Rumor: Intel to push back Mac-bound Ivy Bridge chip shipments until June - Page 2

Then I must have misread your intent.

As for thickness, it can be less than 0.95" in the back and still have the same internal height space for the CPU. Remember that the lid of the new MBA are thinner than the MBPs because they are milled, not pressed.

Damn...these stupid rumors!! I was planning on purchasing my first Apple Mac(MacBook Air).
Now I take many tech rumors with a grain a salt and I hope this isn't true. But if this does happen to be true that would put the Air in a mid cycle, am I correct on this.

So now the question is and many have you probably heard a 1000 times... is should I wait for the Ivy Bridge or would I be cool with the current model(256GB 13.3in)?

If tech is in mid-cycle I have no problem buying current models but if I know there is a updated model in the near future, I can wait.

What are the thoughts of the knowledgeable?

I was going to make a joke about a screaming, hot, pink version but...well...you just sent me back to the drawing board.

If you could wait a few months, I'd wait.

Air is a little past mid-cycle, either way. About 200 days into a cycle averaging about 300 days. That is a bit over three months, a June release would be about four months. If you can wait four months, then you should get a better machine for your patience. That's not much compared to the useful life of the machine. Whether the performance (speed and battery life) difference is significant, I don't know, I don't pay attention to chipsets anymore.

My wife and I were trying to wait for the new processors, but she had the last straw w/her pc last Thursday and asked me what she was really waiting for Ivy Bridge for. I told her better graphics (in windows terms it will be DX11 instead of DX10), slightly faster CPU (only about a 10% increase I'm hearing) and better power management for better battery life (the new 3D transistors).

She decided to pull the trigger on a 13" 128GB. She figures if there is something really awesome about the new ones this summer she could sell for almost no loss and buy the new one or she can wait till next year and sell and get a MBP or newer Air if she wants.

I've been waiting for a decent replacement to my 2009 macbook pro 13". I figure to make an upgrade worthwhile (seeing as how i have an aftermarket ssd), i need to get 8gb of ram, a cpu that has support for open cl (ivy bridge "check"), a higher res screen (current air "check") and a 512gb ssd - in a thinner and lighter design ("check"). Happily pay a damn premium, just give me what i want!!!

indicate that Intel have clarified the situation. Only the dual core processors will be delayed because of inventory. Hint to Intel: people want quad core CPUs, not dual core CPUs.

Duplicate

Hear are some Ivy Bridge facts though:

1. The majority of the new transitory will be going to the GPU.
2. That GPU will support DX11 and supposedly do 3D with far better performance.
3. The new GPU will support OpenCL.
4. There are other performance enhancements in the GPU.

Now you may be wondering if this is important to you. I'd have to say that it should be important to anybody buying an AIR as GPUs are very important to today's operating systems. More so Apple has been very clear about the direction Mac OS is going and it's future use of the GPU. It would be foolish to buy an AIR this close to a refresh knowing that 10.8 is around the corner as is Ivy Bridge. At this point even AMDs Llano would be a better choice in the next AIR as I really believe that the GPU is a significant weak link on this machine.


A few things to point out. Major hardware revisIons depend upon Intel. No matter what Apple can't ship an Ivy Bridge AIR until Intel releases the right chips, sadly there seems to be some slippage already. Second don't get too hung up on AIR, all of the laptops will soon be revved. This what might currently be compelling about AIR could be eclipsed by new MBP. Also don't underestimate the storage limitations of AIR which could be real issues for many users.

Knowledgable? Seriously this is a rumor site. Look towards the more technical sites to get insight on why you should or shouldn't wait for Ivy Bridge. Personally I think there are enough features in Ivy Bridge to suffer for a few months if AIR is the machine you are looking at. The GPU is a big part of why but there are other considerations. At least one consideration is not even Ivy Bridge related, that is the hope for far larger SSDs in the AIR. They really need to double in size, maybe even triple at the top end.

I still own my old 2008 MBP because the AIRs just aren't enough machine currently and the current MBPs not much of an improvement. The next rev of the AIRs could be significantly better than the current models, maybe not MBP replacements but certainly machines with fewer compromises.

So yeah wait !!

If nothing else, Ivy Bridge CPUs are supposed to have a reduced power draw (better battery life) which would be worth waiting to me.

Cheers

Of course considering the number of processors Apple is moving for Intel, they might make an exception for Apple. Frankly I don't really believe some of these rumors, dual core should be easy for Intel.

The wattages are tracking in the same ball park as the previous generation, this with vastly enhanced GPUs. For many this should result in lower average power usage. They might even hit Llano like performance per watt numbers.

You need to read more. Intel has been relatively open about this. Max power draw is relatively consistent. They are starting to add in more aggressive power management features, so you may se better battery life under lighter loads and comparable ones if you're gaming or doing something of that sort. Basically anything that can saturate a lot of cpu/gpu cycles should leave you with relatively flat growth in battery life, but it may last longer when you're typing responses on rumor sites .

Sure, it's a generalization, but unless you somehow manage to draw max power continuously, there should be a net lower power draw in almost all other situations and hence improved battery life for the vast majority of users. Perhaps you are one of the rare few who will experience max power utilization 100% of the time.

We don't know how all of this will work. Neither of us have seen lab tests. Give it some time and we'll see how things really look, because the marketing people from Intel really don't seem to listen to their engineers.

Yes the processors are all being offered up in the same power classes, what should be obvious here is that the CPUs must be drawing far less power in order for this to happen. This due to the greatly enhanced GPU subsystem. Since GPU disapation varies widely with workload many users should see enhanced performance on battery.

That given that Intels power classifications are accurate. Unfortunately Intels number is not a max power draw number.


Ivy Bridge also has enhanced power saving features. I really expect IB to work out extremely well for Apple as they already do power management well. Maybe expectations are too high but there is enough good points with respect to IB that those expectations are not unwarranted. By the way I would expect saturated CPU only work loads to be about 20-30% better with IB. Better meaning longer run times - less battery usage. Optimistic? Well no as that is about what Intel is indicating the power savings are for the new chip process.

This post actually gave me a bit of a laugh as Intel isn't the only company suffering in such a way. That being said IB is looking really good, certainly a bit of testing will go a long way to demonstrating the chips capability. I remain optimistic.

Just which is it? We don't know anything or it's the same? You have taken both positions.

All I have said is that the prospect of improved battery life, if nothing else, would make it worth the wait for me. Make up your own mind, but that is my opinion.

Yeah.. I have to wonder if the marketing people understand the proper definition of "white paper" at times.


I need to find a white paper on this topic if they've published one. It would seem much of my own information has been slightly inaccurate, and I hate that. I want it to be perfect .