Will Macbooks in 2 Years support the Core i7

[dinjin201]

Intel has just last week released its new Core i7 Nehalem Chip

It requires a new type of motherboard port and runs ONLY DDR3 RAM in multiples of 3 (3 GB, 6GB, 9GB, 12GB)

Do you think macbooks in two years (after about 4 updates or so) will have them?

btw they are blazing fast - pulling off a full 60 Frames Per second on Crysis in High!!!!

I'm willing to bet "yes" and that the macbook will have 6GB of RAM in that amount of time... and that Snow Leopard will use this chip!

BTW for those that dont believe it's out... read this:
http://reviews.cnet.com/processors/intel-core-i7-965/4505-3086_7-33366836.html?tag=mncol;lst

[kasakka]

Crysis is a fair bit more dependent on graphics cards though so it's not just the processor.

In any case I would expect that once Intel gets their mobile Core i7 versions out they'll start appearing in Macbooks. Since the consumer level desktop Core i7s are only coming next summer or fall, I'd expect the mobile versions will take longer and finally it usually takes a good while before Apple hops on the bandwagon. So maybe 2-3 years.

It remains to be seen what the real benefits are since at the moment the only programs that truly utilize the i7s are stuff like rendering software, compression etc. For the average user I don't see them making a massive difference in performance just yet. Likewise the average user has absolutely no use for 6GB of RAM.

If the mobile versions can run cooler and require less power, then they'll be a great thing for the laptops but as it stands, I don't think the actual computing power of the current Macbooks is an issue at all. The less than stellar screens and limited/needlessly complicated (why can't the Dual-Link DVI and VGA adapter be the same damn thing?) connections on the other hand are.

[nick9191]

Once Core i7 goes mobile in Q3 next year then soon after the Macbooks and Macbook Pro's will get them. Basically a year after the Alu Macbooks were introduced. Where are you taking 2/3 years from?

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/23/intel-mobile-processors-to-be-refreshed-in-april-nehalem-soon-after/

[Vulcan]

Most likely yes.

[kasakka]

Once Core i7 goes mobile in Q3 next year then soon after the Macbooks and Macbook Pro's will get them. Basically a year after the Alu Macbooks were introduced. Where are you taking 2/3 years from?

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/23/intel-mobile-processors-to-be-refreshed-in-april-nehalem-soon-after/

Sooner than I expected. Since Apple has never been an early adopter afaik, I'd guess that they'll update the models maybe mid-2010ish.

[dinjin201]

Sooner than I expected. Since Apple has never been an early adopter afaik, I'd guess that they'll update the models maybe mid-2010ish.

i see, so basically due to the slight delay when apple adopts processors... i guess it will be 2 years... that's good.

i plan to get a new macbook as soon as the Core i7 comes out in them...

cuz right now i have a used 2.0 Ghz Macbook Black =/ it's okay... not a bad machine.. but i do some heavy video/photo editing... and game frequeently... and while the new Alu Macbooks have decent graphics... the one i have is using the GM 950 :(

[Bengt77]

As the poll question asks wether the MacBooks will have both a Core i7 and 6GB of RAM, I selected 'no'. While I certainly do think the MacBooks will have the Core i7 a year from now (maybe even sooner than that), don't think 6GB of RAM will be standard in 2 years. I think we'll be at the point where 4GB will be standard, and 8GB will be the next step up the upgrade/CTO ladder.

[iMacmatician]

Core i7 is for the high-end desktop lines. Other Nehalem CPUs are for mobile segments, where the MacBooks are. They are dual-channel DDR3 (so 2/4/8 GB) and do not have some of the benefits of the Core i7.

Clarksfield - 4 cores, Q3 2009 (MacBook Pro?)
Auburndale - 2 cores, January 2010 (MacBook Pro?, MacBook)

So about 9~15 months from now, we'll see Nehalem.

Two years from now, I would expect notebooks to use the 32 nm revisions of Clarksfield and Auburndale. These shrinks are supposedly coming in H2 2010.