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| thesimplicity |
 Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 5:45 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 122
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Edit: and now I know that there's a character limit in topic titles
At first I thought it was identical to the 15" MacBook Pro, but then I was looking at the technical specs on the Apple store.
-FireWire 800
-Three USB2 ports (the 15" only has two)
-8X DL SuperDrive (up from a 4X SL)
-120GB 5400 HDD standard (which means you can select a 100GB 7200 drive for no extra cost)
Pricing out both a 15" and a 17" model on the apple store to the same specs (2.16 gHz, 2GBs RAM, 7200RPM drive, and Apple Care), the 15" comes to $3,548.00 and the 17" is $3,448.00. How does that work?! An extra USB port, FireWire 800, a faster burner... all for $100 less. So very, very tempting.
With the FireWire 800 this model is set for video work... but what about audio stuff? It's got that nifty little ExpressCard/34 slot... to be honest, I'm not sure what's available for that format. Anyone know of any nifty audio interfaces (24/96 maybe?) that can be crammed in there? |
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| PeterKirn |
| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:05 pm |
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Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 822
Location: New York, NY
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Nice pricing tip there!
I don't think there are any ExpressCard audio devices, no. Your best bet is to try a 3G/EVDO Internet card if your mobile phone company supports it, basically, from what I've heard. Many PC consumers have been complaining that PC makers pushed this format way too fast, without any devices . . . though the availability of laptops with the slot means that can't be true for long. I don't know if any audio makers plan to support it, however. |
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| thesimplicity |
| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:57 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 122
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Yeah, I found the ExpressCard site that has a list of all the modules certified by PCMCIA... not a lot to choose from. Basically if you're looking for a TV Tuner or a memory card reader you'll be set. It's a shame, because it seems blazingly fast and a swappable plug-and-play audio interface to take advantage of that speed would be a dream.
I was intrigued by the mention of SATA controller cards, but they all seem to be ExpressCard/54. |
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| PeterKirn |
| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:25 pm |
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Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 822
Location: New York, NY
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| Well, and I think it's likely that a lot of Apple's decisions are now driven in part by Intel motherboards. There was this huge fuss over the FW800 thing, but there's already speculation that that was mobo driven. |
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| Egz |
| Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 7:54 pm |
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Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 10
Location: CA, USA
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What do you shove in the slot? A good question. Built in 24/96 Audio via 1/8" Spdif, condenser Mic also 24/96 ( not bad for built in!) now with dual processors... What is left to add? Wifi, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, DVD-R, Audio surround sound via S/PDIF, Video out, Gig ethernet, ports up the wazoo...
This is a dream machine, so you're supposed to not feel it needs anything... if you already compromised on size vs portability - this is a desktop replacement. So, while in the "future" you may need some sort of additions - which superfast FW/card - makes easy... you don't want to need them just yet... supposed future proof features.... no excuse not to buy... ( I remember some people asking why 6 PCI slots were removed - and that even at it's peak, only 5% ever added a card... ever... then noticing why 
FW800 isn't because Intel didn't support it - size constraints, heat, cooling, and largely anyone who wants FW800 ( 50MB/sec is pretty good) is specialty, high end, and is a good fit for extreme models.. Bigger, faster, more... Why what does FW800 offer... and who has a FW800 plug which needs 100MB/sec transfers?? No HD can max out 50MB/sec...? |
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| thesimplicity |
| Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 2:29 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 122
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Egz wrote: FW800 isn't because Intel didn't support it - size constraints, heat, cooling, and largely anyone who wants FW800 ( 50MB/sec is pretty good) is specialty, high end, and is a good fit for extreme models.. Bigger, faster, more... Why what does FW800 offer... and who has a FW800 plug which needs 100MB/sec transfers?? No HD can max out 50MB/sec...?
The big advantage of FW800: cable length. FW400 only works well at about 5 meters (although you can daisy chain cables, but that's a pain in the ass) whereas FW800 lets you use 100 meter cables. That's a lifesaver for a lot of stuff, from previews over FW in FCP/AE to file transfers between workstations.
Another advantage: no risk of shorts when hot-swapping. This was a HUGE problem with FW400... I can't tell you how many 3-chip cameras I've had to get repaired because of it.
In terms of speed, it's true that HD doesn't eat a lot of bandwidth, but multiple R/W instances do. IP over FW is wonderful using FW800, and external drives handle much better in the 800 flavor. |
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| PeterKirn |
| Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 3:03 pm |
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Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 822
Location: New York, NY
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| Well, in fairness, if you need more than 5m cable length you're more likely to be using a desktop than a laptop. Part of my problem with FW800 was that it wasn't delivering the bandwidth gains promised. Certainly, for a limited audience, there's an argument to be made for FW800, even if it's unlikely to supplant FW400 in the way that USB2 replaced USB1. An even nicer extra on the 17" MacBook Pro is (finally) adding an extra USB 2.0 port. |
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