Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Why doesn't Apple make there own processors?

D

Derrick Velasco

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 17, 2008
210
0
I think they would do a great job with it! Because my mom's MBP is Intel (As I know you know) and my iMac G3 is PPC. (Bet you knew that too) And in the iPod's there's a toshiba battery right? (at least in my old one) I think Apple can make a better battery than toshiba. Plus there is a Samsung processor in the iPhone?
I thought apple didn't like Samsung?
Thanks for helping me figure this out. :D

EDIT: I found this link and I thought it was interesting, I know it's insight but you know.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/hardware/soa/Apple-sneaks-past-Intel-to-make-own-processors-/0,139023759,339288432,00.htm?omnRef=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en
 
Processor are very difficult to make and make advancements with. We get spoiled by intel in terms of it seems like all the time there are new chips coming out... the truth is that there is a HUGE R&D department behind these advancements....... Apple just doesn't have the resources or the brains at the time to do this. Intel makes one hell of a chip so there is no reason not to let them continue this while Apple continues to make world class products....it would be like MS making a computer...hell they can't even get an OS right why would they start on computer hardware....we don't want Apple to try and do too much and end up like MS......

EDIT: I understand with Apple's acquisition of PA Semi people think that this is a possibility but PA Semi makes low power chips and they don't have the ability to mass produce high power chips like what goes in the Mac line.....
 
Did somebody say monopoly?

Processors are highly technical. It's a 24x7 mutli-million dollar business, it's hard to keep up with all that AND develop the ipod, iphone, mac, os x, etc...
 
That's true guys,
I just thought, IF Apple really wanted too, I'm sure they could.
And yeah your right, Nobody wants Apple to turn into MS.

I wonder if Apple ever made processors of there own... I'm pretty much just speaking out of my mind but it seems logical,
Apple computer=Apple processors.
Apple computer=Intel? SURE!

Intel is perfect for the Mac so I shouldn't complain.
Thank you once again team!
Your all very helpful and kind.
 
Say What? Do you have any concept of how expensive it would be for Apple to design and manufacture their own processors. Technically Apple did this for 10 years with the PowerPC chips. Apple, Motorola, and IBM worked together to create a consumer version of IBM's POWER processors and came up with the 601, 603, 603e, 604, 604e, 750x(G3), 74XX(G4), and 970(G5). While they were the best processors when they started, they fell behind their Intel/AMD counterparts several times, then the G5 became an Albatross since IBM had problems creating them at a high enough speed to compete against Intel. It also didn't help that the PPC never gained wide-spread adoption in the PC industry, instead being used in embedded systems, like Routers, Traffic Signals, and Cars, but they are used in Video Game Systems, the XBox 360 uses a modified 970 chip as its processor, and the Wii uses a modified 750 as its processor.

Batteries are a tricky thing, since their manufacture is very toxic, and can only occur in certain areas. Apple could desgn a cooler looking battery, but not a more powerful one.

Apple has been using Samsung NAND Memory since the first nano came out, and the Samsung Processor was the best they could get at the time.

All companies use components from other companies, no company is virtically integrated enough to only use parts made by themselves or wholy-owned subsidaries, plus to do so invites Monolopy status and Anti-Trust rulings.

TEG
 
[/QUOTE]EDIT: I understand with Apple's acquisition of PA Semi people think that this is a possibility but PA Semi makes low power chips and they don't have the ability to mass produce high power chips like what goes in the Mac line.....[/QUOTE]

I wonder why they bought it then? iPhone?
 
TEG said:
Say What? Do you have any concept of how expensive it would be for Apple to design and manufacture their own processors. Technically Apple did this for 10 years with the PowerPC chips. Apple, Motorola, and IBM worked together to create a consumer version of IBM's POWER processors and came up with the 601, 603, 603e, 604, 604e, 750x(G3), 74XX(G4), and 970(G5). While they were the best processors when they started, they fell behind their Intel/AMD counterparts several times, then the G5 became an Albatross since IBM had problems creating them at a high enough speed to compete against Intel. It also didn't help that the PPC never gained wide-spread adoption in the PC industry, instead being used in embedded systems, like Routers, Traffic Signals, and Cars, but they are used in Video Game Systems, the XBox 360 uses a modified 970 chip as its processor, and the Wii uses a modified 750 as its processor.

Batteries are a tricky thing, since their manufacture is very toxic, and can only occur in certain areas. Apple could desgn a cooler looking battery, but not a more powerful one.

Apple has been using Samsung NAND Memory since the first nano came out, and the Samsung Processor was the best they could get at the time.

All companies use components from other companies, no company is virtically integrated enough to only use parts made by themselves or wholy-owned subsidaries, plus to do so invites Monolopy status and Anti-Trust rulings.

TEG
Click to expand...

Wow interesting, I understand now that's it's hard to do everything, (In the world of business)
Thanks for your post.
 
[/QUOTE] I wonder why they bought it then? iPhone?[/QUOTE]

That would be my guess... though it might be years from actually being implemented...
 
I wonder why they bought it then? iPhone?[/QUOTE]

That would be my guess... though it might be years from actually being implemented...[/QUOTE]

Interesting...:eek:
 
Because if they wanted to it would be cheaper to let AMD continue to slip, then buy that.

Building processors is a lot of expensive R&D, expensive fab plants and expensive technology to license.
 
The same reason you don't buy your own automobile company when you need a car, mould your own plastics to produce your own laptop stand, or learn every instrument and create your own band when you want to listen to some new music.

Or on an even smaller scale, why don't car companies produce their own nuts and bolts, their own glass for windshields, their own audio companies to produce sound systems, their own fabrics for the seats, their own tires, small LED lights, etc?

There's no point re-inventing the wheel.....when Bridgestone already makes them. ;)
 
Derrick Velasco said:
That's true guys,
I just thought, IF Apple really wanted too, I'm sure they could.
And yeah your right, Nobody wants Apple to turn into MS.

I wonder if Apple ever made processors of there own... I'm pretty much just speaking out of my mind but it seems logical,
Apple computer=Apple processors.
Apple computer=Intel? SURE!

Intel is perfect for the Mac so I shouldn't complain.
Thank you once again team!
Your all very helpful and kind.
Click to expand...

there is no way they could play catch up to intel.......you have NO knwledege of the work it takes to get into processor design.

its akin to asking intel if they could make their own os that is better than osx on the fly.

or to have apple start manufacturing their own materials and to take it a step further, actually mine for aluminum on their own. there is NO incentive when other corportaions do this for so much cheaper as its thier buisness
 
Derrick Velasco said:
I think they would do a great job with it! Because my mom's MBP is Intel (As I know you know) and my iMac G3 is PPC. (Bet you knew that too) And in the iPod's there's a toshiba battery right? (at least in my old one) I think Apple can make a better battery than toshiba. Plus there is a Samsung processor in the iPhone?
I thought apple didn't like Samsung?
Thanks for helping me figure this out.
Click to expand...

Why doesn't UPS and FedEx build their own trucks and planes?
 
This could make all software Incompatible if Apple were to use something Different. Not only that it costs a lot of money to get all the Manufacturing plants and Design the Processors.

Short Answer: NO IT WON'T HAPPEN!
 
It's just cheaper and easier to buy what already works well. Let Intel spend money on R&D, let Apple spend money putting computers together.

Same reason Dell, Toshiba, HP, etc, don't roll their own.
 
Apple could easily empty their $20 billion in the bank trying to create a new high-performance general-purpose CPU and a fabrication facility to make them. As such, it's not going to realistically happen.

One of the reasons Intel so dominates the industry is not just the money they spent designing the chips, but also the money they spent building the facilities to manufacture them. The tens of billions of dollars they have invested in their fabs is what allows them to pump out so many chips and just bury competitors like AMD and VIA who have only a handful of their own fabs and often have to contract with other companies to build their chips for them at higher prices, which means lower margins.
 
I have no doubt they will eventually switch to AMD processors or something when AMD sort themselves out and get back to what they do best, beating Intel. Until then we are stuck with them.
 
nick9191 said:
I have no doubt they will eventually switch to AMD processors or something when AMD sort themselves out and get back to what they do best, beating Intel. Until then we are stuck with them.
Click to expand...

I really doubt that, it took them more than 2 years to switch over. AMD doesn't have anything amazing on their roadmap that's better than intel. I never want them to leave intel.
 
Techguy172 said:
I really doubt that, it took them more than 2 years to switch over. AMD doesn't have anything amazing on their roadmap that's better than intel. I never want them to leave intel.
Click to expand...
Intel are beating AMD right now, however before the Core and Core 2 arrived, AMD were killing Intel on every level for the best part of 10 years. And I have no doubt as soon as AMD get themselves sorted out it will be business as usual.

It wont take Apple 2 years to switch to AMD. Its not a different architecture like Intel and PPC. OS X will run unmodified, as is, on AMD, just like Windows does. They will likely have Intel and AMD computers, just as Dell has for example.
 
nick9191 said:
Intel are beating AMD right now, however before the Core and Core 2 arrived, AMD were killing Intel on every level for the best part of 10 years. And I have no doubt as soon as AMD get themselves sorted out it will be business as usual.

It wont take Apple 2 years to switch to AMD. Its not a different architecture like Intel and PPC. OS X will run unmodified, as is, on AMD, just like Windows does. They will likely have Intel and AMD computers, just as Dell has for example.
Click to expand...

Yeah well it could be more than ten years before that happens and i hope it never happens I don't like AMD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back