MacBook Air Suitable Montevina Chips Due Later This Year [Updated]
PC manufacturers have recently introduced a number of new ultra-thin laptops that share a similar profile to Apple's MacBook Air. The HP Voodoo Envy edges out the MacBook Air with a slightly smaller (0.7 vs .76 inches) maximum thickness and uses the same custom Intel processors (SP7700 and SP7500) that were designed specifically for Apple.
CNet reminds us that this custom processor is based on Intel's older Merom (65-nm) chip design. An Intel representative confirmed to CNet that a 45-nm Penryn/Montevina version of the chip is expected to be introduced later this year. That chip will be suitable for use in a future version of the MacBook Air. According to Wikipedia, the next version of this "SP" line of chips come in at 2.26GHz and 2.4GHz but with a slightly higher power consumption (25 watts vs 20 watts).
The MacBook Air was introduced at Macworld San Francisco 2008 and currently ships at 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz processor speeds.
Update: Several readers note that Apple may choose to take advantage of the improved power-efficiency of the Penryn processor and instead keep the MacBook Air's processor clocked at the same speed. The decreased power usage could extend the battery life of the MacBook Air.
CNet reminds us that this custom processor is based on Intel's older Merom (65-nm) chip design. An Intel representative confirmed to CNet that a 45-nm Penryn/Montevina version of the chip is expected to be introduced later this year. That chip will be suitable for use in a future version of the MacBook Air. According to Wikipedia, the next version of this "SP" line of chips come in at 2.26GHz and 2.4GHz but with a slightly higher power consumption (25 watts vs 20 watts).
The MacBook Air was introduced at Macworld San Francisco 2008 and currently ships at 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz processor speeds.
Update: Several readers note that Apple may choose to take advantage of the improved power-efficiency of the Penryn processor and instead keep the MacBook Air's processor clocked at the same speed. The decreased power usage could extend the battery life of the MacBook Air.
Top Rated Comments
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48 months ago
This could be a good performance boost as well as an improvement to battery life.
48 months ago
This could be a good performance boost as well as an improvement to battery life.
If the power specs are to believed, I don't think it will actually have better battery life.
arn
48 months ago
This is more like it!
I would love to see a MBA based on the new montevina platform with a larger HDD.
This would allow the MBA to not only be an excellent travel machine but it would be stout enough to run windows in vm for windows only clients.
I wonder if later this year, means later than July 14th when Montevina is supposed to be released.
I would love to see a MBA based on the new montevina platform with a larger HDD.
This would allow the MBA to not only be an excellent travel machine but it would be stout enough to run windows in vm for windows only clients.
I wonder if later this year, means later than July 14th when Montevina is supposed to be released.
48 months ago
They won't use these chips. There is no way theya re going to jump from 1.6 to 2.26GHz and ose considerable battery time. Though they might be abl to underclock it to get better performance and reduce power usage, but that depends on the chip cost and a a few other technical issues.
PS: I find it funny that the MBA does so well on Apple's ranking and on Amazon's ranking, often beating out all other cheap notebooks from other manufacturers. And now there are two manufacturers who are competing with it and using this unique processor.
PS: I find it funny that the MBA does so well on Apple's ranking and on Amazon's ranking, often beating out all other cheap notebooks from other manufacturers. And now there are two manufacturers who are competing with it and using this unique processor.
48 months ago
Ok, so I need a macbook pro for school. Is this update going to happen by August? Or am I wasting my time... I would very much like the updated pro.
48 months ago
If the power specs are to believed, I don't think it will actually have better battery life.
They don't have to run it at the listed clock speeds (clock rate is still the dominate factor in processor power consumption). The newer cores (Penryn) perform better clock for clock then older cores (Merom) almost across the board so running them at a similar clock rate can increase performance and battery life.
48 months ago
Those aren't the chips you're looking for...
Intel is going to have 1.6 and 1.8GHz penryns that replace the chips currently used in the MBAir - TDPs of around 17W - WP Link
Dont expect a speed bump for the MBAir. At most, I would expect Apple to drop the 1.6 model and go just 1.8GHz with basically the same specs with the exception of cheaper SSDs (I'd expect the 64GB SSD to be around $599 instead of $999, and probably have better performance - 80MB/s read/write) around the end of Q3.
Intel is going to have 1.6 and 1.8GHz penryns that replace the chips currently used in the MBAir - TDPs of around 17W - WP Link
Dont expect a speed bump for the MBAir. At most, I would expect Apple to drop the 1.6 model and go just 1.8GHz with basically the same specs with the exception of cheaper SSDs (I'd expect the 64GB SSD to be around $599 instead of $999, and probably have better performance - 80MB/s read/write) around the end of Q3.
48 months ago
Wow...that Voodoo laptop looks kinda awesome.
I was trying to figure out if you were kidding or not. To me there is no design at all, just thin blocky laptop. At least the Air has some style.
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