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sandy bridge or ivy bridge?

M

MR.BUTTON

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 2, 2012
83
0
Vancouver,Canada and Shanghai,China
hey guys!
i am waiting the 2012 MBA or MBP.i really need something that is very portable so MBA is a good choice.in the 2012 refresh, there will likely going to have only processor improvements.and the news reports that ivy bridge runs hotter and the voltage is higher, so will this drains battery?if it does, i will choose to buy the current i7 model now.any ideas? should i choose to wait or buy it now?

any ideas will be appreciated:)
 
IvyBridge based Airs will also have better graphics and will likely have USB 3.0. The could be options for more RAM and larger SSDs as well.

I don't know which news article said the IvyBridge processors run hotter, but whichever one you read may be the only one saying that.
 
The new one will be better all around. Probably not what you wanted to hear, seems like you are trying to convince yourself to buy now. Go ahead, today's model is really nice. =)

What we know will be in the 2012 model:

Ivy Bridge will run cooler, faster, and take less battery.
HD 4000 video will be 30% to 40% faster then HD 3000.
USB 3

What we all dream of:

Possible retina display.
Possible higher/cheaper SSD options.
Possible ram upgrade.
 
Depends on what are your needs, but since Air is for normal, consumer use I would guess if you are in a hurry and need of a computer, sandy will be just fine.
Tests show 5% cpu plus, and some more 10-15% advantages in graphic, but if you are not a gamer, hd3000 is great.
90% of people will never see true difference between sandy and ivy processors.
 
You will probably wait until late Aug./early Sept. if you want to be realistic about this. So the question is, can you wait another 4-5 months? I still have my MBA 2010, and see absolutely no reason to upgrade yet.
 
I finally found an article that talks about when Ivy Bride will be botter. When you OVERCLOCK an IvyBridge chip, it runs hotter than SandyBridge. Since Apple is not overclocking the chips, there is nothing to be concerned about.
 
MR.BUTTON said:
hey guys!
i am waiting the 2012 MBA or MBP.i really need something that is very portable so MBA is a good choice.in the 2012 refresh, there will likely going to have only processor improvements.and the news reports that ivy bridge runs hotter and the voltage is higher, so will this drains battery?if it does, i will choose to buy the current i7 model now.any ideas? should i choose to wait or buy it now?
Click to expand...

The "news reports" come from ****s who maybe know what they are talking about, but can't present their thoughts in a form that makes sense.

First, these reports come from "overclockers", that is computer fans who try to get the most speed out of computer chips by running them at clock speeds beyond their design. So whatever overclockers report doesn't apply to you. What happened is that the Ivy Bridge chip is designed so that it works just fine and better than Sandy Bridge in the clock speed range that it is designed for, but it is harder to make it run outside that range. It takes more heat and more voltage to make it run _faster than Intel designed it_. Which doesn't matter to you, because _you_ aren't going to do that.

Second, the chip gets _hotter_ because it is a lot smaller, so even when it produces less heat, the heat is concentrated in a smaller place. But that's nothing to worry about because the chip is designed to work that way. (That will of course not stop lots of people on MacRumors from worrying, but that's their problem).

Third, there is a thing called "TDP" or "Thermal Design Power". If Intel says that a chip has a TDP of 35 Watt, that means Apple has to design the MBA in such a way that it won't get damaged if the chip inside produces 35 Watt worth of heat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It doesn't mean at all that the processor uses 35 Watt in normal operation. Whatever an Ivy Bridge chip does when it is working as designed (like all chips in Apple computers will do), it takes less power than Sandy Bridge doing the same work.


MR.BUTTON said:
what kind of better graphics?. how is intel graphics 4000 better than 3000, the frequency are the same...:confused:
Click to expand...

What do you think is faster: A card with 6 processing units, or a card with 16 processing units at the same clock speed? That's 3000 vs 4000 for you.
 
Ivy Bridge will have a bigger impact on GPU performance than CPU performance. It would be a better choice if you plan to do any sort of gaming. It won't be as fast as a discrete GPU, but it will be better than anything else that has come out of Intel so far.

Ivy Bridge also brings native USB 3.0 support to the chipset, so I wouldn't be surprised if Apple adds USB 3.0 to the new MacBook Air. It should actually run cooler and have a better battery life than the Sandy Bridge chip since it is manufactured on a 22nm process vs. the Sandy Bridge's 32nm process and has scalable TDP. Apple will undoubtedly tune the machine for better power consumption rather than raw CPU performance.
 
Ivy Bridge all the way where notebooks are concerned.

I'm also expecting them to introduce an IPS display, but probably limit it to higher end configurations.

Either way, with the new ASUS ultrabook using a 1080p IPS panel, it should mean Apple have to step up their game.
 
Current (Sandy Bridge) Air's have a 1.6GHz or 1.7GHz i5 with an option for a 1.8GHz i7. (Sandy Bridge)

The announced IvyBridge processors that Apple could use in the Air are 1.7 and 1.8GHz i5s and 1.9 or 2.0GHz i7s. (This presumes the web had the correct info.)

And remember the performance comparisons are for chips at the same clock speed. So you not only get the Ivy Bridge architecture improvements you also get the boost of the higher clock rate.
 
Well obviously the 2012 will be better than 2011. Ivy bridge has performance upgrades and better battery life. Also, apple could be rolling out retina displays for the Airs , which is for sure something to wait for. If you can wait, you will get a better product, but the same goes for 2013, 2014, ect. If the 2011 model suits YOUR needs, then by all means go for it:)
 
MR.BUTTON said:
hey guys!
i am waiting the 2012 MBA or MBP.i really need something that is very portable so MBA is a good choice.in the 2012 refresh, there will likely going to have only processor improvements.and the news reports that ivy bridge runs hotter and the voltage is higher, so will this drains battery?if it does, i will choose to buy the current i7 model now.any ideas? should i choose to wait or buy it now?

any ideas will be appreciated:)
Click to expand...

Ivy Bridge has lower power drain in idle and under load while giving higher performance. So you get more battery life while enjoying faster performance.
 
mark28 said:
Ivy Bridge has lower power drain in idle and under load while giving higher performance. So you get more battery life while enjoying faster performance.
Click to expand...

Maybe later, but so far no.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Quad-Core-Processors.73624.0.html
Intel bumped the idle speed from 800mhz to 1200mhz.
Look at the charts from notebookcheck (note that these may not be 100% correct) and you will see that the i7 3610qm uses about the same amount of power as the i7 2760qm despite being listed as a 35 watt part. Note that the power is for the whole notebook and not for the cpu alone.
That said, a decrease in the amount of power that the CPU uses will have very little effect on battery life, simply because the CPU uses so little power when idle.

The desktop i7 3770k used only a tiny bit less power than the i7 2700k at the same clock speed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-23.html.
Ivy bridge used about 4 watts less. If you do the math you will see that it is about 3% more efficient during the toms hardware benchmark suite. If you consider that at a idle or low usage state, the CPU uses very little power you are going to see about a 1% increase in battery life which really isn't anything (statistically 0).
 
cirus said:
Maybe later, but so far no.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Quad-Core-Processors.73624.0.html
Intel bumped the idle speed from 800mhz to 1200mhz.
Look at the charts from notebookcheck (note that these may not be 100% correct) and you will see that the i7 3610qm uses about the same amount of power as the i7 2760qm despite being listed as a 35 watt part. Note that the power is for the whole notebook and not for the cpu alone.
That said, a decrease in the amount of power that the CPU uses will have very little effect on battery life, simply because the CPU uses so little power when idle.

The desktop i7 3770k used only a tiny bit less power than the i7 2700k at the same clock speed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-23.html.
Ivy bridge used about 4 watts less. If you do the math you will see that it is about 3% more efficient during the toms hardware benchmark suite. If you consider that at a idle or low usage state, the CPU uses very little power you are going to see about a 1% increase in battery life which really isn't anything (statistically 0).
Click to expand...

44766.png


44767.png


See here, the i7 3770K ( Ivy Bridge ) uses much less power ( 25W less power drain ) than the 2600K ( Sandy Bridge ), especially under load. Yet the i7 3770K is also faster ;)

edit: Btw, TDP doesn't indicate the power drain. TDP is an indicator for PC builders on how much heat their PC should be able to handle. This is to avoid laptop makers making PC's that overheat. It's only a recommendation from Intel.
 
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Yep ,I to would like a little input to,as I have never owned an Imac , but, like the look. Not sure if an imac would last as long as my 7/8 year old dell dimention core duo e6600. I have been animating and doing 3d/2d work for a long time and have never had the dosh to lay out as apple are and have always been over priced ! Having said that I am sick and tired of running anti-virus software to protect against hackers who`s only life is messing others about. I am interested in an imac i7 ,but it`s such a layout , compared to a dell xps 8500. Do mac`s last for a long while ? for the price. Is it worth waiting for the next gen ?
 
cirus said:
Maybe later, but so far no.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Quad-Core-Processors.73624.0.html
Intel bumped the idle speed from 800mhz to 1200mhz.
Look at the charts from notebookcheck (note that these may not be 100% correct) and you will see that the i7 3610qm uses about the same amount of power as the i7 2760qm despite being listed as a 35 watt part. Note that the power is for the whole notebook and not for the cpu alone.
That said, a decrease in the amount of power that the CPU uses will have very little effect on battery life, simply because the CPU uses so little power when idle.

The desktop i7 3770k used only a tiny bit less power than the i7 2700k at the same clock speed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-23.html.
Ivy bridge used about 4 watts less. If you do the math you will see that it is about 3% more efficient during the toms hardware benchmark suite. If you consider that at a idle or low usage state, the CPU uses very little power you are going to see about a 1% increase in battery life which really isn't anything (statistically 0).
Click to expand...

Stop being a Debbie Downer, no one wants to hear what she has to say.

Now Bernie, everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. Bought him drinks and dinner just to listen and invest with him.
 

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mark28 said:
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Image

See here, the i7 3770K ( Ivy Bridge ) uses much less power ( 25W less power drain ) than the 2600K ( Sandy Bridge ), especially under load. Yet the i7 3770K is also faster ;)

edit: Btw, TDP doesn't indicate the power drain. TDP is an indicator for PC builders on how much heat their PC should be able to handle. This is to avoid laptop makers making PC's that overheat. It's only a recommendation from Intel.
Click to expand...

Hmm.... Toms hardware was quite different, it took longer for the ivy bridge to finish their benchmark test and only used a little less power.

Guess it depends on what you are doing with the cpu.

I just threw in the TDP numbers because it thought is was unusual for a part rated at 35 watts to consume more power than a 45 watt part
 
Ach3r0n said:
lol!
Click to expand...

Your smug reply indicates you disagree with the "runs cooler" statement. You probably "read" (I quote that, because you obviously didn't really read much) somewhere that it runs hotter.

If you actually go and read the reviews again, you'll note that they are talking about over clocking Ivy Bridge. As you add voltage (beyond what Intel recommends), the CPU does get hotter when compared to adding that same voltage to Sandy Bridge.

If you check the forum you are in, Macbook Air, you'll hopefully clue in to why this is irrelevant to us. An Ivy Bridge Macbook Air, doing pound for pound the same work as a Sandy Bridge Macbook Air, _will_ run cooler and take less power.
 
MBA vs Dell

No one answered the poor guy who asked about MBA vs Dell. Trust me, it's worth the $$$. Still have a G4 in the basement office at least 10-12 years old and runs fine. Our daughter (EE PhD student specializing in computer design) recently took another old Mac running RISC chip off with her due to its still being great (and she has MBP of her own). They last and last, and you finally upgrade just to get cool new features. I've gone through TNTC (too numerous to count) Dells and HPs while the Macs my husband always insisted on just keep running. Now I'm firmly in the Apple universe. Sometimes, you get what you pay for. BTW, it's not a good idea to run even a Mac without AV software, but there are plenty of free ones out there.
 
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