Intel Looking to Cut Power Consumption on Future Ivy Bridge Chips

[MacRumors]

CNET reports that Intel is hard at work on reducing the power consumption of its Ivy Bridge chips, opening the door to use of the chips in mainstream tablets and reducing battery needs on small notebooks such as the MacBook Air.

Intel will cut power consumption "significantly" for future versions of the chip, an industry source familiar with the chipmaker's plans told CNET.

Intel's most power efficient Ivy Bridge chips today -- used widely in Windows ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air -- are rated at 17 watts.

A future version of Ivy Bridge would be rated well below this, the source said.

Intel has already previewed its next-generation Haswell chips that will push power consumption to as low as 10 watts initially, but it seems that Intel is moving to reduce power needs for its chips even before Haswell hits the market.

With future Ivy Bridge and Haswell chips becoming feasible for tablets with their reduced power consumption, there have been rumors that Apple could consider Intel chips for at least the iPad, although Apple seems dedicated to its own ARM-based chip designs for its mobile devices. But with Apple said to be looking to shift away from Samsung for production of its A-series chips, the company is said to be looking at TSMC and Intel as future chip foundry options.

In a research note issued last week, RBC analyst Doug Freedman claimed that Apple is already in talks with Intel on a deal that could see Intel producing A-series chips for the iPhone while Apple shifts to Intel's x86 platform for the iPad.

Article Link: Intel Looking to Cut Power Consumption on Future Ivy Bridge Chips

[Pianoblack3]

So we should expect to see this in a Mac in what, 2 years time?...

[Macman45]

An ipad5 with an IB CPU? Sounds good on paper, but do we really need that much power in an iPad? The 4 has proved to be just about the perfect balance of battery life and performance. Be interesting to see if Apple do produce an iPad with the new lower wattage IB on board though.

[rusty2192]

This means a lot more for the Surface Pro than the iPad. It certainly seems more likely that macs will be shifting towards Arm, not iPads towards X86.

[adamryan1983]

I think the processors being used in the iPads now give ample power for what they do. This is just Intel trying to keep their feet in the door.

[longofest]

You've GOT to be kidding me.

First we see rumors of ARM on Mac. Now we're seeing rumors of x86 on iPad?

People are getting a little bit too crazy with their imaginations IMO. Without hard proof that Apple is working on this, I'd say its much more realistic that Apple is targeting these lower power chips for the MacBook Air line, which only further diminishes the chance that ARM has in competing in the Mac lineup.

[flavr]

Ahhh, feeling the pressure from ARM are we INTEL? So glad I bought this one in the $20s. I think we will see both ARM and INTEL chips inside future macs so the OS can utilize both depending on its needs, at least until the complete transition to ARM based Apple chips is complete.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ARMH

[longofest]

Originally Posted by rusty2192

This means a lot more for the Surface Pro than the iPad.

Indeed. Full Windows 8 Pro in a more Surface-RT like form factor and battery life could be compelling.

[hamean]

I can't find the specs for the current A6 or A6x wattage... It has to be much lower than 10watts....

[Macist]

ARM tech dumps on Intel. If ARM had a customer for desktop/laptop/workstation designs they would deliver. DELL are already testing powerful ARM-based prototype servers.

Can't see Apple siding with 'Microsoft of CPUs' Intel instead of slick ARM designs.

[bb426]

Why the hell would an iPad EVER run x86?

Steve Jobs would laugh at the idea.

[Oletros]

Yap, Intel chips have a greater TPU than the ARM chips. But what is the ratio computing power/wattage?

[KPOM]

Interesting. I thought the whole point of Haswell was to reduce power. If Intel pulls it off with Ivy Bridge, what's the point of Haswell, unless they would simply lower power output by reducing clock speed or disabling features?

[sparkso]

what's the point? the main power wasting part is the display, the processor takes up like just 10% of the whole device's power usage anyway.

[TC03]

I would be surprised if Intel weren't trying to do this. Intel has missed a huge market now tablets are in an upswing while their 'home market' is in a downswing. The only way to keep up is by reducing power consumption drastically.

[Macrolido]

That´s interesting,the power comsuption was the reason of Apple for use ARM instead of Intel on the iPad.

[tann]

Lower power requirements = retina MBA

[Val-kyrie]

Interesting if true. I initially thought Apple might move completely to ARM but perhaps the ongoing legal battles with Samsung have pushed Apple further into the arms of Intel. Two possibilities: either Apple is looking toward ARM for its entire lineup and wants Intel to dab for them (I suspect Intel's fear of ARM and desire to enter that space may lead them to try to team up with Apple--license Apple's technology?) or Apple is dissatisfied with current progress of ARM chips and is planning to go Intel across the board (in which case Intel would be willing to meet Apple's demands for lower power consumption and better integrated graphics to fend off advances in ARM technology). Either way, this seems to be Apple's response to Microsoft's Surface Pro.

[perealb]

Apple should work with Intel to produce all its chips but keeping a great control over the design. They should also start moving some of the automated manufacturing to US. As a start...

[TC03]

Originally Posted by Val-kyrie

Interesting if true. I initially thought Apple might move completely to ARM but perhaps the ongoing legal battles with Samsung have pushed Apple further into the arms of Intel. Two possibilities: either Apple is looking toward ARM for its entire lineup and wants Intel to dab for them (I suspect Intel's fear of ARM and desire to enter that space may lead them to try to team up with Apple--license Apple's technology?) or Apple is dissatisfied with current progress of ARM chips and is planning to go Intel across the board (in which case Intel would be willing to meet Apple's demands for lower power consumption and better integrated graphics to fend off advances in ARM technology). Either way, this seems to be Apple's response to Microsoft's Surface Pro.

I don't think Apple is dissatisfied with ARM. The A6 is very solid and gives Apple a competitive edge.

[bbucy]

So, is this code for "Delays expected for Haswell release.".

[iMacFarlane]

Intel architecture in an iPad . . . hmmmmmm . . .

Bootcamp option? Windows 8 on the iPad?

You show me an iPad with the ability to run iOS apps and Windows 8 apps, and I'll show you the end of every other tablet currently in production.

[Renzatic]

Originally Posted by KPOM

Interesting. I thought the whole point of Haswell was to reduce power. If Intel pulls it off with Ivy Bridge, what's the point of Haswell, unless they would simply lower power output by reducing clock speed or disabling features?

It's the way Haswell reduces power that makes it so interesting. Intel might be able to take some of the things they've learned while making Haswell and apply it to Ivy Bridge, but it'll never be quite as efficient because it's not built from the bottom up to be.

[Acorn]

Ipad 7 now with intel HD graphics. ::::-puke-::::

[bb426]

Originally Posted by sparkso

what's the point? the main power wasting part is the display, the processor takes up like just 10% of the whole device's power usage anyway.

Although optimizing CPU can be a huge benefit for many reasons besides the obvious, you have a good point. Other hardware components could (and should) be worked on to slash power usage (the display, the prominent battery drainer).

The only problem is that display optimizations rarely ever make the front page compared to the oh-so-important and oh-so-miniscule processor improvements, and Intel seems the only one taking all the credit here.