MacBook Rumor Roundup: Nvidia Chipsets, Aluminum Enclosure, Just Better Anyways

Apple’s MacBook line has been long in the tooth for quite a while with their last upgrades dating back to February. Typical to Apple’s release cycle, every 7-9 months significant upgrades are made to the Mac line but tomorrow’s event promises a bigger transition for the MacBook family.

Rumors sites have been buzzing with spy leaks, possible specs and price points. Photos of the MacBook’s new all Aluminum enclosure have made waves alongside the MacBook Pro’s new streamlined chassis. More notable however is the rumored low end price point of $800 which would mark Apple’s real foray into the sub $1,000 notebook market.

Nvidia Chipset

Since the transition to from PowerPC CPUs, Apple has stuck the course by utilizing Intel’s chipsets and integrated video chips. However, Intel’s integrated graphics chipset pales in comparison to ATI and Nvidia’s offering in power and performance, something Apple stressed heavily in the transition from PowerPC processors. However, Apple may be stepping up the processing power in even their low end MacBook thanks to a possible Nvidia chipset and low range GPU from the GeForce 9XXX series.

The rumored chipset would eliminate excess space used by the current Intel 945GM chipset and consolidate everything into one chip. Much speculation points toward the MCP79 from Nvidia to occupy Apple’s newest MacBooks and would offer substantial performance increases over Intel’s integrated graphics chipset such as H.264 acceleration, Hybrid SLI, Turbo Cache, support for PCI 2.0/DDR3 RAM and of course support for OpenCL introduced in Snow Leopard.

Hybrid SLI will allow energy wary users to turn off the discrete GPU and channel video processing to the CPU but with a major performance hit. The upside is increased battery longevity. Apple can choose to not to use these features but could invest heavily in Nvidia’s chipset, it’s substantial alternative to Intel’s Montevina platform.

Traditionally, Apple has been inclined towards ATI’s GPU selection and has slowly transitioned towards an expanded video selection ranging from the GeForce 8800 GT which is optionally available for the Mac Pro to the GeForce 8600M found in the current MacBook Pro. The GeForce 9300 or 9400 is expected to be the main GPU in Apple’s revamped MacBook which would also mean an upgrade for the MacBook Pro’s aging 8600.

New Aluminum Enclosure

Apple has slowly carried all of its product designs to sport all aluminum and/or glass. The most prominent transition was the iMac’s departure from an all white plastic exterior to an Aluminum clad hub with a glass sheet over the screen. The MacBook however, still adorns a full plastic enclosure reminiscent of the earlier iBook line but that could change come tomorrow. Leaked photos from a variety of sources show a transition to a MacBook Air inspired enclosure but is rumored to take design cues from the iMac as well. The top and bottom casing and screen for the new MacBook have made their rounds on the Internet and have been confirmed true by various rumor sites. The MacBook Pro’s new casing features a few noticeable subtractions from the I/O selection and is reflected in leaked pictures.

The full LCD casing for the MacBook Pro has yet to be seen and could look similar to the iMac containing a black, glossy border. Additionally, an easier to remove battery would latch onto the back allowing much easier access to the Hard Drive chamber.

One of the most prominent case leaks came from MacX and is partially mirrored on MacRumors and AppleInsider

Lower Price Point

Expected alongside these new models is a lower priced MacBook arriving at $800 and no other information on specs has emerged. The typical joke would be Apple introducing an Atom based MacBook with minimal RAM and Hard Drive sizes at this price point. 

Apple hasn’t had much success with their previous low priced Macs. Since the Mac Mini’s transition to Intel chips, talk of dismal sales and inevitable death have been long spoken. Apple’s eMac was doomed to the educational sector despite heavy demand from consumers. The eMac’s demise resulted in a poorly sold $999 Intel iMac that was also restricted to education customers.

DVI And FireWire 400 Dropped

FireWire 400 and full size video connectors have been a mainstay on Apple’s pro line of laptops since the inception of the Titanium PowerBooks but these features may have their looming end in Apple’s new MacBook Pro. Lacking on the MacBook Pro’s case is a full sized DVI port and Firewire 400 port. Instead, a single Firewire 800 port (which could be Firewire 3200 with backwards support for FW800/400) and Mini DVI providing video output are visible.

The transition to a sole Firewire port isn’t as big of a deal until the full specs are revealed but the removal of full size DVI means limited support for larger displays. While space is saved on the Logic Board, the limitations of Mini DVI prevents pro users from using 30 inch displays with gargantuan 2500 x 1600 pixel resolutions comfortably. The full output tops out at 1920 x 1200 at 60HZ. While not a huge concern for consumers looking for a larger display on a MacBook, pro users who take advantage of the machine’s higher processing powers will be disappointed considering the current video chipset can support such a massive display and the only limit will be its connector.