Macbook: Go With Penryn Now Or Wait For Montevina?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
by Charles W. Moore
The latest MacBook revisions released in late February incorporating Intel’s 45 nanometer technology Penryn processors represent a significant advance in thermal performance (they run a cooler and consume battery charges more sparingly), and a modest speed bump, so does the value-added now make now a good time to take the upgrade plunge if that’s something you’ve been considering?
A qualified yes. The early 2008 revision is the most desirable MacBook yet, and its cooler-running characteristics make it especially attractive for folks like myself who detest the sound of cooling fans howling away in the background as we work, listen to music, or whatever.
On the other hand, one feature that we can safely anticipate is coming, but not here yet with this latest refresh, is LED display backlighting, which has been available on the 15 inch MacBook Pro since June, 2007, and in the MacBook Air since its introduction in January, but not on the MacBook thus far. Since the MacBook Air uses a 13.3-inch display similar to the one in the MacBook, one can assume that it’s a matter of cost and perhaps supply rather than any technical impediment, so there will presumably be an LED-illumined MacBook in the fullness of time for those patient enough to wait for it. LED backlighting is of course brighter, more even, promises a longer service life with more uniform output, and drains less battery power, so there are plenty of reasons to prefer it.
The other caveat is that as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, another CPU upgrade is being readied, the second-generation Intel 45 nm mobile processor chip production code-named Montevina, which is anticipated will become available in the MacBook Pro and MacBook later this year, although the introductions respectively may not be simultaneous next time. For instance, the MacBook Pro was upgraded to Intel’s “Merom” based “Santa Rosa” Core 2 Duo processors last June, while the MacBook didn’t get Santa Rosa-ed until November. Hard to say which way it will fall this year, but as I reported here in The Agenda yesterday, rumor site Appleinsider, which isn’t always correct in its predictions, but is more often than not, thinks it may be sooner rather than later, and forecasts that the latest revision MacBook Pros and MacBooks will be the last iterations of the current designs and will receive a major generational shift with the upgrade to Montevina processors later this year.
Appleinsider’s Kasper Jade suggests that the changeover may happen as soon as sometime in the third quarter of ‘08, and perhaps nore interesting that timeline speculation suggests that the MacBook especially is slated for a major metamorphosis from its current form factor with its polycarbonate housing to be replaced with a new, probably thinner but not as radically-so as the MacBook Air, aluminum case, creating thematic uniformity across the entire Apple line of systems. Part of this will also be in aid of using more green-friendly, recyclable materials like aluminum and stainless steel.
Jade says that the new designs will take cues from the current aluminum iMacs and the MacBook Air, with the latter’s keyboard being adopted across the board. If this happens it will be interesting to see if the MacBook gets keyboard backlighting, and if a redesign this substantial is in the pipeline, I would be very surprised if the new MacBook doesn’t get its LED illuminated display.
Part of the impetus for a form factor redesign at this time according to the Appleinsider report is that a motherboard overhaul for both the MacBook and MacBook Pro will be necessary to accommodate the “Montevina” Centrino 2 mobile processors, due for release in June, and which require a new “Socket B” logic-board, which the article says will get a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus and have clock speeds between 2.26 GHz and 2.8GHz.
Montevina (Centrino 2 in the PC universe) will also introduce DDR3 support to notebooks, which in turn will help boost battery life, and presumably run cooler yet due to DDR3’s lower operating voltage (1.5V vs. 1.8V). Montevina will will feature faster new GMA X4500HD integrated graphics support than the current GMA X3100 and a lower power chipset. The GMA X4500HD will add full hardware H.264 decode acceleration, which will enable native hardware support for high-definition entertainment using Blu-ray drive, and better Blu-Ray performance on battery power, although Blu-Ray will almost certainly find its way into the MacBook Pro before the MacBook gets it. Montevina will also be the first CPU platform from Intel to offer an integrated Wi-Fi and WiMAX wireless access option that is expected to be available in certain notebooks, although we can’t be certain at this juncture that Apple will choose to go with that.
I had previously been under the impression that Montevina would be pin compatible with the current Penryn CPUs, and that the logic board change would come with the next-generation Nehalem chips in 2009, but that was a second-hand surmise based on other rumor reports.
Anyway, this is all an intriguing line of speculation. What we can be virtually certain of is at least one more MacBook Pro and MacBook refresh to come this year, and presumably a Revision B MacBook Air as well, Whether it turns out to be as radical as Appleinsider is saying remains to be seen, but as I noted their track record at predicting such things is pretty good.
It does make the decision whether to update ones’ system now or wait for the new ones more complicated, with the caveat against buying Revision A of anything that some of us adhere to also in the mix. Interesting times, and in this instance it may not pay to be too rigid about that.
Personally, I’ve been flirting with a MacIntel upgrade for half a year now, and was on the verge of committing back in January after I’d quickly determined that the MacBook Air wasn’t for me, when I was blindsided my main writing gig melting down with an unexpected newspaper closure which represents a substantial loss of income and obliges me to reassess my budget. As it turned out, I’m glad I stepped back, since I would have had serious buyer remorse had I gone with the then current Santa Rosa MacBooks once the Penryns came on stream month later.
Aside from budget considerations, I’ve been in no particular hurry actually. My 17-inch G4 PowerBook, which I purchased in early 2006, was always intended to be a transitional machine, but it turned out to be a lot more satisfactory then I had dared anticipate, providing very decent real world performance for most of the stuff I do with computers, been totally reliable with essentially zero problems (and it was an Apple Certified Refurbished unit too), and the big, reasonably bright, 17-inch 1440 x 900 widescreen display is certainly no hardship to live with.
However, it’s a machine that was manufactured back in 2005, and is now into its third year of actual service, and beginning to show its page performance-wise. Mac OS 10.5 Leopard works reasonably well, at least well enough that I’m not seriously tempted to go back to OS 10.4 Tiger, which is still installed on a second hard drive partition, but not well enough that it doesn’t pose some on-going tedium and frustration.
Another factor is that I would really like to be able to run MacSpeech’s new Dictate voice recognition software, which is based on the industry gold standard but hitherto Windows-only Dragon Naturally Speaking, and which requires an Intel processor. I’m still getting a good service from MacSpeech’s previous iListen application, but by all accounts Dictate represents a substantial improvement over iListen.
Dictate support proved to be the upgrade tipping-point for reader Bruce Williamson, who recently upgraded from a 14” iBook to a new Penryn 2.4 GHz MacBook.
Bruce says he made the move entirely because of wanting to be able to use MacSpeech Dictate, but says he’s
“stunned” at how much he likes the MacBook after only a few days of use. He says: the display is gorgeous, MUCH whiter and brighter than the iBook even though he would have preferred an LED backlight.
As for the form factor, Bruce says he thinks Apple has reached some kind of perfection with this design, although of course it will always be fun to see how Apple will continue to reinvent products that we are completely satisfied with. He reports that heat buildup does not seem to be an issue, although the fans do cut in when the machine is under increased processor load.
Sounds pretty nice, but I’m still dithering, especially after reading that Appleinsider rumor this week. If I could be 100 percent certain that LED backlighting and a case redesign will be included in the Montevina-based next revision of the MacBook later this year, that would be a strong reason to hold off making a purchase for a few more months, which is the way I find myself leaning now. I would at least like to see if Apple does redesign the MacBook before committing, although if a new one tilts too far toward the MacBook Air insanely thin motif, I might in the end go with a Penryn unit anyway, but I’d like to be able to make an informed choice.
Of course what I would really like to have is a MacBook Pro, which does have the LED backlight, but I simply can’t rationalize paying almost twice the price by the base MacBook for one of those.
Then in the queue for 2009 is the next phase 45nm CPU, Nehalem, which promises more new features and significantly enhanced performance...... Hmmmm.....
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