Apple to Adopt Alternative Chipsets for Next Laptops?

[Fabio_gsilva]

And, the shock of the transition from PPC to Intel is too recent for Apple to take one more delicate move like this...

I know that the CPU is different from the chipset, but the investor may get a little crazier...

 

[Str8edgepunker]

What?! No Calpella in the future? Bah humbug.

Anyway, I digress. Especially with the acquisition of PA semi, it does seem logical that apple would be possibly investigating alternates to the Intel Chipset. They would obviously need a VERY good reason to do so but so far I don't see it. Maybe something to do with grand central in snow leopard?

 

[SilentCrs]

Huh?

You do realize that there are AMD, Nvidia, VIA, and Intel chipsets for Intel processors, right? If AMD can make a more power-efficient chipset, why wouldn't you want them to use it? What you don't get is that there's not a single major company that I can think of that uses Intel chipsets exclusively.

You do realize they bought their own chipset manufacturer, right? Why would they go with AMD, nVidia or VIA (ugh, VIA...) when they can roll their own? And, in that case, why release chipset drivers for Windows when they don't have to? Why not have the Linux guys reverse engineer an integrated video card they've never seen before than use something everyone uses? Why do X when we can do you Y -- and control every aspect of the process?

 

[EMT123]

Wow. I remember a day when the exact same thing was said about moving away from PPC.

why do you think Apple has been on the move since they moved to Intel? Obviously it has added more utility to the Apple brand. Intel is a the precident!

 

[nikhsub1]

Absolutely wrong.

Having the same chipset as the CPU ensures an optimum level of support, performance and economies of scale that you cannot have with separate makers; and even more so in the case of Intel, which has an absolute lead BOTH in terms of performance and fab capacity.

Yes, and you just repeated what I've said...read my post again before spending your time to write a bad reply. I said chipsets coming from the SAME maker as the CPU...nothing else.

I guess I misunderstood what you were saying... my bad.

 

[digitalbiker]

The one thing that makes me a bit excited is the idea that the current MacBook could be the last with Intels IGP. We could very well see an AMD chipset with an improved ATi IGP or even a low-end discrete option.

SCORE!

I would still rather have Montevina.

It already has a vastly improved IGPU. Not only that, it allows GPU switching. You can have a discrete graphics card that is used for high performance apps then switch to the IGPU to save power for the lower performance GPU apps.

Very nice chipset, available now, better than current chipsets, drop-in compatible with Nehalem CPU. Why mess with it?

 

[Santa Rosa]

Apple might be screwing college students who want to get their hands on a laptop before the semester starts. I am actually one of those people. But we all know that most, if not all people who will go along and get the promotion with the free ipod touch will get sucked into the new system and begin auctioning off their recently purchased, soon to be older version macbooks. At least thats what I might do if I buy one now.

How are they screwing anyone going to college?? The huge majority of people going to college will be delighted about the iPod and they will also hopefully have a reliable good computer for the whole time they are at college. This forum is completely biased to the opinions of those interested in the best upcoming stuff from Apple, not the majority of people going to college.

 

[thecartoonguy]

Absolutely wrong.

Having the same chipset as the CPU ensures an optimum level of support, performance and economies of scale that you cannot have with separate makers; and even more so in the case of Intel, which has an absolute lead BOTH in terms of performance and fab capacity.

If you are referring to GPU acceleration or parallel processing, fine...for everything else a single, all-inclusive maker is better.

It's like using spare parts for a car that are not supported by the original maker. In other words, NO THANKS...

I am very nervous about this.

 

[maestro55]

I would like to see Apple have more control over the engineering of their systems. Building their own chipset could be a great move for Apple if things are done right.

 

[nikhsub1]

I would like to see Apple have more control over the engineering of their systems. Building their own chipset could be a great move for Apple if things are done right.

Apple is more in the business of 'designing computers' and not engineering chipsets. No one does chip sets like Intel. End of story.

 

[EMT123]

How are they screwing anyone going to college?? The huge majority of people going to college will be delighted about the iPod and they will also hopefully have a reliable good computer for the whole time they are at college. This forum is completely biased to the opinions of those interested in the best upcoming stuff from Apple, not the majority of people going to college.

Apple is out to make money. Its a business. Apple has an excellent presents in the higher education market. That is why you hear and will continue to hear about the back to the school circumstance. OBVIOUSLY a huge oppurtunity to bring in more converts with a refresh before school starts = more profit, which is why they exist is the first place.

 

[boer]

Could be fantastic

Despite many initial comments here, this could be fantastic for Apple! I mean, look how things are now: Apple provides just another PC hardware with special software. There is nothing on the computer hardware that would be special. In fact, Apple's products often lack leading edge standard hardware (such as GPU) and are thus considered inferior by some.

By designing their own bridge chips Apple could really differentiate their hardware from generic PCs and create something really special with hardware and software designed to work together. This is something other PC makers cannot match!

 

[dagger01]

Most Of You Are Not Paying Attention!!!

Design their own chipset? Wouldn't they need experience in CPU design and fabbing...

Oh wait, WHO did they buy a little while back?

NAAAH. I can't see them doing this. Not at this stage of the Intel switchover...

Surely not...???

Uhh, I hate to break this to you (and others) but Apple has been designing their own chipsets for decades. They designed the North bridge in the G5 series of machines, and have had custom ASICs in their systems going back to the original Macintosh.

SURPRISE! (I guess)

 

[Santa Rosa]

Apple is out to make money. Its a business. Apple has an excellent presents in the higher education market. That is why you hear and will continue to hear about the back to the school circumstance. OBVIOUSLY a huge oppurtunity to bring in more converts with a refresh before school starts = more profit, which is why they exist is the first place.

Bit pointless quoting me wasnt it not??

 

[DeaconGraves]

Apple is out to make money. Its a business. Apple has an excellent presents in the higher education market. That is why you hear and will continue to hear about the back to the school circumstance. OBVIOUSLY a huge oppurtunity to bring in more converts with a refresh before school starts = more profit, which is why they exist is the first place.

Which is why Apple offers free iPods during the summer.

A very small percentage of college users need top of the line specs for a computer. A much larger percentage want free iPods Who do you think Apple would rather market to?

 

[Eric S.]

Since they bought that chip manufacturer (PA Semi) a little while back, this seems plausible. And could this make it impossible for users from making Hackintoshes because their PC standard chipset would be lacking something that is part of the Apple chipset.

But if the software exploited something like that in the hardware, it would also necessarily have to brick all currently existing Macs. I can imagine the howls of outrage if all current Macs were prevented from upgrading to Snow Leopard - it would make the lament of the G5 owners look tiny in comparison.

 

[link92]

Apple is more in the business of 'designing computers' and not engineering chipsets. No one does chip sets like Intel. End of story.

Apple did it the entire time they were on PPC (and maybe on 68k too, I don't know). They're certainly in the business of doing this, and they have plenty of experience.

 

[iMacmatician]

But if the software exploited something like that in the hardware, it would also necessarily have to brick all currently existing Macs. I can imagine the howls of outrage if all current Macs were prevented from upgrading to Snow Leopard - it would make the lament of the G5 owners look tiny in comparison.

Maybe for an update further in the future - 10.8 maybe?

 

[PaulCJr]

Moving away from Intel.

I'm not going to post here like I'm some big tech savvy guy, but I do know this. I like that Apple has an Intel inside because when I do need to run windows I can. Sometimes I need to run GIS for work, but unfortunately there is no Mac version. I like being able to reboot and launch Boot Camp and run Window’s programs. If Mac switched chipset manufactories, I wonder if the computer would be able to run Windows. Prices have also come down since Apple switched to Intel. This price drop has allowed me to afford more Mac than I would have been able to in the past.

I also recall their being hackintoshes even before they went to Intel. Maybe it's easier to do it now that OSX runs on Intel machines, but I doubt this would go away even if they made their own chipsets or had someone else make them for Apple. Basically my post boils down to this. I'm a PC convert that really love his Mac, and I don't want to see Apple ruin a good thing. Apple, stay with Intel!

 

[Santa Rosa]

Just something else to throw into the mixer:

What impact will all this have on the Bootcamp side of things. I would say that was one of the big things about a fully Intel Mac.

I understand that the processor could still be Intel (which I would very much think it would be) but with the chipset being completely custom say, not ATI, Via etc, would that make Bootcamp slightly more awkward in specific drivers would need to be written for that as well?

Im just trying to get my head round this whole thing and throwing about a few ideas!!

 

[andiwm2003]

Uhh, I hate to break this to you (and others) but Apple has been designing their own chipsets for decades. They designed the North bridge in the G5 series of machines, and have had custom ASICs in their systems going back to the original Macintosh.

SURPRISE! (I guess)

i guess you missed the sarcasm in his email.............

 

[DeaconGraves]

Just something else to throw into the mixer:

What impact will all this have on the Bootcamp side of things. I would say that was one of the big things about a fully Intel Mac.

I understand that the processor could still be Intel (which I would very much think it would be) but with the chipset being completely custom say, not ATI, Via etc, would that make Bootcamp slightly more awkward in specific drivers would need to be written for that as well?

Im just trying to get my head round this whole thing and throwing about a few ideas!!

Well, specific drivers are currently written for the keyboard, mouse, iSight, etc.

While drivers for a chipset would undoubtedly be more complex then those devices, I wouldn't see BootCamp being dropped because of it.

 

[mac-mania]

I'm not going to post here like I'm some big tech savvy guy, but I do know this. I like that Apple has an Intel inside because when I do need to run windows I can. Sometimes I need to run GIS for work, but unfortunately there is no Mac version. I like being able to reboot and launch Boot Camp and run Window’s programs. If Mac switched chipset manufactories, I wonder if the computer would be able to run Windows. Prices have also come down since Apple switched to Intel. This price drop has allowed me to afford more Mac than I would have been able to in the past.

I also recall their being hackintoshes even before they went to Intel. Maybe it's easier to do it now that OSX runs on Intel machines, but I doubt this would go away even if they made their own chipsets or had someone else make them for Apple. Basically my post boils down to this. I'm a PC convert that really love his Mac, and I don't want to see Apple ruin a good thing. Apple, stay with Intel!

Dude, they're not switching from Intel processors. The reason you can run Windows on Apple machines now is because of the Intel processors, the chipset has nothing to do with it. They aren't going to switch from Intel processors, they aren't going to alienate the probably 70% of Apple users who are in someway either emulating or using boot camp to access windows on their hardware.

Seriously, people READ THE ARTICLE

 

[ihabime]

I could see this if ATI offered something special to Apple, such as their newest IGP at lower cost than montevina, basically bragging rights for ATI and a good deal for Apple.

Apple designing or making it's own just doesn't make sense though, they lose the whole economy of scale by not using an off the shelf part. Most of what you'd want to do within the chipset is already available, TPM, decoding acceleration, usb, firewire, etc.

If they design their own chipset, that means no integrated graphics either, that's a huge change for the macbook and adds even more cost.

Apples whole strategy since the Intel switch has been to use off the shelf parts and differentiate the Mac with software, OSX.

 

[Vulpinemac]

what?! this probably kills the rumor that the new macbook pro's will be released in august...since apple isn't using the montevina platform, there's no need to compete with other computer companies new montevina laptops. It looks like we will have to wait till late september for new laptops...looks like I'll be buying a new sony vaio for college =(

I doubt that, myself. I can see at least three directions this could go, but I would guess that they're talking about the next generation down the road, not the one coming in the next couple of months.