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Apr 12, 2001
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AnandTech reports that Intel has announced that its next-generation processor code-named Ivy Bridge will offer lower-power quad-core chips than the current generation of Sandy Bridge chips. In particular, Intel has revealed that it will introduce a 35-watt quad-core Core i7 processor.
Next year Ivy Bridge will expand the range to include a 35W quad-core Core i7 SKU. Shaving off 10W off the TDP should enable somewhat smaller notebooks to enjoy the benefits of a quad-core CPU.
As AnandTech notes, this development means that Apple could offer quad-core processors in its smallest 13" MacBook Pros.

The current 13" MacBook Pro design is limited to processors with a 35W thermal design power (TDP). The larger 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models are capable of handling higher-power processors with TDPs up to 45W. As a result, the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros are the only models that presently offer quad-core processors.

This news of lower power targets for Intel's mobile processors should come as no surprise, as Intel has admitted that it has been slow to respond to the low-power trends and has redoubled its efforts to lower the power requirements of its future CPUs. Apple may even have helped prompt the shift by threatening Intel with the potential loss of Apple's business.

While fitting a quad-core processor into the current 13" MacBook Pro will be possible with the new CPUs, Apple may take a different approach. We've long heard that Apple will be introducing a new case design for the next MacBook Pro, with many expecting it to take on thinner, more MacBook Air-like design. While Apple may choose to slim down the MacBook Pro by making the optical drive an external option and moving toward integrated solid-state storage, the company may also opt to utilize processors with lower heat requirements to design a thinner/sleeker machine rather than simply trying to boost the raw power of its low-end model.

Article Link: Intel's Ivy Bridge CPU to Allow for Smaller Quad-Core MacBook Pros
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Trinity vs. Ivy Bridge if I consider a notebook next year. AMD claims halving the TDP down to ULV levels, compared to Llano, for Trinity. If you go to the high, imagine a HD 6770M on-die.

My desktop's Core i5 750 still cranks out enough frames in games. Not much else gets done on that powerhouse but I want something for the road.
 

davie18

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2010
287
339
A 13" MBP with a quad core and dedicated graphics without a DVD drive please! That would be a brilliant machine, I know it won't happen though!
 

dlimes13

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2011
744
13
Perrysburg, OH
Give me a 13 inch MBP, no optical drive, keeping the ability to upgrade HDD/SSD and RAM (MacBook Air... you suck), 1440x900 screen and a dedicated graphics card, and I'll start buying those instead of 17 inch models.
 

oiuh151

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2011
359
0
The 13" MacBook Pro probably won't be around much longer...

Disagree, I think this will differentiate the MBA from the 13" MBP by a lot. It will be a quad core MBP vs a dual core MBA, and on top of that they can now have a discrete GPU in the 13" MBP since they will undoubtedly remove the optical drive.
 

voyagerd

macrumors 65816
Jun 30, 2002
1,498
251
Rancho Cordova, CA
Disagree, I think this will differentiate the MBA from the 13" MBP by a lot. It will be a quad core MBP vs a dual core MBA, and on top of that they can now have a discrete GPU in the 13" MBP since they will undoubtedly remove the optical drive.

I was thinking further out, a couple years from now, but things could change.
 

MacinDoc

macrumors 68020
Mar 22, 2004
2,268
10
The Great White North
heard[/url] that Apple will be introducing a new case design for the next MacBook Pro, with many expecting it to take on thinner, more MacBook Air-like design. While Apple may choose to slim down the MacBook Pro by making the optical drive an external option and moving toward integrated solid-state storage, the company may also opt to utilize processors with lower heat requirements to design a thinner/sleeker machine rather than simply trying to boost the raw power of its low-end model.
That's what the Air is for! Let's hope that Apple will continue to offer powerful CPUs in its MBPs, and reserves the ultra-low power chips for the Air, which is intended to be thin and light.
 

zodqyv

macrumors regular
Mar 28, 2010
222
0
I'm waiting for Rockwell!

The Rockwell codename went away a while back. It's Broadwell these days...

Sandy Bridge > Ivy Bridge > Haswell > Broadwell > Skylake > Skymont

Haswell will be by far the biggest leap forward in a long time (since Merom, the original Core2 Duo). All the others are just evolutionary steps by comparison.
 

Sjhonny

macrumors 6502
Feb 25, 2011
287
0
The land of the cucumbers
Skymont is the thing.

What I'm waiting for is what they'll do when they're at the 10 nm 'silicium-limit'. For a change, we'll see something 'out of the ordinary'. Recent years brought nothing but predicted performance boasts. The only thing that's not going according to plan is perfectionizing the production process in time so they can squeeze high enough yields out of there waffers.
 

zodqyv

macrumors regular
Mar 28, 2010
222
0
What I'm waiting for is what they'll do when they're at the 10 nm 'silicium-limit'. For a change, we'll see something 'out of the ordinary'. Recent years brought nothing but predicted performance boasts. The only thing that's not going according to plan is perfectionizing the production process in time so they can squeeze high enough yields out of there waffers.

If all goes well, we will be looking at the MacBook Quantum in the 2020s. The sky is the limit from there. Quantum computing is in its infancy now, but give it a decade...
 
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