New information for the Intel Skylake processors that are most likely to wind up in a MacBook Air has been released.
The Skylake processors, which may be branded the “Core m3”, “Core m5” and “Core m7” offer the following specs:
The low-end Core m3 6Y30 has a 900 MHz dual-core processor with Turbo Boost up to 2.2 GHz. The chip has 4MB of L3 cache, HD 515 graphics, a maximum GPU frequency of 850 MHz and 4.5 watt thermal design power (TDP). This chip would likely be suited for the base model 12-inch MacBook sold for US$1,299.
The mid-tier Core m5 6Y54 and Core m5 6Y57 are similar chips with 1.1 GHz dual-core processors and Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz and 2.8 GHz respectively, 4MB of L3 cache, HD 515 graphics, a maximum GPU frequency of 900 MHz and 4.5 watt TDP. These chips would likely be suited for the high-end stock model 12-inch MacBook sold for US$1,599.The high-end Core m5 6Y75 is a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz, 4MB of L3 cache, HD 515 graphics, a maximum GPU frequency of 1 GHz and 4.5 watt TDP. This chip would be suited for the top of the line 12-inch MacBook model that carries a US$150 premium over systems with the high-end stock chip.
The Core M chips can be run at 7 watts to allow for higher CPU clock speeds, will feature 2 SATA 6Gb/s ports, 10 lanes of PCI-Express interface, 6 USB2/USB3 ports and eMMC 5.0 interface. They support USB OTG and Rapid Storage Technology 14. The chips will work with DDR3L-1600 and LPDDR3-1866 memory, and they are rated at 4.5 watt TDP and 3 watt SDP.
A leaked Intel slide deck revealed that the “Y” series Skylake chips that could be used for a 12-inch Retina MacBook will feature up to 17 percent faster CPU performance, up to 41 percent faster Intel HD graphics and up to 1.4 hours longer battery life compared to current-generation Core M architecture.
Intel’s sixth-generation Core M processors are expected to launch next month, possibly at the IFA Berlin trade show this September 4-9.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.