Intel Confirms "Presler" shipments
Presler shipping "for revenue"...
It's not possible that we might get another unexpected surprise, sooner than we think, is it? One wonders just who is getting these processors and for how long...
Ankly
Quote:
Other than previously expected, Intel's first 65 nm processor shipping "for revenue" is the next-generation desktop processor Presler and not the mobile Yonah processor. Chief executive officer Paul Otellini mentioned during a conference call that Presler, which, according to sources, will be named Pentium D 900 series, has begun shipping "for revenue" during the third quarter. Total dual-core shipments for this year have surpassed 1 million units and will top 2 million by the end of this year, Otellini said.
Other than previously expected, Intel's first 65 nm processor shipping "for revenue" is the next-generation desktop processor Presler and not the mobile Yonah processor. Chief executive officer Paul Otellini mentioned during a conference call that Presler, which, according to sources, will be named Pentium D 900 series, has begun shipping "for revenue" during the third quarter. Total dual-core shipments for this year have surpassed 1 million units and will top 2 million by the end of this year, Otellini said.
It's not possible that we might get another unexpected surprise, sooner than we think, is it? One wonders just who is getting these processors and for how long...
Ankly
Comments
If Apple had iLife (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, etc.), iChat and Safari x86 optimized, I think they could release an Intel machine. They still really need to have full featured versions (voice and video chat) of Yahoo and MSN Messenger on either hardware.
No wonder Apple are throwing engineering resources at Intel devel' at breakneck pace! They ought to be killing themselves to get there! They now have 95% of the market within their sights. That's alot of money for a company who are now doing 1/2 billion in profit. If Mac sales go up even 50% in the next year? That's alot more money. Every % for Apple is alot of money.
It was, even though the old Mac faithful didn't care to admit it..., 'inevitable'.
The sheer scope of Intel's engineering resources match Apple's ambitions in a really complimentary way looking forward.
We may think the Nano is exciting. But Intel do flash memory too, and they have cpus coming that will run with next to no heat at all for 'hand tops'.
I can very well imagine a Powerbook which makes the current edition look very chunky...
A couple of Intel chips in a Power Mac right now would be just as fast for most things, prob' faster in games and interface and a little slower in Photoshop. And that's now.
Give it a year when dual core cpus are properly established and software is re-threaded.
4 and 8 core cpus down the pipe in the next few years.
I'm really excited by the move.
It helps Apple close it's cross hares on M$ and Dell. More tanks on the lawn of Redmond.
What is Dell going to do to compete? Cut it's razor thin margins even further? Sell EVEN more machines to compete? There's only one way to go for Dell. And M$.
Lemon Bon Bon
Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon
Personally, I've been calling for the move to Intel for years. As such. More welcome news. .65! Already?!?! And die-hards were wondering why Apple went Intel. This is just one of many reasons. ie Delivery. Not promises and more broken promises. We'll get .90 970MPs if we're lucky in the PMs. But a year later? Intel will put the boot into PPC with the delivery of what PPC promised. Power at low heat. Intel have turned away from reactors and are now putting their guns into the 'cool' market.
Don't be too enamoured with Intel. They've got issues of their own. IBM isn't building what Apple wanted because Apple isn't a big enough customer and couldn't/wouldn't put up the money to build the chips they alone wanted. Intel happens to be building the chips that Apple wants already, so Apple can hitch a ride cheaply... but that is today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring.
And .65 nm in Feb isn't so different from what others are doing. We'll see who ships what, when, and in volume next year. What happens at .45 nm is going to be far more interesting.
Yes Apple has in the past few years jumped from Moto to IBM, and leaving each for the same reason; not enough general revenue to support a widely proprietary chip. Even for each company posted, they were able to benefit in other areas utilizing the chip's technology to further their economy. Motorola utilized the PPC derivatives of the PPC chip in routers, if memory serves, and IBM of course is soliciting to Sony and Xbox for gaming consoles.
It's almost aw-inspiring that Apple has found a self-sustaining entity, Intel, to help them further their proliferation into the great beyond. I think from a purely business standpoint, this is genous.
I'm very excited as well.
-walloo.
i'm still battling the idea of getting a new PB or not.
they are just so damn old, it's like COME ON STEVE.
i'm happy for this move as well.
Corey
Originally posted by Corey
Actually when this transition is over Apple will have yet another feather in it's cap. It will be able to run OSX on IBM, Freescale, Intel, & AMD.
Corey
I think this is actually a REALLY important point. It gives Apple some SERIOUS flexability. It also opens the doors for considering licensing options for Mac OS X in addition to the traditional hardware sales. I know, there are a million people who say it'll never happen, and give their tired old reasons, but remember, a lot of those same people said x86 would never happen. Not only IS it happening, we now know it was in the books (as a meaningful option) from day ONE of OS X. I think it's pretty clear that Steve is game for trying just about anything interesting, and if it seems to work, going full-tilt into it.
Originally posted by wmf
I predict that Apple will NOT use Presler, so it doesn't really matter.
Yup.
With the recent updates to the Power Mac and iMac (G5 machines), it looks like the Powerbook, iBook and mini will get Yonah in Q2 06, while the Power Mac and iMac will get Conroe/Woodcrest in 2H 06.
Originally posted by THT
Yup.
With the recent updates to the Power Mac and iMac (G5 machines), it looks like the Powerbook, iBook and mini will get Yonah in Q2 06, while the Power Mac and iMac will get Conroe/Woodcrest in 2H 06.
I agree, the iBook, PB and Mini will go to Intel first. Minimal speed bumps to these lines this year point to just that, especially since Freescale does have faster chips available than those Apple is using. The only reason that I can see for this is that Apple does not want to appear to slide backword when they transition their first computers to Intel.
Of interest is the price point of the new PM's. Once again the entry is $1999. The last time Apple did that they rereleased an old model at the same time or shortly after to cover the lower end pro market/upper end consumer ($1299-$1599). Right now this is a gap in Apple's lineup. This is an important price point for larger DTP production houses that don't need the full powered computers for all their production work statioins. Typically there are more of these lower end computers in this work environment than the high end computers, and that $400+ price difference adds up quickly. The question is how long will Apple leave this gap in their product line? This could be filled by the first Intel PM's, leaving the high end computers on G5's. This wouldn't be unpresidented, they did it with G4 and G5 PM's. It would also give the market a change to gain confidence iin the Intels while still keeping the "status quo" available in a price point where it is still competative.
Then there is the Xserve, which most people assume will be the last to migrate to Intel. It will soon be ready for an update, and Apple has a lot of options for it. It also might be a good starting point for Apple's transition since servers typically don't run "comercial" software like PhotoShop. I think (though someone will probably correct me here) that most of the software that in neccessary for the server environment is put out by Apple or is recompiled Unix code. Also IT professionals are familiar with Intel server chips so it wouldn't be too hard of a sell to them.
so Apple can hitch a ride cheaply... but that is today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Who knows? That's been the story of PPC.
Promises for tomorrow.....while we wasted yesterdays wondering why it hadn't delivered.
Of course Apple can ride cheaply. That's better for us all.
I doubt our tomorrows will be PPC. It's had it's chance. It's over promised and under delivered.
That will be its legacy.
The latest Powerbook update will be PPC's damning underscore.
Lemon Bon Bon
Originally posted by Programmer
Don't be too enamoured with Intel. They've got issues of their own. IBM isn't building what Apple wanted because Apple isn't a big enough customer and couldn't/wouldn't put up the money to build the chips they alone wanted. Intel happens to be building the chips that Apple wants already, so Apple can hitch a ride cheaply... but that is today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring.
But in fact we do, and that's why Apple is switching and was secretly preparing for it since 10.0.
We always have to remember Moore's so called 2nd law, fab development costs double at every node. It is a pure economics prediction of who has enough money to invest in the development of a new fab with a big enough market to recover the cost and make money. It is a capital investment for any company. 65 nm fabs probably cost about 2 to 3 billion USD. 45 nm? Probably 5 billion.
This means that there will be fewer and fewer companies with the capital to move to the next node - 32 nm could be around 10 billion $! - resulting in only 2 or 3 conglomerates being able to afford next gen fabs. We know that Intel can go it alone and will be first to production. They are in the position of market dominance with the most revenue.
Then there is IBM-AMD-Sony-Toshiba-Chartered about 6 months to a year behind with less than half the fabs no less. There will probably be an East Asian conglomerate TSMC-UMC, whatever.
No need to explain that Freescale will be forever behind, a year a more.
It's really just a bean counting exercise.
And .65 nm in Feb isn't so different from what others are doing. We'll see who ships what, when, and in volume next year. What happens at .45 nm is going to be far more interesting.
Intel will be 6 months ahead of everyone else to 65 nm. Not only that, they will have at least 5 65-nm fabs, plus a dedicated low-power 65 nm fab. That's a manufacturing capacity unparalleled in the history of the world and affords Intel the ultimate parachute to recover from mistakes such as Prescott.
I really can't imagine going to any other company than Intel. In 5 years, Intel may be the only company in the world at 32 nm with everyone else 2 years behind.
It's going to be some lean years for AMD soon. Intel can price them out of profitability with a 65 nm fab lead, then kill them with Merom-based chips after that. If they so choose.