Swad Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 This might just be wishful thinking, but Jason O'Grady seems to think that Merom will find its way into a MacBook Pro by the end of August. The rest of the article doesn't seem that far fetched, but what do you think? Merom is "a mobility-optimized, dual-core processor based on the new, state of the art, Intel Core microarchitecture" according to the company. Merom comes with a 667 MHz frontside bus and 4 MB of L2 cache, double the 2 MB found in current MacBook Pros. Intel is offering Merom in 2.0, 2.16 and 2.33GHz clock speeds, a perfect fit to drop into the MacBook Pro lineup. A source I spoke with mentioned that Apple already has Merom chips in hand and has been testing them for a while. They're probably waiting for inventory of existing MacBook Pros to sell down and/or for the official announcement to come from Intel. Apple will most likely announce new Intel-based Mac Pro desktops at WWDC on 07 August. There is even a possibility that Apple will announce refreshed Xserves based on Intel's new server chip (code named Woodcrest) at WWDC, but that is unconfirmed. Apple will probably roll out the new Merom MacBook Pros some time in late August. One of the big questions, in my mind, is whether Apple will offer Merom in both the MacBook and Pro models, or just for Pro. I'm really getting impatient waiting to order mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suleiman Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I've been following reports of a possible "Merom Mackbook" for sometime now and with a particular interest. I'm happy with the speed, portability, and features of my current 2.0ghz Macbook Pro, but have been thinking about whether now would be a good time to put it on eBay and maximize my earnings. It's really a difficult decision to make as I stand to lose a lot. If Apple is upgrading the lineup in August then I could probably get close to 80-90% towards purchasing a new MBP from my present one. If they aren't upgrading, and they aren't for sometime, then I'd be stranded in Windows Wonderland up until they made the Merom switch--a rather suicidal thought indeed. What say you, my Insane(ly) Mac lovers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiark Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 My personal feeling is that the Merom is definitely coming - Apple need to differentiate better between the macbook and macbook pro. Historically, ibooks and powerbooks have held their value very well... Whether this will continue in the intel world, I dunno, but I would always expect a second hand macbook pro to trade above a similarly or slightly higher spec'd new macbook. I'd personally stick with what you've got for the moment as you're happy with it. I'm now transitioning to Mac oS X, and it's difficult to go back to XP at work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrana Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 It's coming. I don't think Apple can afford to be far behind other manufacturers at this point. Merom is announced this week and general availability next month... Also, it does sort of fit into WWDC due to 64bit and the fact that it is a "Pro" machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sev7en Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I was ordering a MacBook Pro 17" before reading this post... thanks mates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Sulieman - I'd sell it before WWDC. They'll probably at least announce something, and I think the Merom revision will be a significant one. At least I hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yeah I think that too. Get rid of it fast Merom is coming. As for Macbooks, I think they will stick with Core Duo for the moment, and update them in 2007 with santa rosa ( GMA3000 upgrade i think is the most welcomed ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suleiman Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 So you guys really think they'll upgrade the MBP lineup so soon? It's hardly been 9 months since they were launched hasn't it? Plus the 17'' MBP literally just released a couple months ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yeah, I do. We don't have much of a precedent to go on (the whole Intel thing kinda messed up the status quo), but the MBP's were some of the first to ship with the Core Duo, so it seems like they're wanting not only to keep up with the Jonses... but stay ahead of them. To do that, they'll need to at least announce an update in August and/or ship in September. I'm expecting a MBP 2.0 that has a lot of the features introduced with the MB, along with a slightly different look and feel. Hopefully they lose the metal for something like carbon fiber... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmb Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Sadly carbon fiber probably wouldnt be the best idea considering its physical properties at high temperatures, which as we have seen the MBP reaches easily. Yeah, I do. We don't have much of a precedent to go on (the whole Intel thing kinda messed up the status quo), but the MBP's were some of the first to ship with the Core Duo, so it seems like they're wanting not only to keep up with the Jonses... but stay ahead of them. To do that, they'll need to at least announce an update in August and/or ship in September. I'm expecting a MBP 2.0 that has a lot of the features introduced with the MB, along with a slightly different look and feel. Hopefully they lose the metal for something like carbon fiber... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtm3dd Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Hmmmmm.... Im not sure they'll update the MBP line that much. They will put Merom in it but they won't really want to take any wind out of the Mac Pro's sales. Also as mac now seems to like updating super frequently a remodel of the looks would probably be saved for a time when there is little spec upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suleiman Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Well thank GOD I didn't put mine up on eBay. I would have had to take a hit and convince myself to pickup the 17 inch model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroz Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 All the books will be upgraded. The 1st gen both MB and MBP are too hot and use too much power. The will all get new chips, just a matter or when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Then there were none. Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I hope when the memrom macbook pros are out, apple will have cheaper core duo macbook pros on the refurb store, i really want a 1.83ghz model for about £1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LlamaV3 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 will we be able to pay an apple engineer to "upgrade" existing macbook pros to the merom processor and chipset? or are the tweaks throughout the design too major? because if it fixes the heat issue i'll be a very happy (and cooler) bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouch Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I'm sure they'll surface in time for christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sev7en Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I'm sure they'll surface in time for christmas Argh!!! It's too late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouch Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I'm guessing core 2 duos will be added as a BTO option on the website and won't get any kind of special event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbz Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 by the time leopard is out, they will have merom or santa rosa in all the lines. They're really pushing 64-bit: leopard will be fully 64-bit so they'll wanna make all the machines 64-bit as fast as they can. For macbook pros and iMacs, that means as soon as possible. They've been out for a while (8 months! 'cept the 17" macbook pro...) and it's time for a processor refresh. i don't expect anything else to change though. The macbooks are prolly either gonna skip merom and go straight to santa rosa, or get merom soon and then get santa rosa with leopard. No one cares about the mac mini. -Urby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrana Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Well, there is still the Apple Expo in Paris, 12-16 September. Oh well, at least my bank account gets a break, but I still want one of these to come out before I go to Britain in November (I'll have to buy a new 23" LCD in the interim. hehe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unstatusthequo Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I just unloaded my WinTel laptop on eBay and was going to use the proceeds for a 2.0ghz MacBookPro, and was planning on ordering later this week. I'm gathering it would be wise to wait, but I'm now without a powerful notebook... The wait is going to suck... since it seems logical that the merom would come out before Leopard, but Leopard release is next spring, right? I'm basically a mac n00b, but have been paying attention to everything going on. I'm just now eager to try out actual Mac hardware for my mobile computing needs... but how long is too long to wait? My question then is how long would you wait if you were in my position before saying "Ah, hell with it I'm just going to order..." My inclination is to never reach that point and just be VERY patient and wait for Merom... Do you agree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouch Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I'll have to buy a new 23" LCD in the interim. hehe I wouldn't even consider purchasing a "HD" display if it doesn't support HDCP. Come on Apple, get with the programme! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 ...programme... I don't know about that, but I do wish they'd get with the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrana Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I wouldn't even consider purchasing a "HD" display if it doesn't support HDCP. Come on Apple, get with the programme! Considering there hasn't been any mention of 10.5 requiring HDCP for HD content, I don't see a problem with it. Even if they did some down-sampling on BS copy-protected HD stuff in the future, I have a nice TV that I use for that sort of stuff anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretteghan Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 aww shucks. i just bought a new mac book pro two days ago out of desperation because i lost my laptop when lightning struck my house. homeowner's insurance is covering it, but had i read this i wouldn't have bought it. hold on, i have to shift positions because this freaking laptop is burning through my shorts...okay thats better. suggestions? i've used macs for years but this was my first purchase for myself, so i was hoping something like this wouldn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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