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Ivy Bridge to Offer Faster Graphics and OpenCL Support in MacBook Airs

That's why I am only buying MacBook Air next year: this Ivy Bridge chip.

Separate note:
I feel that Apple should just install a discrete GPU in their next iteration of Pro 13" by removing the optical drive. They could probably put a secondary HDD on top of that discrete GPU for the ultimate medium-setting gaming laptop.
 
Intel ALWAYS over exaggerates their performance numbers.

60% on benchmarks means nothing to me. They are simply taking the Sandy Bridge GPU, and adding on to it. This isn' a redesign of the GPU. I expect a ~30% increase. Haswell is where low-end GPUs from nVidia and AMD will be no longer.
 
christian_k said:
But since FCP-X requires OpenCL there is a strange situation: FCP-X even runs on older MacBook Air models, but not on current(!) 13'' MBP or some current MacMinis.
Click to expand...

Requires OpenCL or OpenCL compatible GPU?

There is a difference. OpenCL is part of the OS whether the GPU supports it or not... That's the whole point of OpenCL; to distribute tasks to whatever processor is available at the time, this includes CPU, GPU, DSP, and any other specialized processors the system may contain.

It's a big deal to have an OpenCL compatible GPU, because it gives the system another resource for general purpose processing; a resource that needs to exist within the system anyway.
 
Confuzzzed said:
'rumoured' delay to March/April 2012. And if that is the case, then how long before the Ivy bridge processors suitable for ultrabooks become available? With Sandy bridge there was a 6 month lag. So if you need a new laptop and ultrabook is what you have decided to do, I would say go out and buy one now rather than wait to potentially July/Aug 2012. Although Intel could surprise us all and release their processors early. I'm enjoying today
Click to expand...

According to this article, it's in demo Ultrabooks now, so I'd expect to see them appearing in chips sometime in Q1. Expect to see it hit the MacBook Pro first, then the Air revision that comes out next summer.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-2...in-ultrabooks/?tag=contentMain;contentBody;2n

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mjtomlin said:
Requires OpenCL or OpenCL compatible GPU?

There is a difference. OpenCL is part of the OS whether the GPU supports it or not... That's the whole point of OpenCL; to distribute tasks to whatever processor is available at the time, this includes CPU, GPU, DSP, and any other specialized processors the system may contain.
Click to expand...

FCP-X just requires OpenCL support, so it will run on the Sandy Bridge MacBook Air and Mac Mini. It just won't use the GPU for general purpose processing.
 
christian_k said:
But since FCP-X requires OpenCL there is a strange situation: FCP-X even runs on older MacBook Air models, but not on current(!) 13'' MBP or some current MacMinis.
Click to expand...

But apparently FCP-X does run on the new MacBook Airs.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

"The graphics card requirements for Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are:

* OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later
* 256MB VRAM"

(emphasis added)

The new MBAs and 13" MBPs meet both these requirements.
 
The question is when will be the likely release date of the next AIR's with Ivy Bridge?

2012 March or June?
 
MacFever said:
The question is when will be the likely release date of the next AIR's with Ivy Bridge?

2012 March or June?
Click to expand...

The Air is a great back to school laptop, and I'd guess they release a refresh with IB late Summer '12. I'd guess/hope the Pro's get IB sometime in the first part of '12.

The big question for me is whether the early '12 Pros will see a redesign, or if that will come later. I could see a 15 inch Pro Air getting released around this time next year...
 
If these developments follow through, the 13" MBA will make a compelling case for replacing my mid 2009 MacBook Pro. More graphics power? OpenCL? More portability? Yes please!
 
mjtomlin said:
Requires OpenCL or OpenCL compatible GPU?

There is a difference. OpenCL is part of the OS whether the GPU supports it or not... That's the whole point of OpenCL; to distribute tasks to whatever processor is available at the time, this includes CPU, GPU, DSP, and any other specialized processors the system may contain.

It's a big deal to have an OpenCL compatible GPU, because it gives the system another resource for general purpose processing; a resource that needs to exist within the system anyway.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a big deal for GPGPU OpenCL support to work in sync with CPU OpenCL access.
 
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mdriftmeyer said:
Apple has continued support for OpenCL in OS X Lion and presently presently lists these graphics cards or processors as providing support for OpenCL:
Click to expand...

Do you even think before writing such a statement? Seriously, they are driving this technology and you preface it as if they are moving on from it.

OpenCL has just begun.
Click to expand...

I don't get it either OpenCL has been a great success. The problem is people don't know when or where it is being used.
 
wizard said:
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I don't get it either OpenCL has been a great success. The problem is people don't know when or where it is being used.
Click to expand...

It's because 99% of this board is not into the development side of matters. At least I hope that is the reason. Otherwise, they are just technically not skilled in the areas of traditional computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, pure and applied mathematics, biochemistry, chemical engineering, particle physics, quantum mechanics, organic chemistry, nuclear physics, etc., to know how much OpenCL brings to the industry.
 
If you're updating the Macbook Air could you please throw in USB3, matte screen option and more ram?
 
60% of crappy Intel IGPs is...multiply 0, carry 0...still 0. I don't buy the argument that they are too small. Apple just got done shipping them with decent NV GPUs. If they really wanted to do it best, CPU and GPU in one...make Macs with APUs. Heck for years they did small size laptops with discrete GPUs that were great. But if Apple is going to blow chunks about size, go APU. At the same time that would drop the price on the low end models and maybe stirr up some new business.

Really, these are low end Macs. They were not designed to be competing on high end fronts. An APU would be plenty and would provide the graphical performance people want. Course Apple then can't overcharge people. Really, you can buy a much better specced PC laptop for the same price as a cheaper Mac.

You can sit here and be all excited about 60% better crap performance from Intel but it isn't just the hardware that Intel fails at. They can't make decent graphics drivers even if they wanted to. When you match such horrid design with Apple's intolerably poor OpenGL performance...that 60% turns into...no where near 60%.

Intel does not know best, neither does Apple. Mac users need to stop buying this crap and force Apple to build better like they did after the initial x86 models came out. You rose up and fought and Apple got Intel IGPs out. Now SB/IB comes and your all rallying in praise. This is not rocket science, Intel can not make IGPs. When you finally figure that out, you'll realize how much money you've wasted on paper weights. Not just games or professional related. As the internet advances and so does OSX. It will only leverage the GPU more. Intel IGPs will not keep up.

Now if Intel got serious and finally invested in GPU performance, maybe. But that won't happen till 2nd or 3rd gen that APU tech has been out. They are shifting now but Intel is very far behind on GPU technology. SB is not even that advanced. "Its just a CPU with a zit of a IGP added"
 
Hmm.

Quote from the article: "Due to the small size of the MacBook Air and 13" MacBook Pro, it's not feasible for Apple to include a discrete 3rd party graphics card to boost GPU performance"

I guess that must be because the 2011 MBAs are a lot smaller than the 2010 MBAs which did have discrete graphics... or is it just that the author is an idiot?

Also- did he miss the mention of late-2011 iMacs, which hint at an uannounced update or is he really an idiot?

And talking of brainless morons: what's with all the moronic 'me want one' posts achieve nothing except coat their author's keyboards with ritalin-laced drool?
 
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whether to wait for new ivy bridge MBP...??

Hi, this is the first time iv written on a forum...
I decided at around april i would love to get a MBP (and iv never had a mac b4) and i started to research it and i originally read that Ivy Bridge was going to b released at the end of the year, and possibly in the new refresh of the MBP. That was amazing.
However, as the year has gone along, Ivy Bridge now will prob get released nxt yr and in the nxt nxt MBP.

So, my options:
1) buy the new upgraded one around Xmas time??
2) Sumhow am able to last until May/June nxt year for the redesign MBP with Ivy Bridge??
3) Buy upgraded one around October/Nov and then trade it in middle of nxt year and then get new redesign? However, with 3rd option, iv never traded anything in before and wouldnt have a clue where or how? and Also, how much would i get for it (estimate ofcourse) if the MBP is only about 9months or so old??

I'd love all replies because im very stuck atm with what to do. Unfortunately im stuck with a pc lappy atm and it could last until next year but because i really am loving mac's (friends ones and such) and realising how much better they are, its killing me each day knowing i still have my pc. hahaha
Thank You. :)
 
hleewell said:
I feel that Apple should just install a discrete GPU in their next iteration of Pro 13" by removing the optical drive. They could probably put a secondary HDD on top of that discrete GPU for the ultimate medium-setting gaming laptop.
Click to expand...

I disagree. If Apple's going to make a decent gaming laptop, I honestly feel they shouldn't go about it by doing it half-###ed. Simply having a discrete GPU isn't always the best way to go about it. Any decent hardware-centric person would know by now is that it's not so much about the GPU being discrete, it's really about the speed of the GPU RAM that's critical to the GPU's performance itself. The benefit(s) of using a separate GPU is all about being able to handle specific tasks in hardware rather than in software (such as hardware tessellation), T&L (transform and lighting), particle effects, AA (anti-aliasing) and the like. The speed in which the GPU accomplishes this is based on how fast the GPU RAM is.

For example you could have a 512 core CUDA (Geforce) GPU chip onboard a MBP, but if it needs to use system RAM, the performance will be dismal and won't be able to make use of the GPU's real potential. Dedicated GPU memory + discrete GPU = price will rise significantly.

The alternative method which Intel has offered integrates the GPU into the CPU itself, like Sandy Bridge, it offers significantly faster performance, a much smaller package (on-die), and uses less power which translates to more performance per unit power used. Compare it to Intel's Extreme Graphics IGP, it's a huge improvement.

With the way things are going with IGP, I suspect that if Intel were to offer a small amount of dedicated ultra-fast memory somewhere on-die or near the CPU bus just for graphics instead of relying solely on the system RAM, we'd see significant performance improvements.
 
leog said:
...besides the lack of USB3 that is.
Click to expand...

Technically USB3 is crap, when compared to Thunderbolt. Most Macs have 4 Thunderbolt (2 full duplex) channels on the 1 port, which gives 40Gbps (10Gbps per channel) throughput!

Besides any port you like can be surfaced through a single Thunderbolt port, and WITH none of this "burst mode" for the quoted maximum bandwidth. USB2 can't guarantee 480Mbps all the time and USB relies heavily on the CPU for most of its transfer functionality, that's why it's cheap (because it's pretty dumb). Thunderbolt on the other hand, like Firewire before it, has quite sophisticated hardware controller chips that include error-correction/QoS (another overhead that USB has to deal with). All of this guarantees that quoted 10Gpbs per-channel (as long as the device can push/pull the data that fast).

Will one USB3 port be able to provide ALL of these at the same:
  • 2560x1440 Video using the native GPU (USB doesn't)
  • Audio Output
  • 3x POWERED USB2 ports
  • 1x Firewire 800 port
  • 1x Gigabit Ethernet Port
  • 1x FaceTime HD Camera (a USB 2.0 device, independent of the 3 USB2 ports).

I'm sure 1 Thunderbolt port could do a hell of a lot more too, it's just that's all the I/O the Apple Thunderbolt display exposes down ONE connection.

The only thing USB ever had going for it was that it was cheap (and underpowered), just like most Windows PCs really.
 
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aidanc11 said:
I'd love all replies because im very stuck atm with what to do. Unfortunately im stuck with a pc lappy atm and it could last until next year
Click to expand...

Nobody can tell you what to do, particularly as you haven't told us what your computing needs are. Macs are not entirely about spec to be perfectly honest. I have a 4 year old Mac book pro and it works as perfect as it did the day I bought it. I also have a 13" MBA and because of the software advancements especially with Lion, makes its use a great joy. I would say PC land is spec junkie land. If I were you I would buy a refurbished MBP, and start enjoying your computing experience today. Then get to learn the ropes and wait until the Heswell release in 2013 to get a real upgrade. Or buy a 13" MBA ultimate (with i7) and I am sure you will not be disappointed. But like I said at the beginning, we don't have much to go by with regards to your computing needs. Good luck
 
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