Apple Ramping Up New MacBook Air Production in July [Update]

[Dark Void]

although i won't be getting one, i am looking forward to seeing what is actually put out instead of rumors and see how well they sell.

 

[Hellhammer]

SB is indeed two chip, but the second SB chip is smaller than the 320M, so it frees up some space. Of course, until we see the logic board of the new MBA, this is all conjecture.

http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/POxSYUGpXHwopXCQ.huge - the orange chip is the 320M.
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/QWKKPpAh4AHJm1bf.huge - blue is TB, red is controller.

TB is clearly smaller than the CPU, at roughly the width of a USB port. I can see some clear space on the MBA board, that if the board is redesigned it should fit. Certainly not as packed as the MBP board.

Lets put down some numbers of the package sizes:

U/LV Core 2 Duo: 22mm x 22mm = 484mm^2
320M: No official package size. However, the teardown gives us a good comparison of those two chips and their size. With my poor Photoshop skills, I was able to come up with a solution that 320M has roughly 28% bigger package size than the CPU, making its package size roughly 620mm^2

U/LV Sandy Bridge: 31mm x 24mm = 744mm^2
HM65 chipset: 25mm x 25mm = 625mm^2
Thunderbolt: Again, no official data but the chips appears to be about one third (33%) of the PCH so that would make its package size 206mm^2

C2D total: 1104mm^2
SB total: 1575mm^2 (43% bigger)

I emphasize that these are just rough comparisons because iFixit's pics aren't the best (the annoying color things make this a bit inaccurate). However, it looks like SB with TB will take more space but I don't think that will stop Apple from putting them in MBA.

 

[MrNomNoms]

im looking to buy my first mac an the MBA 13 is what i like, i will only really use for work with spread sheets, word files surfing the net etc. occasionally connect to the tv to watch an online movie. my question is would i be better off buying now to get nvidia graphics or wait for the new one. i was intending to buy with upgraded to 4 g ram and iworks as im sick to death of pc's.

I'd wait for a refresh as others have suggested; the HD 3000 would do the job without any problems, OpenCL sits on AVX which benchmarks have already shown to beat the previous generation of GPU's, and for everything else I'd say the bigger bottleneck will be the CPU rather than the GPU.

What I would wait for is Lion to also be released so then you're also getting a good insight as to the quality of the drivers - my experience so far with the Lion drivers (as so far as the quality of the ATI) in the DP builds has shown a decent sized jump in performance. What one observes with the current generation of Intel drivers might not necessarily carry through to Lion - especially given that these drivers are written to take into account OpenGL 3.x and future iterations.

 

[Wormald]

Seriously, I hope that TB is there, but will probably buy one even if it's not. The MacBook it's going to be replacing doesn't have a FW port, and I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would.

Thunderbolt ports are replacing, and are the same shape and size as, the mini-display port, which the 11 and 13 inch Airs already have. TB is like some sort of video-out on crack. So comparing it to Firewire isn't the full story.

It would be great to be able to plug in just a Thunderbolt lead and power lead when sitting at a desk, and have the monitor and USB devices connecting through some sort of external Thunderbolt 'hub'.

All I want is an 11" MBA with 256 GB SSD as an option! I'm not asking for it as standard config. I just want the option (since I'd pay for this option).

This is my biggest hope. Sandy Bridge is a given, but doubling the 128GB SSD in the 11 inch to 256GB would make a world of difference.

It would be a pleasant surprise, but since it's just a spec-upgrade, and not a form-factor redesign, it seems doubtful.

I just can't see Apple magically finding loads more room for SSD chips in that svelte little enclosure - or using more expensive SSD chips with twice the storage density, if such things exist.

 

[peskaa]

Lets put down some numbers of the package sizes:

U/LV Core 2 Duo: 22mm x 22mm = 484mm^2
320M: No official package size. However, the teardown gives us a good comparison of those two chips and their size. With my poor Photoshop skills, I was able to come up with a solution that 320M has roughly 28% bigger package size than the CPU, making its package size roughly 620mm^2

U/LV Sandy Bridge: 31mm x 24mm = 744mm^2
HM65 chipset: 25mm x 25mm = 625mm^2
Thunderbolt: Again, no official data but the chips appears to be about one third (33%) of the PCH so that would make its package size 206mm^2

C2D total: 1104mm^2
SB total: 1575mm^2 (43% bigger)

I emphasize that these are just rough comparisons because iFixit's pics aren't the best (the annoying color things make this a bit inaccurate). However, it looks like SB with TB will take more space but I don't think that will stop Apple from putting them in MBA.

Owch, the SB CPUs are honking huge compared to C2D - odd, as my desktop 2500K is no bigger than the previous 1156 socket arrangement, although the mobile chips lack lids.

 

[insider-man]

Just a bump to say - I told you so.

I supposed you wouldn't be interested in the 2 new iPhones currently in development and . . . . . . oh hold on a minute . . . . . my posts just get negative feedback so obviously y'all wouldn't be interested