Intel to launch Penryn mobile chips ahead of Macworld

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Intel Corp. plans to formally introduce its Penryn family of next-generation mobile processors in early January, paving the way for significant upgrades to Apple Inc.'s notebook and iMac consumer desktop lines shortly thereafter.



Already in a bitter market share battle with rival AMD, Intel will reportedly up the ante again on January 6, 2008 with its new 45 nanometer Penryn-based Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme dual core processors.



The chips are rumored to make an initial appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which kicks off on January 7, with further appearances likely reserved for Macworld which begins a week later.



The world's largest chipmaker is expected to introduce five new dual core mobile chips, including four Core 2 Duo models ranging from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz, and one Core 2 Extreme at 2.8GHz.



More specifically, entry level 2.1GHz and 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo models will include 3MB of Level 2 cache and wholesale in lots of 1,000 for $209 and $241, respectively. Higher performance versions at 2.5GHz and 2.6GHz will each pack 6MB of Level 2 cache and sell for $316 and $530.



Each of the aforementioned Core 2 Duo models will sport a thermal design power (TDP) of 35 watts, while a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme ($851), also with 6MB of Level 2 cache, will feature a TDP of 44 watts.



Apple is likely to adopt one of the Core 2 Duo Penryn chips for its upcoming sub-notebook, while using the remainder of the chip family to boost the specs of its MacBook Pro and iMac desktop line.



MacBook Pro- and iMac-bound Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile Penryn specs and prices



Currently, the Mac maker employs Merom-based Core 2 Duo chips at 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, and 2.6GHz in its MacBook Pro notebooks, each of which include 4MB of Level 2 cache. For the iMac it uses 2.0GHz (4MB L2 cache) and 2.4GHz (4MB L2 cache) Core 2 Duo processors, and offers a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme (4MB L2 cache) on the highest end unit.



Going forward, a new line of MacBook Pros from Apple are more than likely to include 2.5GHz (6MB L2 cache) and 2.6GHz (6MB L2 cache) Penryn-based Core 2 Duo chips. For the next-generation iMac, the Cupertino-based company is similarly likely to employ 2.1GHz (3MB L2 cache) and 2.5GHz (6MB L2 cache) Penryn-based Core 2 Duos and a 2.8GHz (6MB L2 cache) Core 2 Extreme.



Current 65nm Merom-based iMac retail configs compared to potential 45nm Penryn-based retail configs



Current 65nm Merom-based MacBook Pro retail configs compared to potential 45nm Penryn-based retail configs



In addition to new notebooks and iMacs, Apple also continues to hold another Penryn-based system close at bay -- an 8 Core Mac Pro built around two quad-core Harpertown chips and slated for a release any time the company sees fit.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 50
    iWonder if a four core mac book pro could be a big fat surprise for all of us at wwdc 2008.
  • Reply 2 of 50
    This is why I wish the stupid MacPro would come out now! Debut some crazy fast laptop stuff at MacWorld. Just give us the MacPro now.
  • Reply 3 of 50
    smeesmee Posts: 195member
    Come to us Penryn, come....
  • Reply 4 of 50
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I am so torn about my next Mac upgrade ... after years of using Mac Towers for digital media work (and I still have a Dual G5), would the new (expected) Penryn X 24" iMac top of the line be good enough? I could attach my 23" Cinema to one and have a 24" and a 23" screen area, drool, (and disconnect the second screen when more Graphics card power is required) ... ... if they up the graphics card it it too ... Oh torment! What to do?
  • Reply 5 of 50
    Please SJ, release a MacBook Pro with Penryn at Macworld shipping the same day so I can rid myself of this 1.67GHz Powerbook...
  • Reply 6 of 50
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Maybe it's just me, but Intel upgrades are so common place now that it's hard to get excited.

    The speed gain is pretty minor but I suppose it's getting more and more difficult to squeeze any more power without sacrificing battery life.



    The bigger issue is consumer confusion. How the heck is Joe Consumer going to keep up with which MacBook he's just purchased. Too many cache, FSB and clock speeds to remember. He may very well be misguided in buying an older generation from a retailer still holding on to older stock.



    I realize it's about keeping up with the competition, but I really think it's more to Intel's benefit than Apple's.
  • Reply 7 of 50
    Q'What?? They DROPPED the amount of L2 Cache on the next-gen model????



    WWWWHHHHYYYY?????????



    Boooooooo.



    I'm a whiner.



    -Clive
  • Reply 8 of 50
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    the newer CPUs drop-in replacement CPUs?, will there be change in RAM? DDR2 800 Mhz?
  • Reply 9 of 50
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThunkDifferent.com View Post


    iWonder if a four core mac book pro could be a big fat surprise for all of us at wwdc 2008.



    EDIT: Maybe - didn't notice you said WWDC not MW, quad cores won't be supported until Montevina in May.



    I just came here to post a link to the register article:



    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...penryn_mobile/



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips


    would the new (expected) Penryn X 24" iMac top of the line be good enough?



    Nah, the iMac just isn't a tower replacement IMO. It might be fast enough for what you do but if I had a tower, I'd regret dropping to an iMac.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by satchmo


    The bigger issue is consumer confusion. How the heck is Joe Consumer going to keep up with which MacBook he's just purchased. Too many cache, FSB and clock speeds to remember. He may very well be misguided in buying an older generation from a retailer still holding on to older stock.



    Especially when they use the same identifiers. Penryn is still a Core 2 Duo. They should market with terms like Penryn duo. Just the phrase Core 2 is confusing when you add duo after it. People might think it's a quad if it's core 2 duo rather than revision 2 of the Core architecture with 2 cores.



    I think overall, this Macworld will be quite disappointing. The chip speeds are the same so the benefit I guess should be lower power consumption and less heat but to have no performance improvement would be disappointing. I'd actually just buy the older model. Maybe if the prices are cheaper, it will allow Apple to use the faster chips.



    Oh yeah, AI I think you forgot to mention the Mac Mini update (again). Very silly. Everybody knows it's going to happen as they will not leave the lowest end empty. It just needs Santa Rosa and some HD space bump. Either that or a new model will take its place.



    I wonder given that the Mini is £400 and the Macbook is £600, is there a Penryn chip that would allow them to make a Macbook cheap enough to replace the Mini?
  • Reply 10 of 50
    phizzphizz Posts: 142member
    Dang my plan was to buy an iMac this friday...



    If new Penryns in the iMac, as suggested by this article, were guaranteed for January, I would wait. But I have a feeling we won't see that, so I may buy one this week anyway. I think they will update the Macbook Pro and Mac Pro only in January, as both products are due for a refresh. The iMacs were only out in August, so I bet Apple will use March/April time to refresh them. This would leave the summer for a Macbook refresh.



    I dunno, I guess I just can't see Apple refreshing 3 product lines at once, if only for reasons to spread out the PR and meet regular announcement expectations, as they have done in the past.



    I could be wrong. Thoughts?
  • Reply 11 of 50
    bearbear Posts: 27member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Phizz View Post


    I dunno, I guess I just can't see Apple refreshing 3 product lines at once, if only for reasons to spread out the PR and meet regular announcement expectations, as they have done in the past.



    If you look back over Apple's announcements, a couple of years they introduced a couple of upgrades in a couple of product lines, and then within the next 3 weeks they had two more announcements.



    Apple has been known to bunch up announcements at other times of the year also. Of course Intel could have a higher speed chip that is unannounced and reserved for Apple - this has happened from Intel at least once before, and happened from Motorola on the G4s a couple of times.



    How badly do you need a computer upgrade? It could be worth waiting to see. or it might be worth getting it now. Only you know your own needs.
  • Reply 12 of 50
    DDR 3 800 MHz SODIMMs will be used with these new laptops, instead of DDR 2 800 MHz. They say DDR 3 will reduce the power requirements a bit. Kinda makes me mad, because I didn't know about this a while back and bought 4GB of DDR 2 800 MHz RAM, hoping it would still work with the next upgrade, i.e. in my new ultra portable that I am waiting to be announced at MacWorld.



    I got a feeling that buying 4 GB's of DDR 3 RAM is gonna cost a sweat penny, as, I can't even find anyone online selling it yet.
  • Reply 13 of 50
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Phizz View Post


    Dang my plan was to buy an iMac this friday...



    If new Penryns in the iMac, as suggested by this article, were guaranteed for January, I would wait. But I have a feeling we won't see that, so I may buy one this week anyway. I think they will update the Macbook Pro and Mac Pro only in January, as both products are due for a refresh. The iMacs were only out in August, so I bet Apple will use March/April time to refresh them. This would leave the summer for a Macbook refresh.



    I dunno, I guess I just can't see Apple refreshing 3 product lines at once, if only for reasons to spread out the PR and meet regular announcement expectations, as they have done in the past.



    I could be wrong. Thoughts?



    You should never have bought a new iMac without a processor upgrade. This so-called "new" iMac is only reconfigured with new materials to upgrade the Greenpeace rating. Apple fooled a lot of people on this one. The mouse doesn't even match the iMac- that should have been the hint. Too bad.
  • Reply 14 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThunkDifferent.com View Post


    iWonder if a four core mac book pro could be a big fat surprise for all of us at wwdc 2008.



    Guessing you didn't read the whole announcement. They were talking about dual-core mobile and not quad-core mobile processors. What software are you running that needs a quad-core CPU on a laptop?
  • Reply 15 of 50
    donlphidonlphi Posts: 214member
    I'm actually anticipating the new Mac Pro. They are REALLY due for an upgrade and I have cash in hand waiting to purchase. C'mon Steve, upgrade before this money burns a hole in my pocket.



  • Reply 16 of 50
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThunkDifferent.com View Post


    iWonder if a four core mac book pro could be a big fat surprise for all of us at wwdc 2008.



    Outside of relational databases, there are not many applications that can make good use of four cores. I wouldn't want the power consumption and heat dissipation of four cores in a laptop before 32nm chips start shipping in 2010.
  • Reply 17 of 50
    Looks like I'm waiting until Macworld to get my new iMac after all!
  • Reply 18 of 50
    k.c.k.c. Posts: 60member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I am so torn about my next Mac upgrade ... after years of using Mac Towers for digital media work (and I still have a Dual G5), would the new (expected) Penryn X 24" iMac top of the line be good enough? I could attach my 23" Cinema to one and have a 24" and a 23" screen area, drool, (and disconnect the second screen when more Graphics card power is required) ... ... if they up the graphics card it it too ... Oh torment! What to do?



    You've waited this long and now you just want 'good enough'?



    What's you time worth ?



    That's how you decide.
  • Reply 19 of 50
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Quote:

    Nah, the iMac just isn't a tower replacement IMO. It might be fast enough for what you do but if I had a tower, I'd regret dropping to an iMac.



    Depends on what he does. The iMac is good for everything short of 1080 HD gaming, 3D rendering, scientific floating point calculations, or uncompressed HD editing.



    You don't need a tower to do the 90% of what people do on computers.



    Quote:

    This so-called "new" iMac is only reconfigured with new materials to upgrade the Greenpeace rating. Apple fooled a lot of people on this one.



    Where do you people get this stuff?
  • Reply 20 of 50
    Looks like someone didn't bother to format there Table Cells well in Pages.app.
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