Superior GPU needed for OSX 10.6
After previous rumours of Apple including different, and possibly proprietary, chipsets in its next round of Macbooks, comes additional speculation regarding the future internals of Apple hardware.
A report on PC Perspective has identified that Nvidia's chipsets may be the perfect fit for Apple's new range of laptops, expected in September.
Ryan Shrout certainly provides a compelling argument.
He believes that Apple would have refreshed products at the same time as the Centrino 2 product release if Apple was to provide a 'standard Centrino 2' product base, otherwise the announcements would appear stale.
Nvidia is to produce a a chipset compatible with the platform, that incorporates much superior graphics - ideal for the alleged nativeGPU support of OS X 10.6 - on only one chip. Intel provides two.
The chip has the ability to scale from ultra-low power versions to SFF machines fitting in with Apple's wide-range of current products.
Nvidia has also gone quiet on its future chipset developments - which Shrout believes is due to development for the notoriously shrewd Apple.
There's also a definite wind of change regarding Apple hardware, flowing through the rumour mill. It all fits together quite nicely.
But while we agree that the fit seems almost perfect, we can't imagine Intel would allow this to happen.
Firstly, Intel has been affording a lot of special attention into Apple in relation to delivering products early and en-masse, and even going as far as to developer a unique processor for the company under the hood of the Macbook Air.
Secondly, the September refresh of Apple's notebook line will certainly announce the delivery of the new 45nm Core 2s (currently used by PC manufacturers under the Centrino 2 brand) into the company's products. Intel would certainly find it harder to find processors for Apple if the company was going elsewhere for other chips.
We suspect Apple's relationship would be seriously tarnished with Intel if Apple decided to use a competitor's chipsets, and that Apple's previous favours from Intel would be much reduced and harder to come by.
However, stranger things have happened and Apple has a track record of doing whatever it pleases. It seems we'll have to wait a bit longer until these rumours are put to bed, one way or the other.