Quad Core 13" MBPro possibility...

[jsvelte]

Hi all, first post! Very impatiently waiting for the Haswell MBPros...

I was reviewing the Haswell wikipedia page and noticed something I haven't seen mentioned. The i7 upgrade option for the new Macbook Air appears to be the highest-end dual core option from Intel - 4650U 1.7GHz /w HD5000.

This CPU could make into the new 13" MBPro lineup, but there's no way the top processor you could get would be the same one as the Air. To me, that appears to push (at least the option for) the 13" into the quad core category.

Thoughts? Or am I reading this completely wrong?
Thanks!

 

[jav6454]

Not very good possibility. It is more likely to have higher clocks compared tot he 15" before having better architecture than the 15"

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

I reading this completely wrong?

Yes. The processors in the MBA are Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) versions and the processors in the MBP are the “normal” mobile processors.

Quad-Core processors generate more heat and need a bigger battery. The cooling needs 3 things:
1. A big surface.
2. Additional power.
3. Internal space for the airflow.

The bigger battery needs also more space.

 

[Mr MM]

there are no more dual cores that are not in the low voltage area according to intel so far.

the only option is to use the 28w dual core ULVs

and no there wont be a quad version of the rmbp 13

 

[mcarling]

The Haswell processors which might make it into the 13" MBP are the 2.0GHz 4158U, the 2.4GHz 4258U, the 2.6GHz 4288U, and the 2.8GHz 4558U.

I expect quad-core Broadwell processors to make it into the 13" MBP about a year from now.

 

[B...]

Probably no chance.

 

[ValSalva]

The Haswell processors which might make it into the 13" MBP are the 2.0GHz 4158U, the 2.4GHz 4258U, the 2.6GHz 4288U, and the 2.8GHz 4558U.

I expect quad-core Broadwell processors to make it into the 13" MBP about a year from now.

I agree with you that these are the processors that will be in the 13" Haswell rMBP.

Don't know that much about Broadwell. Do you know if there will be suitable >4 core processors for the 15" rMBP next year?

 

[Stetrain]

The Haswell processors which might make it into the 13" MBP are the 2.0GHz 4158U, the 2.4GHz 4258U, the 2.6GHz 4288U, and the 2.8GHz 4558U.

I expect quad-core Broadwell processors to make it into the 13" MBP about a year from now.

Yep, this is almost for sure what we will see in the 13" rMBP if you look at the whole Haswell lineup.

Apple already set the bar with HD 5000 graphics on the new Airs, so they aren't going to use any of the dual core or quad core CPUs with HD 4600 graphics in the 13" rMBP.

That leaves Apple with three choices for the 13" rMBP:

1) Same CPUs as the Air with HD 5000 graphics. Unlikely because the 13" rMBP has a greater thermal capacity than the Air and as a thicker and more expensive notebook Apple would want it to have more performance.

2) The new 28W dual-core CPUs with Iris 5100 graphics. Very likely because they provide slightly better CPU performance, much better GPU performance, and use less power than the current 35W dual cores.

3) The 47W quad core CPUs with Iris 5200 graphics. These would provide a lot of performance and it's possible that the 13" rMBP could handle cooling it with its dual fans, but it would result in a hotter notebook with less battery life instead of a cooler one with better battery life.


If you look at Apple's most recent announcements (Haswell Macbook Air and OSX Mavericks) it's very clear that what they are prioritizing in notebooks right now are high end integrated graphics and great battery life.

 

[mcarling]

Don't know that much about Broadwell. Do you know if there will be suitable >4 core processors for the 15" rMBP next year?

Given that even the 84W Haswell desktop CPUs are still quad-core, I would seriously doubt it. I think we'll probably see 6-core desktop (not server) chips two years before we see 6-core laptop chips.

 

[mcarling]

Broadwell will allow about twice as many transistors as Haswell in any given die size. Since there will not be a new microarchitecture until Skylake, that capability to pack in twice as many transistors will be allocated across a number of goals. For the Broadwell chips that would go into the 15" MBP, I would expect that allocation to include:
- faster clock speeds
- smaller die (lower cost)
- lower TDP (maybe in the 40-45W range, compared to 47W for comparable Haswell parts)
- larger cache sizes
- more execution units in the GPU
- and, possibly, integration of the L4 cache on-die

The practice of integrating the CPU and PCH dies on one chip (with Haswell only done for the 11W and 15W parts) will expand up to the 28W parts which go in the 13" MBP and maybe to the 47W parts which go in the 15" MBP.

 

[Mr MM]

Broadwell will allow about twice as many transistors as Haswell in any given die size. Since there will not be a new microarchitecture until Skylake, that capability to pack in twice as many transistors will be allocated across a number of goals. For the Broadwell chips that would go into the 15" MBP, I would expect that allocation to include:
- faster clock speeds
- smaller die (lower cost)
- lower TDP (maybe in the 40-45W range, compared to 47W for comparable Haswell parts)
- larger cache sizes
- more execution units in the GPU
- and, possibly, integration of the L4 cache on-die

The practice of integrating the CPU and PCH dies on one chip (with Haswell only done for the 11W and 15W parts) will expand up to the 28W parts which go in the 13" MBP and maybe to the 47W parts which go in the 15" MBP.

broadwell is also when they change the gpu arc