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

AMD Based Apple Laptop?

Yvan256 said:
It's quite simple. AMD bought ATI. If Apple wants to use ATI GPUs in their computer, then I guess they have to talk to AMD now (at least for pricing, orders, etc).
Click to expand...

Yes. And AMD/ATI is currently working on new laptop CPU/GPU chipsets. Their first intensive collaboration. Apple and ATI have a strong link. Why not have AMD systems?

Intel's GPU solutions are pretty bad.

As someone mentioned, the x86 version of OS X works fine on AMD cpus. It's a hack, but it runs fine.
 
scottlinux said:
Yes. And AMD/ATI is currently working on new laptop CPU/GPU chipsets. Their first intensive collaboration. Apple and ATI have a strong link. Why not have AMD systems?

Intel's GPU solutions are pretty bad.

As someone mentioned, the x86 version of OS X works fine on AMD cpus. It's a hack, but it runs fine.
Click to expand...
Then again both are trying to move the industry toward multi-array multi-core CPU's with all sorts of functions beyond just being a general purpose CPU.

http://www.intel.com/technology/magazine/computing/platform-2015-0305.htm

I saw a better page with pictures too. I'll try to find it.
 
Proof, or even evidence?

wmmk said:
That would mean we'd have to pay more for intel machines. intel is giving apple big discounts for not using AMD at all.
Click to expand...
This statement and variations, are repeated so often that they're taken for fact - but is there any corroboration of this from any source whatsoever?

I didn't think so....

Considering the anti-trust climate, the most that is likely is that there is an short term agreement that in return for the engineering help that Intel is giving Apple - Apple agrees to use only Intel chips.

Considering Apple's volume, their "discount" is probably very similar to what the other top 10 Intel OEMs are paying.

Intel can't afford to p#ss off their other OEMs by giving Apple preferential treatment for pricing and availability - but Intel can give Apple special help in the engineering area.

Apple could choose to give up the engineering support and use AMD chips whenever the agreement is up for renewal. But, as many have said, Intel's chips (and roadmap) are far better than AMD's roadmap right now....
 
tny said:
No. The AMD processors we're talking about have the same instruction set as the Intel processors Apple is currently using
Click to expand...
You are obviously not a systems programmer.

Check out the source code for Xen, and then try to tell me that a Xeon and an Opteron have identical instruction sets....
 
AidenShaw said:
You are obviously not a systems programmer.

Check out the source code for Xen, and then try to tell me that a Xeon and an Opteron have identical instruction sets....
Click to expand...
Let's be nice to the mundanes and stick to x86 instead of comparing vendor based virtualization technologies. :D
 
Huh?

Macrumors said:


Digitimes claims that according to Taiwan component makers, there is an increase in orders for certain capacitators that are intended for use in an AMD-based Apple notebook. Few other details are provided.

The rest of the article remains speculative, pointing to comments by AMD CEO that he felt that Apple would eventually come around to working with AMD.

Readers should note that Digitimes remains notoriously inaccurate with their rumors.
Click to expand...

What's a capacitator anyways?
 
Don't forget! It took Intel 6 years to really surpass AMD on performance. The current AMD Athlon is no slouch either. If it was a choice between the Athlon 64 or a Pentium 4, like it was a year ago, many here would be jumping for joy over a switch to AMD.

The reality is ,though, that Apple seems pretty satisfied with Intel right now and I believe they made the right choice. If Apple does decide to use AMD processors then it would probably be for the iTV or the Mac Mini. These things won't be competing on raw power but on quality and price. An order I believe AMD can fill.
 
cybermiguel said:
I would.

You see...ATi's integrated graphics solution is WAAYY BETTER than Intel 945 integrated graphics solution, so, it would be the perfect match for a lowcost laptop: Turion CPU and an ATi chipset.

Here's a page with some IGP benchmarks: http://kettya.com/notebook2/gpu_ranking.htm
Click to expand...
Wow even spending an extra $1 on something from ATI would be well worth it. Almost double the performance over the GMA 950.
 
This rumor should sound familiar to anyone that followed Dell and their long courtship with Intel. One analyst/pundit after another announced a rumor that Dell would put AMD into their grey boxes and year after year they were wrong (until this year :) ).

But seriously, I would welcome this move. Keep Intel (C2D, C2Q, and future) on the high end Pro models, use AMD with ATI integrated chipsets on consumer models. Or if/when it happens switch so that whatever is the best performing cpu/chipset combo is in the Pro line and vice versa.
 
I'm all for this.

For years AMD and Intel have played "leap frog" with one another in terms of performance. It's only recently that Intel has taken the lead after a lengthy duration of AMD dominance. Now that Apple has moved to x86, I see nothing wrong with Apple offering a choice of processors based on whatever brand can offer the best price/performance ratio. Say what you want about Dell, but they've recently starting offering AMD-based computers, and in my opinion this competition is good for the consumer.

And for those of you stating that AMD processors run too hot, wake up and smell the coffee. You're about 4 years behind. Ever since Intel introduced their 90 nm "Prescott" core, their temps were blisteringly hot compared to comparable AMD processors. Of course, things are different now, and both AMD's and Intel's offering run quite cool in comparison to their previous generations.
 
Apple and AMD hahahah thats a JOKE of the Year .. those guys must be smokin some cheep crack


First off Apple will never switch to AMD and i mean Never Ever

Second .. AMD at this point is slower then Intel so apple needs top of the line to compete with DELL and Sony and Toshiba and HP

3rd ... AMD Laptops are usually Low brand laptops and Apple has an Image to Mentain as a good higher end brand ... and AMD Laptops that are good are huge and no one wants a huge laptop when half of it is designed to cool the processor


4th ... Right now all the chips and iPods are Made by Intel and i am assuming with the iPone coming up the chips in that will be made by Intel so why risk the partnership
 
thejadedmonkey said:
2. AMD is far superior. Right now Intel is in the lead, but it's not a true lead. For the longest time, AMD had the better architecture.
Click to expand...

"For the longest time" ? x86 CPUs did exist before the year 2000, you know.

Intel had to do something, so they went back to the P3, tweaked it a little, and added some huge caches, and gave us a CPU modeled after a 6 year old (guessing here) CPU that ran at around the same GHZ speeds, but was faster.
Click to expand...

The P3 (which begat the Pentium M, which begat Core, which begat Core 2) was basically just a souped-up P2. A P2 was basically just a Pentium Pro with MMX and an off-die L2 cache (what Apple would later call a "backside cache").

The Pentium Pro (Intel's first totally new x86 chip design since the 386) came out in 1995. So all your fancy new x86 Macs have a direct lineage to an Intel CPU over a decade old.

Personally I think it's a credit to Intel that the PPro has scaled from a massive, hot, "slow" 150Mhz server CPU all the way through low-power dual-core laptop chips up to a top-end quad-core CPU. AMD has been through three new CPU designs in the same timeframe and only been unquestionably faster for maybe 50% of it.
 
highly unlikely indeed

As I would imagine I am willing to be that Apple and Intel have come sort of legal contract saying that apple can NOT use an AMD (or VIA or Transmeta, etc...) processor. That wouldnt pusprise me in the least. infact its just good business....but then again i could be wrong
 
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