Powerbook 1.2GHz?

[MacRumors]

PowerPage (http://www.powerpage.org/story.lasso?newsID=9977) posts some rumors about even faster prototype Powerbooks.

The good news is that the top end model could eclipse even the 1022 MHz PowerBook G4 mules in testing now. G4 silicon running as fast as 1200 MHz (1.2 GHz) has been spotted in the titanium enclosure

They also report the new motherboards and built-in bluetooth will be featured... with OS X-only support. No time-frame is given, but if these follow Apple's OS X-Only timeline, it would be expected after Jan 2003.

[djniche]

I can see this happening on the next powermac update. I would say that the powerbook might just see a 933mhz or 1ghz update.
I would like to see a new design for the upcoming powerbook. I love the tibook and I just wonder what apple can come up with to top that design.

[OSeXy!]

800 MHz to 1200 MHz in a single update? Very hard to believe. But I want to believe!

[dernhelm]

This is the system I've been waiting 2 years for - another couple of months won't bother me none... :)

Hopefully they're smart enough to put in real motherboard support for DDR SDRAM. Then I'll probably have enough performance to run VPC half-way acceptably and have a single PC I can use at home and at work! I'd pay $3500 for that...

There's a switch ad in the making...

[ibookin']

I would like to see a 13" Widescreen TiBook replace the 14.1" iBook. That would rock with a Superdrive and a 1.2GHz G4.:D

Subnotebooks forever!:D

[iGav]

Originally posted by OSeXy!
800 MHz to 1200 MHz in a single update? Very hard to believe. But I want to believe!

I don't think this represents a single jump.... the PowerBook is due to be updated next month........ and certainly I don't believe that the current model could continue until next year in it's present configurations!!

OSX only certainly indicates early next year..... Feb-March time I would have thought.......

[barkmonster]

I'll believe it when I see it. That's exactly what I thought when the rumours of the towers jumping from 500 - 733MHz were on a lot of sites.

The one bad thing about the powerbooks being so close to the towers clockspeed wise is that they'll either have some elaborate and noisy new cooling system or no change to the cooling at all making that huge fan in the towers seem like a waste.

They have to start cranking up the speeds of the powerbooks sooner or later though.

I'd be cool if by March of next year there isn't a single model under 1Ghz apart from maybe the eMac and low end iBook.

[Thirteenva]

I think we'll see this 1.2 ghz model at MWNY next year.

I think the update coming in oct/nov will prob be 933mhz top model and 800mhz low end. Those will take us into next year where we'll see some real speed increases in the hardware as everything goes X only, and we see more hardware and OS optimization.

[Blackcat]

Currently Moto only list 1Ghz MPC7445s, and oddly 1Ghz MPC7455s too. That suggests Apple is overclocking. That seems unlikely in a laptop to me.

I really hope the imminent update is 1Ghz & 1.2Ghz though!

[idi_t]

Originally posted by dernhelm
This is the system I've been waiting 2 years for - another couple of months won't bother me none... :)

Hopefully they're smart enough to put in real motherboard support for DDR SDRAM. Then I'll probably have enough performance to run VPC half-way acceptably and have a single PC I can use at home and at work! I'd pay $3500 for that...

There's a switch ad in the making...


This touches on an interesting point: why isn't Apple offering VPC as a bundle with new Macs? This would really give the "Switch" campaign a lot more weight. At the very least they should be letting PC owners know that they can run _all_ of their current apps right on their new Mac. It always makes me a bit squeamish to see Windows coming up on my Mac, but I imagine some current PC users who are not aware of VPC might be amazed by it...

As for the 1.2 ghz TiBook, unless there's a motherboard redesign that utilizes DDR, it's just the same speed bump strategy apple has been following. Most likely they would release the 1 ghz in January with the 1.2 ghz following 4-5 months later... I'd be amazed if they dropped a 1.2 ghz Ti in January...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by barkmonster
I'll believe it when I see it. That's exactly what I thought when the rumours of the towers jumping from 500 - 733MHz were on a lot of sites.

The one bad thing about the powerbooks being so close to the towers clockspeed wise is that they'll either have some elaborate and noisy new cooling system or no change to the cooling at all making that huge fan in the towers seem like a waste.

They have to start cranking up the speeds of the powerbooks sooner or later though.

I'd be cool if by March of next year there isn't a single model under 1Ghz apart from maybe the eMac and low end iBook.


Don't forget all the towers have dual processors. That is the reason for the fan.

[Blackcat]

People just don't get the "No new hardware at Expos" thing do they?

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Blackcat
Currently Moto only list 1Ghz MPC7445s, and oddly 1Ghz MPC7455s too. That suggests Apple is overclocking. That seems unlikely in a laptop to me.

I really hope the imminent update is 1Ghz & 1.2Ghz though!


Just because Moto doesn't list it to the public doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If a manufacturor (Motorola) is testing and releasing a cpu at a given speed it is NOT overclocked it is tested to work at that speed. For liability reasons you will never see Apple or any other name brand PC manufacturor release a cpu at a higher clock rate then the manufacturor tested and stamped it at.

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by MacBandit



Just because Moto doesn't list it to the public doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If a manufacturor (Motorola) is testing and releasing a cpu at a given speed it is NOT overclocked it is tested to work at that speed. For liability reasons you will never see Apple or any other name brand PC manufacturor release a cpu at a higher clock rate then the manufacturor tested and stamped it at.

Which poses the question, what is the CPU in the dual 1.25GHz PMac? If it is a 7455 it's overclocked.

[Thirteenva]

Originally posted by Blackcat
People just don't get the "No new hardware at Expos" thing do they?

I think you are the person who does not understand.

Nobody ever said "no new hardware at expos". However apple has implied that it does not want to limit hardware upgrades only to expos. If the hardware needs to be "bumped" they'll just bump it with no announcement.

If i'm not mistaken at least some form of hardware was released at all the major expos this year. Only seybold and paris did not have hardware updates.

MWSF - NEW IMAC announced.

MW tokyo - 23 inch cinema display, 10gb ipod announced.

MWNY - 20GB ipod, 17 inch imac announced.

Please make sure you fully understand your arguement before concluding that it is others whom are uninformed.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Blackcat


Which poses the question, what is the CPU in the dual 1.25GHz PMac? If it is a 7455 it's overclocked.


No it's not overclocked. Yes it probably is a 7455. Motorola just found a way to leverage a few more Mhz out of it. Just because you read somewhere that it couldn't be done doesn't mean they didn't try and succeed.

[MacBandit]

There seems to be a real misunderstanding of overclocking here. Overclocking is purely a term to describe what an end user does to boost the cpu clock speed on a cpu. It does not and can not apply to the manufacturor.

The manufacturorer does not overclock. They try it at a higher frequency, test it, and approve it if it passes. Then the cpu is certified at that speed.

If you were the manufacturor and you overclocked the cpu and it tested at that speed you would just stamp the cpu for that speed. Thus it is not overclocked. It just simply tested faster then the other processors in the batch.

Every processor that comes off the line goes through this testing process. Believe it or not even the 7455 has turned out a handfull at close to 2ghz. Though there is not nearly enough to sell. This goes for all cpus and all manufacturors.

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by Thirteenva


I think you are the person who does not understand.

Nobody ever said "no new hardware at expos". However apple has implied that it does not want to limit hardware upgrades only to expos. If the hardware needs to be "bumped" they'll just bump it with no announcement.

Think about it, if i'm not mistaken at least some form of hardware was released at all the major expos this year. Only seybold and paris did not have hardware updates.

MWSF - NEW IMAC announced.

MW tokyo - 23 inch cinema display, 10gb ipod announced.

MWNY - 20GB ipod, 17 inch imac announced.

Please make sure you fully understand your arguement to be true before concluding that it is others whom are uninformed.

Actually, Apple (Fred Anderson?) did come right out and say that they wanted to get away from announcing hardware at Expos. I'll see if I can find a link.

The statement was made after the LCD iMac was released, and since then all the things you mention have been 'announced' as a sort of 2 line no fanfare thing - "and today you can buy a 20Gb iPod". They were all arguably minor updates too.

Expo announcements used to be huge things where you could feel Jobs excitement. They don't want that anymore. This year has been very dull Expo wise.

So, no exciting new Powerbook at MWSF or MWNY, but perhaps near them.

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by MacBandit



No it's not overclocked. Yes it probably is a 7455. Motorola just found a way to leverage a few more Mhz out of it. Just because you read somewhere that it couldn't be done doesn't mean they didn't try and succeed.

Wot?! :confused:
Read this link (http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=MPC7455&nodeId=01M98653)

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Blackcat


Wot?! :confused:
Read this link (http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=MPC7455&nodeId=01M98653)


So what's your point your reading an outdated article. Also processor manufacturors are known to not divulge all there secrets.

[Thirteenva]

Originally posted by Blackcat


Actually, Apple (Fred Anderson?) did come right out and say that they wanted to get away from announcing hardware at Expos. I'll see if I can find a link.
Yes i remember that, BUT i believe he said they want to get away from announcing new hardware ONLY at the expos. Not that they would STOP announcing new hardware at expos. Expos draw alot of fanfare from both consumers and press, why not demonstrate your latest and greatest toy...

His statement makes it clear that apple will not limit themselves to expos but still doesn't back up your blanket statement of "no new hardware at expos" because i've already proven that there has been new hardware at every major expo this year.


The statement was made after the LCD iMac was released, and since then all the things you mention have been 'announced' as a sort of 2 line no fanfare thing - "and today you can buy a 20Gb iPod". They were all arguably minor updates too.


Minor? Thats debatable, the 17 inch imac was a good example of apple responding to what its consumers asked for, and in a timely fashion. Doubling the capacity of the ipod is pretty amazing also if you ask me...

...but back to the point still all those things are hardware released at an expo when you say there is a rule against that....



Expo announcements used to be huge things where you could feel Jobs excitement. They don't want that anymore. This year has been very dull Expo wise.

None the less hardware WAS released at the expos.


So, no exciting new Powerbook at MWSF or MWNY, but perhaps near them.

you may be right.... but you may be wrong... because as you can see apple will still release products at the expo's BUT doesn't limit themselves only to expo announcements..

What you "don't get" is that there is no rule as you imply, that hardware won't be released at expo's. Fact is that hardware has been released at expos all year long....

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by Thirteenva

What you "don't get" is that there is no rule as you imply, that hardware won't be released at expo's. Fact is that hardware has been released at expos all year long....

Updates have indeed been announced, but nothing big and nothing with a big fuss. It's all very low key and hypeless.

I wish they would go back to the old way!

[dongmin]

the Powerpage report has no mention of a date, so it may very well be next April before we see a 1.2 ghz TiBook with a Superdrive. I'm hopeful for a 1 ghz TiBook next month.

And there's also no mention of what the 1.2 ghz chip might be. It could be the long-rumored 7460 for all we know. So don't get all huffy and puffy about breaking the 1 ghz barrier.

As for "overclocking", I just don't see the point of the whole discussion. If it runs at 1.2 ghz without any problems, is it relevant whether something is "overclocked" or not? And people make it seem like whole 1 ghz topping out thing as some fixed law of the universe. Why? Yes Moto announced in some press release some time ago about the 7455 to topping out at 1 ghz. But isn't it possible that the original projection was wrong or didn't fully anticipate other circumstances?

[Thirteenva]

Originally posted by Blackcat


Updates have indeed been announced, but nothing big and nothing with a big fuss. It's all very low key and hypeless.


Yes but this is getting pointless because your changing your original statement, which is what i was refuting to begin with.

thats not what you said orignally....

Originally posted by Blackcat


People just don't get the "No new hardware at Expos" thing do they?

Which is why i even engaged in writing a rebuttal...

My point was and is that the powerbooks could be released at macworld expos, nothing has been "ruled out" as you originally implied. And i believe my point stands, whether or not you view the subsequent keynotes as "dull" and "boring". I found mwny to be quite entertaining despite the lack of the new powermac which was pushed back due to surplus quicksilvers and a current promotion to get rid of them.

[Gelfin]

Of COURSE they're going to release products at Expos. There's no better forum to do so, and Steve loves putting on his little show too much to completely give up on surprising us during the keynote.

Problem was, in short, everybody watches the keynotes hoping for the "wow," and they really love to deliver that "wow," but tying your release schedules to this artificial tradeshow framework puts a lot of stress on both the development and cashflow parts of the business. The developers get driven like slaves to finish a product that may not be quite ready so they'll have something to show at the Expo. The bean counters get antsy at the idea that they will have to wait until the next Expo to see a new product and fresh cashflow. And for all the artificial stresses this imposed on the company, they were not getting the desired results from the audience. The last several keynotes I've seen have been followed directly by colossal festivals of bitching, whining and moaning here that the cool new stuff wasn't cool enough. So the only reasonable thing to do is to stop tying their product release cycle to this artifical show schedule, relieving some of the stress on the company and hopefully scaling back expectations in the community. It also means that when the new machine you're looking for doesn't show up at MWSF in January, that doesn't mean you'll necessarily have to wait until MWNY in July.

The Expo can still be a showcase for cool new products. We just shouldn't expect it to be the only or necessarily the biggest product announcements of the year.

[Thirteenva]

Thank you gelfin. You added some great points and did a good job reiterating what i'm trying to say here.

[Blackcat]

ANYHOO!

PowerPage seem pretty confident these will be next year (previously they said January). It also sounds like quite a big update too, which makes me wonder if we'll see a new update this year.

[scem0]

Doubtful but fun to imagine. I could understand 1 GHz but wouldn't 1.2 be way too hot? I really don't know much about processor heat, but I am pretty sure that would be too hot to do any processor intensive activities for very long. Would that shorten battery life?

[shadowfax]

uhhh... there is no way they could wait this out till even January. shoot, the powerbook is slower than a 17 inch iMac. it can't even begin to compete with the low-end powermacs, not even remotely. they will lose some serious business if they skip out on october... can anyone say... nVidia?

[iwantanewmac]

Originally posted by MacBandit
There seems to be a real misunderstanding of overclocking here. Overclocking is purely a term to describe what an end user does to boost the cpu clock speed on a cpu. It does not and can not apply to the manufacturor.

The manufacturorer does not overclock. They try it at a higher frequency, test it, and approve it if it passes. Then the cpu is certified at that speed.


I thought they tested it at max speed and then backed it off a bit for rliable performance.
no?

[nickmcghie]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
uhhh... there is no way they could wait this out till even January. shoot, the powerbook is slower than a 17 inch iMac. it can't even begin to compete with the low-end powermacs, not even remotely. they will lose some serious business if they skip out on october... can anyone say... nVidia?


slower than a 17" iMac? well, they're both 800Mhz G4's, and since the iMac is a desktop, it probably has a much faster hard drive, so i'm not too surprised.. i own a a 17" iMac, and its pretty damn speedy.. i've used a 800Mhz TiBook and it didn't seem any noticeably slower. But of course, the faster the better =)

and about nVidia.. umm.. have u heard of the Mobility Radeon 9000? it beats the crap out of the GeForce 4Go, or any other mobile chip out there, not to mention significant power saving features, etc... so i sure hope Apple sticks with ATI!

[shadowfax]

yeah sorry for the misunderstanding. i was trashing the losers at nvidia for losing their commanding lead by skipping their processor cycle by delaying the NV30 release. now, as you say, ATI is leaps and bounds ahead not with the mobility 9000 but the 9700 pro (the big story is the desktop market). i was just saying that apple doesn't need to be cutting its cycles so long because it makes them less competitive. right now from a performance standpoint an IBM thinkpad is much ahead of the game, barring the crippling windows XP factor. i am saying it would be stupid to hold off till january or even later.

and yeah, ati is way ahead in the mobiles as well, as you duly noted about the mobility 9000... i hope (because you know it's going on the PB) that they get smart this time and put the 64 MB on it, and not the 32..

[weezer]

I agree about the Thinkpads. Take a look at the T30's, they're about the same size and weight as a Tibook, they also have similar features and then some. They come with built in blue-tooth, 802.11b, firewire, usb-2, and more. Thinkpads also have as good as if not better than Apple build quality and durability. I've seen both Thinkpads and Powerbooks survive some pretty amaising things, like being dropped from waist heighth onto a hard concrete floor. The Thinkpad's case was cracked but it ran and it was repaired under warranty, no questions asked.

I've been holding out for a Powerbook revision since the end of August, and if it doesn't come by the end of October, I think Apple can kiss my money goodbye. I'll probably end up with a 2 gHz Thinkpad T30. The current Powerbook is too old, and not up to snuff with it's competition (or other Apple products). I don't expect much from Apple except a processor upgrade, even if it's to 800/933, I'll buy one as soon as the Apple Store has them posted online, and I don't think I'm the only one that feels this way.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by iwantanewmac


I thought they tested it at max speed and then backed it off a bit for rliable performance.
no?


They test it and approve it for max reliable speed. So yes, what you're saying in a since is correct. They don't back it off for reliability because they test it to achieve reliability in the first place.

Something else the article previously quoted said nothing about the CPU having been maxed out for design reasons. It simply said that the current batches were topping out at 1ghz it didn't say anything about it not being able to go higher ever.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
uhhh... there is no way they could wait this out till even January. shoot, the powerbook is slower than a 17 inch iMac. it can't even begin to compete with the low-end powermacs, not even remotely. they will lose some serious business if they skip out on october... can anyone say... nVidia?


There isn't a laptop on the planet that's as fast as a comparable desktop. This is for many reasons. More energy efficient chips, hard drive speeds, and things like bus speed. They cut on all of these to power and heat.

[barkmonster]

They test it and approve it for max reliable speed. So yes, what you're saying in a since is correct. They don't back it off for reliability because they test it to achieve reliability in the first place.

Something else the article previously quoted said nothing about the CPU having been maxed out for design reasons. It simply said that the current batches were topping out at 1ghz it didn't say anything about it not being able to go higher ever.

Yeah, that's how I've always thought of it, that's how come someone always manages to overclock a top of range mac somehow and almost everytime the next range is that speed.

The way I see it is Motorola have had 1Ghz G4s for nearly a year now, it goes without saying that the PowerPC 7455 has improved since then and there's plenty running reliably at 1.25Ghz. I imagine apple save a bundle with so many models being in the 667 - 867Mhz range. That only leaves the top 2 cpus that need to perform reliably at 1Ghz+ so I imagine all those chips that don't run reliably at the higher speeds are being snapped up for the iMac, Powerbook, eMac and low end tower models.

I hope they add a G4 iBook to their portable range sometime. Even if it's got a 13" screen because a portable G4, Firewire HD, Mbox and USB midi controller keyboard for under 2 grand would be a real cool system for audio.

[theaz]

whilst it sounds like great news, the problem with this type of report is that it gets everyones hopes and expectataions up. Inevitably someone will get hurt: they always do. i am anticipating grumpy people on forums after the revision is released cause they did not see these mHz jumps...

[{1984}]

i think it would be great if apple would release a 1.2 gig powerbook

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by MacBandit
There isn't a laptop on the planet that's as fast as a comparable desktop. This is for many reasons. More energy efficient chips, hard drive speeds, and things like bus speed. They cut on all of these to power and heat.

I realize that they will never be as fast as the best dektops; this seems outright obvious. however, they can be as fast as "comparable" desktops--comparable being desktops slow enough to compare to it. you may notice, though, that the powerbook when it came out in april amounted to a milestone in laptop creation because it was as close as they ever got... i seem to remember 800, 933, 1GHz, and dual GHz processors on the powermacs at the time, though i could be wrong. regardless, it was much nicer than the imacs at the time of release, and now that the slowest powermac is dual 867, i feel the powermac should at least be near that level--not duals, but at least the 1 GHz mark. they don't need to wait this long to revise it. it's the oldet system, and no one else's laptops have this kind of turnaround on upgrading. I really think you miss the point. i don't want PBs to compete with the good desktops, but i would like them to compete with the low end powermacs... good god, they could at least beat the iMac! don't say it's not possible, it was possible 2 months ago, and it was a matter of fact then.

and dare i forget "bus speed?" they had the same bus speed as the powermacs until about a month ago. it's quite conceivable that they may go up this time too. also, i have a real problem with them shipping OS 10.1 with them; that needs to change fast.

[scem0]

Originally posted by theaz
whilst it sounds like great news, the problem with this type of report is that it gets everyones hopes and expectataions up. Inevitably someone will get hurt: they always do. i am anticipating grumpy people on forums after the revision is released cause they did not see these mHz jumps...


Same thing as the 1.6 7470 g4s..... :( :( :( :(.... oh well :D

[Rocketman]

Originally posted by {1984}
i think it would be great if apple would release a 1.2 gig powerbook

How about 2x800 low heat CPU's?

Rocketman

[shadowfax]

how about not, you'd be frying eggs on your keyboard

[MDiddy]

Originally posted by idi_t



This touches on an interesting point: why isn't Apple offering VPC as a bundle with new Macs? This would really give the "Switch" campaign a lot more weight. At the very least they should be letting PC owners know that they can run _all_ of their current apps right on their new Mac. It always makes me a bit squeamish to see Windows coming up on my Mac, but I imagine some current PC users who are not aware of VPC might be amazed by it...

As for the 1.2 ghz TiBook, unless there's a motherboard redesign that utilizes DDR, it's just the same speed bump strategy apple has been following. Most likely they would release the 1 ghz in January with the 1.2 ghz following 4-5 months later... I'd be amazed if they dropped a 1.2 ghz Ti in January...

To include VirtualPC is to conceide that you can't live your life without Windows, which is NOT the impression that you want to give people. The 1st thought that would come to mind from the person that doesn't know the advantages to Mac is, "If I need this VirtualPC thing-why not stick with my Real PC?" Which although i bit shortsighted is a very valid point. Apple must take the next step and make themselves as independent from MS as possible, which is why I think they'll be an Apple branded web browser to replace IE sometime very soon. Apple wants to embrace industry standards while MS wants to take those standards, alter them a bit then call them a new Microsoft "Innovation" and push down the troughs of all the millions of Microsoft junkies out there who just don't know or don't want to knowany better. MS is trying to shut as many doors as possible on anything that's not made by MS. They want to keep their stranglehold on the PC market anyway they can.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Shadowfax


I realize that they will never be as fast as the best dektops; this seems outright obvious. however, they can be as fast as "comparable" desktops--comparable being desktops slow enough to compare to it. you may notice, though, that the powerbook when it came out in april amounted to a milestone in laptop creation because it was as close as they ever got... i seem to remember 800, 933, 1GHz, and dual GHz processors on the powermacs at the time, though i could be wrong. regardless, it was much nicer than the imacs at the time of release, and now that the slowest powermac is dual 867, i feel the powermac should at least be near that level--not duals, but at least the 1 GHz mark. they don't need to wait this long to revise it. it's the oldet system, and no one else's laptops have this kind of turnaround on upgrading. I really think you miss the point. i don't want PBs to compete with the good desktops, but i would like them to compete with the low end powermacs... good god, they could at least beat the iMac! don't say it's not possible, it was possible 2 months ago, and it was a matter of fact then.

and dare i forget "bus speed?" they had the same bus speed as the powermacs until about a month ago. it's quite conceivable that they may go up this time too. also, i have a real problem with them shipping OS 10.1 with them; that needs to change fast.


What I do agree on is that it is a bit rediculous that a consumer machine the iMac would have the same processor that the pro laptop machine has.

[Buggy]

There is a lot of talk floating around about bluetooth's ability to integrate applainces and the like with your computers systems.

Apple will beat the applaince manucaturers to the punch!!!

The VERY first blue tooth equiped hot plate!!!

(next comes the tower oven... just remove the heat sink and insert a small roast!!)

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Buggy
There is a lot of talk floating around about bluetooth's ability to integrate applainces and the like with your computers systems.

Apple will beat the applaince manucaturers to the punch!!!

The VERY first blue tooth equiped hot plate!!!

(next comes the tower oven... just remove the heat sink and insert a small roast!!)

Tower oven is already here it's sitting next to my desk with a mirror on it so I can shave and 4 speed holes at the bottom.

[moby1]

Originally posted by idi_t
[B]

This touches on an interesting point: why isn't Apple offering VPC as a bundle with new Macs? This would really give the "Switch" campaign a lot more weight. At the very least they should be letting PC owners know that they can run _all_ of their current apps right on their new Mac. It always makes me a bit squeamish to see Windows coming up on my Mac, but I imagine some current PC users who are not aware of VPC might be amazed by it.../B]

I choose the top end 800 over the 667 just for VPC. It was cheaper than buying a 2nd PC laptop.

I'm very happy with the performance of VPC on the Ti 800 (OS X, OS 9, with 768 MB). I run '95, '98, 2000 Pro, 2000 Server and red hat 7.3 (w/o GUI it runs fine).

I don't know what I'd do with a PC laptop that'd only run 1 or 2 operating systems : (

I doubt Apple wants to bundle M$ operating systems with it's PowerBooks though...
LOL

[Rajj]

Originally posted by MacBandit



There isn't a laptop on the planet that's as fast as a comparable desktop. This is for many reasons. More energy efficient chips, hard drive speeds, and things like bus speed. They cut on all of these to power and heat.

Pro Star (http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=productdetail&model=8894) makes notebooks that is the same speed as desktops!!

They are rather heavy and ugly thou!!:p

[JW Pepper]

If this report is near the truth it points to a new FAB. the only way Apple avoid the iEggfryer at these speeds is if they have a chip fabing at 0.09

It is possible that they have sample chips and are testing them in the TI's. If this is the case it is good news indeed as we will see further hikes in the PM's speed too.

[iwantanewmac]

Originally posted by MacBandit



They test it and approve it for max reliable speed. So yes, what you're saying in a since is correct. They don't back it off for reliability because they test it to achieve reliability in the first place.

Something else the article previously quoted said nothing about the CPU having been maxed out for design reasons. It simply said that the current batches were topping out at 1ghz it didn't say anything about it not being able to go higher ever.

Okay but I thought that's what they did with the pci G4's. That's why you can overclock it easily and is very stably cus it was made to run at 450 instead of 400 mhz.

[biscuit]

That comment on dye size got me thinking. Would a chip made on the 0.09 µm dye cost more than a 0.13 µm one? Bear in mind that they've built a factory for it; does the cost of that get passed down to chips? Or do they cost the same since they're just switching the whole process over?

The smaller transistor size is surely what will bring 1 GHz + to the PowerBook. When I think about it, wouldn't it be quite simple to get a 1.2 GHz chip in there if it was on the new process?

Heres hoping they stuff it full of VRAM too.

biscuit

Edit: Is it dye or die?

[ncbill]

It's die, and chips always sell for less after die shrinks, but there are often delays (AMD has had trouble moving to 0.13 microns with the Athlon)Originally posted by biscuit
That comment on dye size got me thinking. Would a chip made on the 0.09 µm die cost more than a 0.13 µm one?
Edit: Is it dye or die?

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by biscuit
That comment on dye size got me thinking. Would a chip made on the 0.09 µm dye cost more than a 0.13 µm one? Bear in mind that they've built a factory for it; does the cost of that get passed down to chips? Or do they cost the same since they're just switching the whole process over?

The smaller transistor size is surely what will bring 1 GHz + to the PowerBook. When I think about it, wouldn't it be quite simple to get a 1.2 GHz chip in there if it was on the new process?

Heres hoping they stuff it full of VRAM too.

biscuit

Edit: Is it dye or die?

When you can shrink the chips size down you can fit more chips on a single silicon wafer. Therefore in the end it's cheaper.