Intel betrays its teammate: Apple MacBook Pro has no graphics card available
|
From the beginning of last year to now, I don't know how many consumers have been waiting for Apple to update the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, but have been disappointed. The reason why so many people want to wait for Apple to update these two notebooks is mainly because this year Apple is expected to use Intel's sixth-generation Core "Skylake" processor in the updated MacBook notebook products. Apple may update the new generation of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in October, but a recently exposed Intel chip update roadmap has made us more confused about the update of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. These doubts mainly come from the update of Intel's integrated graphics performance. From the picture, we can see that Intel has focused on the update of the processing core in the chip update, but ignored the performance update of the graphics card. Faced with Intel's choice, Apple may have to make corresponding adjustments to their graphics strategy in the future. What graphics cards do Apple notebooks use? MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro both use integrated graphics cards of Intel chips. As for the 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has made adjustments since late 2013, with two versions of the 15-inch MacBook Pro: the low-end version is equipped with integrated graphics, while the higher-end version is equipped with discrete graphics and has stronger performance. The 15-inch MacBook Pro equipped with these two graphics cards can automatically switch between the two graphics cards according to the user's performance requirements and battery life requirements when using the device. If you need longer battery life, then use the integrated graphics card, and if you need stronger performance, switch to the discrete graphics card. Integrated graphics cards are still very important for Apple's notebook products. Apple usually chooses to use Intel's "GT3" or "GT3e" level graphics cards. Compared with GT3-level graphics cards, GT3e graphics cards are equipped with 128MB cache, and their performance is far more powerful than the GT3 series. They are not inferior to the previous generation APU. This is the meaning of its "e". GT3e is manufactured based on 22nm process, supports DX11.1, has 48 EU units, a maximum frequency of 1150MHz, and a maximum memory bandwidth of 25.6GB/s. However, both levels of graphics cards can provide notebooks with quite strong graphics performance. In the MacBook Air updated last year, Apple used a 1.6GHz Broadwell processor for the device. The highest main frequency can reach 2.7GHz through turbo frequency technology. The graphics card was upgraded from Intel HD5000 to Intel HD6000 (GT3 level). This graphics card can only be said to be makeshift, which can meet the needs of daily office and entertainment, and I dare not expect it to be very powerful. In the 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro update, the low-end version uses Intel Iris Pro graphics, while the high-end version uses both Intel Iris Pro graphics (GT3e level) and AMD Radeon R9 M370X discrete graphics. The core of this discrete graphics card has 640 stream processors, 16 ROPs units, a frequency of 800MHz, and 2GB/128-bit GDDR5 video memory with a frequency of 4500MHz. Intel is a bit of a scumbag From Intel's Skylake chip update roadmap, it is clear that they do not intend to update the integrated graphics of the quad-core chip, but continue to use "GT2" level chips. Compared with the GT3 level graphics we mentioned above, Intel's continued use of GT2 level graphics is actually a bit of a scumbag. Skylake GT2 is further reduced to 24 EU execution units, which is only half of GT3. Future updates to the 15-inch MacBook Pro may encounter problems due to Intel's scumbag behavior. Next month, Apple may release a new 15-inch MacBook Pro, and the Intel Skylake H-series chips for this device will still be these high-performance mobile chips. Apple has no choice before the new Coffee Lake chips appear in the second quarter of 2018. However, even in the second quarter of 2018, Coffee Lake chips still use GT2-level graphics cards, which obviously cannot meet Apple's demand for graphics card performance. The situation of the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air is relatively better because they use 28-watt and 15-watt versions of U-series processors respectively. From the exposed circuit diagram, the KabyLake chip with integrated GT3e graphics card will be available in the first quarter of next year. In this way, if Apple updates Skylake chips for these two devices next month, then Apple will be able to update KabyLake chips for them smoothly by the middle of next year. Another model that does not have to worry about the update is Apple's 12-inch RetinaMacBook. At the beginning of this year, Apple updated this series of notebooks with Skylake processors, and the KabyLakeY series chips suitable for the new generation of RetinaMacBook have also been released. It depends on when Apple wants to update the device and use the new processor. By the end of next year, the Y series chips will have a successor, and the CannonLake chips using the 10nm process will be released. So what will the update of the CoffeeLake series chips in early 2018 look like? According to industry analysis, this series of chips will be based on the CannonLake architecture. Intel has been developing this architecture for some time, but the CoffeeLake chips will use the 14nm production process instead of the 10nm process of CannonLake. In the production of high-performance notebook and desktop processors, Intel continues to use the 14nm production process mainly for production cost upgrade considerations. By the time CoffeeLake is released in 2018, Intel's 14nm process technology should be very mature, and the 10nm process technology may have just begun to be put into production. Therefore, after Broadwell, Skylake and KabyLake, CoffeeLake may become another processor series of Intel using the 14nm production technology. What should Apple do? Intel's high-end integrated graphics updates are facing stagnation. I don't know how Apple will solve this problem in future MacBook Pro updates. According to Apple's previous updates, industry analysts believe that Apple has two alternatives to solve this problem. First, Apple may directly use independent graphics cards for the 15-inch MacBook Pro series, or if the Intel GT2-level graphics card is further improved, it can still be used in the low-end 15-inch MacBook Pro. Second, Intel may also update the Skylake chip to speed up the CPU, thereby extending the life cycle of the chip series. Unfortunately, Intel probably can't squeeze out more performance and speed under the current design. According to previous reports, the new MacBook Pro is smaller and thinner than the previous generation, and the trackpad is larger than the current MacBook Pro. Bloomberg once again confirmed the news that the OLED touch bar will replace some of the previous physical function buttons. The MacBook Pro will also support Type-C and Thunderbolt 3, and TouchID will also be added to the upgraded MacBook Pro. In addition, a version of the MacBook Pro will be equipped with AMD's Polaris series GPU, and the specific model is unknown. Polaris will be the biggest upgrade after the GCN architecture and the most efficient GPU architecture in AMD's history. It will have 2 times the performance per watt, will use advanced FinFET technology, will use HBM2 video memory, and accelerate AR/VR applications. It may use the 14nm FinFET LPP process, which is two generations more advanced than the 28nm process currently used by GPUs, so energy efficiency will definitely be greatly improved. The MacBook Pro will be updated as early as next month. Compared with previous years when Apple only updated the chip, this year Apple may make more significant updates to the internal specifications of the device, which will make it more difficult for us to predict Apple's update plans through Intel's product roadmap.As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
<<: Can I still buy the Samsung Note 7 if it explodes in China?
>>: Bomb 2.0? Samsung's new Note 7 also overheats
Recommend
These high-value, high-priced "IQ fruits" are out to deceive people again. What are they? Don't buy them anymore!
During the May Day holiday, when you happily go t...
How much commission does a Tik Tok anchor earn from gifts? Where to watch?
Douyin is a very well-known short video platform....
Seven paradigms for programmers to post on WeChat Moments
[[222966]] The photo of Jack Ma and 13 top scient...
Peak has passed, consumer expectations for wearable devices plummet
[[146121]] Interest in the Apple Watch and other ...
Plague warning! Catching pikas and touching groundhogs, is that a risk to your life?
Summer vacation is here, and more people are trav...
How to increase followers and monetize by creating short videos!
1141.3W, on Kuaishou, this fan base exceeds that ...
What information is needed to register a mini program? What information is needed to apply for a mini program?
Q: What information is needed to register the min...
Johnson & Johnson stops selling baby powder containing talc. How dangerous is talc?
Recently, Johnson & Johnson announced that it...
Beware of slipping! What to do if you encounter "freezing rain" on the highway?
In the cold winter, a special meteorological phen...
[Topic Marketing Case] A girl lost 50 pounds in half a year, several practical examples of weight loss marketing!
Today we solve a problem: "Weight loss is so...
Why is the iPhone SE considered Apple's weakest link?
For the iPhone SE released earlier this year, App...
[Cultivation Program] In the hot summer, insects have a "cool way" to escape the heat
Author: Lao Ke’s Brain Studio Withered vines, old...
3000 words in-depth explanation of the bidding OCPC delivery & optimization guide!
What I want to talk about today is search OCPC. I...
Disassembly of “New Oriental” Datang Xiaoyu distribution activity!
Distribution fission is one of the means of produ...
NVIDIA GTX Titan Z dual-core card king retreats to the second line? Who will be the next generation of card king?
For a gamer, a good graphics card is essential. F...