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Would Sandy Bridge go into the 13"

E

evanrousso

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 28, 2006
267
0
If the Macbook Pros are updated this spring would they upgrade the 13" with Arrondales and the 15 and 17" with Sandy Bridge???

I nobody "knows" for sure, just speculating.

I am waiting to replace my iMac with a 13" Macbook pro. I replaced my 13" black macbook with the iMac and I would love to have the same portability with my new macbook pro, I just want to get out of the C2D era!!
 
I would assume so. I know specs arent everything, but c2d's are getting to be too out of date.
 
theman123 said:
I would assume so. I know specs arent everything, but c2d's are getting to be too out of date.
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Yeah, that's how I feel. Honestly I don't really need the new processor for my use, but I don't want to spend $1400 on old tech. I would be perfectly happy with Arrondale if the Sandy Bridge doesn't make it into the smaller model.

Portability is more important to me than power. My biggest mistake was giving up my old macbook for an iMac. I really miss having a laptop.
 
Well I can tell you that they probably won't have a C2D as IIRC Intel is going to stop making them in another few months :p
 
The C2D's have been EoL'ed for a while now, and I believe production stopped long ago. Apple had a surplus of them that they were able to use in the Mini/Air/Pro 13.
 
The most likely scenario for the 13" MacBook Pro update is a Sandy Bridge based machine using the Intel integrated graphics.

Next most likely would be a machine with no optical drive, and in it's place an expanded circuit board with Sandy Bridge, dedicated AMD or nVidia graphics, and an expanded battery to power it all.

Next after that? We could see something from the new AMD family of processors with ATi integrated graphics.
 
Seems like an i3 processor uses far more power than the C2D, nearly 40 % more. This includes the power required for cooling.

C2D Penryn 8600 requires totally 25 W, while i3 Arrandale and i3 Sand Bridge take 35 W.

Or have I missed anything here?
 
evanrousso said:
If the Macbook Pros are updated this spring would they upgrade the 13" with Arrondales and the 15 and 17" with Sandy Bridge???

I nobody "knows" for sure, just speculating.

I am waiting to replace my iMac with a 13" Macbook pro. I replaced my 13" black macbook with the iMac and I would love to have the same portability with my new macbook pro, I just want to get out of the C2D era!!
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that if Sandy Bridge is more power efficient than Arrandale, there's no reason to continue to use Arrandale on anything, least of all the 13" MacBook Pro where energy and heat generation matter most.

MagicBoy said:
Hopefully they can fit all the chips in and not leave it burdened with crappy Intel HD graphics.

*fingers crossed*
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Engineering doesn't work that way. Nice try though. :)

NickZac said:
Well I can tell you that they probably won't have a C2D as IIRC Intel is going to stop making them in another few months :p
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If Apple is buying them, Intel will keep making them. Otherwise, I agree, The Core 2 Duo is probably going to be nixed from the MacBook Pro line.

c1phr said:
The C2D's have been EoL'ed for a while now, and I believe production stopped long ago. Apple had a surplus of them that they were able to use in the Mini/Air/Pro 13.
Click to expand...

They're still being made, and will be until at least Early 2012.

zodqyv said:
The most likely scenario for the 13" MacBook Pro update is a Sandy Bridge based machine using the Intel integrated graphics.

Next most likely would be a machine with no optical drive, and in it's place an expanded circuit board with Sandy Bridge, dedicated AMD or nVidia graphics, and an expanded battery to power it all.

Next after that? We could see something from the new AMD family of processors with ATi integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you've said, including the order in which you've said it save for the second thing. They are not making a MacBook Pro of any size sans an optical drive for at least another two to three years. White MacBook, maybe, but nothing "MacBook Pro". They could do what you're proposing with the hard drive bay instead, though I'm skeptical that Apple would do that. They'll either have us suck it up with the Sandy Bridge IGP, have us suck it up with more Core 2 Duo and GeForce 320M, or realize that no "MacBook Pro" customer should have to deal with either and just discontinue it altogether.

Funkymonk said:
I hope so! If not I'll have to look else where for my next laptop :(
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Or just step up to a 15" MacBook Pro.
 
It should. The integrated graphics on the SB processors are no worse than the 320m and it doesn't run hotter or use more power than the previouse gen i5s and i7s so Apple has no good excuse.
 
We would already have iX in 13" if Apple wanted to use Arrandales.

Yebubbleman said:
They're still being made, and will be until at least Early 2012.
Click to expand...

No, they are not.

Six month ago we reported about Intel plans to discontinue large number of Core 2 mobile microprocessors in the 3rd and 4th quarters 2010. Today Intel posted several Product Change Notification (PCN) documents, the contents of which confirms earlier reports. According to the PCNs, the following 23 Core 2 Solo and Duo models are end-of-lifed starting today:

Core 2 Solo SU3300 and SU3500
Ultra-low power Core 2 Duo SU9400, SU9300 and SU9600
Low-power Core 2 Duo Mobile SL9300, SL9400 and SL9600
Power-optimized Core 2 Duo SP9300, SP9400 and SP9600 in Small Form Factor package.
Power-optimized P8400, P8600, P8700, P8800, P9500, P9600 and P9700 CPUs in 478-pin package.
Standard-power Core 2 Duo T9400, T9550, T9600, T9800 and T9900 in 478-pin and 479-ball packages.

Last order date for all discontinued microprocessors is April 29 2011. Tray processors will be shipped until October 14, 2011, and the boxed ones will be shipped while supplies last. While all listed consumer CPUs will be discontinued, 5 models will still be available for embedded applications. These processors are Core 2 Duo Mobile SU9300, SL9400, SP9300, P8400 and T9400.
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http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2010/2010120703_Intel_discontinues_Core_2_mobile_CPUs.html

They are still available though
 
grahamnp said:
It should. The integrated graphics on the SB processors are no worse than the 320m and it doesn't run hotter or use more power than the previouse gen i5s and i7s so Apple has no good excuse.
Click to expand...

Well, according to benchmarks, the SB IGP is not quite up to par with the 320M. (the benchmarks where SB IGP scored higher on low graphic settings and slightly lower on medium settings compared to the 320M, was with a i7 processor backing it up. Clearly we will not be seeing i7's (or possibly even i5's) in the 13") So, basically we would be looking for a slight decrease in graphic performance. The step from C2D to SB processors are huge, so it might weigh out the step down to SB IGP overall. That would still leave us with a 1 step forward, 1 step back kind of update.

The way I see it, Apple has 3 options. 1) SB and Intel IGP, 2) Faster C2D and 320M or 3) SB and discrete GPU. Hopefully the 3rd solution is chosen, although I find this very unlikely given Apple's history. I mean, we have been talking about discrete GPU's in 13"'s for years, and we have yet to see it happen. On the other hand, the current dilemma with the NVIDIA/Intel problems and the aging C2D's may be the factor that could cause Apple to make a "real" 13" pro machine happen. I mean, they have to do something to differentiate it from the Air's, that are currently not far from being in the same class as the 13" MBP. A Macbook Air Pro anyone?
 
Last edited:
i cores on 13"

maybe the i3 would work on the 13" but i guess not the i5 nd i7 since you'd need at least 2 fans for those cores and 13" doesnt have enough space
 
zodqyv said:
The most likely scenario for the 13" MacBook Pro update is a Sandy Bridge based machine using the Intel integrated graphics.

Next most likely would be a machine with no optical drive, and in it's place an expanded circuit board with Sandy Bridge, dedicated AMD or nVidia graphics, and an expanded battery to power it all.

Next after that? We could see something from the new AMD family of processors with ATi integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

I agree, except with the AMD bit. That's just not going to happen, as it would be roughly the equivalent of staying with Core 2 Duo, so there's really no benefit there. I think we will see sandy bridge and the intel IGP, it's the easiest solution and supposedly the IGP isn't supposed to suck as hard as intel's offerings typically do.
 
I am seeing this new 13" refresh in the, "Something is gonna be thrown out" refresh style.

It's either the DVD drive that bites the dust or the HDD. Something has got to go away to make space for the GPU. Either we get a MacBook Air SSD treatment, or we get rid of the DVD drive which I personally use once every blue moon.

That or we get BTO options if we want to trade something for the GPU (say either the DVD or the HDD). However this is just a dream as Apple is known for simple universal approach, not having options or much BTOs.
 
I don't understand why current-gen Arrendales such as an i5 or i7 couldn't be put in the next MBP 13". They could leave SB for the larger models.

In fact, it seems like the most likely thing.
 
CopperX said:
I don't understand why current-gen Arrendales such as an i5 or i7 couldn't be put in the next MBP 13". They could leave SB for the larger models.

In fact, it seems like the most likely thing.
Click to expand...

Cost. Arrandales still cost as much as they did a year ago. You can get a beefier Sandy Bridge for the same $. Besides, the IGP in Arrandale is pure crap
 
CopperX said:
I don't understand why current-gen Arrendales such as an i5 or i7 couldn't be put in the next MBP 13". They could leave SB for the larger models.

In fact, it seems like the most likely thing.
Click to expand...

There is no value in putting old gen chips into a premium priced lap.... oh wait, nevermind, Apple already did this.

Plausible.
 
My best guess is that you will see the top-end 13" option with a variant of the Sandy Bridge dual-core i5 processor, the lower end having the i3. 15" and 17" models will have options for dual and quad-core i7 processors.
 
c1phr said:
The C2D's have been EoL'ed for a while now, and I believe production stopped long ago. Apple had a surplus of them that they were able to use in the Mini/Air/Pro 13.
Click to expand...

I hear the production stopped in late 2010. But it it possible Intel would go out of there way to continue producing some C2D just for Apple?
 
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