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Nvidia graphics chip launch points to possible October 14th new Apple MacBook debut

Thursday, October 2, 2008 · 3:46 pm · 23 Comments

“Apparently the day nVIDIA was slated to introduce the integrated graphics chip the new MacBook will use has been moved… from September 30th to October 15th,” Mac Soda reports.

“Recall the fact that the MacBook event was originally scheduled for September 29th, and was postponed to October 14th,” Mac Soda reports.

“I find it hard to believe that the announcement wasn’t moved because the MacBook event was moved, so look at this as further confirmation to our report: the MCP7A-U chipset will be in the next MacBook,” Mac Soda reports.

Full article here.

[Attribution: Gizmodo. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "CYxodus" for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s current generation MacBook features the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory.

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Comment Feed

23 Comments

1 2 Next »

Orgasmatron

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:07 pm · Reply

Yippee, here comes another ultra-hyped, underspecified, overpriced machine to grace the Apple product line-up. Can’t wait!
Emil

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:09 pm · Reply

And yet we’ll buy it Orgasmatron
John

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:17 pm · Reply

Haven’t Apple learned not to use nVidia chips. Their whole line of 8600s are flawed, Macbook Pro GPUs are failing in large numbers. I don’t believe Apple are coming back for more
mike honcho

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:18 pm · Reply

i love apple, but yes they do over price their products a bit. Apple knows its their software that is superior, not their hardware. so at this time and to help them pull the market shares, cut us consumers a break, we are loyal to your products. you’ve already got a huge bank account, you’ll be fine get more people on board to buy your stuff at greater rates and you’ll definetly be taken care of in the future, now is the time while MS is down and crawling in their own $hit.
HotinPlaya

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:22 pm · Reply

@mike honcho

read another article by this guy, as far as rumors, sounds like what Apple needs

http://macsoda.com/2008/09/30/mac-sodas-official-brick-event-predictions/
Randian

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:39 pm · Reply

Whew. The populists are out in force today. Gimme, gimme, gimme.
mike honcho

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:51 pm · Reply

it’s not so much, gimme gimme, Apple has the full advantage of taking a huge stance here to offer their high quality products at a rate that would make consumers feel like they are getting the best(which they are) but at a substantial price that they dont feel like they are breaking the bank for what has been made as luxury or upper class. Good article, but lets just wait to see what they actually have than get our hopes up for a startrek tricorder, (gee that would be an awesome iphone app)
isaac

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:58 pm · Reply

Interesting tidbit of news. This is the first many of us are hearing about nVIDIA chipsets.

I was anticipating a September release as per:

MacBook and MacBook Pro release cycle analysis – September 2008 updates likely

The way I see this now is that detailed analysis may have hit the nail on the head except if it wasn’t for the nVIDIA impact.
Randian

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 5:12 pm · Reply

The TechPopulist Manifesto: I want the best, and I want it cheap.

Seen on a chick program last night (“Lipstick”?): All business transactions evolve within a causal triangle. On one side there is “Good.” On another is “Fast.” On the third is “Cheap.” Pick any two: The third just ain’t gonna happen.

Something similar applies here, I believe.
Cubert

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 5:12 pm · Reply

“I find it hard to believe that the announcement wasn’t moved because the MacBook event was moved”

Ummmm, probably the other way around – Apple postponed their event because NVidia said they couldn’t talk about the chip until then.

Also, who ever said that Apple was having an event on September 29th? So, this is a rumor about a rumor?
Cubert

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 5:15 pm · Reply

@Randian,
With women I choose “good” and “cheap”. I don’t like ‘em “fast” – I want to get my money’s worth.
Jacob

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 5:19 pm · Reply

You guys need to figure out what “overpriced” means. It means high relative to another company providing the same product. Software aside, upon first release MacBooks usually compare extremely well to offerings by other manufacturers. Typically, they offer a far better processor than similarly priced PC laptops, but with less hard drive space and RAM. But the latter two are upgradeable cheaply and easily. For most people, the processor is the most important thing long term. In this way MacBooks are often very good value.

If what you mean is that they start at $1100 whereas you can get PC laptops for $500 or less, then I agree that this is the case, but I would never advise anyone who was buying a PC laptop to buy one under $1000 anyways.
Dave

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 5:21 pm · Reply

Another reason for the postponement could have been to keep Back to School buyers from being pissed off that new models were released so soon after they just bought the old ones.
Thinker

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 6:02 pm · Reply

@ Jacob: “Software aside, upon first release MacBooks usually compare extremely well to offerings by other manufacturers. Typically, they offer a far better processor than similarly priced PC laptops, but with less hard drive space and RAM. But the latter two are upgradeable cheaply and easily.” Yes, and no… The Intel processors used in Apple laptops compare well to those used in Windows-based laptops. But overall, I disagree with you in that Apple laptops compare well to Windows-based laptops in the same class — at release or otherwise.

As you say, Apple apparently frowns upon spacious hard drives and large amounts of RAM in its laptops. But one area where I disagree with you is that upgrading HDD and RAM via the Apple website at time of purchase is prohibitively expensive.

Apple also lags behind in graphics hardware. Shared graphics in the MacBook and dedicated graphics in the MacBook Pro are usually a minimum of 3-6 months behind their Windows-based counterparts. For example, the upcoming refresh will probably replace the NVIDIA 8xxx with NVIDIA 9xxx in MacBook Pro — 9xxx has been available in professional Windows-based laptops for months now. Similarly, Intel’s X3100 will likely be replaced by X4500 and/or X4500HD in MacBook — X3100 is two already two generations out-of-date in mid-range Windows-based laptops. How can artistic-minded people take Macs seriously when the graphics are so pathetic?

In addition to the above problems, Apple laptops don’t have a built-in: memory card reader, dialup modem (you’d be surprised how many people can’t afford broadband), normal two-button mouse, etc. This is why so many people are clamoring for Apple to license OS X so that it can be installed on non-Apple hardware!

OS X & iLife are the main reasons why so many people are willing to pay the huge premium that Apple demands for its disappointing hardware. If MacBook and MacBook Pro were Windows-based laptops, no educated consumer would ever buy them!
qka

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 6:03 pm · Reply

Good/Fast/Cheap?

Engineers have worked with that dilemma since time immemorial.

So Hollywodd finally learned it? I thought there mantra was Bad & Expensive. Although, they do understand schedules.
Thinker

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 6:04 pm · Reply

Oops! I should have typed “in that Apple laptops DO NOT compare well to Windows-based laptops in the same class — at release or otherwise.”
MJ Web

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 8:02 pm · Reply

1) Neither 9/29 or 10/14 was announced by Apple
2) The new Macs will not have an Nvidia chipset
3) The new Macs will have an Intel chipset
4) Sounds like Macsoda is drinking macRipple to me!
Mac84

Friday, October 3, 2008 - 12:42 am · Reply

@Thinker,

“If MacBook and MacBook Pro were Windows-based laptops, no educated consumer would ever buy them!”

The truth came out of your own mouth. Err, your keyboard. And you don’t even see it yourself! It’s the software, stupid. It’s the Mac OS! It’s the whole package. It’s not only the hardware.

It’s also the design, the elegance.

Comparing hardware specs between Macs and Winblows crap is not why smart customers buy Macs. Do you get it now?
spyinthesky

Friday, October 3, 2008 - 8:42 am · Reply

Funny, recently here on a OS related discussion the PC brigade were going on about how this Apple quality hardware was being bought to run Windows, the main protagonist even claiming he bought his MacBook pro simply because the graphics chip was superior to any pc laptop he could buy, and now here we are hearing how no PC bods would never consider buying the same machines if it wasn’t for the hardware. Funny old World innit. What’s that saying about opinions are like assholes again…. Like the smell it apparently all changes with the wind.
Harvey

Friday, October 3, 2008 - 9:15 am · Reply

Has Apple ever released a redesign of any computer without announcing, in advance, the event at which that occurs?