MacBook event wrapup

Robert Hallock (Thrax)

October 14, 2008 2:58 PM ET in News, , , , , , ,

Apple’s MacBook event which we covered here and here just wrapped up! We’re walking away with a new 15″ MacBook Pro, a refresh of the 17″ MacBook Pro (no details yet), a brand new 13″ MacBook, a price drop on the classic MacBook, and a refresh of the MacBook Air. Hit the jump for more detailed information!

New MacBook Pro 15.4″

Apple Store Link: Here

  • Price: $1999 or $2499
  • CPU: 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz
  • RAM: 2GB or 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM
  • HDD: 250GB HDD, 320GB HDD or 128GB SDD
  • GFX: GeForce 9400M and GeForce 9600M GT with 256MB or 512MB discrete VRAM
    • The 9400M is 3-5x faster in rendering performance than the old Intel-based MacBooks
    • The 9600M GT is much faster than the 8600M in the 17″ MacBook Pro
  • Display: Glossy 15″ with LED backlighting
  • Optical: Slot-loading DVD/CD-R
  • Connectivity: Mini Displayport (will run a 30″ cinema display), FireWire 800, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11n, gigabit ethernet, ExpressCard/34 slot
  • Input: Glass trackpad with four new multi-touch gestures (34% larger than old trackpad)
  • Dimensions: .95″ thick, 13.35″ wide, 9.82″ deep
  • Weight: 5.5lbs pounds
  • Features: New glossy screen, new track pad, new motherboard, new core logic, new discrete GPU, aluminum unibody for enhanced durability

New MacBook 13″

Apple Store Link: Here

  • Price: $1399 or $1599
  • CPU: 2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
  • RAM: 2GB of of DDR3 SDRAM
  • HDD: 160GB or 250GB HDD
  • GFX: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
    • 3-5x faster in rendering performance than the old Intel-based MacBooks
    • 55% as fast as the 8600M in the 17″ MacBook Pro
  • Display: Glossy & LED-backlit
  • Optical: Slot-loading DVD/CD-RW
  • Connectivity: Mini Displayport (will run a 30″ Cinema Display), 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1, gigabit ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports
  • Input: New touchpad with new multi-touch gestures
  • Dimensions: 0.95″ thick, 12.78″ wide and 9.84″ deep
  • Weight: 4.5 pounds
  • Features: New aluminum unibody as seen on the MacBook Pro

MacBook Air Refresh

  • Price: $1799 or $2598
  • CPU: Up to 1.8GHz
  • RAM: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
  • HDD: 120GB HDD, or 128GB SSD
  • GFX: GeForce 9400M
  • Display: 13″ LED-backlit
  • Optical: None
  • Connectivity: Mini Displayport (will run a 30″ cinema display), USB 2.0, 802.11n
  • Input: Glass trackpad with four new multi-touch gestures.
  • Dimensions: .16-.76″ thick, 12.74″ wide, 8.9″ deep
  • Weight: 3 pounds
  • Features: New displayport connection, new storage options, new NVIDIA chipset.

White (Classic) MacBook Refresh

Apple Store Link: Here

  • Price: $999
  • CPU: 2.1GHz or 2.4GHZ Core 2 Duo
  • RAM: 1GB or 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM
  • HDD: 120GB, 160GB or 250GB HDD
  • GFX: Intel GMA X3100
  • Display: 13.5″, unchanged
  • Optical: Slot-loading DVD/CD-RW
  • Connectivity: FireWire 400, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11n, gigabit ethernet
  • Input: No change to existing track pad
  • Dimensions: 1.08″ thick, 12.78″ wide, 8.92″ deep
  • Weight: 5.0 pounds
  • Features: Unchanged from existing models, but the price drop puts it under $1000

By in large, all the MacBooks received the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M core logic, which is a GPU/chipset-on-a-chip that provides both video and logic functions. The new MacBooks received the new glossy-only screen with piano black bezel. The classic MacBook was dropped in price by $100 as the most-purchased MacBook ever. Another significant addition to all the MacBooks but the classic was the addition of the Displayport adapter which will drive a display up to 30″, such as the Apple Cinema 30″.

No word yet one what updates the 17″ MacBook pro is to receive, as the Apple store is currently down and it was only mentioned off-handedly in the conference.

7 Comments:

  1. Buddy J
    14 Oct '08, 7:41 pm

    I wonder if the shocker and 4-finger touch will come to the old macbooks.

  2. jared
    14 Oct '08, 10:22 pm

    I wonder what the comparison of the 256mb 9600M GT to the 512mb 8600M GT.

    Other than this new graphics card/chipset and trackpad I see no compelling reason to get this new gen.

    HD, processor, and ram are all virtually the same as ones available in past models.

    Overall though, decent updates - especially on the Macbook side of things.

  3. Nomad
    14 Oct '08, 11:08 pm
    Quoting jared

    I wonder what the comparison of the 256mb 9600M GT to the 512mb 8600M GT.

    Other than this new graphics card/chipset and trackpad I see no compelling reason to get this new gen.

    HD, processor, and ram are all virtually the same as ones available in past models.

    Overall though, decent updates - especially on the Macbook side of things.

    Yeah, that's what a lot of us Macbook users were noticing in class, that unless you have the Core Duo Intel as opposed to the Core 2 Duo, there's no sense in upgrading. The Core Duo models came with one gig of ram stock, the Core 2 Duo is two gigs standard.

    Really, the ram and hard drive speed I've noticed most affect the Macbook's performance and handling multiple applications. A lot of the 5400 RPM hard drives are sluggish.

  4. Thrax
    14 Oct '08, 11:42 pm

    I think most current-gen macbook owners should wait for the next round. That will be Nehalem-based. USB 3.0, Firewire 3200, 30% faster CPU, tri-channel DDR3, probably all-SSD, etc. IE, a way more significant upgrade.

  5. jared
    15 Oct '08, 2:04 am

    I agree ^^

    I browsed Apple's current stock of refurbs and found this...
    2.5ghz CD2
    15.4-inch widescreen display
    2GB memory
    250GB hard drive
    8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
    (and the option for a MATTE screen - zomg come on Apple!)
    ... for $1499... or 41% off its original price.

    To me this would be a much better (smarter?) choice, just throw 4gb ram in it. WITH Applecare you are still right under $2000 and it is, besides the graphics update and aesthetics, almost the same as the ones out now.

    Then again I'm one who pushes the refurbs. I bought my current MBP as a refurb and saved $500 which more than paid for the extended Applecare. I've had no issues with it at all.

    The only thing I hate is it takes them so damn long to refresh their notebooks. Average of 197 days according to MacRumor's buyers guide.

    As I said I think the Macbook update was pretty stunning, Macbook Pro... not so much.

  6. Jeremiah
    15 Oct '08, 3:42 am

    I am a refurb man myself - it's really the only way to go. Or find a friend who has to have the newest thing and buy his ex-computer :-)

    I don't like the new Macbooks don't have Firewire, and although they look nice there is no reason in my mind to go hurry and buy now. Nothing revolutionary - I'll buy a new mac when I need one. The graphics improvements though, especially on the pro, would be nice for gaming.

  7. jared
    15 Oct '08, 4:36 am

    Yeah, just wait.

    PLUS

    If you are trying to decide whether or not to get a MacBook or a MacBook Pro based on the video card, you might want to take a look at this video below. At the current moment, you cannot switch from the energy saving integrated chipset to the high performance chipset without logging out and back in again...

    [...]

    Likely, this is due to the fact that this video card is just out of the gate with Apple and the software drivers and firmware aren't on the same page. Expect updates to one or both of them in the near future that will fix them and return them to reasonable behavior.

    Kinda sucks.

    http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/m...raphics-modes/

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