Intel Demos 45nm Penryn Processors, Due by end of 2007

[MacRumors]

NY Times reports on an advance from Intel which is said to represent "the most significant change in the materials used to manufacture silicon chips since Intel pioneered the modern integrated-circuit transistor more than four decades ago."

Intel is moving towards the 45nm manufacturing process and demoed (CNet) 45-nm Penryn chips during a press briefing. The Penryn chips are said to be available "before the end of the year."

Penryn is essentially a shrink of the Core 2 Duo chips, with a few extras like the SSE4 instructions. It's being introduced along with the new manufacturing technology, the "tick" of Intel's plans. Then next year, when the 45-nanometer manufacturing technology is mature, Intel will introduce a new chip microarchitecture code-named Nehalem--the "tock"--with more significant changes to the chip design.

The advances in the manufacturing process include the use of new insulators and new metallic alloy materials in transistor components. Current Intel chips utilize a 65-nm manufacturing process. As always, the move to the smaller processes tends to improve performance and decrease power consumption.

According to this article, the Penryn family of chips will deliver new laptop dual-core microprocessor, a desktop dual-core and a quad-core, and server dual and quad-core processors.

Apple will, of course, benefit from these new processors when they are released, and Intel has stated that the current prototypes are already booting Mac OS X -- indicating that Apple is already involved in early testing.

More technical details: TGDaily and AnandTech

[DMann]

Now we're talking - power and true power saving!

[oceanmonster]

I'd bet that Apple will debut these processors in their next generation Laptops and Desktops.

[Abstract]

I don't care about the power savings because I don't think it's significant, but faster is better.

[breakfastcrew]

12 hr battery life on a macbook would be nice.

[Grimace]

let the "should I wait for Penryn chips?" threads begin!!

[Chundles]

Man, this whole "wait till '08" philosophy of mine is really paying off. I'll get a second revision Penryn/Santa Rosa MacBook with all the goodies.

Gonna destrrooooyyyy my iBook's performance in one fell swoop. Amazing just how good the progress from Intel is - remember the good ol' days of "OMG, 100MHz faster G4s coming soon" rumours.

Now we know what's coming and roughly when and we know the benefits of the new chips are going to make them worth the upgrade price. Even going from a 1.2GHz G4 to a 1.67GHz G4 isn't all that much but going from a 1.2GHz G4 to a 2+ GHz Penryn-based Core 2 Duo for basically the same price as I paid for this iBook is simply amazing.

[tvguru]

Originally Posted by Grimace

let the "should I wait for Penryn chips?" threads begin!!

Well, should I?

[samh004]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

Intel has stated that the current prototypes are already booting Mac OS X -- indicating that Apple is already involved in early testing.

Why does that mean Apple is already testing, couldn't it just mean that the architecture isn't radically different so it works on existing versions of OS X. It could just be Intel running OS X.

Originally Posted by breakfastcrew

12 hr battery life on a macbook would be nice.

Yes... that's going to happen

Originally Posted by Grimace

let the "should I wait for Penryn chips?" threads begin!!

I'm never sure what I should be doing. On the one hand I'd love an intel-mac now, or the next revision, or the revision after that with all those other new rumored goodies; on the other hand my PB is working fine for what I do, it's not stressed and there really isn't a reason to upgrade.

I've been saying I'm going to upgrade for 2 years. Another year couldn't hurt, right ?

[ibook30]

Originally Posted by Chundles

Man, this whole "wait till '08" philosophy of mine is really paying off. I'll get a second revision Penryn/Santa Rosa MacBook with all the goodies.

I hope the same!
It seems a bit heavey handed to herald this as the most significant advancement in four decades, can anyone explain how important 45 nm design will be?

Edit : Answer :

For several decades there have been repeated warnings about the impending end of the Moore’s Law pace for chip makers. In response the semiconductor industry has repeatedly found its way around fundamental technical obstacles, inventing techniques that at times seem to defy basic laws of physics.

[Chundles]

Originally Posted by ibook30

I hope the same!
It seems a bit heavey handed to herald this as the most significant advancement in four decades, can anyone explain how important 45 nm design will be?

I'm not sure it's the physical 45nm design but the new materials they're using in creating the chips. The way they've manufactured the stuff could mean advances once thought impossible will now come easily.

[DTphonehome]

Originally Posted by ibook30

I hope the same!
It seems a bit heavey handed to herald this as the most significant advancement in four decades, can anyone explain how important 45 nm design will be?

The main reason it's such a big breakthrough is that the materials used as insulators have been basically unchanged in 40 years. That's why there was a theoretical limit to the speed you could squeeze out of a chip by reducing the size of the transistors. With this breakthrough, a totally new type of insulator has been developed which can allow far smaller processes (45nm and beyond), which were unfeasable with the previous type of insulator.

[MauiMac]

Which system will most likely use this chip?

[Chundles]

Originally Posted by MauiMac

Which system will most likely use this chip?

All of them eventually.

The MacBook/MacBook Pro and most likely the iMac and Mac mini will use the mobile (Penryn) versions of this chip, the Mac Pro will likely use the quad core server versions of the processor.

Although, with the cooler construction it's possible the iMac may get the desktop dual core version to separate it more from the mini.

[mahonmeister]

I hope Apple adopts them as soon as they come out late this year. The delay of the C2D was really ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Chundles

All of them eventually.

The MacBook/MacBook Pro and most likely the iMac and Mac mini will use the mobile (Penryn) versions of this chip, the Mac Pro will likely use the quad core server versions of the processor.

Although, with the cooler construction it's possible the iMac may get the desktop dual core version to separate it more from the mini.

Desktop processor in an iMac would be sweet. That's one of the reasons I'm not interested in the iMac lineup right now. You could get so much more power at a cheaper price with a desktop processor.

[twoodcc]

Originally Posted by oceanmonster

I'd bet that Apple will debut these processors in their next generation Laptops and Desktops.

now that's a safe bet

[obeygiant]

smaller, faster, smaller, faster. This is great and exciting news, but isn't this trend supposed to be leveling off? I cant wait to see a mac ten years out.

[MacNut]

It would be nice if they can improve battery life in the laptops with these new chips.

[phillipjfry]

Originally Posted by MauiMac

Which system will most likely use this chip?

My system, if I time my purchases just right

[whatever]

So does that mean that Apple will be releasing a G5 Powerbook Upgrade, sporting these new Intel CPUs, next Tuesday and only charge us a $1.99 upgrade fee!

God I hope they also ship these as a mini-Tower, because you know without a mini-Tower enclosure, Apple as nothing!

LOL

[jamdr]

Does anyone know if there is an updated chip Apple could use in their laptops before the end of the year? Are we going to have to wait a whole year before updated laptops are available?

[MacNut]

Originally Posted by jamdr

Does anyone know if there is an updated chip Apple could use in their laptops before the end of the year? Are we going to have to wait a whole year before updated laptops are available?

Im sure they will see a speed bump just not the 45nm chips.

[Chundles]

Originally Posted by jamdr

Does anyone know if there is an updated chip Apple could use in their laptops before the end of the year? Are we going to have to wait a whole year before updated laptops are available?

My money's on an updated MacBook/MacBook Pro/iMac in April with the Santa Rosa platform (no new processors but loads of improved other stuff), the Mac minis will get Napa-based Core 2 Duos around then and Leopard will be released with an all-64bit Mac lineup.

Then at the end of the year we'll see Penryn-based processors go into the Macs one at a time.

[sluthy]

Originally Posted by jamdr

Does anyone know if there is an updated chip Apple could use in their laptops before the end of the year? Are we going to have to wait a whole year before updated laptops are available?

Hmm...buy current MBP, buy current competing ASUS or Dell laptop, wait until LED screens debut (April apparently), or wait until Christmas for Perryn? Or wait until solid state HDDs are feasible? Or wait until next decade for holographic storage?

[hokullani]

Are these chips smaller in size than the Core 2 Duo, because if they are then this sounds like a perfect chip for the ultra portable mac, less power consumption and small size would fit perfectly in the ultraportable.