Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.06.15
This Week's Macintel News
Gene Steinberg reminds us that Apple has already moved 80% of
its line from PowerPC to Intel, and Intel says their new Core 2 CPUs
(widely expected at the heart of the Power Mac replacement) should
reach 3.2 GHz by year-end. In addition to faster, more powerful,
and more efficient CPUs, Intel's G965 graphics processor adds high
definition video to the chip found in the Mac mini and MacBook.
Intel looks to go beyond performance per Watt and focus on what
they call "satisfaction per Watt" - building an overall better
system instead of putting the focus primarily on the CPU. It will
be interesting to see where this takes us.
On the low end of the PC market, expect to see more Intel CPUs
as the company cuts prices of their aging Pentium chips by up to
60%.
PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing news is covered
in The 'Book Review. General
Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review.
Macs on Intel: The 80% Factor
Gene Steinberg, The Mac Night Owl, writes:
"Just think about it: A year ago, Steve Jobs promised that Macs
would switch to Intel before the end of 2007. To think that this
daunting process is nearly all done 18 months early. Right now, in
case you tuned in late, everything but the Power Mac and Xserve
have been upgraded, and since Intel's new desktop chips are due
beginning next month, it's reasonable to expect that upgrade will
be completed by fall with few serious complications."
- Link:
Macs on Intel: The 80% Factor
Intel Core 2 Chips Will Scale to 3.2 GHz
Cult of iPod's Leander Kahney and Pete Mortensen say:
"Intel showed off, in detail, its plans for summer-shipping
microchips, some of which are going to end up in forthcoming Apple
desktops, servers and notebook computers.
"As reported by Apple Insider and ExtremeTech, Anand
Chandrasekher, Intel's senior vice president and general manager of
its marketing group, made the introductions of the upcoming Core 2
line, codenamed Conroe (desktop), Merom (mobile) and Woodcrest
(server).
"The company also took the opportunity to debut its Broadwater
chipset, now named the P965, which jetisons PC legacy technologies
(Intel plus Apple is a match made in heaven, no?).
"Of most interest, Chandrasekher talked some vague, if promising
numbers. Besides disclosing that Woodcrest, now known as the Core 2
Extreme, would ship at 2.93 GHz before ramping up to 3.2 GHz later
in the year (doesn't he know it's impossible to ship a Mac at 3.0
GHz or higher?"
- Link: Intel
Core 2 Chips Will Scale to 3.2 GHz
Reducing Heat, Power Consumption Prompted
Apple's Switch to Intel
Computerworld's Sumner Lemon reports:
"It's been a year since Apple announced plans to use Intel
processors in its computers, and the Cupertino-based company is
pushing the world's largest chip maker in new directions, according
to a top Intel executive."
"One area of importance to Apple is heat dissipation. Intel's
ability to deliver mobile chips that consume less power while
offering better performance was one of the reasons that convinced
Apple to make the switch from IBM's rival PowerPC chips."
- Link: Power
Consumption Prompted Apple's Intel Switch
Intel G965 Chipset Does High Definition
Video
The Register's Lars-Göran Nilsson reports:
"Computex 2006 Although Intel officially announced the P965
chipset yesterday, today's press briefing contained some further
information about the other chipsets in the 965 family, a.k.a.
'Broadwater'. Intel talked about the G965 for Viiv and Q965 for
vPro. As we reported earlier, the integrated graphics core will
indeed be known as GMA X3000 for the G965, but on the Q965 it will
be the GMA 3000.
"There was no talk about 3D performance at all during the
presentation, as Intel concentrated on video playback performance.
The marketing bumf mentions clock speeds of up to 667 MHz for the
GMA X3000, although there's no mention of the speeds of the 3000.
The GMA X3000 supports DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 3.0 as well as
OpenGL 1.5, but most importantly it's up to Windows Vista Premium
standard.
"Intel Clear Video Technology is the marketing name for Intel's
PC-to-TV connection technology and there will also be support for
HDMI built into the G965 chipset, although it's unlikely to be
standard on all motherboards. The G965 supports 720p, 1080i and
1080p HD resolutions and it'll do de-interlacing."
Apple's Mac mini and MacBook use Intel's G960 GPU, so the G965
could be in their future. dk
- Link: Intel
Does HD with G965 Chipset
More Efficient Intel Chips Coming Soon
IDG News Service's Ben Ames reports:
"Researchers at Intel have found a better way to insulate
circuits, enabling them to save energy as they pack more
transistors onto each processor.
"Intel could start building chips with these new 'tri-gate
transistors' by 2010, enabling either a 45 percent increase in
speed or a 35 percent reduction in total power used, compared to
the company's current 65-nanometer process transistors, said Mike
Mayberry, director of components research and vice president of
Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group."
"Intel has said it will be making more chips with 65nm geometry
than 90nm by the third quarter of 2006, and move to 45nm in 2007
and 32nm by 2009."
- Link: Intel
Says More Efficient Chips Are Coming Soon
Intel to Focus on Satisfaction per Watt
The Register's Ashlee Vance reports:
"Intel has not yet reached the point where it can talk about
server and desktop chip performance per watt metrics with a
straight face, but the vendor has already tired of the concept. In
the next three to five years, Intel plans to push the industry
toward a new, more nebulous metric.
"'Performance per watt is very misleading,' Raj Yavatkar, an
Intel fellow, told The Register. 'Rather than focusing on
performance per watt let's look at satisfaction per watt.'
"Apparently, Satisfaction Per Watt (SPW - pronounced spew, we
believe) leads to focusing on complete system performance rather
than just chip performance. Intel has zeroed in on a number of
tweaks that it can make to PCs and servers to improve power
consumption, noise and other features. Customers care more about
Satisfaction Per Watt than just performance per watt and will
demand that companies take care of a broad set of needs, Yavatkar
said, speaking here during the Intel Labs press day."
- Link: Intel
Tires of Performance per Watt Chatter
Intel Targets sub-$1,000 Desktops with Core 2
Chips
eWeek's John G. Spooner reports:
"Intel wants its forthcoming Core 2 Duo desktop chips to be very
popular.
"To that end, the chip maker will aim the dual-core chips, due
to start shipping in July, at desktops priced under $1,000, versus
restricting them to more expensive hardware.
"Although those looking for extra performance or exclusivity
will be able to purchase one of Intel's Core 2 Extreme chips."
- Link: Intel Seeks
Mainstream Acceptance with Core 2 Chips
Intel Does Water Cooling
HardMac's Lionel reports:
"Source : Présence PC
"Intel is working on watercooling systems that are quite similar
to those we currently have in a high end G5."
- Link: Intel Does Water
Cooling
Intel Pledges 60% Price Cuts on Pentiums
The Register's John Oates reports:
"Intel says new technology will let it get chips to market
faster, allowing it to cut prices by as much as 60 per cent.
"An Intel spokesman told Reuters: 'We have a more aggressive
product and manufacturing ramp, so those older Pentium products
will move down faster. It's not like we're cutting prices for the
sake of cutting prices.'"
- Link: Intel
Pledges 60 Per Cent Price Cuts
Intel Will Cut Pentium Prices by 60% to Gain
Market Share
Bloomberg reports:
"Customers of Intel Corp. said the world's biggest computer-chip
maker plans to reduce prices on Pentium processors by as much as 60
percent to reclaim market share from Advanced Micro Devices
Inc.
"Executives at Micro-Star International Co. and Gigabyte
Technology Co., two of Taiwan's biggest makers of circuit boards
for computers, said Intel officials told them the price cuts will
start July 23. Tom Beermann, a spokesman for Santa Clara,
California-based Intel, declined to comment."
- Link:
Intel Tells Customers It Will Cut Prices by 60% to Gain
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