Apple has just added a few new goodies to the collection of refurbished products in the Apple Store, including several Intel Core Duo-based MacBooks, MacBook Pros, iMacs, and minis. Specific models range from the 17 inch, 2.16GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro with 1GB of RAM, 120GB HD, and SuperDrive for $1,999, to the 1.66GHz Core Duo-equipped mini with 512MB of RAM, 80GB HD, and a SuperDrive. There are some good deals to be had on older Core Duo (and even newer Core 2 Duo) systems here, with savings ranging between 18% to 33%+. Of course, all systems include the standard one year warranty, so if you're looking for to save a few bucks and don't mind having a slightly older model, this is a prime opportunity.Posts with tag CoreDuo
New refurb MacBooks, minis, etc. in the Apple Store
Apple has just added a few new goodies to the collection of refurbished products in the Apple Store, including several Intel Core Duo-based MacBooks, MacBook Pros, iMacs, and minis. Specific models range from the 17 inch, 2.16GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro with 1GB of RAM, 120GB HD, and SuperDrive for $1,999, to the 1.66GHz Core Duo-equipped mini with 512MB of RAM, 80GB HD, and a SuperDrive. There are some good deals to be had on older Core Duo (and even newer Core 2 Duo) systems here, with savings ranging between 18% to 33%+. Of course, all systems include the standard one year warranty, so if you're looking for to save a few bucks and don't mind having a slightly older model, this is a prime opportunity.TUAW Mythbusting: Core 2 Duo with 3GB RAM slower than with 2GB?
Does a 3GB RAM configuration break the Core 2 Duo's dual channel requirements? Does it lower performance below what you'd get with 2GB RAM? Blogger Dino over at ip0d.com has been on the case but hasn't gotten any clear answers one way or the other. So TUAW is tossing this one out to you myth-busting readers. What's the deal here? Is this fact or fiction? Will a 3GB system run slower or not?
G3 iMac good enough for casual user?
The CRT iMacs will always hold a special place in my heart since my first Mac was a 'Blueberry' iMac (yes, I know the picture accompanying this post isn't a Blueberry iMac, it is an Indigo iMac) which is still being used today by my decidedly non-technical mother.However, does a five year old 400mz G3 iMac, that sports a processor that is three generations behind current offerings (G4, G5, and Core Duo) still cut the mustard for a casual user of OS X? According to Eugenia Loli-Queru, of OS News, it sure does. Tiger isn't as slow as you might think it would be (though that sentence is as horrible as you think it is) and for surfing the web and checking email the G3 iMac is a solid machine.
So, dear TUAW readers, anyone out there have a G3 with OS X on it as their main machine? How is it holding up?
[via Digg]
Apple Introduces $899 Education Configuration for 17-inch iMac
Apple has decided to show the EDU market even more love and has unveiled a slimmed-down 17-inch iMac for all y'all eating reheated Ramen noodles for breakfast in your dorm room right now. This model sells for a mere $899 (down from $1199 for the next model up) and includes a 1.83 Intel Core Duo CPU, as well as the typica 1440 x 900 resolution. However, the main specs that took a step down from the base retail version are a Combo drive, an 80GB Serial ATA hard drive and an Intel GMA 950 graphics with 64MB of shared memory, instead of the Radeon X1600 in the other retail versions.Students and EDU sys admins who have been pinching pennies can rejoice, for this model is shipping within 1-3 business days.
Apple pushes Intel into new direction
Apple and Intel seem to be a marriage made in heaven (it is still feels a little odd to write things like that). Anand Chandrasekher, a senior Intel exec, has been quoted by Computer World as saying that Intel's partnership with Apple has made the chip maker think about things it never considered. Chandrasekher says that this 'push' will become evident in Intel's roadmap, but don't expect anything right away.MacBook Pro gets speed bump, glossy display
Not to be outdone by its younger brother, the MacBook Pro received an update today as well. Specifically, the 2.0GHz model has been replaced by a 2.16GHz version (at $2499US), and the 1.83GHz model now sports an 2.0GHz Intel processor (at $1999US). Also, both MacBook Pro models now feature the new "glossy" display that was introduced (minutes ago) with the MacBook.Such a busy day in Mac Land.
[Via Macworld]
TUAW in Firefox in XP Home on an iMac Core Duo on TUAW
Subtitle: First Impressions of XP on a Mac.
BAM! How's that circularity for you? Yes, folks. Last night, I bravely installed Windows XP Home on my iMac Core Duo and here's a Flickr set of my installation pictures (taken with my camera phone).
What are my first impressions? It's pretty darn fast. Easily the fastest "Windows machine" I've ever worked on (and keep in mind, I used to run labs full of them). The installation was relatively painless, although I did have a few errors on my internal hard drive and had to boot off of the installation disk and run Disk Utility to repair the disk before Boot Camp would let me create the Windows partition. Unfortunately, you cannot resize this partition on the fly, so make sure you give yourself enough room. I thought I had done so, but once World of Warcraft started updating, it quickly ate up all the free space on that drive with its temporary files. So, I have to uninstall and then reinstall. I already activated this copy of XP though... how does that whole business work?
Also, I chatted with Jason Clarke over at our sibling blog, The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog, via email last night, and I think they may be posting some helpful tips for any Windows virgins who use Boot Camp to install XP on their Macs. In the past, TUMW has been the sibling weblog that we've been in a fight with, but since yesterday's release of Boot Camp means that all things Apple will eventually overtake all thinks Microsoft (as if Apple were the Borg), I don't have any problem linking to any such posts which they will produce. *grin*
My two cents: Run all the Windows Updates immediately upon installation and Download Google Pack so you have some spyware and virus protection. Keep in mind: some of those nasty Windows' viruses and worms are geared toward attacking Intel chipsets, and without OS X running interference, there's definite risk to your Intel-based Mac.
Update: Title corrected. I took another pic of TUAW in IE too, but posted the wrong one. *sorry*
Video of a MacBook Pro stomping a PowerMac G5 compiling Java
What's a
big news day without a little bit of a hardware smack down? Call me crazy, but I just found this Gear Live site through diggdot.us, and these guys posted a video podcast in
a variety of formats of a MacBook Pro with a (comparatively) measly 1 GB RAM making mince meat out of a Dual 2.0 GHz
PowerMac G5 with 4 GB RAM in a Java compile test.While it isn't a comprehensive rundown of a variety of tasks and apps these two systems can run, it's still pretty impressive to see how well this next generation hardware can perform.
Touchscreen Intel iMacs available
This is good
news. We have several touchscreen-enabled Macs at my day job, all from Troll
Touch. Earlier this week they announced that the 20" Intel iMac will be added to their lineup. Their system
uses the Mac's existing screen, so there's nothing you need to attach to the front (that kids constantly pull off,
prompting frequent recalibration). Like I said, I support several of these, and we've never had a problem. You can make
use of the display with either a stylus or a finger.You can order a touch-enabled 17- or 20-inch iMac Core Duo directly from Troll Touch for $2,275US or $2,675US respectively, or they'll convert the one you already own for $869US and $1045US (including round trip shipping).
[Via MacNN]
MacBook Pro vs PowerBook 2.0 GHz benchmarks
No, that
headline is not a typo. I found an extensive set of MacBook Pro benchmarks over at Bare Feats that pits the machine against a Dual Core G5 2.0 GHz, an iMac
Core Duo 2.0 GHz, a MacBook Pro Solo 2.0 GHz (for good measure I guess) and a PowerBook G4 that has been upgraded to
2.0 GHz, thanks to Daystar
Technology. Yes, from checking out their site it looks like it's possible to upgrade some PowerBooks to 2.0 GHz G4
chips, but it'll cost ya - the upgrade is $499.Getting back to the benchmarks topic: Bare Feats ran the typical Cinebench and Photoshop tests between these machines, and as usual the iMac Core Duo typically won out, with the MacBook Pro pleasantly nipping at its heels. They also produced some pleasant frame rates when testing Doom 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004.
Bare Feats also tested whether matching memory pairs - such as two 1 GB sticks - made any difference in performance over a 1 GB 256 MB configuration. Fortunately, there was virtually no difference in their tests, save for small, single digit improvements in iMovie and Photoshop CS that aren't really anything to write home about.
[via IMG]
Core solo Mac mini upgraded to core duo
Check this out.
Xtreme Systems forum user Fugger bought an Intel Mac mini core solo and upgraded it to a core duo on his own using an
Intel Yonah 2.16 Core Duo. He writes:"Once the motherboard is out, flip it over and locate the plastic tabs that hold down the CPU bracket. Squeeze them and it will pop off. I highly suggest using one hand to hold heat sink level as it can and will flop to one side with possible damage to core edges. The same goes for reassembly. You will also see a small connector for a thermal diode attached to the underside of the heat sink once you have it loose, remove the clip if you want to remove it completely."
Pictures were up at the time of my sitting down to write this (11:30PM EST March 5), but have since disappeared. Hopefully he'll put them back up.
AnandTech takes a look at the Intel iMac
Anand, from the appropriately named site AnandTech, has gotten
his hands on an iMac G5 and an Intel iMac and took both for a spin. He spends lots of time in this very lengthy
review comparing the performance of the two, and time after time the Intel iMac is faster, but not mind blowingly
so.This review is extensive (have I mentioned that?), but it is well worth a read because there are many thought provoking gems in there. If you don't have the time to read it, Anand likes the iMac (though it isn't the computer for him) but he thinks that the iMac to get will be the next rev when we will (hopefully) see a brand new design that takes advantage of a much cooler running processor.
Thanks, Raghu.
Update on Intel's OS X Software Development Tools
I have a bit of an update to my previous post on Intel's
release of Fortran, C , and Math Kernel Libraries for OS X. In an article at ZDNet, James Reinders of Intel notes that to take full
advantage of the Intel Core Duo dual processors for OS X applications, programmers will need to use these tools. This
sounds like a bit of marketing hutzpa, but maybe it's true that XCode in and of itself won't be tuned for dual core
processors.Also, pricing has been released for the tools (currently in beta) set to release in Summer of 2006:
- Intel® C Compiler for Mac OS: $399
- Intel® Fortran Compiler for
Mac OS: $499
- Intel® Math Kernel Library for Mac OS: $399
- Intel®
Integrated Performance Primitives for Mac OS: $199
[via MacFixIt]
Apple - Intel info
Apple has
created a website to answer all your questions about the new Intel Core Duo
chips that now power some of our beloved Macs. Thrill to the performance charts that show Intel chips kicking G4 and G5
butt. No one toasted Intel bunny in sight.It is a brave new world, friends, and I for one welcome our new Intel overlords with open arms.
New iMac and MacBook Pro (fortunately) void of Intel branding
AdJab was the first to notice something we've all been
worrying about since the day Jobs announced the switch to Intel chips: Intel branding on the new Macs, or more
specifically: the lack therof. After checking the product sites for the new iMac and MacBook Pro and
confirming with a couple of our on-site bloggers, it's official: the new Macs weren't marred by any of the typical
stickers and other silly marketing gobbly gook that our PC counterparts are victims of. So you lucky bunch who are
placing orders right now for zippy new Intel-infused Macs, rest assured: they're still beautiful and sticker-free.
