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Intel Launches Penryn Mobile Processors

bigwig said:
I didn't mean to say a die shrink was worthless, just that it doesn't offer nearly the performance bump a new architecture does. The elimination of the FSB in Nehalem removes one of the last performance advantages AMD had over Intel. It will be interesting to see if Nehalem delivers the goods. Hyperthreading was pretty much a strikeout when last we saw it and Intel isn't exactly clear on why it will be better in Nehalem.
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HyperThreading worked wonders for multithreaded environments (read, not as much in games).

And I have to ask myself, what performance advantage? Sure, back when the K8 came to be they were very well ahead for a while. Even with an off-die memory controller Intel is doing better, as it stands right now. When it gets on-die there really isn't much to say about AMD other than they are once more going to sell bargain bin chips.
 
Lefteous said:
It's not a simple processor upgrade what could make the Mac Pro faster. Sure the new Intel processors feature SSE4 which allows adapted software to run certain operations faster but that doesn't make these processors specialized hardware.
As Apple put their shirt on h.264/mpeg-4 AVC hardware encoding in Mac Pros and hardware decoding in all Macs would be a real speed boost and something that most PCs doesn't have.
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Most GPU's can do decoding of most video codecs, lightening the load on the CPU.

MrCrowbar said:
True. Video encoding (and realtime multitrack audio) are the only things I wish for some performance boost. An H.264 encoder would be nice. I tried the ELgato Turbo, but it doesn't do high def and only does 1 pass encoding. Nice for getting your stuff on your iPod quickly, but it doesn't look great for bigger files. Maybe SSE4 for Quicktime (and x264) would make it faster?
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What is sad? Most current Macs have hardware in them that can do the encoding and decoding, yet Apple refuses to leverage it.
 
diamond.g said:
Actually the Quad core mobile Penryns are expected sometimes from June-December of this year. Whether Apple uses them that soon is anyones guess. Thermals from my understanding were hitting 45W TDP which is higher than the 35W TDP Apple currently employs in all consumer Macs (and MBP) but the iMac 2.8 Extreme (it too has 45W TDP).
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quad-core Penryn with Santa Rosa platform
  • iMac - standard:no, BTO: yes, for the 24" and high-end 20"
  • MacBook Pro - standard:no, BTO: no
quad-core Penryn with Montevina platform
  • iMac - standard:yes, except for the low-end model
  • MacBook Pro - standard: no, BTO: yes, wattage permitting
quad-core Nehalem with Montevina platform
  • iMac - standard:yes, across the board
  • MacBook Pro - standard: yes, across the board
 
Hi
CWallace said:
Apple just announced an updated Mac Pro.
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Nice bump to! Not only new CPUs ( Intel Xeon 5400 series processors @ 2.8, 3.0, and 3.2GHz with 6MB L2 shared per pair of cores ) but it must be a new chipset. 800MHz FB-DIMMs and dual 1.6GHz FSBs, up from 667MHz and dual 1.33GHz. Still nothing of a top gaming GPU for those who were hoping.
 
Well, isn't that just the thing?

Now, I need to persuade my boss to part with the £3,000 to buy one.

Also, on a serious note, what are the chances of us getting a quad-core MacBook Pro before the end of the year?
 
Cousin Dirk said:
Also, on a serious note, what are the chances of us getting a quad-core MacBook Pro before the end of the year?
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I would imagine fair-to-middlin, if for no other reason to try and differentiate it better from the MacBook on something other then CPU speed and GPU.
 
Hi
New Xserves as well, also utilizing the 64-bit Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Harpertown” 5400 series processor. This, of course, includes the faster memory and FSBs. Plus, something about PCI-E 2.0.
 
CWallace said:
I would imagine fair-to-middlin, if for no other reason to try and differentiate it better from the MacBook on something other then CPU speed and GPU.
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Well damn. I'm rather keen to get myself a MacBook Pro in the nearish future, but then on the other hand I'll know how I feel in 6-9 months when they add two more cores to the MBP and I suddenly feel really out-of-date again.
 
Cousin Dirk said:
Well damn. I'm rather keen to get myself a MacBook Pro in the nearish future, but then on the other hand I'll know how I feel in 6-9 months when they add two more cores to the MBP and I suddenly feel really out-of-date again.
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What will you be using it for?

The quad core chips are not going to run any cooler than the present dual core chips, which means your battery life is going to suffer.

Some things gotta give somehow.
 
iW00t said:
The quad core chips are not going to run any cooler than the present dual core chips, which means your battery life is going to suffer.
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Especially since at the moment Intel does not offer a mobile quad-core (that I can find on their site). So Apple would have to use the QX9650 desktop chip with a 130W TDP vs. 44W for the X7900 mobile (and yes, I know the X7900 runs slower, but only by .2GHz). That means much bigger (and louder) fan needing more battery power to run.

So if Apple does it, I expect it will only be a BTO option for the 17" MacBook Pro since that machine is large enough to take a bigger battery and larger cooling system. And it's aimed at the upper-end of the market.
 
iW00t said:
What will you be using it for?

The quad core chips are not going to run any cooler than the present dual core chips, which means your battery life is going to suffer.

Some things gotta give somehow.
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Well, Photoshop, Final Cut Express mainly (and knowing my habits both at the same time). That, and I want to attempt to buy a computer that's as future-proof as possible, and that includes avoiding my desires to have the latest Mac :D
 
Cousin Dirk said:
The problem with that is that I don't have the space in my flat for a desktop, I really need a portable.
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Understood. If Apple updates the MacBook Pro in the near-term, MacWorld is the likely place to do it, so I'd wait to see if anything new comes out and. If it does, get it. If it doesn't, then get the current MacBook Pro.
 
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