Laptop Makers not using Intel’s i5 are in the slow lane

As performance laptops powered by the Intel I5 family of processors begin to appear in stores in quantity, it is clear that laptop makers not using them, including Apple, are behind the performance curve.

More and more laptop manufacturers are releasing models powered by Intel’s mobile i5 chipset, which by far outperforms the now lower-end Core i3 model processors. To get an idea of the performance improvements, one just need look at the reviews of the newer chips. AnandTech says that the i5 chips represent “the single largest performance improvement we’ve seen from a new mobile processor in years.” Tom’s Hardware said that the i5 “boasts the best balance between desktop-class speed and true mobile usability we’ve ever seen.”  Other reviews of the new Intel chip are equally glowing.

The new Intel Core i5 is built using on Intel’s cutting-edge 32-nanometer manufacturing process. It is positioned between the Core 3 line, which it outperforms significantly, and the Intel i7 family of processors, Intel’s highest performance chipsets, along with their Xeon processors. The i5 processors were released in January 2010 and laptops using the chipsets began to appear shortly after, according to a CNET story. Manufacturers that have released notebooks based on the i5 include Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Toshiba, among others.

One manufacturer noticeably missing from that list is Apple computer, usually at the forefront of the performance wars with its MacBook Pro line of computers. Savvy laptop shoppers know that the i5-powered portables are quite a lot faster than the previous-generation i3s and those looking for performance (who isn’t?) and those willing to pay for it (most of those who want it) have been waiting for the new Windows machines to come out. No doubt Apple MacBook users are also biding their time, which could hurt Mac notebook sales until they update the MacBook pro lineup. That being the case, it is fairly easy to predict that we will see a series of Macbook Pro upgrades coming from Apple sooner rather than later.