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MacBook Pro Refresh Seeing Only Minor Delays Due to Intel Problems?

Friday February 11, 2011 12:11 pm PST by Eric Slivka

Much has been made of Intel's issues with a design error on its new Cougar Point chip used with its Sandy Bridge processors and whether the company's need to produce revised hardware will delay a highly-anticipated refresh of Apple's MacBook Pro lineup.

But a new report from AppleInsider suggests that any delays appear to be minor, on the order of two weeks for machines already in production.

However, one person familiar with the matter tells AppleInsider that some -- not all -- of the company's upcoming MacBook Pros were affected by the situation. According to this person, the Mac maker elected to make minor tweaks to the logic boards of those models, but that those changes would translate to a delay of less than two weeks.

Reading between the lines can only lead to speculation that Apple was an early recipient of some of those Cougar Point chipsets from Intel, and that the changes it's making involve tweaks to SATA ports that those MacBook Pros will utilize.

The report notes that supplies of the MacBook Pro continue to tighten beyond the initial constraints we reported late last month. Notably, Apple had reportedly offered major retailers restocking dates of late January for MacBook Pro models but has since pushed those dates out by a week several times.

Intel has officially announced that it will begin shipping the dual-core Sandy Bridge chips for notebooks on February 20th, with those chips expected to be used in the revised MacBook Pros.

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Hellhammer
110 months ago

There is simply NO EXCUSE for why Apple computers aren't more competitive in features (if not price).


Designing and developing new stuff costs money. Apple is a special company, they can sell you outdated hardware for the full price and people will still be happy. There is no reason to lower prices as current price points sell well and give Apple a nice fatty profits. In the end, business is all about profit.

OSX is great, but it's starting to slide relative to Windows7 these days because Windows is moving full steam ahead while Apple is playing with their phone line.


Apple has been pushing out a new OS every two years. Hmm.. How long did Vista take? It was released 6 years after XP. Even then, it was a horrible OS and now MS came up with Windows 7 which is what Vista should have been.

Apple was putting out really good notebook products as recently as 2008! The Macbook Pro was rated the best notebook for running Vista by Consumer Reports for goodness sake! They were pushing the Mac with those funny commercials, etc. But Steve lost all interest when the iPhone went big. And what Steve loses interest in, Apple loses interest in. They dropped the "Computer" bit and now all they do is push phones. Yay. :(


I would say the new MBA is amazing piece of hardware. Sure, it does not have the latest CPU but that is irrelevant. At least I love mine.
Rating: 1 Votes
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notabadname
110 months ago

I think you two should rent a motel room and have yourselves some good lovin'. It'll clear the air, trust me.


Certainly off topic now ;)
Rating: 1 Votes
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harveypooka
110 months ago

Well, only if I can be on top..... with a whip :p


Whoah, easy tiger! You two work out the details. I'm only the facilitator here!
Rating: 1 Votes
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laurim
110 months ago

Can't you make an exception, just this once? You're so sweet together! ;)


Well, only if I can be on top..... with a whip :p
Rating: 1 Votes
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Fraaaa
110 months ago

Wasted space for you maybe. Not for enough people for Apple to nix it in what is arguably their most popular Mac.



Like downloading Adobe After Effects, Office 2011, or StarCraft II (let alone Apple's own high-end software like Final Cut Pro) is really more or even just as convenient as doing so by way of install disc. Oh wait, it's not.



You haven't read through the lines..

It's wasted space when you are putting some $30 hardware occupy 20% of your computer and is not use so often.

If they take off the ODD you can buy an external one for less then $50.

I downloaded Office 2011 with no problem, and $50 dvd drive is not that hard to afford. IF you argue that Apple sells software like Logic and Final cut - beside that I don't think is going to be for digital download considered that they have many manuals that come bundled with - and you are spending $500 to $1000 of software I am sure that $50 dvd drive WON'T make the difference.
Rating: 1 Votes
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rjbruce
110 months ago
Another Tuesday come and gone...
Rating: 1 Votes
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laurim
110 months ago


I'm a "power-user" and I'm completely fine sacrificing a quad-core CPU (on the 15" and 17" models) and a discrete GPU (on the 13") to retain the ODD, and I know for a fact that I'm not alone and that a majority of Mac users (as in, y'know, people not on this forum) agree.


A "fact" without data to back it up is just opinion. And your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's. One of my old bosses once told me when someone tells you something is fact and you don't agree, ask them "Where's your data?".
Rating: 1 Votes
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iEdd
110 months ago
I'm know this sounds like I'm trolling, but the reasons my friends PC game is because the console is free (they have a PC anyway), and all the games are free (torrents or 7 day EB 'rentals'). I'm sure there are 'legit' PC gamers, but I've yet to meet one.

I prefer a controller, as it was designed to game, not to type. Between my PS3 and Wii, I have all the best exclusives from LBP to MP3. (My DS and PSP get occasional use, while my Xbox 360 is gathering dust somewhere...)

I think Magnus has some good ideas though. It would be great if Apple opened up some new pathways for NVidia and ATi to make Mac cards and develop software and drivers, so the experience is improved, even if Apple want to stay out of it.
Rating: 1 Votes
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laurim
110 months ago
I know this is off topic but kind of related as far as what people want out of a MacBook Pro but I'm curious. Why do people want to game on a laptop when playing games on a dedicated gaming console seems like it would be a much better experience and much cheaper overall? I'm obviously not a big gamer but I do own an XBox 360 and Kinect and can't imagine sitting hunched over a computer killing zombies for any reasonable length of time. What makes computer gaming more desirable than console gaming?
Rating: 1 Votes
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MagnusVonMagnum
110 months ago

I know this is off topic but kind of related as far as what people want out of a MacBook Pro but I'm curious. Why do people want to game on a laptop when playing games on a dedicated gaming console seems like it would be a much better experience and much cheaper overall?


First of all, I want to be able to game on a "Mac" not necessarily a Macbook Pro. In other words, my next computer I build will be a desktop, not a notebook. I already have a MBP and I don't use it for gaming. I use it as a portable recording studio (with Logic Studio) and for video editing and a few other things when docked. I game on my PC desktop tower. But I'm going to replace that tower soon (and turn the old tower into a core for a MAME arcade cabinet) and I'd rather run OSX. But I'll have to boot it into Windows to play most games and not out of choice.

Consoles are "cheaper" and they're convenient for sitting on a couch and playing certain types of games, but they get out-of-date fast, can't do higher-resolution things a newer PC can do in the mean time and aren't as suitable for certain types of games. Admittedly, these days they are more suitable than they used to be with all the connectivity options and add-on controllers, but I still prefer playing some games with a mouse and keyboard. More to the point, if I need a newer computer anyway, why not game on it since I already have it?


I'm a "power-user" and I'm completely fine sacrificing a quad-core CPU (on the 15" and 17" models) and a discrete GPU (on the 13") to retain the ODD, and I know for a fact that I'm not alone and that a majority of Mac users (as in, y'know, people not on this forum) agree.


Interesting. Where do you get your statistics from that you know for a "fact" that a majority agree??? Oh. That's right. You just made that up. :rolleyes:
Rating: 1 Votes

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