I know this was intended as a joke, but it got me thinking... Cost aside, I wonder if this would even be possible with todays technology.
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Intel to Ship Dual-Core Sandy Bridge CPUs on February 20th
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I know this was intended as a joke, but it got me thinking... Cost aside, I wonder if this would even be possible with todays technology.
I disagree with you on this one.. I'd MUCH rather have a discrete graphics rather than a crappy intel integrated one. The dual core sandy bridge that is going to replace arrandale will still be plenty fast but the discrete graphics vs. IGP is like night and day difference.
I have a feeling Apple will ship sometime in March because even if Intel ships Feb. 20th, it doesnt necessarily mean that Apple will ship a week after.
Either mid March or sometime even in April is my prediction.
Either mid March or sometime even in April is my prediction.
Well, Im of the opinion that much more is "possible" than what we are told.
I couldnt even begin to speculate on what Apple would spend on R&D (and finding component vendors)...but Id say a laptop with those specs (minus the BS firewire joke) would cost 3000.00 just to manufacture. Thats total conjecture though.
Check out some specialized gaming laptop vendors(Malibal, Eurocom, decked out alienware, AVA Direct)...they may surprise you with what they are packing in a portable desktop. lol
Well, Im of the opinion that much more is "possible" than what we are told.
I couldnt even begin to speculate on what Apple would spend on R&D (and finding component vendors)...but Id say a laptop with those specs (minus the BS firewire joke) would cost 3000.00 just to manufacture. Thats total conjecture though.
Check out some specialized gaming laptop vendors(Malibal, Eurocom, decked out alienware, AVA Direct)...they may surprise you with what they are packing in a portable desktop. lol
Yeah, I'm familiar with the gaming laptops. Though they weight a ton, have poor battery life and are pretty bulky. I'd like to see that much power crammed into something as big as a MBA, now that would be impressive!
Raid 0
Guys and gals:
RAID 0 SSD and no optical drive on one of the 17" MBPs. I don't know about the other models.
Guys and gals:
RAID 0 SSD and no optical drive on one of the 17" MBPs. I don't know about the other models.
what is RAID 0 ?
edit : nvm just googled it and i found out
but do you have a source ?
That extra heat that you toss off isn't necessarily easy to deal with. Apple would have to design for the worst case (45W) for a relatively small percentage of machines and/or annoy the user with loud fans. Whether they have or not I can't say, but if Apple hasn't, I would argue that it is because Ivy Bridge is next up, and it's TDP for the quad core is right in line with Sandy Bridge duo core.
A year's wait and problem solved.
I'd love to think new MBP's are coming sooner rather than later as I can't wait to ditch my Dell for a new SB MBP. But if the update is only a few weeks away, I would guess we would have at least seen some leaks other than the basic low inventory reports, best buy refresh dates, etc. Of course, I hope I'm wrong. But the lack of many leaks/rumors has me worried that maybe we are further away from an update than we hope.
I might be dumb here but it seems like intels chipset doesn't handle Ethernet or Firewire. So it would seem Apple needs a seperate controller chip for each of those connected to the Chipset via PCIe (plus wifi on another lane). So I think they would either stick with current or better in those regards.
To me the interesting bit is IEEE1394 (the spec for firewire) includes the options for running a ethernet port in a dual mode that auto switches Ethernt/Firewire. Which would seem to require a single chip?
If a chip like that is in the market they could make the internals simpler and keep the same support. Albeit via a single plug on the 13, Maybe the 15 &17 would get both. On the other hand Apple want to kill the Ethernet Port just because it's big and bulky but i can't see them trying that till they get a true replacement like Lightpeak.
Heat is a major issue
I'm 100% certain that this is exactly the issue. Apple wants a slim and light MBP which is doable with the lower power CPUs, but rules out the higher wattage quad-core CPUs. The current machines get hot enough as it is. It's not a matter of "Oh, I can deal with it a little hotter, I need a quad core CPU." It is that it is not possible without a complete redesign of the chassis.
Note: I routinely use 6 and 8 core machines, and would love a quad-core MBP.
A similar situation: Try to get a 125 Watt Intel hex-core 3.33 GHz CPU from any vendor in a small form-factor desktop chassis. Can't be done without a water block or something else "exotic." Even 1U (thin) rack-mounted machines with really loud fans can't use these CPUs. Many machines top out at the 95 Watt 2.93 GHz CPU (as does the Mac Pro).
I'm 100% certain that this is exactly the issue. Apple wants a slim and light MBP which is doable with the lower power CPUs, but rules out the higher wattage quad-core CPUs. The current machines get hot enough as it is. It's not a matter of "Oh, I can deal with it a little hotter, I need a quad core CPU." It is that it is not possible without a complete redesign of the chassis.
Note: I routinely use 6 and 8 core machines, and would love a quad-core MBP.
A similar situation: Try to get a 125 Watt Intel hex-core 3.33 GHz CPU from any vendor in a small form-factor desktop chassis. Can't be done without a water block or something else "exotic." Even 1U (thin) rack-mounted machines with really loud fans can't use these CPUs. Many machines top out at the 95 Watt 2.93 GHz CPU (as does the Mac Pro).
What?
Unfortunately not.
I'd love a (say) 13" Mac Book Air with a 24-core CPU at 4 GHz, 2 TB SSD, 4096x4096 screen, with a 2 year battery life that weighs 8 ounces and costs $100. Wouldn't many people? But Apple chooses not to make this?!
Someday perhaps, but even Apple lives by what is technically possible.
Based on everything I know a quad-core CPU in a laptop requires design tradeoffs that would not suit the majority of Apple customers.
Unfortunately not.
I'd love a (say) 13" Mac Book Air with a 24-core CPU at 4 GHz, 2 TB SSD, 4096x4096 screen, with a 2 year battery life that weighs 8 ounces and costs $100. Wouldn't many people? But Apple chooses not to make this?!
Someday perhaps, but even Apple lives by what is technically possible.
Based on everything I know a quad-core CPU in a laptop requires design tradeoffs that would not suit the majority of Apple customers.
- i7 2600m
- 512GB SSD x 2
- 0.75 inch at thickest point
- 4 x USB 3.0 ports
- Firewire Cajillion
- nVidia GTX 580m in SLI
- 12 hours of battery life
- 15inch 2650x1440 anti-glare screen res
- titanium uni-body
- very cool to the touch
Are they possible?
- Check.
- Check. (Could be as two 2.5" SSDs, or two of the new "stick" SSDs.)
- Check. (Although *REALLY* insane engineering would need to take place.)
- Check.
- If by "Cajillion" you mean the current fastest FW, FW 3200, check.
- Probably not possible with 0.75" thick. *MAYBE* possible on the 17" at current 1" thick.
- Again, probably not possible with 0.75" thick, and DEFINITELY not with the SLI.
- I don't think anyone makes one. Technically possible? Yes, just nobody does. Apple would have to get it from somewhere...
- Eh, Titanium is over-rated. Just ask owners of the Titanium PowerBook G4s. (And I'm a huge fan of Titanium "thingies". I have two Titanium watches, Titanium wedding ring, Titanium Spork, you name it. It just really isn't that much better than Aluminum for a notebook computer chassis.)
- Not with SLI, not with 0.75" unless you add some *REALLY* high-speed (aka loud) fans.
How long before the first class action lawsuit over the disabled SATA ports? I guess 90 days.
As far as a new portable, I'll be waiting until September or Christmas.
Anything is possible in a country that allows you to sue McDonalds for making you fat.
MBPs with 9400M and 9600M GT had total TDP of 70W (35W CPU, 23W 9600M GT, 12W 9400M. 9400M serves as Northbridge and Southbridge combo as well so it will be using some watts even when 9600M GT is in use). Quad core MBP would have TDP of 48.9W without the discrete GPU and adding e.g. ATI 5650M would be fine with its TDP of 15-19W.
I'm not saying that it is certain that it will happen but seriously, other OEMs can fit quads in their 15" laptops just fine with good discrete GPUs. And no, not all of them sound like an airplane. Even using better thermal paste might be enough, considering the crap Apple uses in current machines.
The Macbook Pro is no longer a pro computer. In my humble opinion, that died when they released a 13" laptop, with integrated graphics and a paltry resolution and called it a pro computer. Its a aluminum macbook. You're paying for a name.
There is no professional, particularly designers and editors, who would want such little screen real estate and lack of power. I've ranted about this before, so I wont really continue.
They always give us crappy graphics cards...We at least deserve to have quad core BTO. For real.
HP has made some interesting strides with their thermal management software. You can have your laptop cool to the touch with throttling or at full power. The motion sensor comes into play to save your lap as well. Where is my performance mode radio button Apple?
There is the Core i7 2630QM as well. I would not be surprised to see it under ~$300. Lenvo had the y560p hovering just around US$899. I await the 470/570 lineup later this spring.
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I can confirm that you won't get 9. Instead, they will be using lonsdaleite for the uni-body.
I guess Apple would get the new "fixed" processors earlier than Feb. 20th. Thus, no worries about "bad copies" of the processors or production delay.
I guess Apple would get the new "fixed" processors earlier than Feb. 20th. Thus, no worries about "bad copies" of the processors or production delay.
Not knowing if i should wait 2-3 weeks I spoke to apple sales yesterday who assured me that custom build 2.8ghz I7, 8g was 2-3 days??? and that was what he had, but did not confirm he had the new sandy bridge cpu, i would assume staff always get first dibs but who knows, do not want to shell out 3k+(inc applecare, and low jack- last MBP was nicked so worth paying for it) for something outdated in a month or so. Waiting until tomorrow to decide
I guess Apple would get the new "fixed" processors earlier than Feb. 20th. Thus, no worries about "bad copies" of the processors or production delay.
Not knowing if i should wait 2-3 weeks I spoke to apple sales yesterday who assured me that custom build 2.8ghz I7, 8g was 2-3 days??? and that was what he had, but did not confirm he had the new sandy bridge cpu, i would assume staff always get first dibs but who knows, do not want to shell out 3k+(inc applecare, and low jack- last MBP was nicked so worth paying for it) for something outdated in a month or so. Waiting until tomorrow to decide
First, Apple sales reps do *NOT* get *ANY* advance knowledge of updates. None. (Well, if an update is going to be actually available the day of announcement, they'll have a box in the back that says "do not open until 9:00 AM" or something similar - at which point, they obviously know that SOMETHING just got released...)
Apple staff do not get "first dibs" on anything, either. When products are selling out quickly, they're often forbidden from buying it until they have good stock available (like the iPhone - although Apple ended up giving all employees an iPhone a couple months after release.)
Also, the "processors" are not broken. The CPUs themselves are not at all affected by the recall. It is the supporting chipset that has the issue. And the issue only affects 4 of 6 SATA ports. 2 SATA ports are just fine. Because of this, Intel has told OEMs that if their design is only going to use two SATA ports, they can go ahead and use the "faulty" chipset, as the flaw won't affect them. Since Apple's notebooks only use 2 SATA ports, there is no reason Apple should be delayed. (Same with the Mac mini - although the iMac will likely be delayed because they now use a third SATA port for the SSD.)