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So from a recent standing start Apple are going to beat Intel and AMD - I could see Apple using their own cpu's for tablets and phones but for work stations I d

So from a recent standing start Apple are going to beat Intel and AMD - I could see Apple using their own cpu's for tablets and phones but for work stations I don't think so.

chimpburger 7y ago
You're probably right. But don't underestimate Apple. They have $250 billion in cash reserves.
- walshemj 7y ago
  Supposedly a new 7nm fab in Taiwan is going to cost around 17 billion dollars just for the FAB. Not sure Apple share holders will think trying to compete with intel and AMD is good use of their money
  - why_only_15 7y ago
    That's not relevant. Apple isn't going to be manufacturing its own chips, it doesn't do that currently. What the person was talking about was the same thing it does for the iPhone chips, which is design them and then get TSMC to fabricate them.
  - chimpburger 7y ago
    $17 billion is peanuts for Apple. However, Apple uses TSMC for fabrication and they are already at 7nm. No need to own fabs. AMD doesn't own fabs either. The Apple designed A12X Bionic processor contains 10 billion transistors and is already competitive with desktop processors from AMD and Intel. Do you think it would be that difficult for Apple to design a desktop or laptop version? They have more than enough money to hire all of the smartest engineers on the planet. The problem would be backwards compatibility, like the transition from PPC to x86 in 2005.
    - walshemj 7y ago
      But it is the share holders peanuts - is a quixotic and expensive charge to over take AMD or Intel the best use of our money?
      - chimpburger 7y ago
        I thought I made this clear in my previous response. Apple is already highly competitive in processor design. The A12X matches the mid range processors from AMD and Intel. AMD does not own a fab. Apple doesn't need to own a fab either. It turns out they are going ahead with this plan already https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-said-to-plan-move-from-intel-to-own-mac-chips-from-2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-...
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jodrellblank 7y ago
What do you mean you “could see it”? Apple have been using their own cpus for iPad and iPhone, Apple TV, Watch and iPod touch, for a decade. They’ve been calling them “desktop class performance” for a long time now, and they’ve included an Apple processor in their laptops in recent years for driving the touchbar and TouchID. The A12X Bionic gets roughly the same Geekbench score as an Intel i5 8400 in both single and multi core benchmarks, and with an Nvidia Gt 1030 equivalent GPU performance and lower power use. The idea of them switching entirely isn’t infeasible, it seems to me that they’re pushing hard to be able to have it as an option soon - a few years.
- walshemj 7y ago
  Ah true sorry I forgot
chimpburger 7y ago
"Apple Plans to Use Its Own Chips in Macs From 2020, Replacing Intel" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-said-to-plan-move-from-intel-to-own-mac-chips-from-2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-...

So from a recent standing start Apple are going to beat Intel and AMD - I could see Apple using their own cpu's for tablets and phones but for work stations I don't think so.

chimpburger 7y ago

You're probably right. But don't underestimate Apple. They have $250 billion in cash reserves.

walshemj 7y ago
Supposedly a new 7nm fab in Taiwan is going to cost around 17 billion dollars just for the FAB. Not sure Apple share holders will think trying to compete with intel and AMD is good use of their money
- why_only_15 7y ago
  That's not relevant. Apple isn't going to be manufacturing its own chips, it doesn't do that currently. What the person was talking about was the same thing it does for the iPhone chips, which is design them and then get TSMC to fabricate them.
- chimpburger 7y ago
  $17 billion is peanuts for Apple. However, Apple uses TSMC for fabrication and they are already at 7nm. No need to own fabs. AMD doesn't own fabs either. The Apple designed A12X Bionic processor contains 10 billion transistors and is already competitive with desktop processors from AMD and Intel. Do you think it would be that difficult for Apple to design a desktop or laptop version? They have more than enough money to hire all of the smartest engineers on the planet. The problem would be backwards compatibility, like the transition from PPC to x86 in 2005.
  - walshemj 7y ago
    But it is the share holders peanuts - is a quixotic and expensive charge to over take AMD or Intel the best use of our money?
    - chimpburger 7y ago
      I thought I made this clear in my previous response. Apple is already highly competitive in processor design. The A12X matches the mid range processors from AMD and Intel. AMD does not own a fab. Apple doesn't need to own a fab either. It turns out they are going ahead with this plan already https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-said-to-plan-move-from-intel-to-own-mac-chips-from-2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-...
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jodrellblank 7y ago

What do you mean you “could see it”? Apple have been using their own cpus for iPad and iPhone, Apple TV, Watch and iPod touch, for a decade. They’ve been calling them “desktop class performance” for a long time now, and they’ve included an Apple processor in their laptops in recent years for driving the touchbar and TouchID. The A12X Bionic gets roughly the same Geekbench score as an Intel i5 8400 in both single and multi core benchmarks, and with an Nvidia Gt 1030 equivalent GPU performance and lower power use. The idea of them switching entirely isn’t infeasible, it seems to me that they’re pushing hard to be able to have it as an option soon - a few years.

walshemj 7y ago
Ah true sorry I forgot

chimpburger 7y ago

"Apple Plans to Use Its Own Chips in Macs From 2020, Replacing Intel" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-said-to-plan-move-from-intel-to-own-mac-chips-from-2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/apple-is-...