Apple testing AMD chips for future Macs

[imashination]

"Representatives for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD have recently been seen on Apple's Commuter Coach buses, and executives for the chipmaker have been spotted on their way out of meetings with members of Apple's top brass, according to people familiar with the matter. "

Couldnt that just as easily be regarding new ati gfx cards?

[olson]

"Representatives for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD have recently been seen on Apple's Commuter Coach buses, and executives for the chipmaker have been spotted on their way out of meetings with members of Apple's top brass, according to people familiar with the matter. "

Couldnt that just as easily be regarding new ati gfx cards?

I'm not directly involved, so who knows. Just wanted to pass along the news because its interesting and might affect a lot of users here. Cheers!

[nogojoe]

Apple is just keeping Intel in line by feigning interest in AMD.

[705]

intel is not happy with nvidia, probably apple took nvidias side.
but then amd is nvidias competitor too..

well who knows, probably they're makin console :P

[Szos]

Maybe AMD has some new - as yet unknown - chips in the works that will put them back into the mix against Intel?

Or maybe Apple is just trying to keep Intel honest and pretending to care what AMD has to offer.

Either way, I think it would be rather interesting to see Apple use both chip suppliers in their computers, but I honestly do not see that happening any time soon.

[goldilocks20]

Maybe Apple is trying to bring down Intel's cost by showing some interest in AMD. Anyway it might not be a bad idea to have Mac with AMD because it will mean a cheaper alternative to Intel Mac.

[cgbeige]

Apple doesn't like to put all its eggs in one basket so this is probably just a "make us an offer" type thing. After all, they were literally building Intel versions of OS X the whole time they were "committed" to PowerPC in the public. It lets them move quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if they have OS X running on AMD to use it for buying considerations for certain products.

[olson]

I wouldn't be surprised if they have OS X running on AMD to use it for buying considerations for certain products.

As long as the processor supports SSE2 and AMD64 (x64_64) it'll work. People having been running OS X unofficially on AMD hardware for quite a while though this "violates" the EULA of OS X depending on where you live.

[meleseDESIGN]

I was allways wondering why Mac's were shipped only with Intel CPU's.
Did they had a special contract with Intel, to get the chips cheaper if they wouldn't ship Mac's with AMD CPU's, which will lose validity in the next few days?
Or what was the main reason for the long Apple & (only) Intel business relationship?

Yeah, probably Apple has realized by now that they need to change something since there are more fellow campaigners on earth with near the same products (sometimes even better) as there were six years ago today.

Good NEWS, good for APPLE - if it's for real.

;)

[cgbeige]

I think it was more about name recognition/brand. Part of the reason that Apple went to Intel was that, no matter how you sell the megahertz myth, people are always going to compare your machines to what is "fast in the Intel world." Making people take two leaps of faith (move to a Mac) and then another (trust that the G5 is just as fast as the CPU you know everybody else runs at a faster clock speed) was another factor contributing to the idea that you were in no man's land if you bought a Mac. Consumers are dumb - if you can't say "yes, this has an Intel and yes, it's just as fast as the Windows box next to it," then it's a harder sell. AMD chips are very affordable, which is great, but Apple's customers don't buy for low-low prices, so I don't think they'll toss AMD chips into every machine where it will save them money and they can lower the price a little. I could be wrong.

[nogojoe]

Good NEWS, good for APPLE - if it's for real.

;)

How is it either? Theres no debate about performance - Intel wins, and has been doing so for some time. Why spend all that money getting fancy unibody this, and ips panel that if you're going to end up with inferior hardware?

Intel will continue to stomp AMD into the ground, theres not a doubt in my mind.

[biliousfrog]

Why spend all that money getting fancy unibody this, and ips panel that if you're going to end up with inferior hardware?


...It's how Apple has always worked, nobody cares whether it's fast, stable, reliable, useful or ergonomic, as long as it has an Apple sticker it's the "must have" gadget...:D

Sorry, blatant flame bait but I couldn't resist. :twisted:

Anyway, if Apple are thinking of using AMD processors it would make perfect sense. They seem to prefer ATI graphics cards for some reason, they could probably get a better deal if they became AMD/ATI exclusive. It would also allow them to distance themselves from the PC crowd again, something which both Apple and the fanboy's would surely like to see...going back to the old days of Mac and PC's using different hardware, different OS and potentially different tech (CUDA/OpenCL)...purely idle speculation.

[cgbeige]

Anyway, if Apple are thinking of using AMD processors it would make perfect sense. They seem to prefer ATI graphics cards for some reason, they could probably get a better deal if they became AMD/ATI exclusive. It would also allow them to distance themselves from the PC crowd again, something which both Apple and the fanboy's would surely like to see...going back to the old days of Mac and PC's using different hardware, different OS and potentially different tech (CUDA/OpenCL)...purely idle speculation.

They don't prefer ATI - all their laptops have Nvidia cards and always have. ATI's drivers are better on OS X but that's a different matter entirely.

Stop the other nonsense posts, please. Jokes about "Mac users drive like this and PC users drive like this" are just retarded.

[olson]

Maybe this is what they are interested in.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-fusion-llano-dx11-cpu-gpu-gpgpu,10217.html

A quad core with a built in GPU would be ideal for OpenCL in OS X since Apple push that so much.

[meleseDESIGN]

Yeah, Apple should fusion with Studio GPU (http://www.studiogpu.com).

;)

[cgbeige]

heh - Apple has almost as much money as Microsoft. They wouldn't fuse with that company as much as it would be like you and I "investing" in a jelly bean.

[tuna]

I was allways wondering why Mac's were shipped only with Intel CPU's.
Did they had a special contract with Intel, to get the chips cheaper if they wouldn't ship Mac's with AMD CPU's, which will lose validity in the next few days?

I think at first they must've had some sort of deal with Intel because they'd be the first to release new Xeons in their MPs and at good prices. Nowadays I'm not even sure what they're really trying to do.

[meleseDESIGN]

Yeah, if they wanted, they would eat that company just like we eat jelly beans. :twisted:


@ tuna
That's what I was trying to write yesterday allready.
But after an half hour writing my Notebook shutsdown and I had no lust to write again.
The IT market situation has changed dramaticly the last years.
Apple has a hard time nowadays, business competition are strong, technologies have changed as well.
You can buy an high end PC at allmost every corner nowadays.
Windows 7 is one of the most stable OS, far better as anything before.
Linux is grown as well. Much competition going on today.
Spreading an OS what is tiedly bounded on specific hardware is a hard business nowadays - if not even impossible over a long run.
Customers aren't dumb at all, they are actually pretty smart. Thanks to the many sites which make reviews aso.
A few years ago Mac OS was lifted up to the sky, highly praised and it even received rave reviews - NOT anymore that much by now.
Does Apple want to bring MAC OS to new customers?
Do they reach more and new customers with AMD chips in the box?
Would they lose old customers?
Let's say why NOT. Old customers don't let Apple go with the changes and they don't let them expand!
This is a problem what Apple has for many years now.
Apple is to be in a tight corner, but they should simple go their own way, they should set them free from the boastful threats of their old customers.
Going the step with AMD chips would be a hugh step for Apple. They have lost the business from above anyway, because they have nothing different to offer anymore what others haven't either, but their OS.
If this all, then Apple will have a hard time for the future.
Let's hope the best for Apples employee.
;)

[cgbeige]

Apple has a hard time nowadays, business competition are strong, technologies have changed as well.


Yes, it's been a tough time at Apple...

—April 20, 2010—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter ended March 27, 2010. The Company posted revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.7 percent, up from 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 2.94 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 8.75 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 131 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 10.89 million iPods during the quarter, representing a one percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

I wish I was suffering similarly under the weight of stiff competition. I'm sure they appreciate your heartfelt sympathies. You need to start reading those things called "facts" before posting.

[meleseDESIGN]

Sure, beside Workstations Apple has nice products like the iPhone, iPod, iPad, iMac and Mac mini.
This products probaply explains their income.
Apple's Mac Pro sales probably is NOT going well as far as i have observed it in my entourage.

;)

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