Apple Using Exclusive 3GHz Xeon from Intel?

[gnasher729]

Apple has been getting all sorts of special treatment from Intel ever since the switch, it seems... Intel must have had some particular reason that they really wanted to hook up with Apple, which I think would transcend current profits.

I posted that when the whole Intel/Apple story started: At that time Intel got their ass spanked by AMD, and all their chips were used for where tired, sad old Dell computers doing boring old things.

Intel chips inside a Macintosh do things that are ahead of anything else. Intel employees don't give a damn whether Dell uses Intel or AMD (apart from the sales people, and bean counters and shareholders obviously care). However, the fact that Apple uses Intel and not AMD is _very_ important to the employees and for company morale. Every time they see a Macintosh, they can be _proud_ that their chips are inside.

 

[theshibboleth]

WWDC 2003 had the 3 GHz PowerPC 970 promise.

3 GHz has been available since release for 2 x 2 Xeon configuration.

But 3 GHz isn't the same for different chips.

 

[a456]

I find it interesting that Apple is able to swing that kind of influence on Intel. However, it also makes sense they had to wait for the 3.0GHz before they could introduce the 8-core.

The reason Apple may have influence is because the people who really need these more powerful chips are largely film makers and producers, who often use Macs, and so the company is biting at the bit to include them in their hardware. While it is true that other PC producers sell more PCs and more Intel chips than Apple, they are largely mid-range, middle of the road systems. Many Core 2 Duo laptop PCs advertised on the TV have 1.66 ghz chips rather than the 2+ ghz we see in Apple machines. The other PC manufacturers do not want these chips at premium prices, they want them when they are affordable for consumers that do video editing for fun (on a PC?), photos and DTP, etc.

 

[emotion]

This bodes well for new macbook pro and santa rosa. I thought Apple were a little slow on uptake of the C2D stuff last year and I think the MBP needs an update soon (mag catch, user HD replacement, better gfx, faster memory).

As long as what is released isn't beta hardware. The CD based hardware was too close to that for comfort if you ask me.

 

[robPOD]

Very interesting, hopefully everything else will get updated soon

 

[stainlessliquid]

I dont know why people think Intel is giving apple special treatment. He said "For now, the product is in limited production and Apple has chosen to adopt it." Which means Apple chose to use it, not Intel chose to let only Apple use it. Other companies simply dont want to use it, probably because of price and the fact that not many people would buy it right now. Theres nothing to suggest that Apple has exclusive rights.

Honestly I dont know why Apple is doing it, it doesnt make very much sense. The other computers need to be updated, not some mega computer that is going to see minimal sales. They should have done like the other companies and waited for a cheaper more refined 3ghz chip since Intel doesnt seem too confident about the quality of this model. Or even better, they should have made a C2D Extreme mac pro instead.

 

[kansast]

is it a coincidence

Is it a coincidence that these new Macs with new processors, come out just in time as new Photoshop comes out ? if only I had the money

 

[freddiecable]

interesting indeed - but more indicative is that "We are indeed shipping a...[and] expect to see faster gigahertz speeds for our high-end [Core 2] Extreme PCs very soon, too," said Intel's Bill Kircos.

we can certainly expect new iMacs soon - hopefully with new design...

 

[Eraserhead]

Honestly I dont know why Apple is doing it, it doesnt make very much sense.

Probably because they are about to release new Logic/Final Cut, which can use those extra cores advantageously. It's worth it to them to have the super fast chips for that. For a high end PC you only use them in servers and it's probably not worth it.

 

[Umbongo]

Arent Apple the biggest computer maker in the world now? Im sure I read somewhere that out of all the computer brands like HP and Dell they are now the biggest selling. Isnt that reason enough for Intel to give them special treatment?

HP did $13b+ in hardware last quarter, dell did $10.5b+ however I don't think either list units sold. Apple did $2.2b on 1.6m units. However, as people mentioned already in this thread, Apple are a perfect showcase for Intel for a number of reasons. High profile, they use the high end chips and they appeal to professionals who have sway in the industries to name but a few.

 

[k2k koos]

good for Apple, good for the Mac OS

Or not? what is the current status of the Mac market share? Is it still on the rise, and is Apple currently at 5% and upwards, or closer to 10% now?

 

[iBunny]

The high price is to be expected because:

1) Its Apple
2) Its a unrelased processor, currently excluseive to Apple
3) It is currently the fastest, most powerful workstation in the world with 8 cores at 3GHz. Total processing power of 24GHz inside a nice quiet box.
4) You get what you pay for.

If I had a need for it, I would drop for it no doubt. But My Music Collection, Internet surfing habbits, and iPhoto collection does not require 24GHz. Not yet anyway....

 

[kalisphoenix]

The high price is to be expected because:

1) Its Apple
2) Its a unrelased processor, currently excluseive to Apple
3) It is currently the fastest, most powerful workstation in the world with 8 cores at 3GHz. Total processing power of 24GHz inside a nice quiet box.
4) You get what you pay for.

If I had a need for it, I would drop for it no doubt. But My Music Collection, Internet surfing habbits, and iPhoto collection does not require 24GHz. Not yet anyway....

I wish I had an 8-core Mac Pro just to see if I could ever get it above ~30% processor usage

 

[SPUY767]

Considering that you can't buy this puppy anywhere else, I'd say it's a safe bet. Everyone was afraid that Apple would be second fiddle to other PC manufacturers because of size, but as I had predicted, Intel is doing exactly the opposite and using Apple as kind of a technological showcase, likely because on the modern Windows machine, 20-30% of all the processing power is hogged by background and unnecessary processses such as Spy/Adware tools. It is good to affirm my belief that Apple entered into a good contract with Intel, I'll have to keep an eye on what my stock does if this news that Apple has exclusivity to an Intel chip hits the street.

It is kind of ironic, and not something that I expected, that after all the ruckus regarding Apple's Intel switch about how Apple was guaranteed now to never be faster than a Windows machine, that they truly are the fastest desktop computer that you can buy for less than the price of a small village. Good job Apple.

 

[SPUY767]

I wish I had an 8-core Mac Pro just to see if I could ever get it above ~30% processor usage

BOINC, part of the SETI/Folding @Home project, happily uses all four of my cores to the Max, the application is desitgned to assign as many threads as it takes to eat an entire processor, and one can only assume that it would have as little trouble using 8 cores as 4.

Probably because they are about to release new Logic/Final Cut, which can use those extra cores advantageously. It's worth it to them to have the super fast chips for that. For a high end PC you only use them in servers and it's probably not worth it.

Considering that I cajoled the SysAdmin at my last job to replace 6 servers with 2 MacPro's and virtualization. I'm not sure that 8-Cores are not worth it for servers.

 

[BenRoethig]

Arent Apple the biggest computer maker in the world now? Im sure I read somewhere that out of all the computer brands like HP and Dell they are now the biggest selling. Isnt that reason enough for Intel to give them special treatment?

Not even close. They have the largest profits because of sky high profit margins. HP and Dell account for close to 2/3rds of Computers sold. Apple Accounts for one in every 20 on a good day.

It's good to know that Apple and Intel still have a healthy relationship. 1+ years after Apple and IBM teamed up with the G5, things certainly didn't seem this cozy.

Apple was also IBM's only customer. IBM couldn't make G5 development really worth its while. They didn't have systems from Dell and HP to spread the developments costs around. Apple gets exclusives because it's high profile and low volume.

interesting indeed - but more indicative is that "We are indeed shipping a...[and] expect to see faster gigahertz speeds for our high-end [Core 2] Extreme PCs very soon, too," said Intel's Bill Kircos.

we can certainly expect new iMacs soon - hopefully with new design...

This has nothing to do with the iMac as it uses the mobile platform.

 

[SPUY767]

Not even close. They have the largest profits because of sky high profit margins. HP and Dell account for close to 2/3rds of Computers sold. Apple Accounts for one in every 20 on a good day.

Apple's share of the consumer market is a fair bit higher than 5%, I don't have exact figures, but it is closer to 10%. Dell and HP have grossly inflated numbers because they move thousands upon thousands of razor thin profit margin units to business and what not. Since business account for about 30% of all computer purchases, and a staggering majority of those are Windows machines, Apple performs much stronger in the consumer market than overall marke numbers would have you believe.

 

[PlaceofDis]

The high price is to be expected because:

1) Its Apple
2) Its a unrelased processor, currently excluseive to Apple
3) It is currently the fastest, most powerful workstation in the world with 8 cores at 3GHz. Total processing power of 24GHz inside a nice quiet box.
4) You get what you pay for.

If I had a need for it, I would drop for it no doubt. But My Music Collection, Internet surfing habbits, and iPhoto collection does not require 24GHz. Not yet anyway....

1. yes.
2. possibly exclusive.
3. wrong.

just because there are 8 processing cores, does not mean that you're getting 24GHz out of it.

 

[jdechko]

Apple has been getting all sorts of special treatment from Intel ever since the switch, it seems... Intel must have had some particular reason that they really wanted to hook up with Apple, which I think would transcend current profits.

Yeah, that was one thing that I was wondering about with the switch. With IBM, Apple was practically begging (possibly? Does Steve beg? ) them to do something with the G5's and when it became apparent that development had stagnated (what with the supercomputers and cell designs) Apple had to leave or risk falling completely behind. Of course we all know that this is what is most likely behind the final push to switch to Intel.

I had concerns that with Apple's relatively low volume of chips (compared to Dell & HP mainly) that Apple would be forced (in a sense) to take whatever Intel gave them and deal with it. This story, however, is great news in that Intel really supports Apple and is assisting Apple's push to be on the frontlines of technology (at least as far as CPU -- Maybe Intel will buy nVidia )

 

[CoreWeb]

Not even close. They have the largest profits because of sky high profit margins. HP and Dell account for close to 2/3rds of Computers sold. Apple Accounts for one in every 20 on a good day.

Actually, I thought Apple had >10% in laptops, which is significantly more than 5%... not sure about desktop.

 

[asterizk]

It appears Apple is the first to use the as-yet unannounced 3GHz Xeon (Clovertown) chips.

Well doesn't that just kick some ass?

 

[Swarmlord]

I hope that the momentum of chip improvements continues throughout the year.

 

[asterizk]

Not really. Just another way to keep up the prices by staying on high price curve.

Good point... hadn't thought of it that way. Still, pretty cool since it's way more than I need anyway

 

[johnee]

I find it interesting that Apple is able to swing that kind of influence on Intel.

i said it before and i'll say it again, because your post proves it... and i know from experience

Apple has the best negotiators in the business.
Apple is the walmart of the computer industry. If you can't provide apple what they want at the price they want, they will go somewhere else and WILL get it.

 

[miketcool]

I am going to have to say this move by Intel was to assure Apple that they will come through. Apple could adopt AMD and court them if they wanted. But after years of IBM delays and problems, the last thing Intel wants is Apple to start shopping around. I just see this as being the good salesperson, and letting known that they are reliable.
How many years ago did Jobs promise the magestic 3GHZ G5? Take that IBM and neigh-sayers, there is 8 3GHZs Zeons to break that mark.