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I wonder how long until Apple starts looking at AMD.

ckastner 7y ago
I think it's sensible to assume that Apple is already looking, even if only to renegotiate their deal with Intel. But 8 cores at 15W is really enticing. Apple is already using AMD graphics, so they already have a business relationship.
- eyegor 7y ago
  Don't forget that Apple already has best in class low power performance/watt on their in house designs. One day they'll probably move all the Mac airs and such to A13 or newer.
agloeregrets 7y ago
Well, it’s kinda assumed that Apple wants to go ARM based for the Mac with their own internal CPUs. Much of AMD’s comeback magic is enabled by them building on TSMC’s 7nm process, this same process is what Apple’s Ax SOCs are built on, so I bet Apple could come close in the consumer market.
jagger27 7y ago
I think that ship sailed when they they shipped the new Mac Pro. That would have been the place to start.
- tachion 7y ago
  Mac Pro was in the making long before AMD released a complete line of products that can compete with Intel on all fronts (not only price, but single core and multi core performance, clock speeds and so on) so quite possibly they'd have to delay Mac Pro even further, if they'd decide to stop and redesign it for AMD platform. Given how willing they been to switch GPU chips between Nvidia and AMD/ATI in past for their laptops, I still have a little hope for something like iMac or iMac Pro with a nice high cpu count AMD CPU in future. I don't hold my breath though.
  - jagger27 7y ago
    I agree that the shipping dates would have been tight, but given Apple's relationship with AMD (like getting certain Navi cards in the MacBook Pro months before they shipped anywhere else) I think they could have pulled it off. The Mac Pro is also a relatively low volume device, so AMD could have done an early run just for Apple like they have done with other HPC customers. Both Apple and AMD have enough clout with TSMC that they most certainly could have made it happen. Apple could have been well aware that AMD had a winner in the works, years before launch. I feel like Apple could have easily prototyped the Mac Pro on older TR designs and evolved the design as AMD got deeper into sampling the current gen. I think what eliminated the risk of switching to AMD for them was the ability to test their thermal design on already shipping parts from Intel. The chipsets haven't changed at all so they've been working on a stable platform since day 0. Or maybe they got an offer they couldn't refuse from Intel. CPU compatibility with macOS is also a total non-issue, considering how well the AMDOSX community is doing.
    - tachion 7y ago
      Quite possibly another thing could be happening: I can see Intel not allowing Apple to directly compare any competitive part if it's not coming from Intel as well, where Apple likes to say 'This is the fastest MacXXX ever, 12345% faster than previous model', previous model being Intel based.
  - ksec 7y ago
    I think it may be a little more complicated. Apple was relying on Intel's modem. A critical component for 55-60% of their revenue. ( And if you include their services which is basically linked to their iPhone will be quite a bit higher ) And there is Thunderbolt, its certification is still not released from Intel. Before than Apple could not leave Intel just yet.
tachion 7y ago
Probably not before AMD can beat Intel on the mobile chips single core performance and power consumption, as I assume they sell much more laptops than desktops, and in addition to that not before AMD erodes the vague notion of 'Intel being best you can get' in consumers minds.
- ksec 7y ago
  >I assume they sell much more laptops than desktops, The figure from 2017 /2018 were 80% Laptop and 20% Desktop. And since Apple is kind of stuck with AMD for Graphics, it sort of make sense if Apple unify their GPU stack on Laptop as well. Assuming they get the Thunderbolt issue sorted.
  - ProZsolt 7y ago
    Thunderbolt won't be an issue. Thunderbolt is part of the USB4 specs
- ProZsolt 7y ago
  > not before AMD erodes the vague notion of 'Intel being best you can get' in consumers minds. They don't have to. Most of the Mac users don't care. They know that the latest Mac is the best Mac they can get.

I think it's sensible to assume that Apple is already looking, even if only to renegotiate their deal with Intel. But 8 cores at 15W is really enticing. Apple is already using AMD graphics, so they already have a business relationship.

eyegor 7y ago
Don't forget that Apple already has best in class low power performance/watt on their in house designs. One day they'll probably move all the Mac airs and such to A13 or newer.

agloeregrets 7y ago

Well, it’s kinda assumed that Apple wants to go ARM based for the Mac with their own internal CPUs. Much of AMD’s comeback magic is enabled by them building on TSMC’s 7nm process, this same process is what Apple’s Ax SOCs are built on, so I bet Apple could come close in the consumer market.

jagger27 7y ago

I think that ship sailed when they they shipped the new Mac Pro. That would have been the place to start.

tachion 7y ago
Mac Pro was in the making long before AMD released a complete line of products that can compete with Intel on all fronts (not only price, but single core and multi core performance, clock speeds and so on) so quite possibly they'd have to delay Mac Pro even further, if they'd decide to stop and redesign it for AMD platform. Given how willing they been to switch GPU chips between Nvidia and AMD/ATI in past for their laptops, I still have a little hope for something like iMac or iMac Pro with a nice high cpu count AMD CPU in future. I don't hold my breath though.
- jagger27 7y ago
  I agree that the shipping dates would have been tight, but given Apple's relationship with AMD (like getting certain Navi cards in the MacBook Pro months before they shipped anywhere else) I think they could have pulled it off. The Mac Pro is also a relatively low volume device, so AMD could have done an early run just for Apple like they have done with other HPC customers. Both Apple and AMD have enough clout with TSMC that they most certainly could have made it happen. Apple could have been well aware that AMD had a winner in the works, years before launch. I feel like Apple could have easily prototyped the Mac Pro on older TR designs and evolved the design as AMD got deeper into sampling the current gen. I think what eliminated the risk of switching to AMD for them was the ability to test their thermal design on already shipping parts from Intel. The chipsets haven't changed at all so they've been working on a stable platform since day 0. Or maybe they got an offer they couldn't refuse from Intel. CPU compatibility with macOS is also a total non-issue, considering how well the AMDOSX community is doing.
  - tachion 7y ago
    Quite possibly another thing could be happening: I can see Intel not allowing Apple to directly compare any competitive part if it's not coming from Intel as well, where Apple likes to say 'This is the fastest MacXXX ever, 12345% faster than previous model', previous model being Intel based.
- ksec 7y ago
  I think it may be a little more complicated. Apple was relying on Intel's modem. A critical component for 55-60% of their revenue. ( And if you include their services which is basically linked to their iPhone will be quite a bit higher ) And there is Thunderbolt, its certification is still not released from Intel. Before than Apple could not leave Intel just yet.

tachion 7y ago

Probably not before AMD can beat Intel on the mobile chips single core performance and power consumption, as I assume they sell much more laptops than desktops, and in addition to that not before AMD erodes the vague notion of 'Intel being best you can get' in consumers minds.

ksec 7y ago
>I assume they sell much more laptops than desktops, The figure from 2017 /2018 were 80% Laptop and 20% Desktop. And since Apple is kind of stuck with AMD for Graphics, it sort of make sense if Apple unify their GPU stack on Laptop as well. Assuming they get the Thunderbolt issue sorted.
- ProZsolt 7y ago
  Thunderbolt won't be an issue. Thunderbolt is part of the USB4 specs
ProZsolt 7y ago
> not before AMD erodes the vague notion of 'Intel being best you can get' in consumers minds. They don't have to. Most of the Mac users don't care. They know that the latest Mac is the best Mac they can get.