Lukáš Čambala At the ongoing IFA trade fair in Berlin, Intel definitively and completely presented its new line of processors called Skylake. The new, sixth generation provides increased graphics and processor performance and better power optimization. In the coming months, Skylake processors will most likely make their way to all Macs as well.
MacBook
The new MacBooks are powered by Core M processors, where Skylake will offer 10 hours of battery life, a 10-20% increase in processing power and up to a 40% increase in graphics performance against the current Broadwell.
The Core M series will have three representatives, namely M3, M5 and M7, their use will vary depending on the chosen configuration of the laptop. All provide a very low peak thermal power (TDP) of just 4,5 watts and integrated Intel HD 515 graphics along with 4MB of fast cache memory.
All Core M processors have a variable TDP depending on the intensity of the work being performed. In an unloaded state, the TDP can drop to 3,5 watts, on the contrary, it can increase to 7 watts under heavy load.
The new Core M processors will probably be the fastest of all the latest chips, so we expect their deployment as soon as possible. However, Apple does not have a representative this year 12-inch MacBook where to hurry, therefore we will most likely not see the new generation with Skylake processors until next year.
MacBook Air
In the MacBook Air, Apple traditionally bets on Intel i5 and i7 processors from the U series, which will be dual-core. Their TDP will already be at a higher value, around 15 watts. The graphics here will be Intel Iris Graphics 540 with dedicated eDRAM.
Versions of the i7 processor will be used only in the highest configurations of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air. Base configurations will include Core i5 processors.
How we they mentioned as early as July, the new U-series processors will offer a 10% increase in processing power, a 34% increase in graphics performance and up to 1,4 hours longer lifespan – all compared to the current Broadwell generation.
Skylake processors in the Intel Core i5 and i7 series, however, according to Intel, will not arrive before the beginning of 2016, from which we can deduce that the MacBook Air will not be updated before then, that is, if we are talking about installing new processors.
13-inch Retina MacBook Pro
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display will also use Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, but in its more demanding, 28-watt version. Intel Iris Graphics 550 graphics with 4 MB of cache memory will be second to the dual-core processors here.
The basic and mid-range model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina will use Core i5 chips, Core i7 will be ready for the highest configuration. The new Iris Graphics 550 graphics are the direct successors of the older Iris 6100 graphics.
As with the MacBook Air, new processors won't be released until early 2016.
15-inch Retina MacBook Pro
More powerful H-series processors, which already have a TDP of around 15 watts, will be used to drive the 45-inch Retina MacBook Pro. However, Intel will not have this series of chips ready before the beginning of next year, and in addition, it did not provide detailed information about it. So far, none of these processors provide the high-end graphics that Apple needs for its most powerful and largest laptop.
There is also the possibility of using the older Broadwell generation, which Apple he jumped, however, it is now more likely that Apple will wait until the Skylake generation to deploy new processors.
iMac
Laptops are getting more and more attention at the expense of desktop computers, however, Intel also introduced several new Skylake processors for desktops. A trio of Intel Core i5 chips and one Intel Core i7 should probably appear in new generations of iMac computers, although there are a few obstacles.
As in the case of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, Apple skipped the generation of Broadwell processors due to many delays in the iMac, and thus has various Haswell variants in the current offer, which it accelerated in certain models. Many models already have their own dedicated graphics and Skylake deployment would probably not be a problem in them, but some iMacs continue to use integrated Iris Pro graphics and such chips have not yet been announced by Intel.
So the question is how Apple will handle Skylake desktop processors, which should appear before the end of the year. Many are talking about an update to the iMacs soon, but it is not certain that they will appear in all Skylakes. But it is not excluded, for example, a special modified version, which Apple used for the original lowest configuration of the iMac with Haswell.
Mac Mini and Mac Pro
In most cases, Apple uses the same versions of processors in the Mac mini as in the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Unlike laptops, however, the Mac mini already uses Broadwell processors, so it is not entirely clear when and with which Skylake versions the new computer update will arrive.
However, the situation is a little different with the Mac Pro, as it uses the most powerful processors and therefore has an update cycle different from the rest of the Apple portfolio. The new Xeons that should be used in the next generation Mac Pro are still a bit of a mystery, but an update to the Mac Pro would certainly be welcome.
Considering that Intel will release most of the new Skylake chips and some won't make it until next year, we probably won't see any new computers from Apple in the coming weeks. The most talked about and most likely to see the iMac update first, but the date is still unclear.
Next week, Apple is expected to present at its keynote the new generation of Apple TV, the new iPhones 6S and 6S Plus and he is not excluded either the arrival of the new iPad Pro.
I would be quite interested in the number of last generation MacPros sold. Face it, who's working on it?
Me, and what like?
nothing, I just miraculously predicted lousy sales, so I wonder how many people turned to MacPro. In my area, on the other hand, many people switched to another platform or built a Hackintosh
Also, many well-known people went to the latest generations of 'old' Pros rather than the new trash cans...
This is almost nonsense, the old Macy's for "pre-basketball" are quite poor in terms of performance. Compare benchmarks at everymac.com
Internet bazaars are full of them, so people tend to get rid of them, but as a base, a nice hackintosh case.
In terms of price, it is very advantageous to buy the latest 4-core mac mini (optimally more powerful variant) and you get both SingleCore and MultiCore at similar values as with the basic Mac Pro 2013 (basket).
Graphics performance is a different matter, then a Mac Pro is suitable, or try to build a hackintosh with a 4790 and some stronger Nvidia.
Well, it depends a lot on the version, 12-core and 8-core 'pre-basket' Pro is basically the best that can be bought - running under OSX - for relatively reasonable money.
A friend makes videos professionally and has a 12 2,93-core Xeon 2010 with 64GB RAM and cannot praise it enough. At the same time, an old computer for today's time...
I certainly wouldn't dispute that she can't praise him. I have no doubt about it, the advantage of older PROs is the possibility of installing powerful graphics directly into the slot. For new Macs, you would have to DIY a solution using AKITIO or another Thunderbolt dock and an external power source (you can find a few working external GPUs on the net).
To Performance Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.93 (Server 2010) Specs.
This is the two-processor one, this solution is always slower than one 12Core CPU as in the new "trash" pro.
According to Geekbench, it should perform very closely above the 8 Core Xeon E5-1680v2 2013.
It will probably still be usable for a few more years for cutting, at the same time it is not a typical example of the "pre-basket" pro macs that people are getting rid of these days.
1) It is one of the most powerful sets of that time
2) Even today, the bazaar price for this model will still be quite high
The price is still around 2000 USD (on average), add CLO shipping and other fees, which will add up to that, because you can't buy them as cheaply in Europe as in the USA. Because there are a minimum of them in Europe, even in Germany.
It is still true that 90% of the "pre-basket" mats available in bazaars are, from a long-term point of view, nonsense and scrap. (if you don't want it at the cottage) Because the newer ones perform better.
In addition, to keep the older "front basket" in condition to be able to compete with the newer mac, you will still have to invest a lot of resources in an SSD disk and new graphics, so it would handle 4k monitors. For someone who has one at home, it can be a worthwhile investment.
The vast majority of 4-core "front basket" Mac Pros are weaker in terms of performance than the new Macbook 13 retina (DualCore), both single core and multicore.
me too, and two, I can't praise it enough, performance, dimensions, noise - or silence :)
hm, great, so I'll wait half a year before Apple decides to replace almost 3-year-old processors :/ I call that a fail..
I wonder if I should wait or buy a Macbook Pro now
If you're thinking of Pro by 2014, go for it now. If 2015, wait for 2016. That's my opinion, if, I assume, nothing is burning for you and you can wait a year...
I have a Pro 15″ Retina 2012 maximum configuration at the time and the difference compared to the current best Pro is 15-18% on the processor. The graphics is another matter, the 1GB GeForce GT650 (+HD4000) is further behind AMD in the current 2015, but I don't need that...
So it comes down to if you want goodies like ForceTouch that the 2014 and older don't have… and then I'd wait because the 2015 has the old line of processors in the 15″…
Thank you for your opinion. As for the purchase, I'm thinking about the 2015 Pro 13″ version, as the smaller version is better for me because of portability. The discount also plays a role in the decision, my daughter is studying at a university, so I could take it with a student discount, just like when we bought her an Air last year
and 13″ have better processors than 15″? I would still prefer to wait until they put new processors, if only because of the better graphics chip. That will always come in handy..
Yes, the 15″ has older generation Haswell and the 13″ has Broadwell
I was thinking about it too and feel free to buy it for me. I will now buy a 13″ Pro and if you can use the student discount through your daughter, you will at least save money :-)