Intel Announces Setback in Production of Chipsets Destined for iMac Revision

[Erasmus]

Although I'm sure I can guess as to what the first word said when this fault was discovered, I would like to know exactly how loudly it was screamed.

I'm wondering if Apple could get their hands on a lot of these "dodgy" boards as they may not use more than to SATA ports, if this could actually mean release gets accelerated. Although I guess 1-2 blade SSD ports, a normal HDD, and maybe an optical drive would require more than 2 ports. Whatever is happening, I expect Apple is scrambling to release the new MBPs ASAP, and can't imagine why there would be much delay between Apple receiving the fixed chipsets, and when they are rolled out.

But maybe the next refresh wasn't going to be the "latest and greatest". After all, isn't one of the most common frustrations that Mac's hardware can lag behind it's PC peers?

Not by more than a month or two when it comes to CPUs, and usually not at all. Apple are always very quick to adopt new CPU designs, unless a serious problem prevents them. Two examples being heat of G5 preventing use in Powerbooks, and the recent lack of Arrandale CPUs in 13" notebooks due to insufficient graphics power.

agreed, last weeks supply shortage info was like sweet deal, finally something not "i" related. intel rolling out quantities in sufficient mass this time.. looking good.

But Sandy Bridge is "i" related. i3, i5, i7!!!

There's that, but there's also the convenience of not having to do the upgrade install. Sure Apple's upgrade installs are far more reliable than Microsoft's, but still not all of them go flawlessly and if you can avoid that risk for the first of three or four OS upgrades, why not?

You're also stuck without being able to run Snow Leopard, which means you have no choice but to stick with Lion right through its early buggy stages, until Apple finally gets round to releasing a couple of updates.

 

[wizard]

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I can see Apple going with an AMD solution here. With this bug, the 24Hz bug and others would it be worth it to Apple to stick with intel? I think not.

At keast not on the lower end machines like the Mini and the 13" MB. The mini especially could be upgraded nicely with AMD hardware.

 

[pepitko]

Well, from what I read the news is unclear at best with regards to the MacBook Pro refresh being delayed because of this. I would still see refresh coming in March, April, given the fact that we've seen tons of iPad 2 rumors and generally little in terms of MacBook rumors. Personally, I'm without a home computer at the moment (see my sig ), so the sooner the update comes the better.

 

[MultiBat]

Am I the only person (or at least one of the very few) who also see things this way?

All I've seen on here for quite a while now is people waiting with baited breath for Sandy Bridge because they want it to be in the next MBP revision. No confirmation from Apple (or Intel), although that's hardly surprising even the day before a dead-cert release...

Then Intel finally announce SB. The Boards go wild. It's "obviously" destined for the next MBP. A few people raise issues about the close timing to the expected refresh cycle, but they're drowned out in the celebrations.

But maybe the next refresh wasn't going to be the "latest and greatest". After all, isn't one of the most common frustrations that Mac's hardware can lag behind it's PC peers?

Granted, I don't also think it's impossible. Time will tell. But that's the point. It's possible. It could go either way. It always could. But we'll known soon enough, depending on if/when Apple do their next laptop refresh.

+1

Many want a lot of changes to the MBP in the upcoming refresh. SB, SSDs, no OD, higher screen resolution etc.

Well, some of those things could/would probably mean a redesign of the MBP model. Would Apple redesign the MBP before even having access to the SB CPUs?
There are of course several reasons the newest MBAs got C2D processors, but I guess one could be to have stable, well known, components when doing a redesign of a computer. That way you reduce risk.
Update design - use stable components.
Update components - use stable design.

That's how I would do it.

 

[belltree]

On the plus side, better it was detected now than after release to Apple. But then again I refuse to buy anything with Sandybridge in it due to the kill switch functionality built into it.

 

[Terminal.app]

Annoying. I was looking forward to building a new system with an i7-2600K and Asus' "Deluxe" P67 motherboard. Perhaps by the time Ivy Bridge is out, the fabled quad-core MacBook Pro will finally become a reality and I can buy one.

 

[MacSA]

Is it better to just wait for Ivy Bridge?

Might as well

 

[spiritshao]

Too bad !
Apple&Intel shouldnot keep us wait that long!

 

[diamond.g]

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I can see Apple going with an AMD solution here. With this bug, the 24Hz bug and others would it be worth it to Apple to stick with intel? I think not.

At keast not on the lower end machines like the Mini and the 13" MB. The mini especially could be upgraded nicely with AMD hardware.

What is the 24hz bug?

 

[fblack]

why dont you just buy the current one if you have been waiting so long?

I would rather not have the current one. I don't think it offers me the value for the price I would be paying. I also cant afford to buy a $2K-3K computer every 2 years. I'm looking for something that will last me longer. So when I hear very good reviews about Sandy Bridge, I can't help but get excited in anticipation. I also can't help but feel disappointment about the current news, as I feel I'll be settling for something I didn't want.

SB is going to be, I'd guess, a 10-15% improvement...for processor intensive work. Not even for day to day stuff. 20-30 min more..on a 9 hour battery.At some point the latest tech is diminishing returns, and I think we have are there. Unless you do hardcore design or computing, this delay only affects tech OCD people.

I just paid todays prices for last years hardware (well, refurb). But I don't really need anything too much faster than last years hardware right now. And I needed it right now. Id rather have a new computer now than a slightly faster one in 3-4 months. YMMV.

Well to get a rough estimate at what we might see of SB vs last years models and keep in mind this is a rough idea:
From Anandtech:

Not only do we get 50 to 100% better performance than the previous generation high-end Intel mobile chips, but we also get more than double the integrated graphics performance and battery life in most situations should be similar to Arrandale, if not better. And that’s looking at the quad-core offerings!

When dual-core and LV/ULV Sandy Bridge processors start arriving next month, we’ll get all of the benefits of the Sandy Bridge architecture with the potential for even lower power requirements.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4084/intels-sandy-bridge-upheaval-in-the-mobile-landscape/12

From TomsHardware:

Remember that the Arrandale design employs a 32 nm dual-core processor and a separate 45 nm die containing the graphics core and memory controller. That's not ideal, either from a performance or an efficiency standpoint. Sandy Bridge was purpose-built to enable the best of both worlds using a single die manufactured at 32 nm...If you're in the market for a full-sized notebook, hold off until you can get your hands on a Sandy Bridge-based platform. You are going to get better performance, along with a substantial increase in battery life compared to Clarksfield/Arrandale-class processors.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-2820qm-sandy-bridge-mobile,2838-13.html

From HotHardware:

Intel's new Core i7-2820QM processor put up the fastest benchmark numbers we've seen from any notebook processor to date, with respect to general purpose computing workloads. In these test conditions, Intel's new Sandy Bridge mobile architecture offered performance gains of anywhere from 25 to over 50%, depending on thread-level workload. Where the Core i7-2820QM really excelled was within specialties like video encoding, gaming and encryption processing. Intel's new on-die IGP offered competitive performance to existing entry-level discrete and integrated mobile graphics solutions and out-paced previous generation Intel IGPs by as much as three-fold in our tests with FarCry 2 and Metro 2033.

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Intel-Core-i72820QM-Mobile-Sandy-Bridge-Processor-Review/?page=13

They are reviewing the mobile quad-core variants, but I think it gives a rough idea of what the SandyBridge mobile platform will be bringing in general and that is significant performance boost with little change in power consumption. What can I say, I'd rather have SandyBridge. Some are specualting that the time frame for the refresh is looking like anywhere from late April to early June, that's too long for me to wait.

oh, well that's how the cookie crumbles...

 

[3dsapplematt]

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Do you think the 13" mbp will get much of an upgrade when the line gets a refresh?

 

[dnstth]

Hello there people!

Do you think there will be a new 13" together with 15 and 17? cos I only saw rumors talking about 15&17...I'm getting my very first macbook (pro) soon and I'm so excited that I don't know if I can wait until (probably)April...and if I wait and there will be no upgrade for 13" than I'll go probably mad..

so what's the deal? should I wait?

Thanks a million for your answers!

Denes.

 

[Hellhammer]

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Do you think the 13" mbp will get much of an upgrade when the line gets a refresh?

Most likely new CPUs (Sandy Bridge) at least. That may mean a small loss in GPU power but enormous gain in CPU power. Resolution should also be bumped to 1440x900 like in MBA.

Hello there people!

Do you think there will be a new 13" together with 15 and 17? cos I only saw rumors talking about 15&17...I'm getting my very first macbook (pro) soon and I'm so excited that I don't know if I can wait until (probably)April...and if I wait and there will be no upgrade for 13" than I'll go probably mad..

so what's the deal? should I wait?

Thanks a million for your answers!

Denes.

If the current 13" satisfies your needs, then you might be better off with one now. I'm pretty sure 13" will be updated along with its big brothers, no reason it wouldn't be

 

[3dsapplematt]

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Some people are saying that the 13" MBP will dropped, because of the MBA 13" and MB. Is there any truth in this?

 

[ThaDoggg]

and I was hoping to get an updated iMac soon... I guess not.

Oh well another 2 months or so won't hurt you.

 

[Hellhammer]

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Some people are saying that the 13" MBP will dropped, because of the MBA 13" and MB. Is there any truth in this?

It's just their guessing. IMO that move would not make sense as the 13" MBP has only been around for 1.5 years. The Pro tag was added there because Apple wanted so, they won't suddenly drop it. 13" MBA is still a very different beast and is by no means suitable for all people. MacBook is basically just a low-cost version of the 13" MBP.

If something, the MacBook should be dropped and replaced with 999$ 13" MBP. I don't see Apple discontinuing anything though

 

[kryptonitejesus]

Damn, I've got a show to DJ on the 27th of February then one on the 4th and one on the 5th of March so I was planning on getting a MacBook Pro before then.... and I don't really want to buy something that's gonna be refreshed a month or two down the line...

any ideas of what I should do?

 

[Filipek]

Damn, I've got a show to DJ on the 27th of February then one on the 4th and one on the 5th of March so I was planning on getting a MacBook Pro before then.... and I don't really want to buy something that's gonna be refreshed a month or two down the line...

any ideas of what I should do?

Start praying

 

[Minesper]

Start praying

I'm gonna help him on that ;s

 

[Val-kyrie]

Ivy Bridge

Is it better to just wait for Ivy Bridge?

I was planning to wait for Ivy Bridge, anyway, but now I wonder if Intel will push back Ivy Bridge to a later time frame because of the late release of Sandy Bridge. If Ivy Bridge is still going to be released in Q4 2011 and if Sandy Bridge is pushed into Q2 2011, why bother with SB unless you really need a computer?

I'm also not sure I trust that Intel has fixed the problem. I would rather wait and see first. Time will tell.

 

[vipergts2207]

I was planning to wait for Ivy Bridge, anyway, but now I wonder if Intel will push back Ivy Bridge to a later time frame because of the late release of Sandy Bridge. If Ivy Bridge is still going to be released in Q4 2011 and if Sandy Bridge is pushed into Q2 2011, why bother with SB unless you really need a computer?

I'm also not sure I trust that Intel has fixed the problem. I would rather wait and see first. Time will tell.

Some sources had previously said that Ivy Bridge wouldn't be released until CES 2012. I only see this Sandy Bridge delay reaffirming that prediction.

 

[Hellhammer]

I was planning to wait for Ivy Bridge, anyway, but now I wonder if Intel will push back Ivy Bridge to a later time frame because of the late release of Sandy Bridge. If Ivy Bridge is still going to be released in Q4 2011 and if Sandy Bridge is pushed into Q2 2011, why bother with SB unless you really need a computer?

I'm also not sure I trust that Intel has fixed the problem. I would rather wait and see first. Time will tell.

Sandy Bridge was already released nearly a month ago. What Intel did was the right move. According to their tests, only about 5% of the users would suffer from this and it could take up to several years before this issue would show up. They could have just moved along and say there are no problems. That's what most companies do, e.g. NVidia. It took them years to admit that 8600M GT is a piece of crap and now they are replacing faulty chips with faulty chips.

I know it sucks but for once, a big company like Intel admitted that there is an issue. It's better that they discovered it now than after several years and they are actually going to do something for it. I am certain that Intel will be able to fix it, at least they have found the reason for it already.

Besides, Ivy Bridge will most likely be released in CES 2012. Production should start in Q4 2011. There is no need to keep waiting all the time. There will always be new technology

 

[Yebubbleman]

and I was hoping to get an updated iMac soon... I guess not.

You were still at least two months early anyway. At worst, they'll be only a little late on iMacs because of this.

Am I the only person (or at least one of the very few) who also see things this way?

No, I agree with you, but only on the 13" model.

You're also stuck without being able to run Snow Leopard, which means you have no choice but to stick with Lion right through its early buggy stages, until Apple finally gets round to releasing a couple of updates.

Y'know, I've been upgrading to new versions of Mac OS X on launch day since Panther, and I've never had problems. The upgrade to Tiger seemed sluggish because the iMac G3 (the one in my signature) has a G3 and Tiger will definitely make any G3 want to be put out of its misery. The upgrade to Leopard made my Early 2006 iMac seem slower than it did when it was running the Intel version of Tiger because Leopard is bloated by comparison. But those things didn't change when the 10.x.1 or 10.x.2 patch came out. I'm down to take my chances; I have a feeling that I'll be okay.

It's just their guessing. IMO that move would not make sense as the 13" MBP has only been around for 1.5 years. The Pro tag was added there because Apple wanted so, they won't suddenly drop it. 13" MBA is still a very different beast and is by no means suitable for all people. MacBook is basically just a low-cost version of the 13" MBP.

If something, the MacBook should be dropped and replaced with 999$ 13" MBP. I don't see Apple discontinuing anything though

The more I watch the keynote where Steve Jobs announces the Aluminum MacBook and the keynote where Phil Schiller gives it the Pro moniker, and the more I think about both it and the fact that the education market pretty much spared the plastic MacBook from being killed when they took it to Unibody and DDR3 Memory, I realize that the whole 13" laptop thing couldn't have been a result of a well-thought out strategy. Not every decision Apple makes is well thought out nor final. They told developers that wanted to code for the iPhone and iPod touch to piss off and just develop web apps for the first year and then they reneged on that. In the same vein, I think that Apple probably had a strategy to transition the MacBook to aluminum and it kept getting cock-blocked by the education market and at the time that Schiller made the Aluminum MacBook into the 13" MacBook Pro, they had given up on making that transition happen and instead kept the two separately. This made sense until the white MacBook went to Unibody and essentially became the same thing as the low-end 13" MacBook Pro save for the FireWire Port, IR sensor, SD card slot, and Aluminum body. I'm no marketing expert, but that's just wonky marketing on Apple's part. I'm now more leaning toward the theory that the 13" Pro will just drop the Pro branding and the white MacBook will be reserved exclusively for the education market in the same vein as the original run of eMacs or the Mid-2006 (17" Core Duo with GMA 950) was. You'd be surprised at how much less people whine and moan about (the presumably lacking specs of) a MacBook if it lacks the word "Pro" on it.

 

[haloplay3r16]

But Sandy Bridge is "i" related. i3, i5, i7!!!
.

He/She means iOS-related

 

[Erasmus]

He/She means iOS-related

Really? I didn't realise.
He said sarcastically.