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Apr 12, 2001
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In March we reported that Intel's upcoming Core 2 Extreme QX9300 was scheduled for quarter 3 of this year. The chip promised to be the first mobile quad-core chip available, however the expected 45W power requirements was going to limit the chip's adoption.

The Inquirer is now reporting that the chip may actually come in at 35W, which would be much more palatable for mobile use.

Apple has habitually offered Intel's top-shelf mobile and workstation processors, often obtaining unannounced products. It remains speculation as to when or if the chip may end up in an Apple computer.

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Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
It's good to hear it might be coming in at 35W now. It has been on the roadmap for ages now so a mobile quad core isn't a surprise. ;)
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
the lower they can get the power the more likely we'll see it used in the macbooks and macbook pros, but i'm still unsure if they'll work alright in such a thin enclosure.
 

hvfsl

macrumors 68000
Jul 9, 2001
1,867
185
London, UK
the lower they can get the power the more likely we'll see it used in the macbooks and macbook pros, but i'm still unsure if they'll work alright in such a thin enclosure.

I can't see them putting it in a MacBook for at least 5 years (considering there is no real need to it for the average MacBook user).
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
I can't see them putting it in a MacBook for at least 5 years (considering there is no real need to it for the average MacBook user).
Please don't drag up the "average user" argument. It turns quickly into a pointless hardware specification war.

Apple is very fond of using the fastest processors Intel has to offer while skimping on the remaining hardware.
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
I can't see them putting it in a MacBook for at least 5 years (considering there is no real need to it for the average MacBook user).

well that all depends on the development process. they won't put it in the macbooks immediately, but it should trickle down in a year or two. five would be much too long imo.
 

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
the lower they can get the power the more likely we'll see it used in the macbooks and macbook pros, but i'm still unsure if they'll work alright in such a thin enclosure.
I guess it would depend on what Apple had in mind for the MBP. If they go the way of the MBA and go even thinner, then heat could be a problem, although they could always underclock it.
 

vendettabass

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2006
895
2
Wellington, New Zealand
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hvfsl said:
the lower they can get the power the more likely we'll see it used in the macbooks and macbook pros, but i'm still unsure if they'll work alright in such a thin enclosure.

I can't see them putting it in a MacBook for at least 5 years (considering there is no real need to it for the average MacBook user).

octo core MacBooks at least! in 5 years!
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
Would it be possible to see both the iMac and Mac mini with quad core first, before the laptops?

imac, of course.
mini? unlikely. hell it would be nice to see the mini with just some faster chips in it at this point. plus that thing just as cramped for space and heat dissipation as the laptops.
 

SirOmega

macrumors 6502a
Apr 17, 2006
715
6
Las Vegas
I'm inclined to think that we'll see the iMac upgrade in late Q3, with MBP add-on in early Q4 (it'll be added to the BTO options for the 17" MBP).
 

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
Quad Core is needed in the iMac, since it is becoming more and more a pro designers computer with all that it offers.

A Quad Core in a MacBook Pro would create a nice gap between the Pros and Dual Core MacBooks.

Would still like to see Apple offer a couple more low end Quad Core options for the Mac Pros that would be in line with the high end of the iMac line.​
 

iBunny

macrumors 65816
Apr 15, 2004
1,254
0
This is good news. Hopefully they get announced at WWDC. Even if we dont see them until Q3... I can live with that.
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Quad Core is needed in the iMac, since it is becoming more and more a pro designers computer with all that it offers.

A Quad Core in a MacBook Pro would create a nice gap between the Pros and Dual Core MacBooks.

Would still like to see Apple offer a couple more low end Quad Core options for the Mac Pros that would be in line with the high end of the iMac line.​
I'm more concerned about the tri and quad core offerings that are found in SFF and minitowers for $500 - 1,000.
 

mjteix

macrumors regular
Jun 1, 2005
132
0
Don't believe everything posted by the Inquirer.

That a quad-core chip will get into the 24" iMac later this year is almost certain.

I don't believe will see those in the 20" iMac or the MBP this year, Apple doesn't even use the current extreme edition 2.8GHz Penryn in the MBP.

AFAIK, Nehalem (mid-2009) will bring mobile quads in the 35W power envelop for sure, that's when the MBP will get his (and hopefully the 20" iMac too).

@ Eidorian

I agree. Even if the mid-tower segment is not growing as fast as the rest of the industry (laptops and Apple's AIO), it still represent a huge part of the market worldwide. I'd love Apple to release a "regular" desktop with desktop parts all the way at a reasonable price (more in the $999-1999 price range however).
 

kjs862

macrumors 65816
Jan 21, 2004
1,297
24
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Nice get this thing into an iPhone and you got yourself a deal!
 

kornyboy

macrumors 68000
Sep 27, 2004
1,529
0
Knoxville, TN (USA)
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I would definitely like to see one of these in a laptop soon.
 

RoDe

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2006
151
0
If this is true, this could be good news, for the upcoming MBP's. Apple does seem to get president when it comes to new processors.
 

cnote678

macrumors member
Feb 11, 2008
85
0
Chicago, IL
It would be awesome to get a quad-core into the MBP but yes, it seems unlikely that would happen before 2009. As long as battery life keeps going up, I'm happy.
 

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
Apple does NOT need a mini-tower as everyone keeps clamoring for.

All they really need to do is offer a couple Mac Pros with a single Quad Core Xeon chip with a price starting at $1499.

This is how Apple always used to handle the Power Mac G3's, G4's and G5's, why not go back to a system that worked and no one was screaming for a model between the iMac and the PowerMac.

Here is an example of what could make sense with the next Mac Pro revision:
- Single Quad Core 2.8GHz XEON $1499
- Single Quad Core 3.0GHz XEON $1999
- Double Quad Core 2.8GHz XEON $2499
- Double Quad Core 3.0GHz XEON $2799
- Double Quad Core 3.2GHz XEON $3299
- Double Quad Core 3.4GHz XEON $3699

For this to work out, Apple would also have to offer either a $999 or $1099 iMac.

For me personally at home I would pick up the lowest end Quad Core Mac Pro, while at work I would put in for the mid-high range Octo Core Mac Pro.
 
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