IBM power4 lite

[technocoy]

hey everyone,
:D :D :D I just spoke with my IBM friend.....HE HE HE.....
Wanna know what he told me???

[vniow]

Wanna know what he told me???

Is that a trick question?;)

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by technocoy
Wanna know what he told me???
Um...yeah...that'd be good, it would give a meaning to this otherwise pointless thread :rolleyes:

[technocoy]

well first of all i asked him if they were gonna sell the power4 lite to apple or not, and he said it was a DONE DEAL.... Cool as HELL... I'll buy my powerbook now and by the time I need a desktop..... OH, Yeah:D new processor time..... interesting tidbit.... i kept saying power4 lite and he kept saying... no its the power5:confused: anyone else heard this??

more later....

my boss is here;)

technocoy

[Shrek]

Originally posted by technocoy
well first of all i asked him if they were gonna sell to apple or not, and he said it was a DONE DEAL.... Cool as HELL... I'll buy my powerbook now and by the time I need a desktop..... OH, Yeah:D new processor time..... interesting tidbit.... i kept saying power4 lite and he kept saying... no its the power5:confused: anyone else heard this??

more later....

my boss is here;)

technocoy

You're making this up. :mad:

[technocoy]

promise I'm not... just go ahead and mark it... I got the info... it's gonna be awesome. He said they are pretty large chips though.... I'm wondering if this means not in the powerbook for awhile... I'm betting some others were right in saying power4 in the desktops and new MOTO chip in the powerbooks...

either way i'm excited:D

i actually got some good inside info.

he also said he didn't think they would work with winblows(in their current configs) even though they are backwards compatible(run 32 bit as well as 64 bit), but that they were talking about putting them in their linux workstations and such!

technocoy

[edesignuk]

Power5? Yeah right! :rolleyes:

[technocoy]

perhaps the power5 as he called it is just in development?? or maybe it's just what people at IBM are calling the power4 lite.....

[technocoy]

go ahead roll em'. This guy is no spring chicken @ IBM, and we are always signing confidential agreements to do product cd's and interactive projects for their new product releases... I love it when he comes by, because he always knows about the cool stuff IBM is working on, I knew about the nintendo chips 6 mos before media release. It's great for a techno geek!!

just remember who said it!!;) :)

technocoy

[Shrek]

It sounds too good to be true, so, LIAR LIAR. :p

[Mr. Anderson]

Giving you the benefit of a doubt for a moment, I'm thinking it might make sense. If Apple goes with a new chip, they can name it what ever they want. And a 'new' chip should show a progression in the series so that joe consumer is less easily confused when faced with the option to have a Apple (iMac, eMac, Powerbook) G4 or a PowerMac Power5. If it was a Power4 it would just add to the confusion.

So it would still be IBMs Power4 lite, but with a different name to make things simpler.

Now, I'll come back in a few months or next year when its announced and see if it all turns out this way.

D

[Shrek]

The part about Apple buying out IBM is ridiculous. Now if it were the other way around. . . :rolleyes: :) ;)

[technocoy]

hey dukestreet,
this guy is from IBM though(so i don't know if he would already know what apple is going to call the chip), maybe the DONE DEAL is in relation to the power4 lite and he was saying that they are also developing the power5. either way they are both 64 bit chips... they are IBM... and they WILL be in macs next year or two... and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!:D :D

But your logic does make alot of sense.....:) i can see it being that as well

technocoy

[technocoy]

shrek,
what are you referring to?

[Cursor]

Originally posted by Shrek
The part about Apple buying out IBM is ridiculous. Now if it were the other way around. . . :rolleyes: :) ;)

No. He just meant IBM is selling their new chips to Apple. Let's not get into the Who's buying Who discussion again. :p

[Shrek]

Originally posted by technocoy
well first of all i asked him if they were gonna sell to apple or not, and he said it was a DONE DEAL....

Now that I think about it I see that you meant, ". . .gonna sell the Power4 Lite to Apple or not. . ." You should consider editing your post. :p

[technocoy]

took care of it shrek... thanks

technocoy:D

[alex_ant]

The POWER5 is the name IBM has given to the successor of the POWER4 which is on the roadmap for release in 2005. Apple will not be having anything to do with that chip. IBM already has a name for the Power4-Lite: PowerPC 970. There is a definite distinction between POWER and PowerPC in IBM's processor lines which IBM would not want to blur. Either you or your friend are full of ****.

[job]

Originally posted by alex_ant
PowerPC 970.

I guess that is similar to the PPC 750, i.e. G3....

I wonder if Apple will give the PPC 970 a different name when (and if) they actually use it..

[JamesDP]

Maybe this is just my OCD talking, but I don't understand why people are still calling it a Power4 Lite (particularly an IBM "employee" - yes I'm skeptical, technocoy) when IBM's already clearly labeled it a PowerPC 970. I think the continual usage of "Power4" in relation to the new CPU is misleading. When news of this chip first broke, I could understand the usage because it helped us to get an idea about what the chip was about, but now it's got a name and we know it's a fairly different animal from the Power4. It's not a high end server CPU like the Power4, it's a PowerPC chip, just like a G3 or a G4. Even though it's 64 bit, it's still a PowerPC.

I apologize for my anal-retentiveness.

EDIT: Guess I don't type as fast as alex ;)

[technocoy]

I don't flame, so don't flame me, prick. Since you work at apple and know that apple won't have anything to do with the power5, then we will all bow down and give you a little kiss.

second I never said anything about the power5 being an apple chip for sure or not... if you would read my clarification i said that he was discussing the powerX chips altogether and stating that the power4 lite was a done deal with apple. since the PPC 970 doesn't exist yet, maybe they still refer to it as the power4 lite.

just for you prick i'll give you the conversation more or less word for word:

"so X (with a smile) when you gonna give me the word on those power4 lite chips you guys are selling to Apple?"

"it's a DONE DEAL MAN"

"seriously?!"

"yep"

"we're already on to other things.... have you heard about the power5?"

"no but what about the power4?"

"apple's already on the way... DONE DEAL... but have you heard about the power5 in development?? i wish i could use them in our 3D workstations, but as of yet they cant run windows... but we'll see."

"that's awesome!!! i can't wait for the macs with the power4 in them, i'll just get my PowerBook now and then get my desktop sometime next year!!"

"yeah, i'm hoping we can run them in our linux boxes"

the conversation continues about linux IBM boxes and how linux users are liking OS X and etc, etc.

Hope this helps,
sorry i had to do it the long way for som jerk that instantly wants to insult someone tryin to give some good news to the loyal-in-waiting-fellow-mac-users....

later,
technocoy:D

i really am not a jerk like this normally sorry for the attitude!!!:) :(

[beatle888]

Originally posted by edesignuk
Power5? Yeah right! :rolleyes:

could be true....it would give apple a reason
to call it the G5.

[beatle888]

Originally posted by Shrek


Now that I think about it I see that you meant, ". . .gonna sell the Power4 Lite to Apple or not. . ." You should consider editing your post. :p


the post read fine to me.

[technocoy]

he has called it the "new power PC chip" before I can only assume that it's force of habit, he is an old school IBM guy, so...... But i see what you mean... But so far it has been a high-level media name, I would assume that since the actual branding of the chip has been recent, that their are still plenty of name that float around in reference to a new product.

The same thing happens when we get sony ericsson phones that haven't been released yet.... they are always called something else until they are publicly announced and branded... hope that makes sense:)

[gbojim]

Originally posted by technocoy
he also said he didn't think they would work with winblows(in their current configs) even though they are backwards compatible(run 32 bit as well as 64 bit), but that they were talking about putting them in their linux workstations and such!


What's this nonsense about? Of course it won't run Windows. Windows runs on nothing other than the X86 ISA.

[technocoy]

I usually don't give a crap about windows.... used it... hate it still have to use it occasionally, I'm no developer, just a creative with a hankerin' for Macs, I happen to have the wonderfull benefit of working with clients like IBM, SonyEricsson, Motorola, Audi, etc.... I just thought since the question was still not answered as to whether or not the new IBM chip was being used in Macs, I would would be a nice fellow member and let you guys in on it. I didn't expect to be analyzed.... next time i'll be more prepared in how i present the info. Just letting you guys know to plan on a new processor in your macs in 2003/2004... and that it will be a 64bit IBM chip. I was excited to get the inside info, and since most people here have been very helpful and informative with me, i thought i'd share a little insider info that i just happened to be blessed with... I don't lie...

barely even ever post...
won't make the mistake again...

Later:D

[gbojim]

I'm not trying to flame or insult anyone. I'm just trying to determine the validity of what you are saying like everyone else. I have no problem with most of what you posted. But for someone from IBM to say

"apple's already on the way... DONE DEAL... but have you heard about the power5 in development?? i wish i could use them in our 3D workstations, but as of yet they cant run windows... but we'll see."


plus my previous reference is pretty strange. MS dropped support of PPC for Windows in 1997 and have made no announcements about supporting it again.

[technocoy]

that wasn't directed all at you, i was just miffed about the reception of what i wanted to be exciting news... to maybe clarify for my friend... i think he was saying it more along these lines :"to bad i can't put it in our windows workstations.... we'll see... maybe in the linux boxes. "we'll see" meaning maybe they will put them in their linux boxes, he's been really hyped lately because we're doing this sweet new 3d animation because they are marketing their newer workstations and racks at the 3d industry.. Not sure, but i think he knew the windows thing... i probably interpreted it wrong.

hope that helps.

technocoy:)

[strider42]

Originally posted by JamesDP
it's a PowerPC chip, just like a G3 or a G4. Even though it's 64 bit, it's still a PowerPC.

the power4 was a powerPC chip as well (though I don't know if its a book e powerPC chip). the new chip is indeed based on the power4, just its a single core chip with les cache, and things like that. its probably more closely related to the power4 than the G3 or G4.

[nixd2001]

I believe IBM have stated that the major improvements in Power5 and 6 over 4 are lumps of hardware to perform tasks that would otherwise have been performed in software (excessive instructions?). For example, ISTR the example quoted was moving most of the initial decoding of an IP packet down into silicon, rather than having to have a series of software instructions perform such a well defined series of operations. IBM is also pushing hard on some of its mainframe OS software approaches - including partitioning, where the one processor appears to be multiple machines and run multiple OSs.

So - to speculate - imagine some silicon acceleration to make it easier to emulate x86 instructions. Maybe the intention is to end up with the ability for Power5 to simultaneously run Linux (or AIX) and a Win32 OS? Lots of cost saving potential for large data centres would probably be the presented marketing advantage.

Oh well, just some gluing together of pieces that might be from different jigsaws.

[dongmin]

I don't understand why this thread has gone as long as it has. This guy isn't saying anything new or controversial, other than maybe calling the PPC 970 a "power4 lite" (this isn't meant to be a flame).

1. The PPC 970 is going into the next generation of Macs. Not confirmed by Apple but the evidence is clear. It's just a matter of when.

2. Yes IBM is working on the Power5. It's public knowledge; it's on their roadmap. It's the succesor to the Power4 which is stricly a server chip. So what's so exciting about it?