Possible iMac quad-core CPUs; Mac clone maker blocked; more

[AppleInsider]

Intel has formally unveiled a new set of efficient Core 2 Quad processors that may form the linchpin of Apple's next iMacs. Also, would-be Mac clone developer EFI-X USA is being denied the parts it counts on to build its PCs, and T-Mobile Austria has started a round of heavy discounts for iPhone 3G.

Intel rolls out low-power desktop quad-core chips

Fulfilling at least some of the claims made in a Taiwanese rumor from November, Intel on Monday said it has launched a round of low-power Core 2 Quad processors.

The new components at 2.33GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.83GHz all consume just 65W of energy at their thermal limits compared to the 95W of past models at the same clock speed, all without losing features or the amount of onboard cache. These are meant for "sleek and cool" desktops, Intel says.

In bulk quantities, they should cost $245, $320 and $369 each, or tangibly less than Intel's notebook-oriented equivalents -- which, at their best, clock in at 2.53GHz and cost $1,038 per chip at that speed.

While it's not definite whether Apple is interested in the parts, the characteristics and pricing line up with those mentioned in Taiwan newspaper reports insisting that Apple is a customer. Simultaneously, other reports from the region have maintained that a new iMac is due in January with a new cooling module many now believe is there to manage the heat generated by an energy-hungry desktop processor.

Apple itself has done little to support these claims itself but is known to be making a significant platform change that brings in NVIDIA chipsets to control the system and provide integrated graphics.

EFI-X manufacturer breaks off ties with EFI-X USA

Attempts to introduce yet another unofficial Mac clone builder to the US market have seemingly been cut short with word that Art Studios Entertaintment Media (ASEM), which makes the EFI-X USB dongle used to bypass Apple's Mac OS X install checks and use the software on generic computers, has kicked out EFI-X USA as its American partner for selling the devices.

Company head Davide Rutigliano explains to the Inquirer that marketing from the US firm has clearly and against ASEM's wishes been promoting its EFI-X-equipped Millennium PCs as Mac clones, which overtly violates Apple's licensing for its operating system. As revealed first to AppleInsider, EFI-X USA has pitched its first product as a bargain Mac Pro that offers most of the performance of the official workstation for a much lower price.

The assembler has also frequently changed pricing for the stand-alone dongle and maintained inconsistent support for customers, Rutigliano notes.

While spokespeople from EFI-X USA are unavailable for comment as of press time, the move all but shuts down the company's original business plan.

That said, ASEM maintains its own Mac OS X hardware compatibility list and has no intentions of scaling back its US operations: a new online store, Express HD, will sell the EFI-X adapter. The dongle producer also intends to add support for hardware Apple has yet to support itself, including Intel's Core i7 processors, AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4800 series video cards and NVIDIA's competing GeForce GTX 285.

T-Mobile Austria slashes iPhone 3G 8GB price

In a first since iPhone 3G sales began this past summer, T-Mobile's Austrian division launched a discount for Apple's entry-level 8GB handset.

The deal, discovered by iLounge, reduces the price of the iPhone from its normal €99 ($131) to €1 when a customer signs up for a €45 ($60) monthly Supreme plan. It also gives the new subscriber their first month's service for free and, if the phone is ordered online, a further instant discount of €45.

Although multiple carriers have refined their service plans since the iPhone 3G launch, none have until now budged the price of the phone proper. It's not known what T-Mobile's incentives are behind the discount, which doesn't have a specified end.

[indiekiduk]

In the UK you now get a free iPod Touch when you sign up to the contract over the phone.

[ascii]

The next iMac should really have i7. Because that is what PC makers will start to use over the next 12 months, and if iMac doesn't have it, it could possibly end up the slowest kid on the block.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by ascii

The next iMac should really have i7. Because that is what PC makers will start to use over the next 12 months, and if iMac doesn't have it, it could possibly end up the slowest kid on the block.

It usually is anyways, since desktops use desktop chips... non of this mobile crap. Core i7 mobile cpus are pretty far off. It would take a significant cut in heat dissipation and power reduction to work in the iMac.

BTW... I agree with you, they SHOULD have core i7

[hmurchison]

Core i7 sounds nice but simply give me a decent quad core iMac
with Snow Leopard and I think users won't have too much of a problem
with performance.

I think Apple's going to have to redesign the iMac so that it can handle
65W TDP processors easily. This obsession with making everything too
thin is simply not going to work where giving consumers options is key.

In the meantime proper software optimizations can go a long way towards
making many users forget they aren't running Core i7.

[emig647]

Yah I agree with both points.

But I can see apple being stubborn and holding out for a mobile quad core. 1-2 years away? By then desktop cpus will be 8 core

But yah, a quad core in the imac... I don't think most people would notice or care. iMac is a consumer machine anyways... if you really NEED the performance get a mac pro.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by emig647

Yah I agree with both points.

But I can see apple being stubborn and holding out for a mobile quad core. 1-2 years away? By then desktop cpus will be 8 core

But yah, a quad core in the imac... I don't think most people would notice or care. iMac is a consumer machine anyways... if you really NEED the performance get a mac pro.

Apple should definitely be going Quad Core on the iMacs. I'll be surprised and even a bit miffed if "any" iMac model is only Dual Core. If they want differentiation between the Mac mini and iMac going Quad on the iMac is the way to go.

Nehalem sounds nice but I doubt that many PC are really taking advantage of the threaded features efficiently. Even under Leopard many apps simply do not see improvement over 4 cores (I know apps like Compressor can leverage all 8)

Hopefully Snow Leopard immediately shows us what GrandCentral can do for multi core applications. Apple needs an app that shows us right away the power of OpenCL, GrandCentral and Blocks.

[emig647]

It's not just about muti-threaded applications... it's for multi-tasking too. If you have 8 applications open (I usually have 10+), it would help a lot. Then you have apps like Aperture, Cinema, Maya that will all take advantage of it.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by emig647

It's not just about muti-threaded applications... it's for multi-tasking too. If you have 8 applications open (I usually have 10+), it would help a lot. Then you have apps like Aperture, Cinema, Maya that will all take advantage of it.

LOL...multicore applications. What was I thinking? I meant multi threaded which then dovetails with your comment.

I'm freakin' tired and rushed and never check my posts.

I wonder how easy it would be to take an app and dedicated the UI to one thread easily in Snow Leopard and if that would take the responsiveness of apps to the next level.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by emig647

Yah I agree with both points.

But I can see apple being stubborn and holding out for a mobile quad core. 1-2 years away? By then desktop cpus will be 8 core

But yah, a quad core in the imac... I don't think most people would notice or care. iMac is a consumer machine anyways... if you really NEED the performance get a mac pro.

Reviews of the 8-core Mac Pro confirmed the extra cores were pretty much useless anyway. So unless the software can take advantage of it, you are wasting your money.

[FuturePastNow]

Core i7 sounds great, but it's not going into the iMac until the end of this year or next year. In the meantime, a Core 2 Quad is a damn good processor.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by ascii

The next iMac should really have i7. Because that is what PC makers will start to use over the next 12 months, and if iMac doesn't have it, it could possibly end up the slowest kid on the block.

mainstream core i5 CPUs aren't due until fall. There is no way an all in one could cool a 130w CPU or house the 600w or so power supply such a machine would require. It would be thick enough to resemble a CRT display.

[wizard69]

You heard it here first. Not that I have any solid info to base this on, just that the timing is right. Who knows it could be Minis replacement instead.


Dave

[shanmugam]

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE3NjY

all kinds of systems in refurbished section, updates are soon???

[macxpress]

I'd go with dual G5 Quad processors myself.....

[shanmugam]

i checked again, almost all the models are in there ... (except 17" new mac book pro of course it is just introduced)

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE3NjY

i guess big clearance going on to get the CPU updates ...

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by emig647

It usually is anyways, since desktops use desktop chips... non of this mobile crap. Core i7 mobile cpus are pretty far off. It would take a significant cut in heat dissipation and power reduction to work in the iMac.

BTW... I agree with you, they SHOULD have core i7

Really? You plan on telling me how the iMac is going to manage 130W effective power output from the i7, be silent and cool to the touch on it's exterior?

[Phong]

Originally Posted by shanmugam

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE3NjY

all kinds of systems in refurbished section, updates are soon???

The refurbished section says nothing about product updates. Believe me I've been watching it since August.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by wizard69

You heard it here first. Not that I have any solid info to base this on, just that the timing is right. Who knows it could be Minis replacement instead.


Dave

Even with the media focusing so heavily on Obama tomorrow?

[macxpress]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Even with the media focusing so heavily on Obama tomorrow?

Seeing how Apple doesn't really care about the MacMini they may very well do it. Of course they will come out and say the MacMini is a very important product for us as they always do, which totally explains why they let it sit for 2yrs without an update.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by wizard69

You heard it here first. Not that I have any solid info to base this on, just that the timing is right. Who knows it could be Minis replacement instead.


Dave

Its the presidential inauguration, nobody would be listening. It would either have to be wednesday to next tuesday.

[shanmugam]

Originally Posted by Phong

The refurbished section says nothing about product updates. Believe me I've been watching it since August.

it says nothing, did you see the listed items? all the current Macs are there ... I do not think it is just a coincidence

[iBill]

Originally Posted by shanmugam

it says nothing, did you see the listed items? all the current Macs are there ... I do not think it is just a coincidence

No minis though, unless they already sold..

[walshbj]

Oh my, the Supreme Plan. I love the nuances of english in marketing. I can't see a phone plan ever being called Supreme in the US, and yet it seems perfectly normal for pizza.

[Eduararipe]

Originally Posted by walshbj

Oh my, the Supreme Plan. I love the nuances of english in marketing. I can't see a phone plan ever being called Supreme in the US, and yet it seems perfectly normal for pizza.

I don't get it... What are you talking about?

[Phong]

Originally Posted by shanmugam

it says nothing, did you see the listed items? all the current Macs are there ... I do not think it is just a coincidence

Refurbs are listed whenever Apple finishes repairing what's in their stock of broken Macs. It is a complete coincidence.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by wizard69

You heard it here first. Not that I have any solid info to base this on, just that the timing is right.

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Its the presidential inauguration, nobody would be listening. It would either have to be wednesday to next tuesday.

Correct. Unless Apple is going to wrap themselves in the flag for a special announcement (which is possible, just as Hollywood is currently neck deep in Obama-mania) I think next Tuesday (Jan 27th) is the day.

[FuturePastNow]

Originally Posted by iBill

No minis though, unless they already sold..

Refurbished minis always sell out almost instantly.

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Its the presidential inauguration, nobody would be listening. It would either have to be wednesday to next tuesday.

First; you would have to be fairly weak minded to get to wraped up in the presidential hype.

Second; Apple has indicated clearly that old marketing methods are being replaced. There is also the reality that if the new machines are minor update there won't be need for a big show. On the otherhand if the machines are truly innovative the community will take note and hype them all on the there own.

Third; successful marketing is never a one day event.

Dave

[PB]

Originally Posted by wizard69

Second; Apple has indicated clearly that old marketing methods are being replaced.

Yes, but public attention cannot be replaced or overlooked.

Originally Posted by wizard69

There is also the reality that if the new machines are minor update there won't be need for a big show. On the otherhand if the machines are truly innovative the community will take note and hype them all on the there own.

I agree on the first part. For the second, we already know Apple's practice as of lately: special event. And there is none planned anytime soon.

[Dunks]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

In a first since iPhone 3G sales began this past summer, T-Mobile's Austrian division launched a discount for Apple's entry-level 8GB handset.

The deal, discovered by iLounge, reduces the price of the iPhone from its normal €99 ($131) to €1 when a customer signs up for a €45 ($60) monthly Supreme plan. It also gives the new subscriber their first month's service for free and, if the phone is ordered online, a further instant discount of €45.

Although multiple carriers have refined their service plans since the iPhone 3G launch, none have until now budged the price of the phone proper. It's not known what T-Mobile's incentives are behind the discount, which doesn't have a specified end.

big deal.

iphone models are free in australia on plans. No doubt this is spurred by a lack of 8GB sales due to the small discrepancy in the total cost of ownership between the 8GB and the 16GB models and the fact that people with expanding audiovisual libraries aren't idiots. I think it's ironic that they would try to market the "gimped" handset to people on a "premium" plan.... sure.... so every Austrian women wears 50c polyester socks with their Manolo Blahniks.

[RichL]

Intel's new i7 platform is really nice but boy is it expensive. The motherboards currently retail for four times that of a normal C2D motherboard and DDR3 RAM hasn't yet hit the bargain basement prices of DDR2. Even if there was a mobile version, I can't see Apple adopting the i7 yet.

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by wizard69

First; you would have to be fairly weak minded to get to wraped up in the presidential hype. Dave

mmmm ... I like to think I have a pretty good mind, I am fascinated by the events unfolding and the world wide interest. Was that a cheap political shot or am I missing a joke?

[cwoloszynski]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

mmmm ... I like to think I have a pretty good mind, I am fascinated by the events unfolding and the world wide interest. Was that a cheap political shot or am I missing a joke?

Sadly, I think the post was from a bitter person who does not agree with the general population of the US, who elected Barack Obama, and the world, who are anxiously awaiting him to steer the US in a better direction.

[Winter]

I was considering getting a MBP however if this iMac thing is true I may opt for that instead.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by Phong

Refurbs are listed whenever Apple finishes repairing what's in their stock of broken Macs. It is a complete coincidence.

Refurbs are not always broken Macs that are repaired by Apple. Some are customer returns, etc. A good stock of refurbs has nothing to do with upcoming releases. If Apple has new stock in inventory when a new model comes out, those are sold at clearance, not refurb.

[warnergt]

Originally Posted by hillstones

Reviews of the 8-core Mac Pro confirmed the extra cores were pretty much useless anyway. So unless the software can take advantage of it, you are wasting your money.

I call BS on this. Many of Apple's applications utilize all the cores. Even iPhoto uses all the cores. HD video can use 8 cores for hours at a time. With Parallels or Fusion, you can assign multiple cores to Windows while keeping multiple cores for Mac OS X. I'm using all 8 cores in my Mac Pro with software that wasn't even written for multicore support. I'm running multiple instances of software on the Windows side.

I'm never buying another PC that doesn't have at least four cores. I need the horsepower.

I guess if you just sit around all day and write whiney posts about useless cores, you probably don't need them.

[emig647]

+1.

Regardless if the software is written for multi-cores or not.. using multiple apps at the same time DOES. So whatever you're talking hillstones is complete fudd.

[skittlebrau79]

Originally Posted by warnergt

I call BS on this. Many of Apple's applications utilize all the cores. Even iPhoto uses all the cores. HD video can use 8 cores for hours at a time. With Parallels or Fusion, you can assign multiple cores to Windows while keeping multiple cores for Mac OS X. I'm using all 8 cores in my Mac Pro with software that wasn't even written for multicore support. I'm running multiple instances of software on the Windows side.

I don't get why anybody is arguing about Nehalem vs these Quad Core CPUs and using # of cores as an arugment. I don't know why the OP brought up number of threads/cores. Except for hyperthreading, Nehalem doesn't add any new cores.

What Nehalem does bring is better pipelining, a MUCH faster memory bus architecture, incremental ISA changes and on-die power management. The Anandtech review of Nehalem showed Nehalem had a 20-50% performance advantage over Penryn, clock & core comparable (but Nehalem can be clocked higher than Penryn, so it's an even bigger advantage). Clock for clock, Nehalem/Core i7 is 5-10% faster in non-memory bound applications. Memory-bound applications such as photo editing, video editing and number crunching can be up to 20-40% faster thanks to the replacement for FSB and on-die memory controller. It does all this while keeping the TDP at the same levels as Penryn, or 10% higher than Penryn when fully utilized.

BTW you can get a Core i7 system with 3GB RAM, 1TB HD and 20" monitor for the price of a low end iMac--and it easily outperforms the Mac Pros which retail for $2799. Now imagine if Apple uses these outdated processors for the next iMac, and waits another 6 months to update the iMac.

[hmurchison]

I don't think it matters all that much really.

Consumers just want a fast computer and if Apple can deliver a Quad Core Penryn
based iMac and Snow Leopard makes that system sing then adding Nehalem when it
becomes feasible only makes things better.