When will C2D production stop? And what then?

[BothBarsOn]

Hi all,

I was hoping to get a new 13" MBP but all the complaints about the C2D are putting me off. I'm afraid that I'd feel like I'd been conned the second I hit the Buy button ... Not the feeling I'm looking for from a new computer purchase!

Anyhoo - I was wondering if C2D production will rattle on for years or do Intel pull the plug at some point? And if they do, what could Apple do for the 13" then? Would they be forced to use i3s and Intel graphics (assuming the Nvidia/Intel dispute hasn't been settled)?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Badger^2]

What are you doing that would warrant the power of something more than a C2D chip?

So all the sudden the millions of Macs made in the last 4 years with C2Ds just stopped being useful and everyone is now complaining?

What do you mean "by all the complaints"?

In another 200 or so days when the MBPs are updated again, I bet you $5 the 13" MBP gets a faster C2D again... if Apple can get Intel to keep making them for a discount.

 

[Hellhammer]

C2Ds are still very good CPUs. Those who are complaining don't know enough about CPUs. LGA 775 (C2D socket) is still the best seller because of its price and performance.

 

[JNickyJJ]

Don't mock the core 2 duo, it has been a long lasting cpu in most computers, and just because i7 and shiz are out, no one really uses the other 2 cores anyways!

 

[andiwm2003]

i guess apple bought a huge lot of C2D's that will last for the next 6 month. till then they find a way to put a i3 or i5 into the 13"MBP while they keep the dedicated NVidea in there. They could do this by a case redesign without an optical drive. That will give them enough spact to put into the 13" whatever they want.

btw: if intel hadn't given the new chips new very distinct names nobody would care. if the arrandales were called C2Db then nobody would mind having a C2D, but now everybody wants a i(something) in their laptop.

 

[Hellhammer]

i guess apple bought a huge lot of C2D's that will last for the next 6 month. till then they find a way to put a i3 or i5 into the 13"MBP while they keep the dedicated NVidea in there. They could do this by a case redesign without an optical drive. That will give them enough spact to put into the 13" whatever they want.

btw: if intel hadn't given the new chips new very distinct names nobody would care. if the arrandales were called C2Db then nobody would mind having a C2D, but now everybody wants a i(something) in their laptop.

+ Majority of people think that iX CPUs are quad core and are as fast as desktop ones, which of course, is nowhere near the truth

 

[andiwm2003]

i'm going to wait till a few reports are out. but if the battery life is truly epic than i get a low end 13". it will be as fast as my early 2008 high end MBP. i just wish it was matte.

 

[gnasher729]

Anyhoo - I was wondering if C2D production will rattle on for years or do Intel pull the plug at some point? And if they do, what could Apple do for the 13" then? Would they be forced to use i3s and Intel graphics (assuming the Nvidia/Intel dispute hasn't been settled)?

As long as there are customers paying money for Core 2 Duo, Intel will keep producing it. And as long as Apple sells MacBooks and MacBook Pros with Core 2 Duo, Intel has customers paying money for Core 2 Duo. This will only change when Apple (and everyone else) stops buying them.

 

[alphaod]

Intel still makes Pentium MMX processors because there are customers who still use that. Therefore if we follow the same principle, maybe 10 more years? Just speculation of course; they might outsource the production or something, but they'll still make it for a while.

 

[MrCheeto]

Who remembers the Pentium Mac Pros for developers before the Intel switch

 

[alphaod]

Who remembers the Pentium Mac Pros for developers before the Intel switch

You mean the Pentium 4's; they were just older processors because there was no Core desktop processor available at the time… I'm confused to what you're getting at.

 

[MrCheeto]

*winces* Those are the ones XD

Pentium production has been rather high even after what? 15 years?

 

[BothBarsOn]

Thanks, all. It's not that I think I need more than a C2D or anything; I guess I was asking if Apple's hand would be forced at some point in the near future by Intel stopping production. Didn't realise that they'd keep making them indefinitely ...

 

[MrCheeto]

If Intel stops pushing the Intel Core 2 Duo they will fill the gap with a processor that is, like the Core 2 Duo is today, the entry-level consumer chip.

When that happens, Apple will adopt that chip, hell knowing Apple and Intel, they may be the FIRST with that chip.

 

[Hellhammer]

*winces* Those are the ones XD

Pentium production has been rather high even after what? 15 years?

First Pentium named CPU came in 1993. A lot has happened since that and nowadays it's just a name for a category, just like Arrandale and Lynnfield is.

Intel's CPUs goes like this, I guess:

Celeron
Pentium
Core (2 Duo, i3, i5, i7...)

Pentiums are still widely used in low-end PCs but they use the same Core architecture as Core 2 Duos do, but they have lower clocks and less cache etc

 

[MrCheeto]

Right, just as well, there's rumor that some current Core 2 Duo's may soon be rebranded i3...but aren't Core i's supposed to be the new architecture with hyper-threading and turbo boost and such? 0.o

 

[swamesp]

I was also on a dilemma about whether to buy C2D or put more money on i5.

When we really look why the low end users like me need a i5, few reasons could be like, my PC friends have i5 so I want to show off or want to get max things for the buck or just a fantasy to have a high speed processor.

Reality is if C2D can really work full force till death then I feel there is no wrong in buying it. This is also because I cannot afford to shell out $1700 for the i5 base version.

I'm also think that my medium level of photography editing may not at all need i5. Let's not worry about i5 any more if C2D could work for us.... What say....??????

 

[Hellhammer]

Right, just as well, there's rumor that some current Core 2 Duo's may soon be rebranded i3...but aren't Core i's supposed to be the new architecture with hyper-threading and turbo boost and such? 0.o

Yeah, Core 2 Duos are much different from Core i3! Core 2 Duo uses Core architecture while i3 is Nehalem. Doubt it's gonna happen, same as Celeron would become a Core i9

 

[Badger^2]

I run the entire Adobe Creative Suite + Quark 8 on a 2.4 C2D AL iMac w/4 gigs ram and it handles it all without even breaking a sweat. And I'm talking multi hundred meg Photoshop files and 100+ page documents with gigs of links.

I can pop open 10-12 100 megabyte Photoshop tif files in about 20 seconds. Saves in 15.

Plus I do all the regular "home" stuff. 11,000 photos in iphoto, 50 gigs of music, movies, etc, etc.

So if you are buying a 2.4 13" MBP, expect to do all that.

 

[MrCheeto]

Yeah, people expect they'll need the top of the line to do such things, however what they forget is that there are very few programs that will take complete advantage of the Core i's...lazy developers >8\