Apple Considering Switch From Intel Chips in Future Macs

[AppleMacFinder]

Agree thats imposible to answear but i dont think will be crazy if they get it at 50 bucks a pcs

Okay, in case your assumption is correct:

$50 = 13% from Intel's "Recommended Customer Price".

Single ARM CPU (from my previous example) costs $5.

Now, imagine how low it would cost in "multi million volume contract"

If the same 13% ratio ==> $0.65 - less than a dollar! That is truly "dirt cheap"

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These people didnt do it when they where almost 6ft under, why do you think they will do it now ??!!!

Because they did in the similar situations before.
Lots of cases: PowerPC-Intel transition, Unibody transition, etc.

 

[Woodcrest64]

So why exactly does the current Mac Pro come with a three-year old (!) CPU?

Do you really believe hasn't put out anything in the last three years worth of being a replacement for the Xeon W3565?

Oh yeah, and about USB3.0?
Thunderbolt?

As far as I know there is no "Xeon" Sandybridge or Ivybridge based chipset with "native" USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt.

I believe this is why Apple is waiting on the update for the Mac Pro. I may be completely out to lunch on this but I can't think of any other reason why they would wait this long.

What makes you think this is the case?

see above .

I wish they would stop...

Me too.

 

[eltaurus]

If we look on the benchmarks, your current rMBP should beat that old Mac Pro.

benchmark .. I am talking from real world examples .. I render a frame on rMBP & Mac Pro .. Guess who will win in

8 cores i7 vs 16 cores (dual Xeon) ..

???

 

[jlmcclellan]

If this turns out to be the case, I won't be buying from Apple anymore...

Ditto. As much as it pains me to think of that future, I could not in good conscience pay more for a slower computer.

 

[AppleMacFinder]

benchmark .. I am talking from real world examples .. I render a frame on rMBP & Mac Pro .. Guess who will win in

8 cores i7 vs 16 cores (dual Xeon) ..

???

More cores does not necessarily mean a higher performance.

By the way, the benchmarks were optimized for multicore systems, so the final score includes that.

Give me your model numbers, and you will see that your rMBP is more powerful

 

[thekev]

My point is that ARM CPUs have a much higher overall Performance/Power ratio (not only in GHz terms),
that is why they are the future. And Intel Atom is a joke, because its perfomance (and also the performance of integrated graphics) is terrible.

Your comparison is still off. You specifically referenced it against a tdp that is only seen in workstations and server configurations. Even beyond that it's not as simple as people want to make it. ARM really shouldn't be referenced against anything but ULV, Atom, and medfield. In the context of future macs, ULV might be a logical point of reference. They currently require 17W, and performance per watt is superior to their other notebook chips. Intel is supposedly optimizing their designs for lower power consumption going forward, so I would not call this a foregone conclusion.

Okay, in case your assumption is correct:

$50 = 13% from Intel's "Recommended Customer Price".

Single ARM CPU (from my previous example) costs $5.

Now, imagine how low it would cost in "multi million volume contract"

If the same 13% ratio ==> $0.65 - less than a dollar! That is truly "dirt cheap"

Price is a more common argument in favor of ARM. I'm going to leave that one alone as I don't know enough about chip design to analyze it in any meaningful way.

 

[ncaissie]

Some think "infinity blade" is a real game.....

Yeah, Not a chance. lol I was sooo disappointed when I bought that game.

Edit:
Although I’m happy with the Batman game which is basically the same with a new skin.
Probably happy with it because my expectations were lower after IB.

 

[VulchR]

I wonder - would it be possible or useful for Apple to create an ARM/Intel hybrid?

 

[OllyW]

I wonder - would it be possible or useful for Apple to create an ARM/Intel hybrid?

I think you'd need Intel on board for that to happen.

 

[roxxette]

Im all for a hybrid

 

[nutjob]

Image

That's vastly understating it. Maybe 95% is more like it.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Even with current Intel Chips Mac are slightly behind other Windows based ones. If they are coming with custom Chips (rather going back) then I am not sure about their integration with Windows, MS Office etc...iWork is really not institutionalized in enterprise considering its limitations and nowhere near MS Office by any stretch.

Apple resurrected itself only when they changed themselves to Intel and if they are going back to PowerPC era, then good luck!

No. Apple's resurrection was because of the iPod. Let us not fool ourselves if Apple did not have a hit with the iPod the Intel Macs would not have saved the company

 

[nutjob]

According to Tim Cook in a confirmed email message, "Although we didn’t have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today’s event, don’t worry as we’re working on something really great for later next year." (June 2012)

Connie Gugliemlmo from Forbes confirmed that the email was authenitc: "Here’s a copy of the email, which Apple told me was indeed sent by Cook to a customer identified only as 'Franz.'" (6/6/2012)

David Pogue also wrote in his New York Times blog: "An executive did assure me, however, that new MacPro designs are under way, probably for release in 2013." (6/11/2012)

"Really great" means the usual speed/chipset/processor bump, as I said, minor tweaks. If you think they've sat on it for years and are suddenly pouring resources into it you're mistaken.

 

[eltaurus]

More cores does not necessarily mean a higher performance.

By the way, the benchmarks were optimized for multicore systems, so the final score includes that.

Give me your model numbers, and you will see that your rMBP is more powerful

Hmmm I just render 2 scene in C4D

Scene One

rMBP = 00:00:29
MP = 00:00:29

Both same it was a simple scene

Scene Two

rMBP = 00:02:56
MP = 00:02:08

As scene get more complex time difference increases ... Still both scenes are really simple ... complex scene per frame take 1hr or more .. then real time difference will show

rMBP = 10,1 (Retina Mid 2012)
MP =4,1 (Early 2009)

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

"I'll move back to Windows". A common refrain from those in the Tech community that are burnt out and want to return to the familiar confines of Microsoft's disjointed OS. Many people proclaim they're power users but in truth they are imprisoned. Fear of change has many of you sounding like relics.

You don't get it at all. It has NOTHING to do with 'change' in and of itself. It has to do with Apple constantly making their previous software base (often games from just a couple of years ago even) obsolete and no longer functioning! I don't care if they play with the OS interface, dude. Who cares!? I can adapt to any number of new things. It's when I paid for expensive software and Apple arbitrarily makes it stop working (I must be crazy to think "Mac Software" should actually RUN on a freaking Mac, I know) or on the other side of the table, makes current software stop working on my existing Mac or iPod Touch or whatever, that I get "burnt out".

Is it really so much to expect software I bought two years ago to work on my new Mac or to be able to run the current Safari to work on a Mac I bought two years ago? People don't talk about potentially going back to Microsoft because they like the operating system or its interface better. They talk about going back to it because unlike Apple, Microsoft makes a concerted effort to keep older Windows software running on newer versions of Windows and even Apple themselves will support iTunes on ancient WindowsXP, but not on OSX Leopard from just a few years ago.

Ultimately, computers to me are about RUNNING SOFTWARE. The hardware is a means to an end. I don't need a "pretty" iMac to run Microsoft Word or Logic Pro. I just need that computer to run it so I can get some work done. Apple is increasingly getting in the way of getting things done by playing games with incompatible this and incompatible that. I could at least understand the move to Intel, but talking about moving away from it now cannot be about what's best for their users, but about maximizing profit margins by making chips themselves. And who cares about users running older software? They're not our target market anyways. We want these people that pay penalties to get out of their old iPhone contract agreement just so they can buy the newest and greatest one! THAT is our customer! They spend spend spend on things they don't even NEED. They just WANT. And that's what we want! People that WANT! GREED!

I watch 7 year olds play on and iPad and I smile because someday they will see the world for what it is. Full of opportunity and new challenges and they will replace all of us ...clinging and clutching to nostalgic computer remnants.

I watch my 22 year old brother play with his Playstation 360 at his Dad's house. He has no job. He has no driver's license. He has no drive to get either one. Like all of today's generation he wants to "play" with that iPad and instead of smiling, maybe you should be trying to teach kids to actually learn how to do things for themselves. When I was 7 years old I was "playing" with my first computer also, a Commodore Vic-20. I had to actually type in programs in Basic to get them to run games. I had to learn how computers function to make things happen in more primitive operating systems. I learned something even when I was having fun. You don't learn ANYTHING on an iPad any more than learning something about electricity because you use a toaster.

You call that progress. I call it a dumbed down society that no longer knows how to type. They just "thumb" instead. They no longer know how to spell. They just use a spell checker. They don't know how to do math because they use the calculator on their iPhone. They don't have speaking skills because they talk in slang like the rappers they listen to on that iPod. You call that the future. I call it a travesty.

 

[nuckinfutz]

You have no clue. You’re a simple fanboy who doesn't know anything about computers. Those people buy Macs for the power to process videos and such. There is no way ARM processors can compete. You obviously don't do anything more than watch Youtube and surf the net.

ncaissie ..if you yourself have a clue more than me you have an odd way of showing it

 

[iphoneclassic]

I don't see how Intel could charge less than $80, even for multi million volume contract,
while their i7-2760QM CPU costs $380.

Now you are comparing ARM with i7 which is used in a MacBook(Pro) which retails for $2000+. Also $380 is publicly available price estimate. No hardware manufacturer pays that much to Intel and real price will never come into public.

If you stack enough ARM cores to match i7-2760QM it is going to look like Pringles Tube.

 

[linkgx1]

Windows 8 does not support ARM.

Coulda sworn Windows 8 does support ARM...the RT version. But I could be wrong.

 

[KnightWRX]

Coulda sworn Windows 8 does support ARM...the RT version. But I could be wrong.

Windows RT is not Windows 8. That's my whole point. Windows RT is to iOS what Windows 8 is to OS X.

 

[ihuman:D]

Haha my Dad still uses our old 15" iMac 1.25 Ghz PowerPC 512MB of RAM lol

That's not funny... and there was no iMac with those specs.

 

[LagunaSol]

Apple is getting good at getting into bed with manufacturers and then screwing them over.

Just like Microsoft? Just like Google?

 

[linkgx1]

It doesnt matter if Tim cook is gay mate or does he had surgery done ?

What the hell does this mean?

 

[MacinDoc]

You don't understand CPU architecture or fabrication. ARM processors are successful in mobile devices because you can licence the design instead of buying pre-made silicon, and because they have been designed from scratch for simplicity and efficiency. Performance takes a back seat due to these design choices.

Intel processors on the other hard are successful because they use a sophisticated (and complex) design to offset a poor and archaic instruction set, but more importantly, Intel is the king of chip fabrication. Their manufacturing processes are ahead of everyone. Intel don't fabricate other people's CPUs, only their own. This gives them the edge in CPU performance and efficiency where power usage is less important.

OS X will run on ARMs today, and you can make a workable laptop with ARM processors, as many people do, but performance will always suffer compared to Intel. ARM will never be the successor to Intel processors because the ARM architecture is not optimised for performance and no-one can beat Intel in the CPU game right now. When someone does (as the PowerPC did for a while), I'm sure Apple will switch over, but saying the ARM is the successor is like saying Hyundai is the successor to Porsche.

With all due respect, you have no idea what I do or do not understand. I understand that ARM architecture is RISC-based architecture that was originally designed for low-power systems. I understand that most of the hundreds of companies licensed to use ARM are not architecture licensees and are not allowed to use ARM architecture to design their own chips. You can obtain an architecture license, and several companies, such as Apple, Marvell, Qualcomm, DEC and NVIDIA, have done so and have designed SOCs based on their own customizations of ARM architecture. I know that most ARM processors cannot compete with modern Core2 processors in terms of desktop computing power, but on the other hand, several companies are working on ARM-based servers. And I know that the performance of ARM processors has increased much more than the performance of Intel processors in the last several years. Whether ARM performance can outstrip Core2 performance remains to be seen, because the relationship between computing power and energy requirements/thermal output is not necessarily linear.

I'm not advocating ARM as a replacement for Core2, but as others have said, any company that does not make contingency plans for possible architectural changes to keep up with technological breakthroughs is dooming itself to eventual failure.

 

[nuckinfutz]

I watch my 22 year old brother play with his Playstation 360 at his Dad's house. He has no job. He has no driver's license. He has no drive to get either one. Like all of today's generation he wants to "play" with that iPad and instead of smiling, maybe you should be trying to teach kids to actually learn how to do things for themselves. When I was 7 years old I was "playing" with my first computer also, a Commodore Vic-20. I had to actually type in programs in Basic to get them to run games. I had to learn how computers function to make things happen in more primitive operating systems. I learned something even when I was having fun. You don't learn ANYTHING on an iPad any more than learning something about electricity because you use a toaster.

You call that progress. I call it a dumbed down society that no longer knows how to type. They just "thumb" instead. They no longer know how to spell. They just use a spell checker. They don't know how to do math because they use the calculator on their iPhone. They don't have speaking skills because they talk in slang like the rappers they listen to on that iPod. You call that the future. I call it a travesty.

Magnus much of what you say is true. Transitions are always tough even if they go according to plan. I think the difference here may be when Apple made the Intel transition they just have enough sway to really convince the developers to put in the work. Today the money is with the mobile platforms if you want to be the next Angry Birds you need to be on mobile devices and the undertow pulls developers to the Mac since the frameworks are very similar. I don't think we'll see the Rosetta problem to the same degree. Although switching to ARM at this point is just pure speculation.

 

[linkgx1]

Windows RT is not Windows 8. That's my whole point. Windows RT is to iOS what Windows 8 is to OS X.

Ummm."s a version of the Windows 8 operating system designed to run on devices utilizing the ARM architecture."


Read it and weep.

It pretty much is Windows 8 in terms of.......the apps on the app store can pretty much run on regular Windows 8.

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You don't get it at all. It has NOTHING to do with 'change' in and of itself. It has to do with Apple constantly making their previous software base (often games from just a couple of years ago even) obsolete and no longer functioning! I don't care if they play with the OS interface, dude. Who cares!? I can adapt to any number of new things. It's when I paid for expensive software and Apple arbitrarily makes it stop working (I must be crazy to think "Mac Software" should actually RUN on a freaking Mac, I know) or on the other side of the table, makes current software stop working on my existing Mac or iPod Touch or whatever, that I get "burnt out".

Is it really so much to expect software I bought two years ago to work on my new Mac or to be able to run the current Safari to work on a Mac I bought two years ago? People don't talk about potentially going back to Microsoft because they like the operating system or its interface better. They talk about going back to it because unlike Apple, Microsoft makes a concerted effort to keep older Windows software running on newer versions of Windows and even Apple themselves will support iTunes on ancient WindowsXP, but not on OSX Leopard from just a few years ago.

Ultimately, computers to me are about RUNNING SOFTWARE. The hardware is a means to an end. I don't need a "pretty" iMac to run Microsoft Word or Logic Pro. I just need that computer to run it so I can get some work done. Apple is increasingly getting in the way of getting things done by playing games with incompatible this and incompatible that. I could at least understand the move to Intel, but talking about moving away from it now cannot be about what's best for their users, but about maximizing profit margins by making chips themselves. And who cares about users running older software? They're not our target market anyways. We want these people that pay penalties to get out of their old iPhone contract agreement just so they can buy the newest and greatest one! THAT is our customer! They spend spend spend on things they don't even NEED. They just WANT. And that's what we want! People that WANT! GREED!



I watch my 22 year old brother play with his Playstation 360 at his Dad's house. He has no job. He has no driver's license. He has no drive to get either one. Like all of today's generation he wants to "play" with that iPad and instead of smiling, maybe you should be trying to teach kids to actually learn how to do things for themselves. When I was 7 years old I was "playing" with my first computer also, a Commodore Vic-20. I had to actually type in programs in Basic to get them to run games. I had to learn how computers function to make things happen in more primitive operating systems. I learned something even when I was having fun. You don't learn ANYTHING on an iPad any more than learning something about electricity because you use a toaster.

You call that progress. I call it a dumbed down society that no longer knows how to type. They just "thumb" instead. They no longer know how to spell. They just use a spell checker. They don't know how to do math because they use the calculator on their iPhone. They don't have speaking skills because they talk in slang like the rappers they listen to on that iPod. You call that the future. I call it a travesty.

Um.....you sound like an ANGRY old man and...



WHAT THE HELL IS A PLAYSTATION 360?