UPDATE 4/3/10 2:30PM Eastern: Added mention of IPS display panels to specs page.
For about 3 months now, Intel’s new “Arrandale” mobile Core i3/i5/i7 processors have been on the market — offered by many of the major PC makers in their latest laptops — but have not yet been integrated into Apple’s products. These CPUs are part of Intel’s “Nehalem” family, a major generational leap from previous Core 2 technology. Nehalem-class chips have been at the heart of the Mac Pro and quad-core iMacs for some time, and offer numerous advantages.
Arrandale, though only a two-core design versus the quads in current Core i5/i7 desktops, is ahead of those desktop chips in a few areas. Notably, it is one of Intel’s first Nehalem chips built on a 32-nanometer manufacturing process; each step in shrinking silicon chip manufacturing processes brings about greater energy efficiency, better price/performance, and allows more transistors to be packed onto a smaller chip footprint. Read more
Apple bumps Macbook Pro specs
Apple has quietly updated their Macbook Pro line with slightly faster processors, more hard drive space and improved discrete GPUs for the 15-inch and 17-inch models.
The entry level 13-inch MBP now ships with a dual-core 2.4ghz Core i5 processor, paired with integrated Intel HD graphics 3000, and a 500GB rotating hard drive. A dual-core 2.8ghz Core i5 processor is optional. Read more