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Why wait for Sandy Bridge? It's just going to be another dual core chip

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puma1552

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Nov 20, 2008
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Sandy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)

Unless things have changed or I'm reading things wrong, scroll down to the mobile section, the only chips that will meet Apple's 35W TDP are the dual core variants. Those look like Arrandale numbers, but they are in the SB section so I don't know.

Looks like it will be a long time before a real quad core makes its way into a MBP.
 
Sandy Bridge includes new IGP's, better than the current ones, and besides, most people have no real need for a Quad Core. And more, seriously, I, me, personally, don't want a 1.7GHz Quad. It performs worse than the current i7 duals in single threaded tasks, so for the vast majority of things, it will not be better. A 3GHz dual is much more interesting in my point of view. At least until they get quads to at LEAST 2.2GHz.
 
core count is not everything...nor is clock speed, for that matter. a Core i3 3GHz is faster than a Core 2 3GHz. similarly, an SB-based CPU should be faster than the current Nehalem (Westmere?)-based i3/5/7 at the same clock speed and core count.

and there's the graphics part.
 
toxic said:
core count is not everything...nor is clock speed, for that matter. a Core i3 3GHz is faster than a Core 2 3GHz. similarly, an SB-based CPU should be faster than the current Nehalem (Westmere?)-based i3/5/7 at the same clock speed and core count.

and there's the graphics part.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. And I think it's Arrandale. Though I'm not sure heh
 
the only thing that SB will have over current i5/7 is the L3 cache.
Memory controller will be probably tweaked a bit, nothing major. Right now is actually perfect time for mbp purchase.
 
I'll tell you why I wait, not that you asked, or actually you did.

I wait with my 2007 MBP because I love it, each new MBP that is released I am tempted to upgrade but then I find that my MBP does everything I need. It may not be the fastest anymore but it's still quite the performer. especially when I compare it to other almost 4 year old windows laptops.

I have the money already saved up and would love to upgrade but I have so far refrained from doing so. By now I'm no longer waiting on a new processor, since I find this to be overrated for most of us. I wait on an upgraded iSight, updated interfaces (USB 3.0 maybe, FW 1600), some new amazing displays...
The point being, I wait for SB because I have the hope that apple will introduce some game changer to its lineup, processor technologies are stagnant because of intel dominance of the market, so hopefully something else will blow us away by next release. You are, of course, welcome to disagree. :D
 
Well, I guess the way everyone hypes SB and talks about waiting upwards of four more months to buy a MBP really made me think these were quad cores, as I'd also seen that thrown around quite a bit--that Arrandale was a "stepping stone" to true quad cores, and once we hit true quads then we would enter a several year period of improving quad cores like how we had C2D for several years. I guess I'm glad I finally got around to looking into SB to find that it's not terribly different than the current Arrandale.

I guess then for me personally, all other things the same, I'd rather have a Rev. B Arrandale than a Rev. A Sandy Bridge chip.

I guess I'd like to say that sure, we will get lots of other goodies along with SB (IPS screens or 1 gig VRAM etc) but that's anyone's guess--even if we do my guess is it will be a 330M with 1 GB VRAM--Apple runs graphics cards for 1.5-2 years at a time it seems.
 
For me it depends on what the next update brings. USB 3 would be great. And imagine a retina dsiplay! I stop talking about a bluray drive. And cheaper SSDs. I don't care a lot about the CPU.
 
The current line up is already one (minor) processor refresh behind. Might as well wait for the next update from Apple that will bring it back in line with the rest of the competition. Also, USB3.0 support but for me, while I am not in immediate need of a new computer, I'd wait for lightpeak.
 
CmdrLaForge said:
For me it depends on what the next update brings. USB 3 would be great. And imagine a retina dsiplay! I stop talking about a bluray drive. And cheaper SSDs. I don't care a lot about the CPU.
Click to expand...

are you serious about retina? do you know what "retina" means, and what that entails for a 13"+ screen? for reference, a 9.7" iPad would need the resolution of a 27"/30" Cinema for a "retina" display.

SSDs are still expensive...nothing Apple does will change that. they could stop using crappy SSDs, though.

I'm still doubtful of USB3 becoming widespread before Intel can release LP. shame since FW is on its way out, so we're stuck in this no-man's-land between hopelessly-slow USB2 and the next generation protocols.
 
USB 3 doesn't need to be widespread, it is backward compatible so there are no disadvantages to having it now and it will be widespread eventually. Doesn't affect me but I just hope (for all of your sakes :) ) that Apple doesn't hold out for Lightpeak instead of using USB 3 because it looks like Lightpeak won't be out for another year.

...or they could put the expresscard slots back
 
puma1552 said:
But Intel pushed USB 3 back to 2012...?

SATA 6 GB? Will the computers even recognize it or will it negotiate at 3 Gb/s?
Click to expand...

http://www.fudzilla.com/processors/item/20347-sandy-bridge-to-get-usb-30-support

Fudzilla reports that Sandy Bridge (in fact it's the Intel 6-series chipset since USB is controlled by Southbridge) will get support for USB 3.0. It's not sure and Intel hasn't said a word about it but that Fudzilla article is the latest news I've found.

Of course the computer will recognize it. Again, it's not integrated to the CPU thus talking about Sandy Bridge may be misleading but the Intel 6-series chipset will support SATA 6Gb/s. If you have a drive that uses SATA 6Gb/s interface, then it operates at 6Gb/s (real world performance may vary of course, 6Gb/s is theoretical limit. SATA 3Gb/s does about 2.3Gb/s in real world (~285MB/s)). SandForce is releasing a new controller with SATA 6Gb/s support and they say the drives should go up to 500MB/s (4Gb/s).
 
All but lowest model of the Sandy Bridge desktop chipsets will support SATA 3 so I think it is safe to assume that this will make its way down to the notebooks and devices won't be limited to 3gbps
 
I am eagerly awaiting SB for the IGPs. I don't do gaming, but end up buying the highest end MBPs for the processor speeds that I want for video transcoding. I am ripping my BluRays and it takes a loooooong time to convert the MKVs to play in iTunes.

For me, the casual gamer, the new IGPs would be ideal.
 
I'm hoping that Apple really updates the MB/MBP line of computers with SB. I am perfectly happy with the Unibody design but I would like to see extra data exchange ports (USB 3, eSate, whatever), a SB (of course) CPU, an updated LCD display, better graphics GPU, higher system memory, etc...

Some TLC for the line wouldn't be bad in 2011...
 
Why should we wait? I mean even if you wait to buy the next gen MBP/MB/iMac whatever it will be outdated in less than a year. My MB is less than a year old and is outdated already.And will be again within a year and half old.
 
macgeek18 said:
Why should we wait? I mean even if you wait to buy the next gen MBP/MB/iMac whatever it will be outdated in less than a year. My MB is less than a year old and is outdated already.And will be again within a year and half old.
Click to expand...

yes of course in IT field, when you buy something, few moments after it's already outdated. The point is that SB will bring some important improvements such as 6Gb/s and (maybe) USB3.0: a noticeable difference with respect to 3Gb/s and USB2.0

ciao!
 
milan03 said:
Really doesn't impress me. Not a single thing that's substantially upgraded or innovated when comparing with the current i7. Whoever is gonna wait for another 5-6 months for possible sandy mobile upgrade that will give you about 10% better performance is straight up nuts...
You can either have the computer RIGHT NOW, or keep trying to wait for a miracle to arrive.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone is talking about waiting for a "miracle". Anyway, Anand also stated: "Mobile Sandy Bridge is significantly faster than Arrandale/Clarksfield".

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3922/intels-sandy-bridge-architecture-exposed/9

For all intents and purposes Sandy Bridge is pretty much a mobile focused architecture. Yes, you're right, it would be crazy to wait if you NEED a computer right now, but if you don't I think it is worth the wait for Sandy Bridge.
 
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