Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Detailed specs of Sandy Bridge leaked!

Hellhammer

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Dec 10, 2008
22,165
582
Finland
Hellhammer said:
A German site has posted very detailed info about Sandy Bridge, including model names, clock speeds and even TDPs.

Looks like 45W for quad core so good bye quad MBP :( That is not 100% reliable though plus there might be models with lower TDP as well (LV and ULV models)

http://translate.google.com/transla...intel_cpu-roadmap_sandy_bridge/&sl=auto&tl=en

http://www.techpowerup.com/128466/Intel_2011_Core_Series_Desktop_Processor_Roadmap_Surfaces.html
Click to expand...

Better start planning my sell MBP 2 weeks before update to break even and upgrade, strategy. Education discount means when I sell it for 200 under, I am even :)

Last time that didn't go well though. I remember the morning of the update I was on the phone with a guy trying to sell my 2.8 duo, he like I only see 2.66 as the highest, is this some kind of Frankenstein machine!?!
 
Looks Like the replacement for the i7-620M is the Core i7-2620m which appears to be almost identical spec wise.

Their both 32nm, dual core, quad threaded, with 4MB of cache, the only difference is that the new processor is 2.7 GHz vs 2.66, and the turbo boost goes to 3.4 GHz instead of 3.33. They both have a TDP of 35W, so I don't see how there is going to be any real power savings...

I think the big jump here is going to be in the integrated graphics chip which is moving from 45nm to 32nm. Unfortunately, there are no specs on the GPU...

You guys think a Sandy Bridge MBP will hit before the holiday season. We're bound to see a spec bump in Oct/Nov... No?
 
UCF-ENG said:
Looks Like the replacement for the i7-620M is the Core i7-2620m which appears to be almost identical spec wise.

Their both 32nm, dual core, quad threaded, with 4MB of cache, the only difference is that the new processor is 2.7 GHz vs 2.66, and the turbo boost goes to 3.4 GHz instead of 3.33. They both have a TDP of 35W, so I don't see how their is going to be any real power savings...

I think the big jump here is going to be in the integrated graphics card which is moving from 45nm to 32nm. Unfortunately, there are no specs on the GPU...

You guys think a Sandy Bridge MBP will hit before the holiday season. Were bound to see a spec bump in Oct/Nov... No?
Click to expand...

Sandy Bridge will provide better clock for clock, core for core performance. E.g. 2GHz Sandy Bridge could be as fast as 2.4GHz Nehalem. There is 3.06GHz C2D but i7 tops out at 2.8GHz but it's still light years ahead, it's not only about the cores and clock speeds.

There is still no more accurate schedule on Sandy Bridge release so it could be October or December, we don't know yet. My guess is Jan-Feb update for MBP
 
Hellhammer said:
A German site has posted very detailed info about Sandy Bridge, including model names, clock speeds and even TDPs.

Looks like 45W for quad core so good bye quad MBP :(
Click to expand...

If 45W includes the integrated intel graphics, that's not unreasonable considering the 9400m + T series Core 2 Duo was about the same.
 
doubt apple will use 4 cores for next update and who knows when will apple adopt those new CPUs. i think a better GPU (no matter N or A) might make bigger difference.
 
kny3twalker said:
If 45W includes the integrated intel graphics, that's not unreasonable considering the 9400m + T series Core 2 Duo was about the same.
Click to expand...

The only reasons I doubt it because Apple has always used 35W CPUs and Apple would not weaken the battery life. Keep in mind that there may be 35W quads as well so it's not impossible for MBP to get at least an option for quad
 
Clocks for quad-cores are impressive (should be considering the jump to 32 nm), but as others have stated I doubt Apple will use them due to TDP.

As for prices and positioning, they look similar to the current lineup.

GPU speeds leaked here:

sandybridge.png


GPU seems to have Turbo. For comparison, Clarkdale Core i3s have a GPU clock of 733 MHz. That might mean mobile Sandy Bridge GPUs are clocked higher than their Westmere predecessors.
 
I doubt Apple will use anything that draws more than 45W...and even that will be in the 17"
 
SB looks like the same performance jump in going from Core 2 Duo/Quad>Nehalem (IE, people running i3/5/7s right now won't really see that big of a need to go SB). More interested in their SSDs than SB right now.
 
DesmoPilot said:
Of course, because they must worship the all-mighty god of battery life.
Click to expand...

Processor power in a notebook is useless if you are tied to a power outlet. Notebooks are meant to be used in situations where power outlets are not available. That's why there are batteries in them. I never carry my charger because my MBP lasts at least 3 days when used solely for high school and/or college classes. But my Windows PC-carrying friends carry at least 2 extra batteries and a charger for just one day of classes.

For desktops, it's a totally different story...
 
Mark this post,

Apple will upgrade next spring to the i7-2620, i5-2540, i5-2520.

They will not leave the 35w chips and those are just slight bump in processor speed. Enough for the mac CrAzY people to upgrade becasue they must have the .10 mhz more speed, that they will never be able to tell they have.

An interesting thing though is that the 35w i7-2620 only has 3mb of L3 cache. The current one has 4mb of L3 so the increase in clock speed would most likely not even show up on a bench mark test.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
Processor power in a notebook is useless if you are tied to a power outlet. Notebooks are meant to be used in situations where power outlets are not available. That's why there are batteries in them. I never carry my charger because my MBP lasts at least 3 days when used solely for high school and/or college classes. But my Windows PC-carrying friends carry at least 2 extra batteries and a charger for just one day of classes.

For desktops, it's a totally different story...
Click to expand...

That's not strictly true. That is one use of a notebook, another is for it to be a mobile desktop. For you to be able to move from one location to another easily and be able to resume work quickly. Or to use a laptop wherever you please around the house and not be tied to a desk.
 
iBookG4user said:
That's not strictly true. That is one use of a notebook, another is for it to be a mobile desktop. For you to be able to move from one location to another easily and be able to resume work quickly. Or to use a laptop wherever you please around the house and not be tied to a desk.
Click to expand...

Nor did I say it was the single only use for a notebook. But that's the primary reason for a battery in any electronic gadget. No arguing that. I should have been more clear, the primary reason for a battery in any electronic gadget is for use when power outlets or any other external power source is unavailable or hard/costly to access.
 
Reelknead1 said:
Mark this post,

Apple will upgrade next spring to the i7-2620, i5-2540, i5-2520.

They will not leave the 35w chips and those are just slight bump in processor speed. Enough for the mac CrAzY people to upgrade becasue they must have the .10 mhz more speed, that they will never be able to tell they have.

An interesting thing though is that the 35w i7-2620 only has 3mb of L3 cache. The current one has 4mb of L3 so the increase in clock speed would most likely not even show up on a bench mark test.
Click to expand...

Clock speed, cores, caches etc are NOT all that matter! Nehalem was significant bump over Core. Remember that C2Ds top out at 3.06GHz while Arrandale tops out at 2.66GHz (soon 2.8GHz). That's big difference but Arrandale is still significantly faster. Sandy Bridge won't provide more cores or anything like that because it's still 32nm. Ivy Bridge will provide more because of die shrink.

It will simply provide better clock for clock, core for core performance so e.g. 2GHz Sandy Bridge may be as fast as 2.4GHz Nehalem.
 
Reelknead1 said:
Mark this post,

Apple will upgrade next spring to the i7-2620, i5-2540, i5-2520.

They will not leave the 35w chips and those are just slight bump in processor speed. Enough for the mac CrAzY people to upgrade becasue they must have the .10 mhz more speed, that they will never be able to tell they have.

An interesting thing though is that the 35w i7-2620 only has 3mb of L3 cache. The current one has 4mb of L3 so the increase in clock speed would most likely not even show up on a bench mark test.
Click to expand...

Where did you see that the i7-2620M ("M," I'm assuming) has 3MB of L3 cache? One of the links in the OP shows 4MB.
 
Reelknead1 said:
Mark this post,

Apple will upgrade next spring to the i7-2620, i5-2540, i5-2520.

They will not leave the 35w chips and those are just slight bump in processor speed. Enough for the mac CrAzY people to upgrade becasue they must have the .10 mhz more speed, that they will never be able to tell they have.

An interesting thing though is that the 35w i7-2620 only has 3mb of L3 cache. The current one has 4mb of L3 so the increase in clock speed would most likely not even show up on a bench mark test.
Click to expand...

If Apple only has three processors to choose from, then either the 15" and 17" will come down in price, the 13" will go up in price, or the 13" will get an AMD CPU.

I think its more likely that dual cores will be standard in all models, with quad core options for the 15" and 17".

the 13" will come with the Core i5 2520 standard
the 15" will come with the Core i5 2540 standard
the 17" will come with the Core i7 2620 standard

the 13" will only be able to upgrade to the 2540.
 
kny3twalker said:
If Apple only has three processors to choose from, then either the 15" and 17" will come down in price, the 13" will go up in price, or the 13" will get an AMD CPU.

I think its more likely that dual cores will be standard in all models, with quad core options for the 15" and 17".

the 13" will come with the Core i5 2520 standard
the 15" will come with the Core i5 2540 standard
the 17" will come with the Core i7 2620 standard

the 13" will only be able to upgrade to the 2540.
Click to expand...

What is this "standard?"

There are currently two 13” models and three 15” models, and each of those has a different processor model from the other. And while there’s currently only one 17” model, its processor is less powerful than the fastest stock 15” so the 17" refresh will not necessarily have the best mobile CPU.

Prior to this year's revision, the 13" and 15" had a common CPU so we can't say that Apple has always maintaned a large performance gap between the two.
 
LedCop said:
What is this "standard?"

There are currently two 13” models and three 15” models, and each of those has a different processor model from the other. And while there’s currently only one 17” model, its processor is less powerful than the fastest stock 15” so the 17" refresh will not necessarily have the best mobile CPU.

Prior to this year's revision, the 13" and 15" had a common CPU so we can't say that Apple has always maintaned a large performance gap between the two.
Click to expand...

I meant the base model as standard. There are always BTO for the Quad Core.

Let me try again.

the base 13" Core i5 2520
the upgraded 13" Core i5 2540
the base 15" Core i5 2540
the upgraded 15" Core i7 2620
the base 17" Core i7 2620

BTO Options for Core i7 2820QM and Core i7 2720QM in 15" and 17" models
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back