Will Apple switch to Ryzen?

[Combat squirrel]

As title, will Apple switch to AMD Ryzen? They could produce better performing lower power imacs,.... As imacs are aimed at mainly content creation, this would be an amazing move. Also Apple could maximise its profits on using cheaper processors.

They use amd graphics now so what you think?

I was going to switch to apple until ryzen came along, so have continued with a new PC.

The only reason I can think not is Intels typical dirty contract tricks, I'd imagine they have Apple locked in contractually.

In the long run I think Apple will build its own processors given how good Its mobile chips are... But mean while zen2?

It would defo be better to have a fast 4ghz thread ripper in imac pro than a slow clocked 16 core xeon as well!

What does everyone think?

 

[Caged]

Apple use Thunderbolt quite extensively.

 

[chanjy]

Wouldn't they want to use the same product family throughout the Mac range I imagine, can't see Ryzen for Mac Pro then Intel for everything else?

As well as the Thunderbolt issue, Intel has a massive lead in mobile processors and the MBPs use Iris graphics extensively and I don't think AMD's solutions work out nearly as well right now.

 

[ChrisD.]

I highly doubt they'll switch.

 

[Combat squirrel]

Well there moving to usb-c now in all their computer products. And it won't be long before amd release ryzen apu's... Meaning Intel destroying graphics with lower power cpu of similar ipc.... I predict they just might, and we all know Apple are in it for the money. They would sell at the same price, but amd charge less for their products so Apple wins.

Also with quad core really really really not being enough now, Intel are stuck right now, coffee lake maybe, but logically and business sense I predict a move..... Also it's amds chipsets, much cheaper, my 350 board was only £80 with USB c, imagine how cheap Apple could get them buying a million in bulk.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

They could produce better performing lower power imacs,

The only reason I can think not is Intels typical dirty contract tricks, I'd imagine they have Apple locked in contractually.

It would defo be better to have a fast 4ghz thread ripper in imac pro than a slow clocked 16 core xeon as well!

Most consumers do not need more than 4 well performing cores. Clock speed is still king in everything but 'content creation' which 0.01% of people actually do. Most just look at Facebook, Apple sells more dual cores than any other processor.

It's more like Apple negotiated a huge contract with Intel, they are generally first to get access to new processors and they buy higher volumes than every other brand, more volume normally means lower price. I'm sure apple went in with their eyes open.....

Threadripper doesn't run at 4Ghz, that is it's max turbo speed. The Intel i9 5960X will be faster but priced much higher.

Apple use Thunderbolt quite extensively.

This is a big issue for Apple.

Well there moving to usb-c now in all their computer products. And it won't be long before amd release ryzen apu's... Meaning Intel destroying graphics with lower power cpu of similar ipc.

Also it's amds chipsets, much cheaper, my 350 board was only £80 with USB c, imagine how cheap Apple could get them buying a million in bulk.

USB-C does not equal Thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt runs on the USB-C port and cable but not all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 3. It is an Intel only feature and is integral to the current Apple design philosophy.

AMD IPC is worse then Intel, that is a simple fact. Where AMD win is on value and core count. But as i said above Apple sells more dual cores than anything else.

When you look at the i5 7600k vs the Ryzen 5 1600x which are the same price. Under typical consumer workloads such as gaming and browsing then the i5 is faster because of its better IPC and faster turbo clock speeds. Where Ryzen is better is synthetic CPU benchmarks that use all cores, video editing and streaming to twitch/youtube while using the same PC to game.

 

[Caged]

As above, USB-C can work as USB 3.1, DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt. Any cost or power savings from using not-Intel CPUs would be wiped out by having to add extra Thunderbolt hardware on.

 

[aoaaron]

They'll stick to intel

 

[Deleted member 138126]

I very much doubt Intel will grant a Thunderbolt license for non-Intel hardware -- it's a market differentiator.

 

[Journey]

I highly doubt it, at least not for 2-3 years due to their reliance on TB, although it's not unknown that Apple will do something dramatic, and people while whinge, but still buy macs, as they like OSX, even when it means changing loads of external hardware.
*** removed - see here ***

 

[Hades]

With USB-C is Thunderbolt that useful now? I appreciate some USB-C ports can carry Thunderbolt 3 but isn't USB-C fast enough to drive displays and other peripherals anyway? Or am I missing something?

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Thunderbolt 3 is essentially PCI-E (with some extra overhead) over USB type-C so you can attach and daisy chain multiple devices off 1 port.

You can hook up all sorts like external GPU's to laptops, fast SSD raid's, monitors, etc.

 

[The_Abyss]

As title, will Apple switch to AMD Ryzen?

Increasingly unlikely.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11738...tarting-with-kaby-lake-refresh-for-15w-mobile

 

[Minstadave]

Shame as it would be useful for their high end iMacs and the rumoured Mac Pro replacement, nice balance of performance and power usage for content creation.