Intel's Mobile Ivy Bridge CPU Line-Up Revealed: MacBook Pro and Air Due in May

[Akshay Masand]

The folks over at VR-Zone recently leaked a road map for Intel’s next generation of mobile processors which will be called Ivy Bridge. As of right now, Apple uses Intel’s mobile Sandy Bridge processors in its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks.

The upcoming mobile processors will offer a slew of benefits for Apple’s notebook lines including: opening the door to quad-core processors in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, bringing significantly faster graphics, and bringing new OpenCL capabilities in the MacBook Air. Ivy Bridge will also support ultra-high resolution displays and Intel has committed to Thunderbolt support in addition to USB 3.0 in the platform.

VR-Zone has provided details on a variety of processors with Thermal Design Power (TDP) ranging from 17W to 55W. The TDP tends to be the limiting factor in the size of Apple’s notebook designs, with Apple using 17W processors in the MacBook Air designs and 35W-45W processors in the MacBook pro. The new processors will include the improved Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics chipset. As of right now, the 35W-45W processors found in the MacBook Pro will range from Dual/Quad Core 2.6 GHz to 2.9 GHz with single core turbo speeds of up to 3.6 GHz. The 17W processors found in the MacBook Air will range from Dual Core 1.8 GHz to 2.0 GHz with single core turbo speeds of up to 2.8 – 3.2 GHz.



The choice of processors Apple decides to choose from will largely depend on how dramatically the Cupertino giant redesigns the MacBook Pro next year. Right now, rumors of Apple working on ultra-thin models that may represent a complete overhaul of some of the MacBook Pro models making them similar to the Air in design continue to fly around. The folks over at VR-Zone note that the TDPs on these processors are programmable; therefore Apple may be able to reduce their TDPs at the expense of processor speed.



It is also being reported that the new mobile platform is expected to launch around May, with some high-end processors possibly launching in April. This gives us a rough estimate of when we should expect updates to Apple’s MacBook lineups.

Source: VR-Zone

[xxhorseriderxxx]

Okay, if they can fit that kindof power into a macbook air, why the hell aren't there tablets out there using that chipset? I call BS. Forget thin, I want a tablet to play Crysis on.

[G113764]

Okay, if they can fit that kindof power into a macbook air, why the hell aren't there tablets out there using that chipset? I call BS. Forget thin, I want a tablet to play Crysis on.

+1

[runey71]

Okay, if they can fit that kindof power into a macbook air, why the hell aren't there tablets out there using that chipset? I call BS. Forget thin, I want a tablet to play Crysis on.

Well first up the chipset doesn't exist yet. Next would be the size difference between an air and a tablet. An air might be small but it's still a brick compared to a tablet. Finally the specs don't say squat about performance. Clock speed and performance are two very different things. Real performance won't be known until a real product is released utilizing the chipset and processors.

[spazturtle]

Okay, if they can fit that kindof power into a macbook air, why the hell aren't there tablets out there using that chipset? I call BS. Forget thin, I want a tablet to play Crysis on.

Most tablets use CPU's that use les than 1W

[arem]

I only care about one thing... that the new MBP has USB3 included. Better battery life and all that is great, but USB3 is what I've been waiting for.