Macbook Pro 13" - 2014 vs 2015

[Space_Chief]

Thanks for the interesting read. I doubt the new MBP will be "twice as fast" as last year's iteration. The performance of the storage might be, but that does not simply translate to twice the performance across the board, I would guess. I'd love to know what the day-to-day impact of this upgraded PCIe 3.0 x4 will be.

True. It will not be twice as fast. Unless you're doing a cr@ppola load of copying/reading/writing to the disk you won't really notice a difference. Moving files around on the same device, sure, but it's really the random access where SSDs shine. You're not reading 10s of GBs of data when booting up anyway. The random access depends on the internal working of the RAM and controller anyway - you'll get the same with SATA 1, 2 and 3 and PCIE 3 for everyday use.

When it comes to moving files OFF or onto your device from external devices it will all depend on the speed those devices run at.

For basic use a SATA2/3 SSD is more than good enough.

If you also want to game on the thing make sure it has a decent GeForce accelerator. CPU and SSD speed mean nothing in that context.

Intel CPUs only increase by 10-15% in terms of speed per generation from what I remember.

 

[thewusman]

Once you take ssd speeds and random io performance out of the equation, the crux of mobile CPU performance these days is a balance between screen, cpu thermal envelope (TDP), battery life and chassis size.

You can have a slightly higher performing core part with a higher TDP, with higher turbo frequencies, that will require more thermal headroom thus active cooling and a larger battery. It will need a larger chassis and will weigh more.

Or you can have a passively cooled fanless core M, with far less performance, in a featherlight design.

Choose the correct tool for your needs.

Exciting times for mobile computing...

 

[Space_Chief]

Or you can have a passively cooled fanless core M, with far less performance, in a featherlight design.

Choose the correct tool for your needs.

Except NEC has been putting in i7 CPUs in sub 900g chassis for several years now. Panasonic has been doing something similar too.

 

[PostmanPot]

Once you take ssd speeds and random io performance out of the equation, the crux of mobile CPU performance these days is a balance between screen, cpu thermal envelope (TDP), battery life and chassis size.

You can have a slightly higher performing core part with a higher TDP, with higher turbo frequencies, that will require more thermal headroom thus active cooling and a larger battery. It will need a larger chassis and will weigh more.

Or you can have a passively cooled fanless core M, with far less performance, in a featherlight design.

Choose the correct tool for your needs.

Exciting times for mobile computing...

+1

 

[Space_Chief]

The new SSD connector is nice but the issue I have is with third party upgrade options. At least with the previous version one could upgrade to a new device.... for people down in SA where there is no proper Apple support aftermarket upgrades are difficult and simpler DIY solutions are more sensible.

 

[thewusman]

Except NEC has been putting in i7 CPUs in sub 900g chassis for several years now. Panasonic has been doing something similar too.

Sure, I just don't see many people buying NEC or Panasonic, guess it's down to overall package, price and marketing (plus a bit of brand loyalty, which Apple has in abundance).

 

[Space_Chief]

Sure, I just don't see many people buying NEC or Panasonic, guess it's down to overall package, price and marketing (plus a bit of brand loyalty, which Apple has in abundance).

Panasonic Let's Note is very popular among Japanese businesspeople because of the reliability, lightness and build quality (they're assembled in Japan). Panasonic has limited presence in the US. The Toughened Panys are used by the US military and police departments and I've even seen some local paramedics use them. NEC only makes Japanese market computers and they are quite proud of it. They've signed a deal recently with Lenovo and may be producing for overseas markets. The nice thing is that both companies are strong innovators in the laptop arena especially light machines, with Pany making light and tough (think drop proof, water proof for business use). It would be nice to see an Apple collaboration with a Japanese company like NEC or Panasonic. I think Pany is going with IBM for some collaboration.