How would you change Apple's Core i7 MacBook Pro?
By Darren Murph 
posted May 29th 2010 1:31AM
posted May 29th 2010 1:31AM
posted May 29th 2010 1:31AM
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I was waiting a few months for the refresh but still bought despite the lack of features. One of the biggest was no 3G. This just seemed logical given the rest of Apple's product line-up especially with the near release of the iPad.
Blu-ray, not so much, USB3.0, not so much.
Was disappointed with the i7 chip available, not being a quad core and also the lack of heavy duty graphics. 330M...
That $$$ would've been better spent on a top of the range iMac given it's a better performing machine than the new MBP but I needed something portable.
I don't care about inner stuff. I'm not computer maniac, and I really don't care if it has i7 or whatever. I'm sure it will run my Excel sheet fine, and Eve Online decently.
What I really care is the visual/touch part of the deal. Current make is ugly. I even bought the latest make of previous model (with silver keyboard) when I needed to upgrade instead of the current one just because this new black key look and the flat buttons of the keyboard are awful and disgusting. And I hate the feel of flat buttons.
The second issue is dominance of the glossy screen. I hate it, again, one of the reasons I didn't buy it.
To me it seems simple - take the older silver-key model of MBP, make it with unibody, and this is insta buy for me.
I really don't care about ExpressCard. SD is nice addition (I always was like WHAT THE HELL they put ExpressCard in for?)
On the other parts, I don't want much - until it lets video out and sound out (and optic out is nice addition), it's all fine to me.
@eskr
A "anti-gloss" option is available through the apple online store at the time of purchase. This removes the black bezel and replaces it with a finish much like that on the macbook air.
@daba yea but for the princely sum of $150, that option should be FREE!!!
This is a little off-topic but I sure wish they had updated the Pro 13 with an i3 or i5 processor!
Better graphics, lower price, some kind of update to the display so it doesn't look like a mirror.
GPS.
Actually I think it's pretty good the way it is. The only thing I wish I had was more USB ports.. 2 more on the right near the optical drive would be good. Based on my knowledge of the internals, that means adding an extra USB board with an extension cable going to the logic board (logic board is in the top left corner.) Not impossible, but you would need to make room over there by squishing the battery and hard drive over to the left, so aka that means a smaller battery.
make it 13" big.......
Same thing I've been saying for the last TWO YEARS... Blu-Ray.
I also wouldn't turn my nose up at an Nvidia GTX 480M (as opposed to the weaksauce 330M in current models).
1) update more often than once a year
2) Fermi gpu (coming in june)
3) HDMI
4) better speakers
Light Peak - Intel/Apple USB alt., probably coming on next gen.
I just bought the 2.53Ghz, 500 gig HDD, 4gig memory, i5 model.
First Mac. Payed around 2300 due to Tennessee's ridiculous 9.5% sales tax.
I've had it a little over a week and I can honestly say it has surpassed my expectations as far as performance and ease of use. I am not experiencing buyer's remorse as I thought I would. That being said I do have a few things I wish to change. No deal breakers, just little qualms that I feel could've been dealt with better.
1. 2 USB ports? That's absolutely ridiculous. Would've preferred a minimum of 3, and USB 3.0 would've been nice but not necessary. And the 2 that are included are really too close together, if I use a wider based USB drive, it blocks the other one.
2. A few days ago I wanted to see what it could really do, so I rendered video in Final Cut, Edited a photo in Photoshop, and watched a video on Hulu. Things got so hot at one point I had to remove it from my lap.
3. Alot of Macbook Pros are sold to working professionals like photographers, hardly ANY pro photographers use an SD card.. Compact Flash is what pretty much all Amateur/Pro DSLRs use. I NEVER used the SD card slot on my HP, and that won't be changing now.
But the things I do love about it outweigh both of those.
1. Trackpad=pure bliss. Moving from a HP DV6T where you have this gaudy chrome small trackpad to this multitouch trackpad is just a complete 180.
2. This thing is gorgeous.
3. Mac OS X throughout the entire system is insanely easy. It took me literally over 3 hours and countless tutorial sites on W7 to figure out how to create a Dial up network over bluetooth.. Literally 5 minutes on Mac with no google searches.
Majority of users are asking for the same things which actually increases cost due to licensing. Give and take folks. Pay less is a shoe store, not a reality when it comes to apple products. Apple will always be a premium, though with their stock value so high, you'd think they can afford to give back to the loyal customers through upgrade incentives/owner loyalty (real value more than 200 plz) Just a shout to your marketing guys, somewhere along the way you will always lose some, loyalty is key and rewarding them isnt going to drive down the value of your products, its going to increase your new base.
But definitely better graphics on the main stream products. few gens back on the hardware is .. well. lol.
Remember when apple hardware was "high end" scsi devices and high end server ram while pcs were main stream ide. lol thx for keepin the money and not giving back.
Having just bought my sister a 15" Macbook Pro it set us down $2k+ For any computer that has a 320m that is just too much. We could have gone with the 13" for cheaper, but then we'd have been stuck with a 4 year old CPU technology. An i5 is necessary for a laptop that will last through college at this point, and the more futureproof i7 options don't get any cheaper.
What I would do is ditch Nvidia. The current graphics system is power efficient enough for the 9 hour battery life, but is anemic when compared to any other offering in the same class. Pumping it up would almost necessarily mean Fermi which is a power hungry beast. Go with ATI's switchable graphics and you have at least a semi-power-efficient and powerful machine. Perhaps along with this upgrade they'd have to rework the airflow. Even without a more powerful graphics option the i7 Macbooks are toasty.
Next would definitely be the price. I would suggest throwing in the 3 year AppleCare for free. If you are spending 2K on a ~$1400 laptop it should come with that service.
Some optional things would be to add the option to replace the cd drive with a battery. It would help out with the more powerful graphics or give you an all day laptop if you didn't go with a more powerful graphics solution. Perhaps you could make the laptop almost modular and also have the option of trading the cd drive for another hard drive. I personally don't like the backlit keyboard, and if you are using the keyboard area as a vent then why add the extra heat; though minimal.
Some people have mentioned an IPS screen, but I think that would conflict too much with the price and power requirements. Plus, it already has a very competitive screen.
@dsrjr Good lord I've riddled my post with grammar errors. 330M instead of 320m in the first paragraph.