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

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
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.
«134

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 62
    In the UK you now get a free iPod Touch when you sign up to the contract over the phone.
  • Reply 2 of 62
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    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.
  • Reply 3 of 62
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    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
  • Reply 4 of 62
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    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.
  • Reply 5 of 62
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    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.
  • Reply 6 of 62
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emig647 View Post


    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.
  • Reply 7 of 62
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    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.
  • Reply 8 of 62
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emig647 View Post


    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.
  • Reply 9 of 62
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emig647 View Post


    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.
  • Reply 10 of 62
    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.
  • Reply 11 of 62
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    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.
  • Reply 12 of 62
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    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
  • Reply 13 of 62
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE3NjY



    all kinds of systems in refurbished section, updates are soon???
  • Reply 14 of 62
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    I'd go with dual G5 Quad processors myself.....
  • Reply 15 of 62
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    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 ...
  • Reply 16 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emig647 View Post


    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?
  • Reply 17 of 62
    phongphong Posts: 219member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shanmugam View Post


    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.
  • Reply 18 of 62
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    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?
  • Reply 19 of 62
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    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.
  • Reply 20 of 62
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    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.
Sign In or Register to comment.