NVIDIA/Intel Settlement Could Boost MacBook and MacBook Air Processor Speeds

[commander.data]

The question is how Intel will manage once ~480 shader IGP solutions hit. Brazos, Zacate and Llano are already laying a pounding on Intel's IGPs. We just need a better FLOPs and out-of-order CPU support from AMD to get a clear winner. 20W total is appealing, but I heard it has mobility HD6400 or HD6300 level IGP which arguably match an HD5600 mobility.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/7

Well desktop Sandy Bridge's IGP with pre-release drivers is already comparable to a desktop HD5450, which is a very impressive showing from Intel all things considered. Ivy Bridge looks to double the number of execution units from Sandy Bridge and with other improvements could be looking at more than 2 times the performance of Sandy Bridge's IGP. That would put it close to Llano territory, which is interesting considering Llano doesn't look to ship in volume until Q3 2011, while Ivy Bridge could trickle in at the tail end of 2011. Sandy Bridge has a large CPU advantage over Llano, which will only grow with Ivy Bridge.

2011 AMD Fusion options are not compelling for Apple since Brazos and Zacate are slower both CPU-wise and GPU-wise than the current Penryn Core 2 Duo/320M combo. Llano is too late in the year and doesn't offer competitive CPU performance. Despite all the talk of GPGPU, I think Sandy Bridge's strong CPU and decent IGP is still more beneficial for most users than Llano's decent CPU and strong GPU. Certainly, Apple's focus isn't on gaming where Llano will definitively win out. AVX and even SSE4 support is also absent from Llano, which Apple probably makes heavy use of for multimedia acceleration. AVX also helps Sandy Bridge offset the need for GPGPU. Fusion really looks most compelling in 2012 when AMD should have a strong showing for both the CPU and GPU parts once Bulldozer is integrated.

 

[designgeek]

So what processors and chipsets are they likely to use in the MBA's and MB's? Does Intel have an i3 with a TDP of 10 watts? I'm really curious to see what these things will be like with decent silicon.

 

[motulist]

That's awesome and I literally LOLed in real life. BUT, now I'm wondering, what is that pictured turbine really used for?

 

[commander.data]

So what processors and chipsets are they likely to use in the MBA's and MB's? Does Intel have an i3 with a TDP of 10 watts? I'm really curious to see what these things will be like with decent silicon.

Intel's current ULV Core i have a TDP of 18W which is lower than their previous combination of 10W for the ULV Penryn Core 2 Duo and 12W for the GS45. The 9400M had a TDP of 12W and the 320M is probably the same. So they are all in a similar class. Intel seems to be targeting Sandy Bridge at the same power bins as current Core i processors.

I think the ideal solution, both power, performance, and space is that nVidia produces for Apple a custom small form factor low-end GPU just like Apple got Intel to start producing small form factor CPUs when the MacBook Air just launched. nVidia's current low-end die uses a 128-bit memory controller and returning to a 64-bit memory controller will save space. Apple already uses 4 VRAM chips in their dedicated GPU notebooks instead of the more common 8, but they could use 2 VRAM chips here which with modern densities can still offer 256MB/512MB of VRAM. It would still take up a bit more space, but the low-end GPU can provide more performance than even a supposed nVidia IGP solution, while can be disabled with hybrid switching to rely on Sandy Bridge's decent IGP for most tasks so battery life and heat won't be a concern.

 

[IVIIVI4ck3y27]

Verizon's CEO and CFO have HUGE egos. They think that their network is too good to need a phone like the iPhone. Kind of a dick move to the customers who would LOVE to have this device, but because their network is "too good" they don't think they need it.

I'm thinking you posted on the wrong post...

 

[Northgrove]

Good news, but saying MacBook Air outdated means those people have not used one. The new MBA has excellent speed in the real life, suitable for most tasks.

It doesn't say so. It says the C2D is based on an outdated architecture, which is true.

 

[Hellhammer]

The settlement is that nVidia ain't building chipsets anymore

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainbo...dia_We_Are_Not_Building_Chipsets_Anymore.html

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Intel and Nvidia fear Apple adding AMD

This maneuver is a clear reaction to hints that Apple is going to add AMD to their CPU line up.

 

[Thomas Harte]

Surely rather than being faster processor vs faster integrated graphics, Apple's choice — at least at the most recent refreshes — was either build in a substantial GPU boost and a minor CPU boost or decent CPU boost and a substantial GPU cut? Or, I guess, change the form factor of the machines, but that wasn't going to happen.

I sometimes think these things are overblown. 95% of people who care about specific chipsets or suppliers are people that want to be able to build their own, so they're excluded from the Mac world anyway.

Also, a quick graph of Geekbench scores for the entry level iMac per Mactracker (attached) shows a major discontinuity upon the switch to Intel but the i3 doesn't look that far away from where a hypothetical further Core 2 Duo would have been. Though I take the point that processing speed improvements in machines with Core 2 Duo chips can go only so far and we're already pretty much on fumes. So it's a valid roadmap issue.

 

[toxer]

Welcome to Micro$oft

Who cares? It is only good for Apple. I don't see how I will benefit as a consumer. Moreover, every single step we will do in the future on our Macs will require Ping, iTunes account etc. I prefer freedom of choice and stop spying on my buying pattern to sell me more crap.

PS: Better fix this buggy MacMail please.

 

[Thomas Harte]

Who cares? It is only good for Apple. I don't see how I will benefit as a consumer. Moreover, every single step we will do in the future on our Macs will require Ping, iTunes account etc. I prefer freedom of choice and stop spying on my buying pattern to sell me more crap.

PS: Better fix this buggy MacMail please.

It's not only good for Apple. It's the resolution of an ongoing lawsuit between two major component manufacturers in both the Apple and Microsoft spheres, leaving both able properly to plan their future products without having to figure out which bits are contingent on the judge saying one thing and which bits are contingent on the judge saying another. It's therefore a benefit for the market as a whole. As you like freedom of choice, you'll like both players being more free to plan and produce products.

There is no such product as MacMail. Assuming you mean 'Mail', I don't think anybody from the Internet tools team at Apple is likely to read this thread. Ditto for any third party manufacturer's product that you may have decided is called MacMail.

 

[macintoshtoffy]

It's not only good for Apple. It's the resolution of an ongoing lawsuit between two major component manufacturers in both the Apple and Microsoft spheres, leaving both able properly to plan their future products without having to figure out which bits are contingent on the judge saying one thing and which bits are contingent on the judge saying another. It's therefore a benefit for the market as a whole. As you like freedom of choice, you'll like both players being more free to plan and produce products.

There is no such product as MacMail. Assuming you mean 'Mail', I don't think anybody from the Internet tools team at Apple is likely to read this thread. Ditto for any third party manufacturer's product that you may have decided is called MacMail.

I wouldn't waste my time with the guy, the fact that he registered in 2004 and made a grand total of 16 posts tells a lot about the type of posts and the type of person he is. Whining about Ping and tracking his purchases - he might as well be tuning into alex jones with his tin foil hat on.

 

[bigwig]

This maneuver is a clear reaction to hints that Apple is going to add AMD to their CPU line up.

Why would Intel bother? Apple is what, less than 5% of their business?

 

[macintoshtoffy]

Why would Intel bother? Apple is what, less than 5% of their business?

But Apple is a show case of cool products using their technology - why does a corporation care if a celebrity purchases one of their products, they're one person! One person, one company etc. can make the difference in much the same way that Opera endorsing your book can make you go from an known to something all middle aged women every where want.

 

[KPOM]

The settlement is that nVidia ain't building chipsets anymore

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainbo...dia_We_Are_Not_Building_Chipsets_Anymore.html

But that was before the rumored settlement. Business models can change. Perhaps the settlement means that NVIDIA will help Intel design the next IGP.

Why would Intel bother? Apple is what, less than 5% of their business?

But it's a high profile customer. I'm sure Intel wasn't too pleased when Apple essentially publicly stated that its latest processors weren't "good enough" for their latest notebooks because the integrated graphics were bad.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

So once again customers are shafted because of big business.

 

[KPOM]

According to the DailyTech article, there is talk of increased cooperation between NVIDIA and Intel.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=20305

 

[DanMacApple]

The settlement could really help the MBA line!

 

[nitropowered]

It doesn't say so. It says the C2D is based on an outdated architecture, which is true.

Yeah it's outdated and I had some reservations before buying my 11MBA, but after using it at the store, I was sold.

That said, I still would like to see an i-series processor in the Air and 13MBP

 

[pilotgi]

Bring on the MacBooks with an AMD solution. That might be the only way Apple will get any more of my money for a notebook.

 

[Thomas Harte]

I wouldn't waste my time with the guy, the fact that he registered in 2004 and made a grand total of 16 posts tells a lot about the type of posts and the type of person he is. Whining about Ping and tracking his purchases - he might as well be tuning into alex jones with his tin foil hat on.

I think you're probably right. It does seem odd though, that if he's been registered for six years and has spent that time picking exactly 16 things to comment on that he'd wait for a big story in the PC industry that one news source points out has an Apple angle to complain about news that doesn't affect the PC industry.

Anyway, yes, I maintain that it's good news but I'm not sure that, at least here in Apple world, the problems that the legal dispute were causing had yet become particularly great.

 

[silentnite]

I'm a bit disappointed... by now I would have expected to see all macbook & macbook pro's with an i core processor at the least. The Mac air being such a great piece of work it could have really benefited from i3 & i5 processor. Hopefully will get to see it sometime in the new quarter.

 

[vincenz]

Still wondering why C2D is still on their Pro platform. On the white macbook and the air, I can see.

 

[Eidorian]

Yes, I saw that. Made me quiver. As per PCIe 2.0, took Intel long enough. However, now people will whine, why not PCIe 3.0 speeds since the specs for that were just released.

PCIe 3.0 is still something reserved for the high end. You'll see it coming out later in 2011 on Intel's LGA 1366 replacement for enthusiast and server/workstation.

I'm sure Intel is getting a nice bag of money from nVidia. The question is how Intel will manage once ~480 shader IGP solutions hit. Brazos, Zacate and Llano are already laying a pounding on Intel's IGPs. We just need a better FLOPs and out-of-order CPU support from AMD to get a clear winner. 20W total is appealing, but I heard it has mobility HD6400 or HD6300 level IGP which arguably match an HD5600 mobility.

I should have been a little more clear. That would be nVidia getting the money from Intel. Brazos' IGP is just shy of the HD 5450. It's only 80 shaders.

 

[gnasher729]

Why would Intel bother? Apple is what, less than 5% of their business?

Look at Intel's price list, then notice that it is full of crappy cheap processors that Apple doesn't use. You are looking at the number of CPUs, Intel is looking at dollar revenues.