O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Sandy Bridge

  • Tom’s Hardware runs benchmark tests on Haswell prototype chip, finds modest performance gains for next-gen architecture

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    Intel’s new Haswell architecture is en route.

    And its performance gains are about the same as those seen in the move from the Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge architectures.

    A profile of a performance test of a prototype Core i7 Haswell chip by the mighty Tom’s Hardware suggests that it will offer a 7 percent to 13 percent performance gain over equivalent Ivy Bridge CPUs—a similar gain to that experienced with the move from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge.


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    The integrated HD 4600 GPU experiences an impressive speed boost of almost 30 percent, but the website noted that this still won’t allow for comfortable gaming on HD monitors, so gamers will need discrete graphics chips.

    While performance gains reached up to 75 percent in the case of some specific tasks, the gains for typical desktop applications are relatively modest.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Mac mini inventories begin to dwindle, could signal next-gen Ivy Bridge model

    You love your Mac mini.

    And you’re fond of the Ivy Bridge hardware architecture.

    It’s time the two came together to form something nifty.

    Per AppleInsider, numerous sellers are currently out of stock of the Mac mini. Specifically, for the 2.3-gigahertz model, stock-outs are seen at Amazon, MacConnection, and J&R, while the 2.5-gigahertz option is unavailable at Amazon, MacMall, MacConnection and J&R.

    Supplies of the Mac mini Server with a 2-gigahertz Core i7 processor is also running dry, as Amazon advertised as of Monday that it only has a few units left in stock, while MacMall and MacConnection are currently sold out.

    In addition, Macerkopf.de noted on Monday that supply of the Mac mini has also begun to run dry in Germany. Apple typically winds down its inventory ahead of a new product launch, and limited supply at third-party resellers is often one of the first signs that a hardware refresh is forthcoming.

    However, supply fluctuations are not always a sign that a hardware refresh is imminent. For example, Apple’s iMac has seen its availability remain constrained off and on since July, but the all-in-one desktop has not yet been updated.

    An updated Mac mini was not listed by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo among the eight new products Apple is rumored to launch this fall. However, he did indicate that Apple is planning to debut a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, as well as redesigned 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs.

    Apple last updated the Mac mini in July of 2011, adding support for the high-speed Thunderbolt port while ditching the built-in optical disc drive that had been found on previous models. The current Mac mini lineup starts at US$599 and features Intel’s previous-generation Sandy Bridge processors.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Rumor: Next-gen Mac Pro units to feature Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and 8-core Xeon X5 CPUs

    This could be snazzy.

    Per MIC Gadget, Apple’s anticipated Mac Pro update will feature Intel Xeon E5 series processors with either six or eight cores, as well as native support for USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt.

    The new Mac Pro desktop tower has been given a codename of K5B according to the report. It will also reportedly feature 1600MHz memory with 8 channels, SATA III/SAS 6-gigabyte-per-second drive connectivity, and PCI-Express 3 native support for video cards.

    Intel’s new Xeon E5 workstation-class chips first hit the market in early March. They are based on the Sandy Bridge micro-architecture that first found its way into the remainder of Apple’s Mac lineup last year.

    This year, Apple’s MacBook Pros, MacBooks Airs, iMacs and Mac minis are expected to be upgraded to Intel’s latest-generation Ivy Bridge processors. But the Mac Pro won’t be getting Ivy Bridge processors with this update because those chips “handle voltage far worse than their 32nm Sandy Bridge brethren,” according to the report.

    The new SATA III/SAS native connectivity is expected to be a major boost for speedy solid-state drives, while native PCI-Express 3 support with 40 lanes per socket will enhance RAID arrays and video cards. The onboard memory controller has also reportedly been moved to the CPU itself, which will allegedly result in a “massive leap” in performance.

    And along with standard USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt support, memory is said to be likely to see an upgrade to 1600MHz, an improvement from the 1333MHz memory in Apple’s previous-generation Mac Pros. The new desktops are also expected to have 8 physical memory lanes, allowing for 25 percent more memory.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Intel releases 14 low-voltage Ivy Bridge CPUs

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    It’s just a question of when Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors arrive within an updated MacBook Air notebook.

    Per Engadget, Intel on Thursday announced 14 new Ivy Bridge processors, four of which are ultra-low voltage chips that could find their way into Apple’s updated MacBook Air lineup.

    All of the ultra-low voltage lineup has two cores and four threads running at 17 watts thermal power design, along with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000.

    Leading off the new batch of Intel’s third-generation processors is the i7-3667U, with a CPU base frequency of 2 gigahertz running as fast as 3.2 gigahertz with Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Max Frequency, and 4 megabytes of L3 cache. Next down the lists the i7-3517U, which has a base speed of 1.9 gigahertz that ramps up to 3 gigahertz, along with 4 megabytes of L3 cache.

    The lower-end Core i5 ultra-low voltage Ivy Bridge CPUs are led by the i5-3427U, which has a base frequency of 1.8 gigahertz that runs as fast as 2.8 gigahertz with Intel Turbo Boost, with 3 megabytes of L3 cache. And the lowest ultra-low voltage CPU announced Thursday is the i5-3317U, with a base frequency of 1.7 gigahertz, max frequency of 2.6 gigahertz, and 3 megabytes of L3 cache.



    All of Intel’s Ivy Bridge “Ultra Processors” have support for PCIe Generation 3, as well as Intel’s Secure Key, OS Guard, AES/TXT/vPro and Virtualization technology.

    The MacBook Air lineup was last updated nearly a year ago, in July of 2011. The notebooks were equipped with Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, and gained backlit keyboards and Thunderbolt ports.

    Also announced by Intel on Thursday were a handful of dual-core traditional mobile chips that could find their way into other products in Apple’s Mac lineup, specifically the low-end 13-inch MacBook Pro, or the Mac mini. The Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors run at 35W TDP, feature four threads, include Intel HD Graphics 4000, and range in speed from 3.1 gigahertz to 3.6 gigahertz with Intel Turbo Boost.

    Intel launched its first batch of Ivy Bridge processors in late April, declaring them the “world’s first 22-nanometer product.” A total of 13 high-end quad-core chips were released in the first round, and it’s believed some of them could make their way into Apple’s updated MacBook Pro lineup.

    Rumors have suggested that Apple plans to launch new Macs at its forthcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, which will kick off on June 11. Some reports have indicated that Apple will unveil new MacBook Pros and iMacs at the event, but little has been said of an impending MacBook Air refresh.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • “We Want a New Mac Pro” group page gaining traction/support

    Apple’s Mac Pro line really hasn’t been updated in a while.

    Which is growing disconcerting to some users.

    Per AppleInsider, a group of users has begun a “We Want a New Macpro” group page on the social networking site had garnered over 4,000 likes as of late Thursday and a number of comments from group members calling for either a Mac Pro update or concrete information from Apple about its plans for the high-end machine.

    According to the page, the petition was started by Lou Borella, a self-described “professional editor and graphic animator” in the New York City area, earlier in May.

    On May 9, Borella posted an open letter to Apple asking for “a little clarity” about the Mac Pro.

    “Its been neglected for far too long. We realize all the success of the iPad and iPhone and we’re really happy with our new toys,” he wrote. “But unfortunately many of us need to make decisions on hardware for professional uses that allow us to make a living.”

    The letter went on to say that professional software applications, such as Adobe Creative Suite 6, AVID, Pro Tools and Smoke, require “the most powerful hardware available.” In addition, creative professionals need configurable systems for their business.

    “The iMac is not the answer for these situations,” he said.

    Borella is seeking for a “timeframe” for a new Mac Pro update or official confirmation as to whether the line is “dead.”

    “It’s not too much to ask. We cannot wait any longer and it’s really not fair to string us along like this,” Borella concluded, also signing the letter on behalf of the “Creative Community.”

    According to an informal poll posted to the page last week, 267 people are willing to wait until “shortly after” the Worldwide Developers Conference in mid-June, while 47 people said they would wait until the end of this year. 143 respondents said they would wait until the Mac Pro was “officially discontinued” before taking the next step.

    A second poll found that 197 people are willing to wait because their “current computer still works fine.” 131 others said they would build a “Hackintosh,” a custom-built computer running an unauthorized copy of OS X. Finally, 47 people said they would switch back to Microsoft Windows.

    Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on both the petition and its plans for the Mac Pro.

    Apple’s neglect of the Mac Pro was especially felt last year as all of the other Mac models received upgrades adding Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge processors. Some have even suggested that Thunderbolt is Apple’s alternative to high-end workstations.

    The Mac Pro’s important to Apple’s bottom line has diminished as the company’s profits have increasingly skewed toward mobile devices and the iPhone has come to account for the bulk of its revenue. Apple sold 1.2 million desktops in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to 2.82 million notebooks during the period. Mac revenue for the quarter amounted to US$5.1 billion, much less than the US$22.7 billion in revenue from the iPhone and related products.

    Though Apple has in the past been known as a niche hardware and software maker catering to creative professionals, the company has shown a willingness to adapt to better serve its mainstream customers. For instance, it announced plans to discontinue its Xserve server in 2010. Though the company redirected customers to its Mac Pro as a Mac-based server alternative, it has curiously not updated the Mac Pro since July 2010.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.