Upgrading based on the Intel cycle not Apple cycle.

[nylon]

So I've noticed recently that I have upgraded my machine every 2 years or so and it has served me well. I have tried to make a discerned effort to upgrade on the Intel cycle rather then the Apple cycle.

I'm not sure if people are aware of the Intel Tick Tock Model. You can get a brief overview here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Tick-Tock

Over the past few years I have upgraded on the 'Tick' aspect of the Intel cycle i.e. The 'die shrink' part and not the 'Tock' or 'new micro-architecture' part. This has decided benefits. It means that you are upgrading to a 'mature' architecture and upgrading to the lower power consumption part.

Ivy Bridge (22 nm) is this 'Tick' (Die Shrink). The next micro-architecture will be introduced next year called 'Haswell' (22 nm). It will introduce a host of new technologies. However, I think I will wait until 'Broadwell' (14 nm) which aims to effectively make the Intel CPU a System on Chip. i.e. CPU/GPU/North Bridge/South Bridge/Networking etc will all be on 1 die significantly reducing the space and power requirements.

Maybe, I'm overthinking this but it seems to make sense.

It's just interesting to see.

 

[aziatiklover]

Yeap you are right! I've been upgrading my macs because of INTEL.

However, i follow Apple cycle when it comes to iphones and ipads.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Good thread, because it makes perfect sense. The big performance gains come from new architectures rather than die shrinks.

That being said, I bought the new 13" Air. I'm coming from a Macbook Pro with Core2Duo it's going to be way faster.

 

[calvol]

Tic-Tock said the clock, I think I'll keep my C2D till the clock strikes ARM, and 24-hr battery life.

 

[palpatine]

The OP's argument makes sense, but in practice, I upgrade every year. There is usually some reason for it.

This year is different than before, because I have shifted most of my work to the iPad. All of the computers out now are more than sufficient for the kind of work I do (mail, Internet, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Evernote, etc. -- writing and publishing stuff). I occassionally need a real OS to do some heavy lifting (iOS is shockingly incapable of some basic tasks). I had a 13" 2011 MBP, but it was a bit heavy and a little larger than I need, so I sold it and got the 2012 MBA 11". This may well be my last computer purchase.

Obviously, gamers, graphic designers, programmers, and all sorts of other folks will need as much processor power as they can get. I'm glad there are devices for everyone out there, but for me, a few more iOS iterations might move me to iPads entirely.