Macbook Air and Macbook Pro Notebooks Installed With AMD Processors? Why Not?
Ever since they decided to shift from PowerPC in 2006, the latest incarnations of Apple desktops and laptops were powered by Intel processors. This exclusive partnership is about to change dramatically because Apple is recently in deep talks with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Representatives of AMD have been spotted regularly visiting Apple headquarters in Cupertino California. Company insiders confirmed that Intel’s chief rival is working closely with Apple in testing some of their processors. Is this the start of AMD Llano processor’s domination of the laptop market? Probably.
This is not surprising since Intel has managed to upset Apple by refusing to roll out more processors for Mac laptops and workstations. Worst, the bitter fight between Intel and Nvidia has gravely affected Apple’s future releases.
AMD Processor Could be Installed in Future Macbook and Macbook Air Notebook Models
The latest Intel iCore processor design has blocked the possibility of adding Nvidia graphics processors to Macbooks or iMac desktop computers before. It a good thing the new Macbook Air is now installed with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics Processor. Apple has been closely allied with Nvidia since the company knows that Intel’s own built-in graphics processing units were inferior.
Intel has refused to budge from its insistence that Apple should exclusively use Intel-branded integrated graphics accelerator chips. Intel sued Nvidia last year to stop it from continuing to develop and market its MCP79 chipset platform that is widely used on most Macintosh products today. The feud has gotten so bad that Intel simply decided to change the iCore design to permanently block any possibility of compatibility with any Nvidia parts. This is major problem for Apple since the company was very much impressed with Nvidia’s MCP79 design and is very much intent on retaining its partnership with Nvidia.
AMD is stepping into the fray and is enthusiastic about snagging fat contracts with Apple. Sales of Mac branded laptops and desktop units have tripled since 2006 and Apple doesn’t want to lose the momentum. Intel’s recalcitrant behavior has made Apple look into the only viable alternative source, AMD. Advanced Micro Devices is confident they can convince Steve Jobs & company that not only they could provide competitive processors but also offer them at a 60% cheaper cost. It can also boast of being more flexible than its rival, AMD owns ATI and right now their graphics cards are beating Nvidia in terms of speed and DirectX 10 performance. Apple hopes to gain much from working with AMD, not only will they be able to obtain cheaper processors but I believe, they also want to take advantage of ATI’s recent achievements in graphic acceleration chipset technology.
The ongoing discussions between Apple and AMD has hinted that they might just create a customized x64 CPU specifically created for Apple products just like the optimized A4 A4 ARM SoC processor now used in the iPad. Apple is intent on fusing CPU and GPU cores into 1 unit for its Macbook offerings. Intel did this earlier with the latest Macbook models using Arrandale Core i5 or i7 processor using their integrated GPU but Apple obviously wasn’t impressed. Intel failed to live up to the Mac maker’s high standard for graphics performance and strict implementation of Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL graphics specifications. That is why Intel’s refusal to allow Apple to continue using third-party GPU cores has pushed it to seek AMD. AMD has made it clear they are not averse to having Nvidia compatibility. They may own ATI but they are amenable to allowing Apple to choose which GPU parts should go into their products.
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[...] which lets A43TA owners pinch and zoom too like you usually do with an iPad or iPhone. Hopefully, Macbook Air and Macbook Pro Notebooks with AMD processors will also be available in the future and not stuck on Intel processors.So far, the ASUS A43TA [...]