topic Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks? in Installation & update

Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:58:17 GMT

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Thinking about crossing to the dark side and getting a Macbook Pro.....I lke the idea of a dual boot lappy for my Windows XP/Vista along with the estimating and engineering apps. My girlfriend likes the MacOS for video and photoshop stuff.

So I'm looking these over and I notice no Core2 Duo Macbook Pro yet. Should I wait or just get the Core duo? Any idea of when they would be released into the wild?

I just picked up a Dell 3007WFP monitor so this thing should work as a pretty sweet home office setup.

Also.....what do you guys prefer....glossy or matte screens?

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:58:25 GMT

The latest I heard is that the Core2Duo MacBookPros will come soon, perhaps within two weeks. Whatever, since they can handle 64-bit programs which the CoreDuos can't, they'll probably last longer before they get obsolete. I'll wait.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:57:35 GMT

Thanks Thomas.
Think I will wait.

Do you know if the video is going to be upgraded as well? Or do I need to worry about that at all since it is a Mac?

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:56:09 GMT

Antonin wrote:
Do you know if the video is going to be upgraded as well? Or do I need to worry about that at all since it is a Mac?

No idea.
But you'd have to check. According to Graphisoft, the MacBookPros work fine with AC, but the MacBook isn't within specs. I don't know what that means, but I guess that they don't regard the IntelGMA950 graphics in the MacBook as good enough. Perhaps someone in this forum has used it. I would guess that it works, but not very good for big projects.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

jbArch — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:41:40 GMT

Looks like your wait is over:
http://store.apple.com/

Please let us know how the new Core2Duo works out for you if you take the plunge -- I'm thinking of buying one myself and I'd be anxious to hear what anyone has to say about it running AC10.

Cheers,
JB

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

TomWaltz — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:00:29 GMT

The previous MacBookPro is an absolute processing dream, so if this one really is that much faster it should be pretty impressing.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 07:31:30 GMT

I don't think the Core2Duo will be much faster than the CoreDuo - Apple's "up to 39%" is just marketspeak. The reasons I decided to wait are 2:
- the second generation (in this case, of intel macbookpros) is usually better engineered (I hope for less heat problems and such) than the first
- the Core2Duo is fully 64bit-enabled, which the CoreDuo is not. This means that it will be able to fully take advantage of coming 64-bit operating systems (read Leopard) and programs (read Archicad version 18 )
This boils down to that I hope the machine will get obsolete slower than the CoreDuo.
I'm still working on a 6 year old G4Dual533, reasonably fast, mind you!

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

SeaGeoff — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:02:17 GMT

I am seriously tempted by these babies. Like Thomas I like to wait for the 2nd gen of a new design. As for 64bit it is my understanding that while the Core2Duo is 64bit ready other parts of the chipset are not so these books will not run at 64bit. This probably doesn't matter to most and will have no effect on any app I use. My only disappointment with these models is the lack of numeric keypad, even on the 17" model where there is ample room.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:36:29 GMT

Geoff wrote:
As for 64bit it is my understanding that while the Core2Duo is 64bit ready other parts of the chipset are not so these books will not run at 64bit..

I didn't know that, Geoff! Do you have some source?

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

TomWaltz — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:03:28 GMT

Thomas wrote:
I don't think the Core2Duo will be much faster than the CoreDuo - Apple's "up to 39%" is just marketspeak. The reasons I decided to wait are 2:
- the second generation (in this case, of intel macbookpros) is usually better engineered (I hope for less heat problems and such) than the first
- the Core2Duo is fully 64bit-enabled, which the CoreDuo is not. This means that it will be able to fully take advantage of coming 64-bit operating systems (read Leopard) and programs (read Archicad version 18 )
This boils down to that I hope the machine will get obsolete slower than the CoreDuo.
I'm still working on a 6 year old G4Dual533, reasonably fast, mind you!

64-bit does not mean a thing unless your software is 64-bit as well.... I have not heard anything about Archicad 64 yet....

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:47:44 GMT

TomWaltz wrote:
64-bit does not mean a thing unless your software is 64-bit as well.... I have not heard anything about Archicad 64 yet....

I'm aware of that. I'm just hoping the machine will cope with coming software for some time (perhaps a year or so) more than the current 32-bit CoreDuo. I've made it a habit to buy Macs that stay for a while. That's why I still can run the latest Archicad usefully on a 6-year old machine! Not many Windows boxes from 2000 handle AC10 very well...
But it seems that Geoff's right. It's Intels 945 chipset in the MacBookPros that stop it from utilizing more than 3GB RAM, not the chip size. So if I need more than that, I'll have to exchange the machine anyway.

I don't think the chipset will stop it from running 64-bit software (like MacOSX10.5, coming next year) though. And it's not impossible that Archicad will utilize (maybe not require) 64-bit processing in parts within a couple of years, in parts at least. Graphisoft already recommend using 64-bit Windows if you want big renderings on that platform, because it handles memory better (it's about virtual memory addressing, I think). This evolution will continue.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

KeesW — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:31:02 GMT

I visited an architectural colleague who has just bought the topmost desktop mac. It runs two Xenon Core 2 duo processors, 3GB RAM, and other bits are equally impressive. He also bought the 30" Apple Studio screen. Best of all - he runs Archicad 10 as his CAD system! He did a rendering speed test (using a benchmark devised by an Aus AC10 user). The Mac thrashed other computers so far tested with the same proceedure. The only machine that equalled it was a home made Athlon based beast with very fast bits, 4GB RAM, running XP64.

Based on what I saw and what we measured, this Mac is VERY fast - probably faster than any other standard desktop PC. I'd like to see it tested against a Dell workstation with two Xenon processors (yes, there is such a beast listed in Dell's catalogue). Will these processors make it to a notebook? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Re: Wait for the Core2Duo Macbooks?

Thomas Holm — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:59:09 GMT

KeesW wrote:
... It runs two Xenon Core 2 duo processors...Will these processors make it to a notebook?...

No. No Xeon laptops. Too hot.

Nonetheless, there will no doubt come even faster machines eventually, but this time I've waited long enough. I've placed my order on a 2.33GHz 15" MBP C2D. It will keep me shut a couple of years, I think.