Thinking of getting 13" MBP

I get probably about 6 on mine?
Only really an issue if I forget to charge it and then need to use if for a long damn time.
 
^ This.

My new 13.1" Sony Vaio Z should be arriving soon and it'll have 7 hours of battery life, or 10 hours if I get the 9 cell instead of the 6 cell. It was rather spendy though as that model is high end (two SSD's in RAID 0, etc.).

SSD's are the biggest battery saver I hear.

I would be interested to know how the Z performs, I have thinking of getting one myself and have heard bad stories about the ssd on the Z.
 
I would be interested to know how the Z performs, I have thinking of getting one myself and have heard bad stories about the ssd on the Z.

I got my laptop this morning. It has dual Toshiba THNSNC128GMMJ SDDs.
 
Why would one need dual SSDs? I would have thought the optimal config would be SSD/HD combo for both space and speed, or even just 1 SSD to save weight (also its a laptop, how much stuff do you really want on it?)

What i do like about Apple hardware (especially mobile products) is the simple design and minimal branding, i wish more brands followed that philosophy instead looking like a walking billboard everytime you opened the laptop.

Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
 
The only thing I know is that the MBP SSD's are Toshiba branded aswell and some people have said that they have decent speed at best but they last for a bit longer than regular SSD's (that bit is only mentioned cos there is no TRIM support in OSX). :dunno:
 
Use gfxCardStatus to force Intel graphics while not plugged in and generally watch what's running in the background. That, keyboard backlight off and adequate screen brightness allows me to get up to 6 hours of movie playback and up to about 8-9 hours of reading/lazy browsing. Never really drained the battery flat, probably only got it down to 30-20% but all the estimates suggest those numbers. Current 2.66 i7 15" MBP.
 
Why would one need dual SSDs? I would have thought the optimal config would be SSD/HD combo for both space and speed, or even just 1 SSD to save weight (also its a laptop, how much stuff do you really want on it?)

What i do like about Apple hardware (especially mobile products) is the simple design and minimal branding, i wish more brands followed that philosophy instead looking like a walking billboard everytime you opened the laptop.

Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk

Like Viper said, its the speed. You set em up as a RAID 0 config and you are pretty much doubling your throughput.
 
Just fyi, it looks like the MacBook Pro line will be refreshed this week with Sandy Bridge, also default SSDs look likely.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/21...-larger-trackpads-dedicated-ssd-for-mac-os-x/
New MacBook Pros to Carry Larger Trackpads, Dedicated SSD for Mac OS X?

Monday February 21, 2011 04:41 PM EST; Category: MacBook Pro
Written by Eric Slivka

While all signs are pointing to updated MacBook Pros appearing later this week, most likely on Thursday, details on what changes might be included have been rather scant. But a new report from BGR now offers a few claims about what might be included beyond an upgrade to Intel's Sandy Bridge processors.

The first tidbit of information claims that the new MacBook Pros will offer larger trackpads than those found on current models, opening the door for greater flexibility for users and perhaps options for more complex gestures.

The report also claims that the updated machines will offer a dedicated solid-state drive of 8-16 GB to house Mac OS X system files that would allow for fast system boot-up and performance. Additional machine storage would be made available in either traditional hard drives or with solid-state drive upgrades.

The next bit of information doesn't quite make sense to us, but we have been told the OS on the laptops will be loaded to a separate (internal) 8-16GB SSD while everything else will remain on the regular hard drive. There will be options for just SSD drives but the base models will feature regular hard disks with the SSD combo for the OS.
The idea of separate flash-based storage for system files is not a new one, as reports dating back to early 2006 suggested that Apple might adopt Intel's "Turbo Memory" feature that offered similar functionality. At the time the advantages of using an SSD/Hard Drive hybrid were improved performance and longer battery life:

[Turbo Memory] utilizes NAND flash memory instead of the hard disk for computer startup and launching frequently used applications. The use of this technology would allow for faster boot up times and improved battery life in portables utilizing the technology.
Finally, the report's source indicates that Apple has shaved approximately half a pound off of the weight of each of the MacBook Pro models.


I used to have a 15' MBP but the logicboard went dead after three years and the cost of replacing was just too much, so I'm without a home computer currently. My dad has a 13' MBP, I borrowed it from him for like 2 months and I found myself constrained by the screen size, for instance not being able to have download window right next to the browser window really bugged me. So I have been saving up for a new 15' MBP, so I'll getting in several days hopefully :). But if you really don't care/need the bigger screensize the cost saving for going for the 13' is quite significant IMO.
 
Just fyi, it looks like the MacBook Pro line will be refreshed this week with Sandy Bridge, also default SSDs look likely.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/21...-larger-trackpads-dedicated-ssd-for-mac-os-x/

I used to have a 15' MBP but the logicboard went dead after three years and the cost of replacing was just too much, so I'm without a home computer currently. My dad has a 13' MBP, I borrowed it from him for like 2 months and I found myself constrained by the screen size, for instance not being able to have download window right next to the browser window really bugged me. So I have been saving up for a new 15' MBP, so I'll getting in several days hopefully :). But if you really don't care/need the bigger screensize the cost saving for going for the 13' is quite significant IMO.
Thanks I was waiting for the refresh before anything happens :) I'm ok with the screen size, all my current laptops are 13" Good luck to you on getting your 15"!!!
 
Looking at the 13" MacBook Air, I expect the new 13" Pro to have the same resolution as the 15".
 
Also heard that the optical drive may be lost in favor of a bigger battery.
 
Wow that sounds great, just wish it ran Windows better (according to your reports here). What are the best alternatives that match Apple build quality and aesthetics (and also have good battery life) for Windows-based laptops?
 
Lenovo's ThinkPad line (while their build quality isn't as good as it was in the nineties, they are still pretty solid) and the "business" lines by Dell and Sony. Sony are complete assholes about spare parts and third-party repairs even after warranty, so i'd stay away from them.
 
Why would one need dual SSDs? I would have thought the optimal config would be SSD/HD combo for both space and speed, or even just 1 SSD to save weight (also its a laptop, how much stuff do you really want on it?)

What i do like about Apple hardware (especially mobile products) is the simple design and minimal branding, i wish more brands followed that philosophy instead looking like a walking billboard everytime you opened the laptop.

Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk

RAID 0 would speed up two SSDs.
 
I've had my 13" Blackbook since they came out 5 years ago or so. Definitely enjoyed using it, no problems whatsoever except the battery is dead from me leaving it on the charge once I graduated college. OSX was much more streamlined for what I was doing at the time (mail, internet, note taking, itunes, basic stuff) than when I was building PCs and what not prior to college. I am going to buy a Macbook Pro 15" whenever they come out with the new ones hopefully in the next few months.
 
Wow that sounds great, just wish it ran Windows better (according to your reports here). What are the best alternatives that match Apple build quality and aesthetics (and also have good battery life) for Windows-based laptops?

What Dr_Grip said. Aesthetics is really not matched in the PC world sadly. The Thinkpads look like complete and utter crap also they don't tend to put discrete graphics into their 13" laptops but it seems like Apple might not be (according to latest rumors) doing that either.
 
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