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Apple to Adopt Alternative Chipsets for Next Laptops?

digitalbiker said:
This rumor has got to be a load of BS. Intel and Apple are just starting to gel together and both loved collaborating on the MBA.
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Or so they say ...

digitalbiker said:
So if Apple farts around trying another transition away from intel chipsets they probably won't be releasing new designs until well in the future. You just don't design and fabricate new chipsets overnight.
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Who say it is overnight? How long has Apple owned PA Semi. Additionally, I believe Apple collaborated with them back when they were still on the PPC chips. You'd be surprised what a great set of designers can put together in a short time. Perhaps PA Semi had IP (intellectual property) already in place that Apple decided to grab up by buying the company. I believe at the purchase, Apple stated they were buying the company for it's chip designers and intellectual property (focused heavily on low-power chips/chipsets). And by owning the company and the IP, Apple can decide who does and doesn't get it ... i.e. ... "[computers/devices] that other companies can't match."
 
You got all that from a rumour? Why so pessimistic? Think different. Think a bit more positive. :D

This rumour is far too sketchy and early days to make much of it.
Frankly, I quite like the idea of Apple getting more involved in designing their own hardware rather than using off the shelf silicon. They must see some way to improve upon what's already out there from other chipset manufacturers.


And for those wondering how a change like this can negatively affect you:

1.) Different bus speeds that normal chipsets? Can't use standard memory -- more expensive.
2.) Apple can put as good (or as poor) integrated video as they want in the new boxes. Knowing Apple's history, which will they choose.
3.) Drivers will have to be specifically released by Apple for other OSes. Want to run Linux on your 2009 Macbook (with a non-conforming, non-Intel chipset)? Too bad.
4.) Likewise, VMware and Parallels won't be able to tweak out the same performance.
5.) Apple comes out with a "great", new way to connect to monitors/peripherals/etc. on their brand new chipset. Guess we can't use budget Dell monitors and MS $20 keyboards anymore.

And like I said -- it's just a hop, skip and a jump away from going non-Intel on the CPUs. Not cool.
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smootling said:
Unfortunately for me, no updated mac means no mac at all. Asus, here I come :eek:
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And what exactly do the current models not do that warrant the pain and expense of changing platforms? What, just, purely out of spite, because you imagine your needs are much greater/more important/cutting-edge/L33T than everyone else? If that's the case, then go. We won't miss you.

Damn tourists...
 
This strikes me as a good thing - bespoke chipsets for Macs. Demonstrates a bit more initiative than using completely stock bits. Will it affect costs however?
 
I think this is one of the more likely scenarios. Lowering price (maybe power usage too), and more control over locking OSX to Apple hardware.

Rhalliwell1 said:
This could be coupled with the speculation to reduce the price of their laptops and to try and stop OS X on PCs. If they are Apple chipsets then they will be cheaper to produce and they will be able to lock OS X down better.

They have just bought P.A. Semi.

Interesting.
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This could potentially prevent people from installing hacked MacOS on regular PCs in the future.

(It would have to be the far future, when macos dropped support for non-apple chipsets)
 
SilentCrs said:
Apple owes some of their resurgence (if not all of it) to going to a more accepted, widespread platform. They didn't get it through the iPod effect -- the iPod has been around for years. They didn't get OS X -- it's pretty much the same as always. Their marketshare is up because "they do Windows".
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Another dreamer. Though there may be "a few" switchers because Windows can be run on the Apple computers, the majority of switchers (and the gain in markertshare) is do to an OS that kicks the **** out of all versions of Windows (including Vista).

Microsoft is concerned enough about Apple's growth and increase in popularity/marketshare that they are switching their strategy to try to hold on to what they have:

Microsoft shifting strategy in response to Apple.
 
Squonk said:
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.

Couldn't this also drive down the cost of the chipsets for Apple by not having to pay Intel a markup on them?

I'm interested to see where this whole story goes.... :cool:
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Just what I was thinking - they can start to check for some odd feature that only OSx knows about, and if not refuse to boot. They'd have to be careful not to break older Macs though. Maybe they are covering bases relative to Psystar.
 
Eidorian said:
Intel pretty much dominates the realm of Intel mobile chipsets. :rolleyes:
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And they haven't licensed their mobile sockets to anyone since the socket 479 Pentium-M days. That means that if intel is allowing Apple their own chipset, its probably custom, will be fabed by intel, and there will be an agreement not to sell this chipset in competition with the centrino platforms in addition to any license fees to use socket-M and any future sockets.
 
shawnce said:
All of Apple's Intel based computers to date use the primary components (north and south bridge) of Intel's laptop and workstation class chipsets (former for all Mac other then Mac Pro). Additionally they use a handful of other Intel chipset related supporting chips.
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my point was that they really never technically used what people generally considered the latest intel chipset. they have always "slighty tweaked" the chipset to the way they thought they could get better performance out of it.
 
Aaah, I guess this has something to do with Snow Leopard and its interesting to see where this news will end up to. I for one dont care cause if Apple managed to change the hardware spec of its product to their own one rather then using hardware that is available to dell and HP, then all the better.

And I am quite sure Apple will still allow user to run Win in their Mac just in case. Remember the best of both worlds is promoted by Apple sometime ago when they introduce BootCamp. And even If Apple decide not to allow Windows installation, there will be so many complaints about it that in the next update, Apple will be bound to release a Windows compatible version.
 
smootling said:
Unfortunately for me, no updated mac means no mac at all. Asus, here I come :eek:
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That would simply mean one more Asus sucker and one less Apple complainer ... at least until you realize you should have waited from the good computer. :D
 
clevin said:
Apple isn't capable of developing a brand new CPU, nuff said.
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First, this isn't about a new CPU, its about a new North Bridge and South Bridge.

Second, the designers at PA semi are perfectly capable of designing a desktop CPU. It would be an expensive waste of resources and they'd have to outsource for production.
 
clevin said:
aha, my bad, so what are the choices out there? Or is apple just trying to get some difference integrated GPU other than Intel GMA?
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When talking mobile and sticking with intel cpus, the list begins and ends with intel. They don't license out their sockets any more.
 
I can't work out what to make of this... I'm no expert in all this hardware bilge but all the other threads make sense to me. Anyone could probably convince me this is good or bad and I wouldn't know the difference.
I'm happy with the MBPs now, but if there is an upcoming update I'd hate it not to be in time for uni. I hope this doesn't affect it for the worse...

iOrlando said:
October Mac annoucement.

College kids --> Buy the mac now. Get the ipod touch. Dont over think it.
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1. If only this was on in the UK... I guess I'll wait till early September to go for it. Maybe August if I'm feeling impatient.
2. Are you as unfortunate as me to have most people that meet you ask "oh do you know Orlando Bloom", "have you been to Orlando" etc!? It's a CURSE.
 
BenRoethig said:
And they haven't licensed their mobile sockets to anyone since the socket 479 Pentium-M days. That means that if intel is allowing Apple their own chipset, its probably custom, will be fabed by intel, and there will be an agreement not to sell this chipset in competition with the centrino platforms in addition to any license fees to use socket-M and any future sockets.
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That sounds much more plausible.
 
batchtaster said:
And what exactly do the current models not do that warrant the pain and expense of changing platforms? What, just, purely out of spite, because you imagine your needs are much greater/more important/cutting-edge/L33T than everyone else? If that's the case, then go. We won't miss you.

Damn tourists...
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The current midlevel macbook has a smaller screen than similarly priced laptops, a smaller hard drive, less RAM, a shorter default warranty, and less options in regard to GPUs. What is wrong with you? I've owned Apple products for years; clearly I have no problem paying more for something if I think the benefits outweigh the costs. I'm commenting on the fact that to ignore the back-to-school update season seems like a needlessly ruthless business tactic on Apple's part. Jerks like you who think I'm an elitist because I don't want to pay more for less are what give apple sites like this a bad name.
 
MacCheetah3 said:
... Montevina sounds like a great mobile chipset. Maybe a little power hungry but I don't foresee any other manufacturer doing any better. ...
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Apple is not trying to match other manufacturers ... they are trying to bury them.
 
Actually, the more this thread continues, it becomes more obvious, that NONE of us, myself especially, has the slightest idea of what this means.

So maybe we should just all kick back and make posts about G5 powerbooks, Snappier Safari, etc, and wait and see what ACTUALLY is in the offing, here!

But then, i guess, this IS a rumour site after all...:D
 
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