Production of New Thunderbolt-Equipped MacBook Airs Set for Next Month?

[Optimus Frag]

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I was under the understanding that the reason that the current 320M has been so impressive considering the aging Duel Core CPU was the increased speed of data transfer from the SSD meaning a large increase in efficiency in both the CPU and the GPU.

So surely it stands to reason that if the intergrated GPU of Sandy Bridge is only slightly less powerful than the current 320M but will be partnered with the SSD and a MASSIVELY more powerful CPU then the sandy bridge MBA will be at least as powerful in graphics terms than the currant MBA.

Am I just being stupid thinking that?

 

[cube]

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I was under the understanding that the reason that the current 320M has been so impressive considering the aging Duel Core CPU was the increased speed of data transfer from the SSD meaning a large increase in efficiency in both the CPU and the GPU.

So surely it stands to reason that if the intergrated GPU of Sandy Bridge is only slightly less powerful than the current 320M but will be partnered with the SSD and a MASSIVELY more powerful CPU then the sandy bridge MBA will be at least as powerful in graphics terms than the currant MBA.

Am I just being stupid thinking that?

320M has OpenCL. Intel does not have OpenCL. All Intel graphics are thus bad.

 

[KnightWRX]

If you read my post more carefully you'll understand I was referring to the people who play games on the 11". As far as I'm concerned, working on a laptop with an external monitor plugged in is an exception (rare) and not something common.

As far as you're concerned maybe, but as far as what's common or not, you're out of it. There's a reason every laptop out there has some kind of external display connector.

But silly me, I must be a moron for using the mini display port right ?

Perhaps you mean it is capable of everything you need it to do. I used to have a laptop as a single computer at my home. It resembled a Christmas tree pretty much - it had an USB optical mouse, a printer, external speakers, a Yamaha keyboard, card reader and power cord plugged in. I was always plugging and unplugging cables whenever I wanted to move it to another place. Thank goodness I did not come to the idea to attach an external monitor to it.

You're doing it wrong. I plug in 4 cables. Power, Monitor, Speakers, USB. My keyboard/mouse/tablet/Printer/iPhone/iPod all get recognized instantly. That's what the USB hub on my desk is for. 1 cable, all devices.

If Apple had docks, it would be even better. Just drop the laptop in place and voila. But I guess docks just aren't esthetic enough.

There is nothing uncommon about it, so again, thank you for calling me stupid because I dare use a MBA as my only computer and I dare launch games on it, while connected to an external monitor of all things!

Keep your insults for yourself next time.

I was under the understanding that the reason that the current 320M has been so impressive considering the aging Duel Core CPU was the increased speed of data transfer from the SSD meaning a large increase in efficiency in both the CPU and the GPU.

Hum, no. The SSD is still a bottleneck compared to the bus speeds between the CPU and GPU. The 320M is impressive because the Intel GPU is so sub-par. Even a full power Sandy Bridge Intell 3000 HD barely compares to it, and then, only in benchmarks where the CPU is the bottleneck and the C2D is holding back the 320M. In pure GPU bottlenecked benchmarks, the 320M trumps the Intel 3000HD.

That's just the story with Intel. They always sucked at GPUs.

 

[Optimus Frag]

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Aren't intel in the process on implementing Open CL?

I understand the benefits of it in terms of utilising the GPU but will it ultimately make a non OpenCL intel GPU equipped MBA so crippled that it can't do any day to day computing tasks that the current one does?

The main selling point of the MBA isn't it's computational power after all but it's ultra portability.

 

[KnightWRX]

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Aren't intel in the process on implementing Open CL?

I understand the benefits of it in terms of utilising the GPU but will it ultimately make a non OpenCL intel GPU equipped MBA so crippled that it can't do any day to day computing tasks that the current one does?

The main selling point of the MBA isn't it's computational power after all but it's ultra portability.

The problem is that it is a downgrade. Why would you pay good money for a lesser computer ? The current MBA is quite an impressive all arounder. No matter how old the design of the C2D is, it is a fine CPU. The 320M enables one to play the latest gaming software titles at reasonable performance levels.

The Intel 3000HD comes in and transforms the MBA from an all around good machine into simply a big compromise. If Apple had been able to use nVidia's next generation IGPs with Sandy Bridge, it would be a whole other story, that would've been one impressive laptop.

That's not to mention that right now, Apple only ships support for the nVidia GPUs in their VDA framework, which enables hardware decoding of H.264 for many software titles including the dreaded Flash.

 

[Optimus Frag]

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Ok. So it's lack of compromise that some are keen to avoid.

Understandable. That's if the next MBA has the 3000HD in it of course. Who's knows what cooking in Apple' R&D dungeon.

I just know from being a nerd myself, how much some can get hung up on such technical points.

It's just that core group of people seem to want a MBA to able to gene sequence the complete human genome before lunchtime before they'll buy one.

I on the other hand would like it to be very portable and do the stuff I do on my 3 yr old iMac, surf, email, BBC iPlayer some light video editing and photo storage. Won't be getting one for at least 6 months anyway so maybe open CL will be on a Intel graphics chip by then.

 

[cube]

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Aren't intel in the process on implementing Open CL?

I understand the benefits of it in terms of utilising the GPU but will it ultimately make a non OpenCL intel GPU equipped MBA so crippled that it can't do any day to day computing tasks that the current one does?

The main selling point of the MBA isn't it's computational power after all but it's ultra portability.

Intel has not confirmed that there will be OpenCL on Sandy Bridge.

 

[LarryC]

I am curious about something. Intel is apparently having difficulty dealing with ATI, which is owned by AMD. Is this a problem for Apple that is limited to notebooks only? It seems like the new MBP doesn't have this same problem, except in the 13" model. Is this problem going to affect Apple's desktop machines? Or is it only limited to the very small laptops and perhaps the Mac Mini? I am just curious because it doesn't appear that the MBP 15 & 17" are effected. I do hope that this makes sense. I have been waiting to see the next versions of the Mac Book and the iMac. I would like to have a portable and I don't care or need a laptop that is a quarter of an inch in thickness or if it weighs a pound more than a Mac Book Air.

 

[TrollToddington]

As far as you're concerned maybe, but as far as what's common or not, you're out of it. There's a reason every laptop out there has some kind of external display connector.

But silly me, I must be a moron for using the mini display port right ?

You're doing it wrong. I plug in 4 cables. Power, Monitor, Speakers, USB. My keyboard/mouse/tablet/Printer/iPhone/iPod all get recognized instantly. That's what the USB hub on my desk is for. 1 cable, all devices.

If Apple had docks, it would be even better. Just drop the laptop in place and voila. But I guess docks just aren't esthetic enough.

There is nothing uncommon about it, so again, thank you for calling me stupid because I dare use a MBA as my only computer and I dare launch games on it, while connected to an external monitor of all things!

Keep your insults for yourself next time.

I kindly ask you to not put words in my mouth I've never written. I've never called you 'moron' or 'stupid' or using foul language about you. 'Keep your insults for yourself next time' is not a very kind thing to say, and I am actually wondering whether I should report you to the moderator.

 

[KnightWRX]

I kindly ask you to not put words in my mouth I've never written. I've never called you 'moron' or 'stupid' or using foul language about you. 'Keep your insults for yourself next time' is not a very kind thing to say, and I am actually wondering whether I should report you to the moderator.

I'm sorry, you're right, the other guy was saying we were "stupid", you were saying we were "addicts" for using a MBA to play games on. Much better and not insulting at all.

As for my own "Keep your insults to yourself", please do report it. I don't even see what is "not nice" about telling you to not insult people here. I am not an addict because I play Civilization on my MBA, no matter what you think about it.

Just remember I didn't report you and the other guy for both making fun of people who game on MBAs.

 

[cube]

I am curious about something. Intel is apparently having difficulty dealing with ATI, which is owned by AMD. Is this a problem for Apple that is limited to notebooks only? It seems like the new MBP doesn't have this same problem, except in the 13" model. Is this problem going to affect Apple's desktop machines? Or is it only limited to the very small laptops and perhaps the Mac Mini? I am just curious because it doesn't appear that the MBP 15 & 17" are effected. I do hope that this makes sense. I have been waiting to see the next versions of the Mac Book and the iMac. I would like to have a portable and I don't care or need a laptop that is a quarter of an inch in thickness or if it weighs a pound more than a Mac Book Air.

Intel doesn't have a problem "dealing with ATI". The problem is that the integrated graphics in Sandy Bridge are inside the CPU, so if you put an alternative chipset with integrated graphics you're paying for stuff that you don't use, and the whole point of integrated graphics is to reduce costs.

Also, NVIDIA is prohibited by Intel to make new chipsets for Intel CPUs that have an integrated memory controller.

 

[geox]

backlit keyboard on it and i am in. Perfect form factor and feature set for what i do all day every day. And less weight in my bag

currently have the 13 mbp and would love to get a mba to lighten my load.

+1111

 

[kryca]

Yes, built-in 3G is more costly to buy, usually locked into a particular carrier (what do you mean I can't switch my 1500$ laptop to a new carrier ?) and with the Rev D's 2nd USB port being next to a display port, the "extension" cable is moot.

So you are quite missing tons of things. The current scheme of "get a stick from your carrier" is the best as far as costs and carrier non-attachment go. I tether to my iPhone using Bluetooth anyhow, making the USB thing even more moot.

Built-in 3G is overrated.

It's just not up-to-date anymore. At least for a company that claims to be on the bleeding edge.

My iPad is not locked into a specific carrier and it's a officially fully supported configuration. So it's not really alchemy involved. Same could be done for the MBA. I also do not intend to abuse my iphone as a modem - I don't see why I do have to keep two devices going to get *one* of them online. That iPhone workaround sounds like a real bad excuse to me - it's just a way of keeping carriers happy (because phones usually are bought directly from the carriers with a 1+ year lock-in and for computers I assume people would rather turn to the AppleStore).

For my laptop I also want to have a different carrier and price plan.

3G support is not overrated, it may be a feature you don't need.

 

[KnightWRX]

It's just not up-to-date anymore. At least for a company that claims to be on the bleeding edge.

Uh ? My MBA is perfectly up to date. 3G is not a "bleeding edge" feature, it's just a way to create more SKUs uselessly. You need a carrier to get online, the carrier you choose will have the appropriate 3G option for your laptop.

My iPad is not locked into a specific carrier

Yeah, I guess it's not. Which model do you have, the CDMA or GSM ? Is it the one with T-mobile 3G frequencies or AT&T 3G frequencies ? So many SKUs, so little time...

I also do not intend to abuse my iphone as a modem - I don't see why I do have to keep two devices going to get *one* of them online. That iPhone workaround sounds like a real bad excuse to me

Abuse your iPhone ? Apple just made the feature even more easy to use in 4.3 with Personal Hotspot that provides WiFi on top of both USB and Bluetooth for iPhone 4...

I have a 3GS, so I'm stuck with Bluetooth or USB, either of which work fine, worked fine before 4.3. What abuse are you talking about exactly ? And "keeping 2 devices going", uh, I don't shut off my phone because I'm working on the laptop on the go. Since it's one, might as well just use it.

Not to mention my carrier offers tethering free, but charges you 10$ extra to piggie-back 2 devices on the same data plan. Let me see... Free or 10$/month... Free ... 10$/month... Ah, I think I'll take free.

For my laptop I also want to have a different carrier and price plan.

Not a hurdle with USB sticks. With built-in 3G though if you want to switch carriers, you either have to switch to a USB stick for the new carrier or hope your 3G chipsets supports their network.

3G support is not overrated, it may be a feature you don't need.

It's a feature I used 2 hours ago at the mall, while eating in the food court, to fix a RAID array that went into degraded mode because a data center monkey decided to mess with something he shouldn't have.

But thanks for assuming I'm not talking about things I use.

Again, built-in 3G is overrated. 0$ carrier USB sticks are much more convenient and cheaper (What do you mean the iPad is 130$ for a 3G version locked down to a specific carrier ?). My iPhone is always on me, always on, and is both cheaper and more convenient than either a built-in 3G option or a USB stick.

 

[LarryC]

Intel doesn't have a problem "dealing with ATI". The problem is that the integrated graphics in Sandy Bridge are inside the CPU, so if you put an alternative chipset with integrated graphics you're paying for stuff that you don't use, and the whole point of integrated graphics is to reduce costs.

Also, NVIDIA is prohibited by Intel to make new chipsets for Intel CPUs that have an integrated memory controller.

Thank you.

 

[shervieux]

That's what's going to happen, I'm sure of it. And I'm honestly kind of impressed that the MacBook Pro still doesn't give you an option to buy one without a DVD drive; I have a 2011 MBP and I swear, it doesn't get any use whatsoever. Apple's obsession with using every square millimeter of space on a portable device apparently ends when it comes to optical disk drives on MBPs.

I'd much rather have additional battery life. QC i7s eat battery for breakfast, even Sandy Bridge.

Normally, I would say I could go either way with the optical drive. But lately, I have been having to burn a lot of CD's and DVD's for people. I would be willing to give up the optical drive for a second hard drive in a MBP. I would want a thunderbolt quad core with 4gb ram. I need a min of 750gb in hard drive space.

If the price of SSD was not so high, I would look into an AIR. A 13-inch quad core air with 4gb ram would be sweet. I just priced out what I would need in an AIR (but drive still too small) and it comes to the price of just getting a MBP.

 

[radcity]

i picked up a 13" air loaded about a month ago. I know the rumors about sandybridge would be out. But after the 13" pro's were screen neutered I sat down and decided that despite all the 'pro' level work I do an air would be fine. I was right and don't regret my purchase one bit. something new will always come out anyway.

completely agree

 

[torbjoern]

i picked up a 13" air loaded about a month ago. I know the rumors about sandybridge would be out. But after the 13" pro's were screen neutered I sat down and decided that despite all the 'pro' level work I do an air would be fine. I was right and don't regret my purchase one bit. something new will always come out anyway.

I expect the new ones will be nice and the new airs will have the same battery life as now, just like the release of the pros. Hopefully, it will get backlit keys for those who want them.

plus one

 

[Young Spade]

Normally, I would say I could go either way with the optical drive. But lately, I have been having to burn a lot of CD's and DVD's for people. I would be willing to give up the optical drive for a second hard drive in a MBP. I would want a thunderbolt quad core with 4gb ram. I need a min of 750gb in hard drive space.

If the price of SSD was not so high, I would look into an AIR. A 13-inch quad core air with 4gb ram would be sweet. I just priced out what I would need in an AIR (but drive still too small) and it comes to the price of just getting a MBP.

If I had the money for that I would have jumped on that the second it came out. I seriously thought about getting the MBA a month ago but didn't have the funds for it at that time. I could have waited until this summer but I found a good deal on a blackbook and ended up getting that.

In the future I'll definitely see how they hold up compared to other computers.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Why does anyone doubt that the new Air will be outstanding? My money is on Apple doing a nice job on the Air as they did with the MBP.

 

[KnightWRX]

Why does anyone doubt that the new Air will be outstanding? My money is on Apple doing a nice job on the Air as they did with the MBP.

The MBP 13" is not quite the bang up job. It got a GPU downgrade and the benchmarks show it. The MBA won't be any different. There's no doubt about it, if you're looking for a GPU upgrade, go look elsewhere.

It's just the reality Intel forced onto us, why does anyone want to live in denial ?

 

[MorphingDragon]

It's just the reality Intel forced onto us, why does anyone want to live in denial ?

Because an AMD based system is for those Windows using pigs.

 

[KnightWRX]

Because an AMD based system is for those Windows using pigs.

Tell that to Apple. If Apple ever ships an AMD system and decides to use an AMD platform for the next Air, combined with a 6000 series GPU, I'd be all over that as an upgrade.

For now, there is no reason to speculate on AMD systems from Apple.

 

[MorphingDragon]

Tell that to Apple. If Apple ever ships an AMD system and decides to use an AMD platform for the next Air, combined with a 6000 series GPU, I'd be all over that as an upgrade.

For now, there is no reason to speculate on AMD systems from Apple.

My flat mate has one of those new Fusion based Netbooks. Seems pretty good. Could see the next gen of them in an Air. Considering getting one myself when I find one not made by Acer.

 

[cube]

My flat mate has one of those new Fusion based Netbooks. Seems pretty good. Could see the next gen of them in an Air. Considering getting one myself when I find one not made by Acer.

There are already AMD Fusion laptops from many vendors.