Apple’s 45nm Refresh: New MacBook & MacBook Pro
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 29, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
What’s New?
1) Mobile Penryn: The MacBook and MacBook Pro now both use 45nm Penryn based Core 2 Duo CPUs. The chipset and rest of the platform remain identical. We’ll be measuring the impacts of this on performance battery life.
2) Multi-touch Track Pads: The MacBook Pro now gets the same multi-touch functionality as the MacBook Air.
3) More Video Memory on the MacBook Pro: The GeForce 8600M GT Apple uses in the MacBook Pro now comes with either 256MB or 512MB of GDDR3 memory, up from 128MB - 256MB in the previous MacBook Pro. The base MacBook continues to use Intel’s X3100 integrated graphics and uses system memory (up to 144MB) for its frame buffer.
4) Bigger Hard Drives: Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro now come with larger 2.5” HDDs standard. Reasonable sized SSDs are still too expensive to realistically offer. I’ve got a 128GB SSD back at the office, I’ll be taking a look at its impact on battery life after CeBIT.
5) Slightly Updated Keyboards: The function key layout has been updated a bit and is now identical to the desktop and MacBook Air keyboards. The base MacBook does not get a backlit keyboard unfortunately.
The improvements to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines are largely evolutionary, but they do come at no additional cost so it’s tough to complain about that.
| New Penryn MacBook Pro 15" | Old Merom MacBook Pro 15" | New Penryn MacBook | Old Merom MacBook | MacBook Air | |
| Dimensions | H: 1.0" W: 14.1" D: 9.6" |
H: 1.0" W: 14.1" D: 9.6" |
H: 1.08" W: 12.78" D: 8.92" |
H: 1.08" W: 12.78" D: 8.92" |
H: 0.16-076" W: 12.8" D: 8.94" |
| Weight | 5.4 lbs | 5.4 lbs | 5.0 lbs | 5.0 lbs | 3.0 lbs |
| Screen Size/Resolution | 15.4" / 1440 x 900 | 15.4" / 1440 x 900 | 13.3" / 1280 x 800 | 13.3" / 1280 x 800 | 13.3" / 1280 x 800 |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz - 2.6GHz (45nm Penryn) | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz - 2.6GHz (65nm Merom) | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1 - 2.4GHz (45nm Penryn) | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 - 2.2GHz (65nm Merom) | Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 - 1.8GHz (65nm Merom) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256MB - 512MB) | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (128MB - 256MB) | Intel GMA X3100 (144MB UMA) |
Intel GMA X3100 (144MB UMA) |
Intel GMA X3100 (144MB UMA) |
| Memory | 2GB - 4GB DDR2-667 | 2GB - 4GB DDR2-667 | 1GB - 4GB DDR2-667 | 1GB - 4GB DDR2-667 | 2GB DDR2-667 (fixed) |
| HDD | 200 - 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM SATA 200GB 7200RPM SATA |
120 - 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM SATA 200GB 7200RPM SATA |
120 - 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM SATA HDD | 80 - 160GB 2.5" 5400RPM SATA HDD | 80GB 1.8" HDD or 64GB 1.8" SSD |
| Optical Drive | Integrated SuperDrive | Integrated SuperDrive | Integrated Combo drive or SuperDrive | Integrated Combo drive or SuperDrive | Optional External USB SuperDrive |
| Networking | 802.11a/b/g/n 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
802.11a/b/g/n 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
802.11a/b/g/n 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
802.11a/b/g/n 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
802.11a/b/g/n |
| Built in iSight | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inputs | 2 x USB 2.0 1 x FireWire 400 1 x FireWire 800 1 x ExpressCard/34 1 x Audio in 1 x Integrated mic |
2 x USB 2.0 1 x FireWire 400 1 x FireWire 800 1 x ExpressCard/34 1 x Audio in 1 x Integrated mic |
2 x USB 2.0 1 x FireWire 400 1 x Audio in 1 x Integrated mic |
2 x USB 2.0 1 x FireWire 400 1 x Audio in 1 x Integrated mic |
1 x USB 2.0 1 x Integrated mic |
| Outputs | 1 x Audio 1 x dual-link DVI |
1 x Audio 1 x dual-link DVI |
1 x Audio 1 x mini-DVI |
1 x Audio 1 x mini-DVI |
1 x Audio 1 x Micro-DVI |
| Battery | 60WHr | 60WHr | 55WHr | 55WHr | 37WHr |
| Price | $1999 | $1999 | $1099 | $1099 | $1799 |
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myusernamehere - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
either of the displays led backlit?DavidK - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
There's been numerous complaints about the Agere firewire chipset in the previous version of the MacBook Pro. Has it been replaced with the TI set, or is it still the Agere?Tigerotor77w - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
You compared the 2.4 GHz Penryn to the 2.2 GHz Merom, but what about the 2.4 Penryn to the 2.4 Merom? If I'm looking solely at clock speeds, how do those two compare?Additionally, is it conceivable that the $1999 price point remain for the Montevina-based MBPs?
Sunrise089 - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
Good point, but he compared the notebooks he physically possessed. As in, he bought each of the tested models at one point or another.I strongly believe any future Macbook or Macbook Pro will keep a pricing model determined by the marketing department. Apple has no direct competition (mobile OSX market) so they can simply select the hardware to include that allows them to keep the margins they want.
Tigerotor77w - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - link
Makes sense. Nevertheless, I'm curious how the two 2.4 GHz processors compare (I saw that gizmodo had a comparison, but I'm not sure how that plays out qualitatively).As for the price point, what you said certainly makes sense -- I'm wondering whether they'll keep the $1999 point. Will they give up the sub-$2000 market for 15" notebooks? Or will they want the higher margins on the $2499 MBP?
HopJokey - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
Anand,In your article you mentioned that Yonah was built on 90nm technology when in fact it is built on 65nm manufacturing. Thanks.
slashbinslashbash - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
I don't think so Anniend. You want me to do things to you like the sun and the moon. Idiot!acejj26 - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
My becomes once the battery ages and no longer manages to hold a full charge.Umm??
acejj26 - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
on page 6, you wrote "blacklit" not backlitGary Key - Friday, February 29, 2008 - link
Fixed. :)