October 12th, 2008
Why Apple will shift to an NVIDIA chipset
It is widely rumored that Apple will shift to an NVIDIA chipset with its next MacBook and MacBook Pro refresh. What advantages does making this switch offer to Apple?
The rumor is (and given what I’ve seen, this rumor has a high probability of being true), Apple will ditch the current Intel chipset that lives in the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines and make a switch to NVIDIA. Specifically, the MCP79 chipset.
So, what advantages does the NVIDIA chipset offer of the Intel’s chipset? There are in fact several key improvements:
- Fewer components
The MCP79 incorporates the northbridge and southbridge onto a single chip. Fewer chips, smaller motherboard, a little less power consumption. - On-board GPU
Not only does the MCP79 combine the northbridge and southbridge onto a single chip, it also incorporates a GeForce 9300/9400 GPU. - HybridSLI
This will give MacBook Pro users the opportunity to switch between the integrated GeForce 9300/9400 and the discrete GeForce 9600 depending on whether they want power-saving or power. - Performance boost
The MCP79 also allows Apple to boost the FSB to 1,066MHz, make use of DDR2 and DDR3, and includes support for PCI-Express 2,0 and HDMI.
I guess the timing could have been a little better though, given that dodgy NVIDIA GPUs have just given Apple a black eye.
Oh, and here’s a tease of what the aluminum shell might look like.
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)
Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.
Subscribe to Hardware 2.0 via Email alerts or RSS.
