mbp Apple's MacBook Pros with Retina display now have faster processors and more memory

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Apple's MacBook Pros with Retina display now have faster processors and more memory

High-end 15-inch model also sees price cut

 

Apple's just updated its top of the line MacBook Pro with Retina display lineup with speedier chips, right in the middle of the back to school season. New today are three updated 13-inch models, and two 15-inch notebooks that have Intel's newest i5 and i7 Haswell processors. The entry-level 13-inch model now comes with a 2.6 Intel Core i5 chip and 8GB of memory instead of the 2.4GHz Core i5 chip, and 4GB of memory Apple was offering yesterday. Apple's also made a change on the entry-level 15-inch model, bumping the memory up to 16GB from 8GB and the processor from 2.0GHz to 2.2GHz.

 

Unlike its recent price cut across its MacBook Air line, Apple's mostly stuck with the same pricing for the MacBook Pro with Retina display, starting at $1,299 for the 13-inch model and $1,999 for the 15-inch model. However, the more expensive 15-inch model, which comes with discrete graphics, has dropped from $2,599 to $2,499.

 

The last change to the Retina line of MacBook Pros was last October. That update shaved size and weight from the 13-inch model, and added Intel Haswell processors and Iris graphics chips to both models. Apple also added 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Thunderbolt 2 ports, and faster PCIe flash storage. Today's changes leaked out over the weekend thanks to an in-store iPad display, purportedly from one of Apple's retail stores in China.

 

The new models come a few months ahead of the next major version of Mac OS X Yosemite, which Apple opened up to one million beta testers last week, and in the middle of its back to school promotion, which runs through August 9th. That software will be a free upgrade to users when it's released in the fall, and brings a new look, an expanded notification center with widgets, and interplay with iOS devices to let users hand off what they're doing from one device to the other ? including phone calls and SMS messages.

 

Source: The Verge

[UKer]

It's about time they upgraded the RAM, 4GB is just not enough to cope nowadays.

 

My laptop initially had this but thankfully I got a 2012 that can be upgraded and immediately put in 16GB, this made a world of difference. Anyone considering a Mac should opt for 16GB to future proof. It's a shame the newer models aren't user-upgradable though.

[Elliot B.]

It's about time they upgraded the RAM, 4GB is just not enough to cope nowadays.

 

My laptop initially had this but thankfully I got a 2012 that can be upgraded and immediately put in 16GB, this made a world of difference. Anyone considering a Mac should opt for 16GB to future proof. It's a shame the newer models aren't user-upgradable though.

16 GB isn't required for most people but 8 GB is certainly beneficial to the majority.

[UKer]

16 GB isn't required for most people but 8 GB is certainly beneficial to the majority.

 

True, but with just a few apps open I'm normally using at least 10GB (no big apps just iTunes, Skype, Office, Mail and Twitter). A 8GB system could do this no problems but using disk cache that slows things down a lot.

 

Now you could just about get away with 8GB but in a couple of years this will not be sufficient.

[Elliot B.]

True, but with just a few apps open I'm normally using at least 10GB (no big apps just iTunes, Skype, Office, Mail and Twitter). A 8GB system could do this no problems but using disk cache that slows things down a lot.

 

Now you could just about get away with 8GB but in a couple of years this will not be sufficient.

Mac OS X plus those few apps running will not use 8 GB.

 

What is happening is some of the apps are using the extra RAM to store additional information should you need it (e.g. extended libraries etc.) and they will release said extra memory if another program needs it.

 

Due to this, whilst your system is showing 10 GB of RAM use, it absolutely doesn't need close to that.

 

I assure you, Mac OS X with iTunes, Skype, Office, Mail and Twitter running will run just as fast (and with zero disk swapping) on 8 GB RAM as it would with 16 GB RAM.

[francescob]

My laptop initially had this but thankfully I got a 2012 that can be upgraded and immediately put in 16GB, this made a world of difference. Anyone considering a Mac should opt for 16GB to future proof. It's a shame the newer models aren't user-upgradable though.

 

RAM prices have doubled since 2012 because of some god-only-knows disaster somewhere that affected production (just like for HDDs) :(

[UKer]

RAM prices have doubled since 2012 because of some god-only-knows disaster somewhere that affected production (just like for HDDs) :(

 

It's annoying for sure! Although I managed to get 16 GB of premium Crucial RAM for ?105 which isn't too bad - but prices where I live (in Spain) are generally low.

 

I just wish SSDs would drop more, I can't afford a decent sized drive until they do - and this is an upgrade I really want because standard HDDs are a serious bottleneck. When you have kids spending ?250 (the current price for 512 GB) is impossible without months of saving.