“Apple’s new 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, unveiled on Tuesday, didn’t include a processor upgrade due to Broadwell delays, but it did get a Force Touch trackpad and one other major improvement — new PCIe-based flash storage that Apple says is 2.5 times faster than the flash storage in previous-generation machines, with throughput up to 2GB/s,” Juli Clover reports for MacRumors.
“In benchmark testing conducted by French site MacGeneration, the entry-level 2.2GHz 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and 256GB of storage lived up to Apple’s claims, demonstrating impressive read/write speeds that topped out at 2GB/s and 1.25GB/s, respectively, in QuickBench 4.0,” Clover reports. “At speeds that reach 2GB/s throughput, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro has the fastest storage of any of Apple’s notebooks. It took 14 seconds to transfer an 8.76GB file to the machine, compared to 32 seconds for the slower Retina MacBook.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: That is impressive, almost unbelievable speed!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Is it a NonVolatile Memory Express drive?
Yes, bus has been changed from SATA to PCI.
So I’m debating getting the new entry level model that lacks the extra GPU or the previous model with the GPU but at a discount.
I think the disk speed maybe more important overall that the discrete GPU.
What do you guys think?
You’re going to have it for years, right? Just save a little longer (if that’s what’s holding you back, that is) and get the best of both worlds. Perhaps selling your old model would also help recover the costs. That’s the way I go. Another benefit of maxing it out is it’ll carry you further into the future, as it won’t be AS outdated as lesser models.
Will lesser GPU affect ability to drive big external monitor? That would be big factor for me…
Driving the external monitor for typical work is easy, but put high rate video, animation, CAD images and the speed can slow down. That’s why the discreet GPU works better.
For me… Ugh… Apple’s updates are all over the place. Of course I’m not going to buy the new MacBook Pro until it has the new keyboard. Of course I’m not going to buy a 5K iMac until it has PCIe flash. Everything else is outdated too. Basically, the only Mac worth buying is the new 12″ MacBook. I got one for my fiancé, and it’s great, but I’m certainly not upgrading to anything obvious lacking a useful feature that’s already out there on another model. Oh well, I’ll save my money a little longer. My 2013 retina MacBook Pro still has another year and a half of Apple Care anyway.
What new keyboard?
The 12″ MacBook has an amazing new keyboard. Once you’ve used it quite a bit, the old ones just seem cheap and broken.
I can’t agree with this, I would not wait because of the keyboard. For me the new keyboard is not a general improvement, instead it’s just a way for Apple to get the MacBook even thinner than any earlier MacBooks.
There’s some real negative to the new keyboard: it’s *much* louder than the standard MacBook keyboard, it has a cheap clicking sound that is annoying for others. Also, the keys are so flat that you don’t get a clear indication that you actually typed letters, which means you have to learn to type more forcefully. All in all I don’t consider the new keyboard an improvement, ergonomically. It’s more a step sideways than a move forward. I’m glad they don’t have it on other Macs.
You are clearly misinformed, and maybe you have not used it. Either way, I could not disagree with you more. I want a lighter touch keyboard. I have no problem typing on the iPad, which offers no physicals indication that a key had been struck. The keys are more responsive no matter where you hit them , and wider, making typing more accurate. The sound is hardly anything, and it’s actually a more enjoyable sound to me than the previous keyboard. I type about 150wpm normally and feel as though it even faster on this new keyboard. Have no idea what you mean about typing more forcefully, it actually seems to require less force.
No, I personally own the new MacBook, my observations are based on personal experience (and on several reviews now). I’m an experienced touch typist, and if given the choice I would take the MacBook Pro keyboard over the new MacBook keyboard hands down, without hesitation. This may change over time, but right now I consider the new MacBook keyboard a compromise based on its ultralight form-factor.
I was hoping all new machines would use the new USB standard on the MacBook and maybe dump Thunderbolt.
And, I agree, the high end iMac needs the faster SSD connect as well as the new USB port.
If Apple wants any of these things to become standards they need to make sure all of their machines have them.
I would be concerned about replacing my 2010 MBP 15 inch with a model without USB-C if that is the way that Apple (and the world) are going with peripheral connections. It is my hope that Apple may produce a dedicated 5K Thunderbolt display equivalent, and I would presume that this would be driven through a USB-C interface?
Steve: I wish I knew Apple’s roadmap for both the Thunderbolt display (update) and USB-C being used on other machines where port size and number are less critical. I’ll probably buy a high end Retina iMac at some point soon but then again, I’d like the option of buying an Apple display for my 2014 Retina 15″ MBP. I keep waiting, hoping things will be clearer and then they get a bit more confusing. Sigh.
Not sure why so many down votes, seems like a perfectly valid reason not to get one. The speed improvements are enough for me to pull the trigger, but I’m certain my needs are very different from yours. It took me 2 hours to type out this comment….
I agree it feels like a mish-mosh – though one can reasonably expect to see Macs better sorted out in the Skylake cycle – when, hopefully, retina, force touch and other scattered signs of evolution (new keyboards, USB-C [two on the next MacBook puh-leeeze], etc. get propagated across the Mac line.
In the meanwhile, the 2013 -refurbed maxxed out MBA 13″ I bought (i7, 512, 8) in 2014 is likely still a better performer than the identical-looking entry level 2015 model, so I’m hardly limping along, i.e., in retrospect a good call.
And the 2016 5K iMac (or its replacement) should fit into my projected budget as the main machine I’ve been deferring a good while.
I think Apple clearly intended to bring out the 14 MB Pro earlier with Broadwell quad core. They waited and waited for Intel’s production to come up to speed, but finally decided they had to move forward with this new model. It maybe less than had been hoped for, but I can’t fault Apple in this case. And it *is* better performing than the last model. If you’ve got a Retina MB Pro 15″, probably best to wait for Skylake (maybe fall or winter) before thinking of upgrading. But if you’ve got an older MB Pro, like me (2009), this makes for a pretty nice upgrade.
If they will give us one of these in Space Grey, I will sell a kidney to buy one immediately. Well… not really, but I will be replacing my late 2013 retina 15 inch MacBook Pro next year and it sure would be nice to have an Space Grey option.
Its Samsung SM951 fast as hell PCI-e SSD memory. Put one in old boxy Mac Pro and it will fly like a rocket, put two of them and pair as RAID and it gonna blow your mind. Thats why old Mac Pro is better than new one.
Apple just can’t get away from dealing with Samsung for its parts..