well, I set aside £1,000 as I can get the student discount and was going to get the 1GB RAM and 80gb hard-drive and get a nice bag for it aswell. I thought, great, I'll do it. But then I found that the new chip might be coming out fairly soon and I really like the sound of a dual core 64-bit CPU - I have an AMD64 on my main PC and it's awesome.

So, wait or not to wait.... that is the question.

(I kinda want to get my MacBook at least by the middle of summer - but that's the time I hear the new CPUs might be coming out...)

Any advice greatly appreciated!!!
 
Merom is likely to go in the MacBook Pros before the MacBooks. I'd say it'll be 4-6 months from it going in the Pro before it filters down.
 
Many thanks for the replies.

I don't *need* a MacBook no, but it certainly would help. Next year I will be doing my final university year project which I will benefit from being able to carry my work around and code on the go. I've been wanting to get a laptop for a while now and I decided I want it to be a Mac since using one a while ago - absolutely loved it.

I know computers constantly get outdated, but this just seems that Merom is almost here and would make the MacBook even more amazing...

I think I'll review my situation at the start of the summer holidays and see what happens.
 
You could wait until the Core 2 is dropped, then see if they put it in the Macbook. The one problem with this (why I didn't wait) is that if they don't update MBs right away, you wind up buying a computer that will be outdated in 4-6 months instead of 8-10 months.

If you don't mind that, see what they have available when you start school (or after Core 2 drops).
 
Yeh, as far as I can tell - intel are getting ready to release the core 2 because it's on their website with a spec and everything.

I don't mind waiting until the summer - mainly because that's when I'll get some cash from working :-D. But I definately want to get something for the start of next academic year (October) with a bit of playing time this summer. I guess it sounds like Core2 won't be out then until a bit after the summer, maybe a long time, so I'll probably just bite the bullet and go for the current MB in a few weeks time.

Does anyone have any comments on the new MB and what I should get with it? I was thinking about 1GB RAM and 80gb hard drive - how about bags? Anyone got a nice bag designed for the new 13.3" MB?
 
i want the MBP and i need to sell my current computer... so i suppose someone like myself should just buy now or would waiting till mid summer be wise?
 
I've said this before and i say it a lot because I've done perhaps way too much looking into this for a college laptop of my own :)

Merom is definately a release worth waiting for, IMO. The switch from just two 32-bit processors to a 64-bit processor seems, at least to me, pretty huge. From what I've been hearing, Merom is scheduled for release in August, and from there, it's anyones guess. Apple seems to be going down the road that it's not the processors that distinguish their lines, but the features, so that they have the best tech. in all of them. However, the decision to make the MB and MBPs so close together could be just a temporary thing to get Macs onto intel and differentiate them by processors once they've made the transition (Intel has faster revision cycles, so they wouldn't be waiting as long). So, the Macbook may not see Merom until '07. If Apple does decide to go with the former route, they'll space out the release from the MBP.

Running with that idea - if Apple wants to stay on top of the competition, they'll have to update their computers with Merom fairly quickly. Gone are the days where a 1.5 ghz G4 could compete with 2+ ghz computers - now it's a direct relationship. No more apples to oranges, we're all living in Florida now. If people see Dell/HP/Whatever using the 'bleeding edge' technology, and Apple's still using yesterday's chip, it won't bode well for sales. Going on, this would mean that Merom would reach the MBP's first (as it's the 'pro' model) and fairly quickly; perhaps even later in August or mid September at the latest. If it gets it at all, Macbooks would be getting Merom early '07, or perhaps maybe feeding off of the xmas shopping craze, as early as Late November/Early December.

All in all, if you have your heart set on the Merom MB by October, it's probably not going to happen unless you want to shell out the extra $$ for a Merom MBP in august. However, I'd wait a bit just out of principle - they JUST came out like a week and a half ago. Wait awhile for various improvements and fixes to be made. Mid-june seems like the best time to get one.
 
JurgenWigg said:
Merom is definately a release worth waiting for, IMO. The switch from just two 32-bit processors to a 64-bit processor seems, at least to me, pretty huge.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that Merom was 64-bit. Where did you get this?
 
robbieduncan said:
MacRumors?

Seriously this is very common knowledge!

That said for 99% of users out there 64bit will make no difference at all.
Click to expand...


Although merom will be about 20% faster than the current yonahs, soooo, there will be a noticeable difference, just possibly not in the bit-age.
 
Peyton said:
Although merom will be about 20% faster than the current yonahs, soooo, there will be a noticeable difference, just possibly not in the bit-age.
Click to expand...

Yes, but this would be true if Merom was 32bit. The 20% increase comes from the improvements to the chip in general. Unless you want more than 4Gb RAM then you don't a 64bit CPU.
 
robbieduncan said:
That said for 99% of users out there 64bit will make no difference at all.
Click to expand...

Right now, that is. Looking ahead, I can definately see 64bit becoming more common and becoming min. requirements for things maybe a year from now. Windows Vista, for example, runs optimally on 64bit. THAT is where you'll see the serious performance gains - running 64 bit applications, which would theoretically become more widely used.
 
buy now!`

if you have a 64 bit capable pc, i'd go ahead and buy the macbook now. chances are you will default to your desktop for the heavy work.

the only reason i'd wait is if you really want that improvement in performance/wattage. my guess is that apple will do something ridiculous to keep the battery life the same regardless of how good the chip's wattage usage is.

"Now introducing Merom... with 20% brighter screens! (official Apple sunglasses included)
 
That's a bit false - I have an AMD64 system as my main desktop system and it does make a bit of difference, but I do agree that for the majority of users the only benefit is more RAM - after all, not *that* many people use 64-bit programs as they arn't coded yet. The best bit is the new breed of 64-bit processors have other features which make them a lot faster - they've got an increased instruction set for example.

It's a good point that the 64-bit really isn't needed by my on a laptop because after all, most my heavy work will be done on my desktop and it might even be nice to have a 32-bit processor to test my code on!

Does anyone know if Apple have even written Mac OS X for 64-bit processors and their suite of software? Because if they havn't then it might be a lot longer before we see the Core2 coming out on the MacBooks.

I like the idea of waiting until summer due to the fixes / additions which will be made - they are very new and so waiting might iron out those few wrinkles they have. However everytime I go to the apple website my credit card is moving further and further out of my wallet!!!!
 
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