Right now, Apple refuses to use the terrible Intel GMA HD graphics in their line of computers as the main graphics chip for good reason. Apple is a premium computer company and using Intel graphics would be just pathetic, especially when gaming on a Mac has seen a huge push as of late.
While the Intel HD Graphics compare to the ATI Radeon 3200HD and nVidia 9400M in pure benchmark scores, those chips are several years old and in real world use the HD Graphics still fall behind dramatically.
So my question is this, Apple can either go three ways:
-Adopt AMD Processors in their Macs that are too small to hold a dedicated graphics chip. This would drive the prices down on the smaller models, and AMD has been catching up to Intel as far as speed goes, however, AMD still lags behind in the battery life and heat categories. AMD does have some promising architecture in the near future.
-Try to develop Mac OS X on the ARM platform. This really isn't an option as of right now, but I can see this being developed in Apple laboratories right now for the future, similar to how Mac OS X x86 was being developed for so long without being known. In the meantime, get stuck with Intel HD Graphics and take a hit from the public and sales.
-Somehow get Intel to change it's mind about allowing nVidia and AMD integrated chipsets on it's i platform, or demand that Intel start producing better graphics chipsets. Long shot, but what other options are there?
Which one do you think is most plausible and is there going to be anything from Intel that is going to compete with the now 3 year old chipsets from AMD and nVidia? It doesn't seem likely.
While the Intel HD Graphics compare to the ATI Radeon 3200HD and nVidia 9400M in pure benchmark scores, those chips are several years old and in real world use the HD Graphics still fall behind dramatically.
So my question is this, Apple can either go three ways:
-Adopt AMD Processors in their Macs that are too small to hold a dedicated graphics chip. This would drive the prices down on the smaller models, and AMD has been catching up to Intel as far as speed goes, however, AMD still lags behind in the battery life and heat categories. AMD does have some promising architecture in the near future.
-Try to develop Mac OS X on the ARM platform. This really isn't an option as of right now, but I can see this being developed in Apple laboratories right now for the future, similar to how Mac OS X x86 was being developed for so long without being known. In the meantime, get stuck with Intel HD Graphics and take a hit from the public and sales.
-Somehow get Intel to change it's mind about allowing nVidia and AMD integrated chipsets on it's i platform, or demand that Intel start producing better graphics chipsets. Long shot, but what other options are there?
Which one do you think is most plausible and is there going to be anything from Intel that is going to compete with the now 3 year old chipsets from AMD and nVidia? It doesn't seem likely.
