Apple ditches 32nm Arrandale, won’t use Intel graphics

In just a few weeks Intel will launch its 32+45nm dual-core+iGFX Fusion processor, and the OEMs have jumped onboard with the Calpella designs [codename for PM55-chipset based platform]. However, there is one company that doesn’t care…

Apple is the company that is known for always going on their own way and now it seems that the divide between Apple and Intel is wider than ever. According to sources close to the heart of the matter, Apple allegedly refused to adopt Intel’s Arrandale and the Calpella platform in its default form. In order for Apple to implement Calpella design with their next refresh of Mac mini / MacBook / MacBook Pro lines, Intel will have to provide Apple with the 32nm version without the integrated graphics part. Again, we cannot confirm the information about the replacement CPU, we only know that Apple rejected Arrandale.

Also worth noting is that according to available information, nVidia scored massive 80% of Calpella design wins with their 40nm based DirectX 10.1 parts, which only leaves us to wonder where things went wrong for AMD and their Manhattan line of Mobility Radeon products. As you probably know, ATI Manhattan is a codename for mobile versions of DirectX 11 parts [Evergreen family].

But it turns out that OEMs were much more interested in Hybrid Graphics mode and allegedly nVidia hardware performs much better in that switching function than ATI-based GPUs. Given that AMD has its own vision for notebooks, we’re not entirely surprised at this chain of events.

Original Author: Theo Valich

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