backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 81 comment(s) - last by silentdrowning.. on Oct 16 at 6:12 PM

13" MacBook casing  (Source: MacX.cn)

15" MacBook Pro casing  (Source: MacX.cn)

  (Source: MacX.cn)
Apple is moving ahead with NVIDIA chipsets for its new MacBooks

There have been a number of rumors swirling around Apple's upcoming notebook refresh scheduled for October 14. The most recent rumor was that the cases for the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks would be carved from a single brick of aluminum.

This weekend, however, a fresh round of new information on the new notebooks has leaked onto the web in the form of new pictures from MacX.cn. The site has captured high-quality images of both the 13" MacBook and the 15" MacBook Pro. Both notebooks feature an aluminum body and will have a keyboard reminiscent of the MacBook Air. The notebooks also incorporate a large multi-touch trackpad up front along with a latchless lid.

The latest pictures also show that both the MacBook and MacBook Pro will feature relatively thin profiles and a slot-loading optical drive on the right hand side of the machine.

Perhaps the most interesting new bit of information regarding the new notebooks is the use of the NVIDIA MCP79 platform instead of an Intel chipset. Reports of Apple's switch to NVIDIA chipsets was first rumored back in late July, and those whispers are now turning into rather loud screaming.

PC Perspective's Ryan Shrout says that while the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros will continue to use Intel processors, they will incorporate the MCP79 chipset. The move will benefit Apple in quite a few ways:

  • MCP79 is a single-chip solution instead of the usual Northbridge/Southbridge pairing with Intel's notebook chipsets. The use of a single-chip solution allows for Apple to use less PCB real estate.
  • MCP79 incorporates a GeForce 9300/9400-class integrated GPU which should totally surpass both of Intel's current IGP solutions for notebooks (3100, 4500-series graphics) in performance.
  • HybridSLI technology will allow users to switch between integrated GeForce 9300/9400 for better battery life and a discrete GeForce 9600 for better performance on the MacBook Pro models.   

Other features supported by the chipset include a 1066MHz FSB, support for DDR2/DDR3 memory, PCI Express 2.0, and HDMI output.

This latest round of news from the Apple camp has already sent current Mac users into a frenzy on sites like Apple Insider and Mac Rumors. Most welcome the switch to NVIDIA's chipsets for the performance benefits, but many others have expressed reservations due to the recent news of problem-plagued NVDIA mobile GPUs.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Finally Apple do something logical.
By WikiChici on 10/12/2008 6:26:40 PM , Rating: 2
Instead of using budget Intel chipsets.




RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By hadifa on 10/12/2008 7:00:17 PM , Rating: 4
Using Nvidia's chip is a good move as far as video performance is concerned.

Intel's onboard graphic has horrible performance and I'm not even talking about 3D games. It can't cope with some videos and even lags in some old 2D games. I have never dared to run a 3D game on it no matter how old the game is.

Hope this encourages Intel to improve the performance of it's chipset.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By StevoLincolnite on 10/12/2008 11:47:10 PM , Rating: 2
I think you are stretching the low-performance numbers a little bit.

I have the Intel x3100 IGP in my notebook, although not near as powerful as my crossfire 4850 desktop, it still manages some games fine like, FarCry, OldOblivion, Need for Speed: Most wanted, Fable, Call of Duty 4, Fear, Halo 2, Spore, Freelancer, Homeworld 2, WarCraft 3, Half Life 2, Doom 3.

I did manage to get Crysis to run, and have done some config tweaking in order to improve performance, but it's slow going.

With MPEG-2 Hardware Acceleration and VC-1 Hardware Acceleration - my DVD and downloaded video content runs flawlessly even h.264 runs without a hick-up.

Yes they are *bad* in comparison to what else is available, but half that problem is the driver team which seemed like it took 12 months just to enable Hardware TnL.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By headbox on 10/12/2008 11:55:22 PM , Rating: 5
I think YOU are the one stretching it. 3100 playing Doom 3, COD 4, and HL2?

Yeah right.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By Samus on 10/13/2008 12:19:55 AM , Rating: 2
Don't forget Crysis. Crysis ROCKS his X3100. 60FPS native res! You don't have to believe him because he knows its true so we're just a bunch of know-nothing tree humpers.


By StevoLincolnite on 10/13/2008 2:34:38 AM , Rating: 2
I never said I got crysis running smooth at native resolution at 60fps, It is still not smooth enough for my liking even with everything on lowest, however my goal is not to win the graphics and performance contest running Crysis on an x3100, Crysis is perfectly playable at around 20-25fps however, then again smooth "playability" - is really personal taste.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By StevoLincolnite on 10/13/2008 2:31:46 AM , Rating: 3
Half Life 2: - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeGok2zdMXA

CoD4 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=qqDqf9RIA94 - I have it running better than that thanks to updated drivers, and config tweaks.

Doom 3 is a strange one, runs better with all settings on max than it dies on lowest.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=1sKJVk3-Urg - however, if you tweak doom enough you can get it to run on a 12mb Voodoo 2.
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/gallery_index.asp...


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By Ticholo on 10/13/2008 5:16:54 PM , Rating: 2
Doom3 on a Voodoo2 is priceless!
And it doesn't look half-bad, either.


By Clauzii on 10/14/2008 2:08:23 PM , Rating: 2
Even the FPS looks ok :O

Yes, Voodoo2 was IT back then. Shame 3dfx had to go :(


By killerroach on 10/13/2008 8:31:12 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
3100 playing Doom 3, COD 4, and HL2? Yeah right.


I know a 3100 isn't much, but Doom 3 and HL2 run pretty well on a Radeon 9500 Pro. If it can be run on a mid-range card from six years ago without much hassle, I think even a 3100 can do it. :)


By FI7Camaro on 10/13/2008 7:06:29 PM , Rating: 2
l0l0l0l0l dudez0rz my x3100 r0x0rz Ur s0kx0rz


By gescom on 10/13/2008 11:12:13 AM , Rating: 2
review is here
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4...

"If you're going to game even casually on your laptop, unfortunately, I don't think the X3100 can be settled for."

well, see it for yourself.


By omnicronx on 10/14/2008 9:44:10 AM , Rating: 2
In then end does it really matter? As long as the video card has hardware decoding for mpeg2 vc1 and h264, then chances are it is more than enough for a Mac user. You are not going to see gamers suddenly switch to Mac's because of a better laptop video card.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 10/12/2008 7:05:00 PM , Rating: 2
My question is how will they be able to move the price of the 13" MacBook downward -- as it is rumored -- with an NVIDIA chipset, multi-touch, and an aluminum casing.

It seems as though Apple would have received much better pricing from Intel as far as processors/chipsets go versus using an Intel processor and an NVIDIA chipset.

Or maybe Apple is just willing to make do with slimmer margins. Meh, I guess we'll find out on Tuesday.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By mmntech on 10/12/2008 7:41:57 PM , Rating: 2
The last iBook featured a discrete Radeon 9550 GPU and sold for $999. Then the Macbook came out with the Intel garbage integrated GPUs and they raised the price by $100. So yes, Apple can do a price cut if they're willing to with the nVidia GPU. The base model vanilla Macbook really should be no more than $1000, even for an Apple product.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By quiksilvr on 10/12/2008 8:34:41 PM , Rating: 5
If Apple plans to be competitive in the PC market, they have to do the standard things that the big boys are doing too:

1) Finally offer LED back lighting on their 13" models. Seriously, EVERY company has been doing this for months now.

2) 2 GB of RAM standard on their base model. I don't care what people say; you NEED 2 GB of RAM, EVEN for Leopard to ensure that it runs smoothly with all the bells and whistles animations.

3) DVD burning drive standard. No more of this CD burning Combo drive nonsense. Its 2008, DVD burning is standard.

4) A fingerprint reader. It may seem minute, but I'm surprised that they haven't done this.

5) This one I don't see happening but really REALLY wish that they do. A REALISTIC AND REASONABLY PRICED WARRANTY. Seriously, where is the Accidental Damage coverage? HP offers 1 year coverage for just $110, and you can just pay more if you want to keep it.

6) Another one I don't see happening. One base model and just customize from there. I don't want to spend 200 bucks for the higher end model when all I want is DVD burning. Have ONE base model and let us customize from there. Don't force us to pay the extra cash when all we want is one upgrade and not three.


By quiksilvr on 10/12/2008 8:36:09 PM , Rating: 3
Correction to 5; I meant to say you pay more for extra YEARS of coverage.


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By Doormat on 10/12/2008 9:07:55 PM , Rating: 2
I don't disagree with any of your points, and I'm a Mac fan.

I still think its wishful thinking though, just because I dont think Apple wants to slash margins that much, and they do know how to squeeze the extra buck out of the customer.

I did look at the Best Buy ad that came out today, and what $799 and $999 buys in terms of laptops. DVD burning should be standard (even though I rarely use my optical drive on my MB - only to upgrade the OS and install MS Office).

Applecare is kind of expensive, but the service is excellent. I make a reservation online, then I walk in and have it fixed. I had a HDD die on me in May, I made the reservation for 9PM at 5 in the afternoon. I dropped it off at 9PM at night, they called me by noon the next day to come and pick it up. Then even replaced my bottom lid (where the keyboard is) because it was starting to crack on the edges).

Thats one of my worries - as Apple's market share starts to grow, the Genius Bar gets overcrowded with customers. Though if Apple can make their devices more reliable, maybe less visits to the genius bar for everyone balances out growth...


RE: Finally Apple do something logical.
By quiksilvr on 10/13/2008 2:40:14 AM , Rating: 2
But there is no Accidental Damage coverage. If you drop it, if you spill anything on it, you're SOL. Why they don't offer Accidental Damage is something I have yet to figure out (unless they do but I never see it offered in the online store).