Apple + AMD = MacBook?

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kukito

kukito

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http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/11/16/5990

I would love to see a Mac laptop using a Turion X2 with an ATI chipset and GPU, integrated or discrete, as long as it's cheaper than the current MacBook. They could also use the 35 watt Athlon X2s for the Mac mini, like HP is doing with their Pavillion Slimline. This is all speculation of course but nobody would have thought 18 months ago that Apple would be switching to Intel. Apple has had a working relationship with ATI for years so it's not totally surprising. The iMacs and MBPs all use ATI graphics right now. The rumored xMac could also use use Athlon X2s and Apple is a founding member of the Hypertransport Consortium. They designed motherboards with HT for use with their PPC workstations. Hmmm. On the other hand I doubt the Apple/Intel honeymoon could be over so quickly.
 
Frozen_Fallout

Frozen_Fallout

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http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/11/16/5990

I would love to see a Mac laptop using a Turion X2 with an ATI chipset and GPU, integrated or discrete, as long as it's cheaper than the current MacBook. They could also use the 35 watt Athlon X2s for the Mac mini, like HP is doing with their Pavillion Slimline. This is all speculation of course but nobody would have thought 18 months ago that Apple would be switching to Intel. Apple has had a working relationship with ATI for years so it's not totally surprising. The iMacs and MBPs all use ATI graphics right now. The rumored xMac could also use use Athlon X2s and Apple is a founding member of the Hypertransport Consortium. They designed motherboards with HT for use with their PPC workstations. Hmmm. On the other hand I doubt the Apple/Intel honeymoon could be over so quickly.
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Wow that is crazy! Anyway I think this might be good for AMD if it is true and AMD could always use the market share :p.

I don't know if this is actualy going to happen or if this is more about ATI then AMD. If they are looking for motherboards and GPUs. Might be intresting if it is for AMD CPUs though
 
kukito

kukito

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Yeah, this would be a good move for AMD even without the CPUs. The chipsets and GPUs would be a great way for Apple to spread the business and maintain good relations with AMD for possible future projects.
 
xxenclavexx

xxenclavexx

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What good will it do if they put an AMD chip in a Mac Book, they still are gona sell it for too much, apple computers overcharges.
 
Frozen_Fallout

Frozen_Fallout

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What good will it do if they put an AMD chip in a Mac Book, they still are gona sell it for too much, apple computers overcharges.
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I don't care for my self since I probably wont be getting an AMD CPU or a Mac any time soon. But it might just help AMD stay in the game and get the cash thats need to help them build a better CPU. Now thats something that I want!

But until AMD can make a CPU that is at least = to if not better then Intel's CPU, I guess I will have to buy from Intel for my next computer. But that might take a while and if AMD can get something worth buying out there I will. Just because I root for the underdog doesn't mean I'm stupid :p
 
kukito

kukito

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Like I said, if they are cheaper than their current offerings I might go for it. Right now a MacBook with a 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo is $1100. With the Amazon rebate it would go down to $1000. That's a Core 2 Duo, not some Celeron M or Sempron mobile. If Apple uses AMD to lower the price of the entry-level laptop I would be more than happy to consider it. But again, all of this is speculation. Right now I'm budgeting for a Santa Rosa MacBook this spring but would be more than happy to consider an alternative CPU/GPU/chipset from AMD/ATI. I don't need my laptop to be super-powerful. Right now I'm winging it with a cheap Acer that uses a mobile Sempron but I'm ready to give that to my parents (as a DTR) and upgrade to something better (dual core), smaller (13") and lighter (<5.5 lbs). I'm not currently a Mac user but I'm pretty sure I will be within the next few months. And while I can afford the price premium I hate to throw money away. I'll continue to pass on Apple for the dekstop but for a portable I'm almost sold.
 
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Doughbuy

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Apple ain't gonna get AMD for a while, because it will then piss off its good friends Intel, and Apple definitly ain't gonna win if Intel's pissed... especially since AMD doesn't have enough stock on hand to handle Dell they definitly can't give Apple either...

Apple will stick with pure Intel for a while to come. If they do sell out, I'm fairly certain the C2D Macbooks will rise in price as Intel charges Apple more for them...
 
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sweetpants

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My question is this... How do you know Apple is eyeing AMD for CPU's?

Why can't this be for GPU's instead? Last time I checked Apple did still use ATI GPU's in their system and since AMD now owns ATI...
 
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qcmadness

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My question is this... How do you know Apple is eyeing AMD for CPU's?

Why can't this be for GPU's instead? Last time I checked Apple did still use ATI GPU's in their system and since AMD now owns ATI...
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http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20061115PR207.html

Taiwan passive component makers are witnessing an aggressive increase in orders for high-capacitance multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), with most of the MLCCs having a capacitance of 22μF, and being for use in an AMD-based Apple notebook, sources at the makers noted......
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sweetpants

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My question is this... How do you know Apple is eyeing AMD for CPU's?

Why can't this be for GPU's instead? Last time I checked Apple did still use ATI GPU's in their system and since AMD now owns ATI...
Click to expand...

http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20061115PR207.html

Taiwan passive component makers are witnessing an aggressive increase in orders for high-capacitance multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), with most of the MLCCs having a capacitance of 22μF, and being for use in an AMD-based Apple notebook, sources at the makers noted......
Click to expand...

I take anything from digitimes with a grain of salt...

I still don't see how aggressive purchasing of MLCC's means CPU rather than GPU's... *shrugs*
 
elpresidente2075

elpresidente2075

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I saw one go for 89 million US dollars a little while ago. Probably fake, but hey, 89 million is 89 million...


Sorry...


Apple + AMD would be great for AMD, but would go against the way Apple has been doing their business for a long time. They have very limited hardware that their software runs on so that they have much higher quality control and can limit their technical support staff. The fact that they went with a plain ol' x86 processor from Intel disappoints me, but such is life. Apple won't go for AMD for a long time, if ever. Oh well, hooray for Dell buying into AMD!...
 
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Doughbuy

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Either way, Apple blows, deserves to die, and should never be mentioned on this forum. Only thing worse than an AMD/Intel Fanboy is an Apple Fanboy... actually, thats the worst kind of Fanboy there is...

At the IDF, Intel allowed the Apple speaker to talk quite a while about the new partnership with Intel and whatnot... and smacks dell right in the face...

Like I said, you don't want to piss Intel off...
 
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Houndsteeth

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Actually, the worst kind of fanboyism out there is the whole Micro$haft crowd. Anyone who is willing to accept an OS that is halfway adequate and way overpriced is a shill for Gates and Ballmer. Vista will be driven by business purchasers who don't know any better...and they will push the problems off to technically clueless MCSE IT clods who worship at the altar of M$, who will suggest that the problem isn't because the software is inadequate and buggy, but that the servers need to be upgraded, as well as all the other computers, to the latest version of M$ software.

At least Apple has been following a steady roadmap and implementing features gradually, making the adoption process for Apple users fairly simple. You wouldn't dream of loading Vista on a six year old computer, but I bet you could find several Apples at least that old (and older) running the latest and greatest OS with ease.

Argue what you want, but Apple deserves their success. They are the research and development that M$ doesn't have to pay for (think; how many of the features in Vista are there because Apple drove the innovation?). And I think they will remain in the top 5 of manufacturers for a long time yet to come.

And yes, they do make expensive computers. And they price out comparable to Dell, HP and Gateway. If you are a business purchaser, that makes a huge difference. But, since this forum focuses mainly on the enthusiast who builds their own computer in the first place, I don't expect Apple products to be all that popular here.

Ask yourself this question...how many of you would actually pony up to buy a copy of OS X if Apple were to open the license to non-Apple hardware? I think the adoption rate would actually be a lot larger than expected, especially if the upgrade path to Vista is going to be as bad as I have seen with the betaware Microsoft has been pumping out.

Now, I am not an Apple fanboy. Lord knows there is a lot about the company I can't stand. But I will be the first to tell you that this industry needs companies like Apple to drive innovation and to keep M$ in a forward direction rather than stagnating in "just good enough" while they rake in the dough.
 
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sweetpants

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And yes, they do make expensive computers. And they price out comparable to Dell, HP and Gateway. If you are a business purchaser, that makes a huge difference. But, since this forum focuses mainly on the enthusiast who builds their own computer in the first place, I don't expect Apple products to be all that popular here.
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Eh I don't know about that... I think Dell, HP, and Gateway can just about undercut Apple in everyway.

Granted Dell, HP, and Gateway DO have a lot of PC's that are just as expensive if not more...
 
A

AngryClown

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I do tech support for Apple. Freakin' Maytag man. Secure, stable, simple to purchase and operate. Yeah, they suck. More of the market share each year, they suck.
 
Frozen_Fallout

Frozen_Fallout

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Actually, the worst kind of fanboyism out there is the whole Micro$haft crowd. Anyone who is willing to accept an OS that is halfway adequate and way overpriced is a shill for Gates and Ballmer. Vista will be driven by business purchasers who don't know any better...and they will push the problems off to technically clueless MCSE IT clods who worship at the altar of M$, who will suggest that the problem isn't because the software is inadequate and buggy, but that the servers need to be upgraded, as well as all the other computers, to the latest version of M$ software.

At least Apple has been following a steady roadmap and implementing features gradually, making the adoption process for Apple users fairly simple. You wouldn't dream of loading Vista on a six year old computer, but I bet you could find several Apples at least that old (and older) running the latest and greatest OS with ease.

Argue what you want, but Apple deserves their success. They are the research and development that M$ doesn't have to pay for (think; how many of the features in Vista are there because Apple drove the innovation?). And I think they will remain in the top 5 of manufacturers for a long time yet to come.

And yes, they do make expensive computers. And they price out comparable to Dell, HP and Gateway. If you are a business purchaser, that makes a huge difference. But, since this forum focuses mainly on the enthusiast who builds their own computer in the first place, I don't expect Apple products to be all that popular here.

Ask yourself this question...how many of you would actually pony up to buy a copy of OS X if Apple were to open the license to non-Apple hardware? I think the adoption rate would actually be a lot larger than expected, especially if the upgrade path to Vista is going to be as bad as I have seen with the betaware Microsoft has been pumping out.

Now, I am not an Apple fanboy. Lord knows there is a lot about the company I can't stand. But I will be the first to tell you that this industry needs companies like Apple to drive innovation and to keep M$ in a forward direction rather than stagnating in "just good enough" while they rake in the dough.
Click to expand...

Now I agree that I hate MS for what it is but I use Windows because I'm a gamer and because I love to build hardware with my own two hands the two things Apple cant give me. But I try and make sure as little of my money as possible goes to M$. I don't know if I would adopt OS X if I could get it on my computer but that's because I'm not use to it at all. I know Windows and I have a feel for it when I network with my friends at a LAN and when I want to get into the guts of it I know what I'm doing where I would have to relearn everything with OS X.

I have spent about 2 hours (all together) at most in my life working on OS X. I like it yes but I'm not use to it and I don't know it. I have spent years of time working with Windows. It would take allot more then just the ability to use it to make me adopt it
 
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