Intel Core 2 Duo Chips Announced

[Kelmon]

I wish people would stop posting these articles. Every time I read a new one talking about Merom and new MacBook Pros I end up soiling my pants. Frankly, my wife is starting to complain...

 

[Dan==]

Hmm, how about this....

How about a new Mac at WWDC?

Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz – FSB1066 – 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999

Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz – FSB1066 – 4 MB cache – (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+​

 

[ChrisA]

With things like this, my rule is: If you have to ask, then you can't do it :-(

How true. The processor is soldered to the logic board on the notebooks It is in a socket in the iMac. So yes iMacs will be easy to upgrade but MB and MBP will require conciderable level of skill and some very specialized equipment. There may be 3rd parties offing the upgrade some day

Why would they solder the CPU? Saves the space of a socket. Heat transfer is better, very little chance of it comming loose. Those socets add not a small amount of height to the chip

 

[fastlane1588]

thats a pretty cool concept i must say

 

[shawnce]

Do you think the "core 3" will also have the same pin structure as the 2's?

Future revisions of the Core 2 will use a new socket allowing for faster FSB speeds, etc. (so the answer is likely no).

 

[Teddy's]

at last, I may be able to build a system that will run Vista well!

EEEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!

 

[BlizzardBomb]

How about a new Mac at WWDC?

The Mac name will never work! It's just too generic. And Apple must be suicidal if they keep a Core Solo in the Mini. The Core Solo will NOT be price dropped and offers very poor value for money compared to a low-end Merom or mid-range Yonah (after price drop).

 

[Manuel Moreno]

will apple lower the actual prices of macs?
intel is about to cut 61% of the prices of core duo's...

 

[valiar]

Ouch.
And I have just bought a 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro.
I know what everybody would say - "buy the machine that is available now". That is what I am saying to myself.
Still - ouch 🙁

 

[milo]

this would be smart because as of right now the mac book pro doesnt WOW me over the macbook. Do you think the "core 3" will also have the same pin structure as the 2's?

The next gen of chips has 4 core versions of conroe and woodcrest, each with the same sockets as the ones they're replacing. Not sure if there will be a 4 core merom.

How about a new Mac at WWDC?

Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz – FSB1066 – 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999

Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz – FSB1066 – 4 MB cache – (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+​

Pretty cool, but it needs a real name, MAC won't cut it. Maybe Mac Express?

And it wouldn't have FW800 or a second optical slot. Probably a second HD slot instead. And I'd guess it would be more of a pizza box enclosure, but that's wild speculation. Your price is probably way too low, too.

 

[shawnce]

The next gen of chips has 4 core versions of conroe and woodcrest, each with the same sockets as the ones they're replacing.

Those aren't next generation version of the Core 2 just MCM of the existing Core 2.

 

[Krevnik]

will apple lower the actual prices of macs?
intel is about to cut 61% of the prices of core duo's...

Probably not, except maybe the Mini. Expect chips to shove down the product line, rather than Apple to mess with the pricing structure. And at best, any price drop would be 10% or less, on average, because of the cost of the other components.

 

[andiwm2003]

How about a new Mac at WWDC?

Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz – FSB1066 – 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999

Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz – FSB1066 – 4 MB cache – (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+​

prepare to be disappointed.

and your prices are $500 to low anyway.

 

[gauriemma]

Sad.

I never thought there'd come a day when I needed to know anything about what kind of chips Intel was coming out with.

 

[rockthecasbah]

This means that Apple could easily upgrade the existing Intel-based Macs to the newer processor with no design changes.

Not many people seem to be making too much of a deal about this, but i don't like the sound of that. It's great for upgrading a Mini or iMac, but i really want fresh new designs for the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. If that is the case, Apple may just wait longer for a design change just because they can! It's not like i'd turn one away, but the current designs are tiring... Oh well i'll still be excited if my "fears" are true, but i really want a fresh design.

Am i the only one that seems to think that WWDC is getting clogged up with TOO many things? I mean sure the more Apple products released/updated the better, but this keynote seems to be taking a lot of emphasis off of Leopard previews (according to the rumors) to focus more on new products. iPods galore, Mac Pros, MBPs, Mac Mini (maybe), whatever at this point, i mean where are we really fitting in Leopard other than a quick flash!?!

 

[enda1]

How long do you people think it will be before merom is put in the macbook?
Really want one befor i go back to college but it looks lokie i might have to splurge for an MBP instead.

Poor me....

 

[Willis]

I havent checked yet to see if someone mentioned it, but in regard to what people expect to see at WWDC, dont worry if it isnt annouced then... Paris Expo is in September.

Mac Pro's might come out then i think.

 

[mozmac]

Apple has been silent for a while in the hardware release area. It's time for them to update their whole line for the back-to-school and Christmas seasons. I can't wait for Aug 7. I want to see Leopard so bad. Also, let's all remember that Apple can make product announcements at any time. I can see the PowerMac being updated at WWDC because it's a product that deals with the developer market; however, consumer products could very well be reserved for a separate, stand-alone announcement day.

 

[Multimedia]

Finally 64-bit... Again. June 23, 2003 All Over Again

Well it's back to the future for all of us. Remember when the Mac was going 64-bit with the introduction of the G5 PowerMac on June 23, 2003? 🙄 Only more than three years later and we're doing it all over again thanks to Yonah's 7 month retrograde.

 

[Dan==]

The Mac name will never work! It's just too generic. And Apple must be suicidal if they keep a Core Solo in the Mini. The Core Solo will NOT be priced dropped and offers very poor value for money compared to a low-end Merom or mid-range Yonah (after price drop).

I can't say much about the name. I'm not the first to offer it. But nothing else comes to mind that seems to fit well.

For the Mini, I'd much rather see a Duo in the bottom of line unit, but let's face it, there's a lot of clamouring for the return of a sub $500 dollar unit, and a Core 2 Duo won't be in it, at least not in the next 6 months anyway. I'd personally like to see a $499 unit with a Core 2 Yonah, but suspect a Solo is all that will be affordable. For the rest of the Mini's, we should see 2MB cache Merom's. They're gonna be the same prices!

It's true, I haven't seen any price cuts in print for the Solo, but they simply can't be kept the same (when the other processors start shipping). But, true, this is an assumption.

Pretty cool, but it needs a real name, MAC won't cut it. Maybe Mac Express?

And it wouldn't have FW800 or a second optical slot. Probably a second HD slot instead. And I'd guess it would be more of a pizza box enclosure, but that's wild speculation. Your price is probably way too low, too.

Thanks!

I can't figure out why it wouldn't have a 2nd slot or FW800. They're both cheap enough to add. The only problem is the 2nd slot adds some height, but not that much. This unit would be less than 5" tall. And anyway, how do you backup your CD's? What a pain to go to the HD first! Adding another slot for a HD would be great, but I think that'll be one of the differentiators with the Pro. (Hey, maybe one or the other.)

As far the price goes, why does someone always have to resist? At this price there is plenty more profit here than the Mini.

Here's what I wrote in a thread over at 123macmini.com
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6896&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

However, these prices are, I think, pretty doable. They're based largely on what Apple already sells the Mini for. That cheaper Conroe processor is just about the same price as the Core Solo in the $600 Mini right now! (Well, when it was introduced, anyway.) 3.5" 160MB SATA drives are roughly the same price as 2.5" 60GB SATA drives, separate graphics are < $50, and I suspect that system slots, fans, FW800, and other interfaces wouldn't add more than $100 to the price of the system. (Think +$50 in profits over the Mini.)

That was before I included a number of things, including extra RAM, and a mouse/keyboard in the base model, and bumped the price $40. Also, the cheaper Conroe came out at $185 instead of $210 as was being considered.

I think a box like this at $999 would have $100 to $150 more profit than the Mini!

-Dan

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Well it's back to the future for all of us. Remember when the Mac was going 64-bit with the introduction of the G5 PowerMac on June 23, 2003? 🙄 Only more thanthree years later and we're doing it all over again thanks to Yonah's 7 month retrograde.

What difference does it make if virtually no consumer software is effected by 64-bit processors, even now?

 

[penter]

i literally let out a high pitched "aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh" when i saw this. Im really excited about it, yet so sad that i wont be able to enjoy it since i just bought my new mac a month ago (hence the "aaaahhhh")
this summarizes my post: 🙂 but 🙁

 

[steve_hill4]

How about a new Mac at WWDC?

Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz – FSB1066 – 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999

Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz – FSB1066 – 4 MB cache – (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+​

While I like your thinking, your mock-up is wrong. If Apple are going to release a mid-Tower it has to appeal to both gamers and those looking for a headless iMac. They would really have to bring out about three main models, one which was basically an upgradable iMac spec for a couple to few hundred bucks less than the real deal and two higher spec conroes, (short of Mac Pro though). From what I can see, yours looks too small to easily customise, which would appeal to gamers.

Single optical, single HD (2nd slot free), assume better specs will mainly lie with graphics and ram.

 

[steve_hill4]

What difference does it make if virtually no consumer software is effected by 64-bit processors, even now?

Remember that the G5 is 64 bit. While the consumer apps may not be too directly affected at first, (speed increases, but nothing else), as more memory is required, 32 bit will hit a brick wall at 4GiB, whereas 64 bit can go along happily to 2,305,843,009,200,000,000GiB.

Realistically, it will take some time to get to that level, but with the last G5 supporting 16GiB, 32 then 64 wouldn't be too far off. within 10 years, I'm sure 1TiB will start to become common.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Remember that the G5 is 64 bit. While the consumer apps may not be too directly affected at first, (speed increases, but nothing else), as more memory is required, 32 bit will hit a brick wall at 4GiB, whereas 64 bit can go along happily to 2,305,843,009,200,000,000GiB.

Realistically, it will take some time to get to that level, but with the last G5 supporting 16GiB, 32 then 64 wouldn't be too far off. within 10 years, I'm sure 1TiB will start to become common.

But with only 2 RAM slots in most current Macs (apart from obviously the Power Mac G5 which has 64-bit processor anyway), getting past 4GB is basically impossible/ ridiculously expensive at the moment.