Interesting Apple Rumor

[furrbear]

Mac mini said to get Ion innards
Atom's Apple?

By Rik Myslewski • Get more from this author

Posted in PCs & Chips, 16th January 2009 01:29 GMT

Courtesy of Tom's Hardware comes the "confirmation" from "an Nvidia partner" that the long-awaited Mac mini upgrade is coming as soon as March, but that it won't be powered by either an Intel Core 2 Duo or a low-power Core i7.

And no, it won't be an AMD chip.

Instead, according to the rumor du jour, the Mac mini will be based upon Nvidia's Ion platform, and will have at its heart an Intel Atom processor.

The Ion pairs the same Nvidia 9400M system controller cum graphics processor that's in Apple's unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro lines with Intel's Atom 330.

The Atom is no speedster - but, then again, the Mac mini hasn't lived its life in the fast lane. The Atom 330 runs at 1.6GHz, has a 1MB L2 cache, and sits on a 533MHz frontside bus (FSB). Compare those specs to those of the current Mac mini and you'll see what we mean: a 1.83GHz or 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2MB or 4MB L2 cache, and a 667MHz FSB.

But comparing the dual-core Atom 330 to a dual-core Core 2 Duo involves much more than mere speeds and feeds. The architecture of the Core 2 Duo is far more sophisticated than that of the Atom. For one thing - one major thing - the Atom 330 (neé Dual Diamondville) is an in-order processor while the Core 2 Duo uses Out-of-Order (OoO) processing.

Simply put, OoO execution allows a processor to intelligently manage its workflow in a way that prevents precious processing cycles being wasted while instructions wait for data. In-order processors are too dumb to do this, so they can frequently twiddle their digital thumbs while waiting for something to do.

Again, Atom, in-order; Core 2 Duo, OoO. Or to put it another way, Atom, archaic; Core 2 Duo, modern.

That said, the Nvidia 9400M is no dog. What's more, Nvidia's CUDA technology allows the 9400M to unload some processing duties from the Atom in essentially the same way as will the OpenCL technology recently published by the Khronos Group and soon to appear in Apple's next operating system, Snow Leopard. That should help.

But would it help enough? Unlikely. CUDA and OpenCL aren't designed to replace a CPU with a GPU; they're designed to offload specifically highly parallel duties such as image and media processing.

The Atom was designed for low-end products such as netbooks, Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC), Mobile Internet Devices (MID), and the like. Asking it to carry a Mac on its back would be like asking Verne Troyer to give Yao Ming a piggyback ride.

Not that it couldn't be done - it's just that it might be as unpleasant an experience as that ride would be for Mr. Troyer and Mr. Ming. ®

Comments

[e-ticket.livejournal.com]

Hrrrmmm.

Now I'm *really* torn. Do I replace my aging G4 Mini with a current-gen Core 2 Duo Mini? Or wait and see with this Atom Mini instead?

[furrbear.livejournal.com]

I with ya on that, Dave.

I've always considered the Atom processors to be good for routers, etc...

I'd lean toward the 2Ghz Core 2 until I see some specs that otherwise convince me to go with the Atom. Yeah, the Nvidia CUDA technology should be great for graphic and video apps, but that's not my primary workload.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

Assuming it's true - Apple must have an idea of what the target market for the MacMini is that this would suit.

I have an EeePC running a single core Atom, and it's good for more than a router. No, I'm not doing raytracing or major media transcoding - but for internet, writing, watching video, running my mapping software - it's plenty for what I need out of a netbook. The fact the little thing can run for about 5.5 hours on a single charge is worth more to me than having CPU crunch that's not justified by the purpose of the machine.

This is why I built my router/firewall out of a thin client based on an 800MHz Via C3 chip - it's more than enough for a router, and it consumes vastly less power and space than an ordinary PC. Matching the hardware to the need, dude... ;)

[blt4success66.livejournal.com]

LOVE NVidia...seriously.

[bootedintexas.livejournal.com]

i have had my mac mini for two-three years now and i love it.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

If this keeps up, the low end Mac gear will soon be bested by the OLPC. At least the price will make it exclusive, and the OOBE will be exquisite, per usual.

[cubziz.livejournal.com]

The Mac Mini wouldn't be an Ion system, at least not with the Atom. However, the AppleTV would be ideal for this setup. (Seeing as it is currently using a 700Mhz Pentium III, I believe.)

But the Mini, I'm hoping, will move to Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad options.