Poll: When do you feel we'll first see the 970 in PowerMacs?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: When do you feel we'll first see the 970 in PowerMacs? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=145&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[janey]

late summer early fall 2003 just like everyone else :)

[MacWhispers]

Until today, I would have said early 2004. Now, I'm not so sure... with new motherboards already in the works. This seems to point to the July-September time frame.

[shadowfax]

i went for Oct-Nov-Dec, but it could just as easily be in September. i don't think we'll see it during the summer.

[xrey]

Around July when Macworld '03 goes NY. Maybe the new 3D monitors and MacTablet are unveiled. Kewl.

Later.

x :o

[paulc]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
i went for Oct-Nov-Dec, but it could just as easily be in September. i don't think we'll see it during the summer.

I concur. I also think the first system you'll WANT to but will come spring 04. Remember there needs to be significant work done to the mobo.

One big hanging issue is will we see a return to single processor systems, or with 66% of the line be dual? I have a sneaky feeling they'll all be single processor, with maybe one very expensive, top end system as a dual.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by paulc
I concur. I also think the first system you'll WANT to but will come spring 04. Remember there needs to be significant work done to the mobo.

One big hanging issue is will we see a return to single processor systems, or with 66% of the line be dual? I have a sneaky feeling they'll all be single processor, with maybe one very expensive, top end system as a dual.

I think i read they were going for HT, which would make single processor more than practical, even for the most demanding people.

[Dont Hurt Me]

I think the units will be on the shelf in mid sept.

[Bear]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
I think i read they were going for HT, which would make single processor more than practical, even for the most demanding people.
That may true, however, I suspect the top end PowerMac will always be a least a dual processor system.

People who use the system for rendering will always be interested in more speed.

And there are those who need a relatively speedy system and don't want to have to replace the system every year because their needs increased. If by buying the top model you get another year or two out of the system, then you have saved money in the long run.

[Mr. Anderson]

I'm thinking MWNY would be a good time for them to roll out, but if failing that MWSF 04. This is something that would have to come out at one of the conferences, its just too big not to.

D

[Dont Hurt Me]

If apple continues with its stagnating motorola g4 then this will be a sad year for apple's revenues and marketshare.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by dukestreet
I'm thinking MWNY would be a good time for them to roll out, but if failing that MWSF 04. This is something that would have to come out at one of the conferences, its just too big not to.

D

I changed my mind. i think they will come out at MWNY but will not be shipped to the public till about October-November. I'll even bet it will be the longest wait in Apple history--longer than these damn 17 inch powerbooks, for sure.

[Centris 650]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
I changed my mind. i think they will come out at MWNY but will not be shipped to the public till about October-November. I'll even bet it will be the longest wait in Apple history--longer than these damn 17 inch powerbooks, for sure.

I'm thinking/hoping the same thing. I would really like to see the 970 come out for MWNY though we could be in for a long wait. While this is what I'm hoping for I'm thinking Jan. 04 for a MWSF spectacle.

I'm thinking about putting off my mac purchase until Aug/Sept just to see what happens.

[TyleRomeo]

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
I think the units will be on the shelf in mid sept.

right on man, have a nice official release at macworld and then say they'll be arriving in 6-8 weeks. in the meantime we'll see dual 1.33 GHZ g4s shipping imeadiately.

Tyler

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by TyleRomeo
right on man, have a nice official release at macworld and then say they'll be arriving in 6-8 weeks. in the meantime we'll see dual 1.33 GHZ g4s shipping imeadiately.

Tyler

I hope you meant the dual 1.43s that are shipping now. Powermacs don't even have a 1.33 GHz offering.

[AllenPSU]

I like the optimism but I think that IBM will release the chip in the third quarter this year with any real production waiting till the 4th quarter. I have no doubts that Apple would be designing the motherboard now for something that is expected late this year. They have to work out cost, providers, etc. I see Apple announcing the computer in January of 2004 and an actual ship date either late in March or early in April.

I see the turn around on the Moterola product in Powerbooks/iBooks much sooner... maybe as early as October of this year.

[peter2002]

With the economy so weak, it wouldn't make sense to rush out this product. Plus, there are a lot of loose ends like a new motherboard, chipset, bios, drivers, OS X will have to be tweaked, and all software would have to be tweaked since the 970 is 64 bit, running in 32 bit mode won't increase performance much over what we are seeing now or if a 1.8GHZ G4 comes out by this August.

Not to mention 64-bit software compilers are needed real bad. I don't know anybody making such a thing for the Mac.

Realistically, it won't be until MacWorld Jan. 2004. Ship dates won't be until February and March 2004 for the high-end models.

Pete

[AllenPSU]

Originally posted by peter2002
With the economy so weak, it wouldn't make sense to rush out this product. Plus, there are a lot of loose ends like a new motherboard, chipset, bios, drivers, OS X will have to be tweaked, and all software would have to be tweaked since the 970 is 64 bit, running in 32 bit mode won't increase performance much over what we are seeing now or if a 1.8GHZ G4 comes out by this August.

Not to mention 64-bit software compilers are needed real bad. I don't know anybody making such a thing for the Mac.

Realistically, it won't be until MacWorld Jan. 2004. Ship dates won't be until February and March 2004 for the high-end models.

Pete

More good reasons why I think March/April 2004 is a good ship date.

[wdlove]

I voted July, August, September, but the reason that this may be too optimistic is that Apple still hasn't agreed to attend MWNY. So I agree with those that are saying MWSF since that will be the premiere conference for Apple.

My current Mac will be 3 years old in September, with my Apple Care ending, I was hoping for the release to coincide. This all makes for quite a dilema! :(

[MacFan25]

I said July August or September 2003. Maybe if Steve attends MWNY, then he will unveil it there.

[Caravaggio]

lots of wishful thinking going on around here:D

I've been sitting on my hands waiting for a G5 for what seems like years now. Now that it seems the G5 isn't going to happen there's Something Else in development.

Would be just like apple to start releasing G5 for the next couple of years and then get to the IBM chip...

[cr2sh]

I'd love to see a 970 release right around halloween with promotions that had an image of the new black casing and titles that read "boo." or "scary."

[rice_web]

Ultimate Prediction Time:

We'll see new PowerMacs right before MWNY, but they'll still be G4s. However, we'll probably see price drops, and a significant speed bump. I'm betting on a high-end dual-1.6GHz with a new 200MHz system bus; a 'quaint' system. Single 1.2GHz will rank at the bottom.

At MWNY, I'm betting on an updated iMac, either 1.2 or 1.33GHz with little or nothing else changed. Hopefully we'll see revamped graphics cards.

Then, before Christmas, we'll see the PowerMac with the 970 from IBM. I'm guessing we'll see speeds starting at 1.4GHz and going up to 1.8GHz, all in a single-processor configuration. However, a BTO option will exist to move any of the models to a dual-processor machine.

Finally, in January, we'll see a 1.6GHz iMac with a 200MHz system bus; a significant increase over a 1.2GHz or 1.33GHz iMac with only a 133MHz system bus. The 1.6GHz iMac could be the last time that the G4 runs in the iMac, and would then be reserved for the iBook.

Of course, that still seems awfully optimistic.

[timbloom]

IF the 970 gets slapped into a powermac, I think it will definately be at a trade show, Macworld most likely, but it sure would be much more fun to intro them at a generally-pc show, just to dangle powerful new macs running X right in front of the die-hard PC users.

I'll keep my mind open until I hear good rumors or confirmation that Apple is planning to adopt. Just been let down too many times by rumors predicting when the G5 will be out, nothing is certain anymore.

[Centris 650]

My question is...What and how many macs will the 970 be placed in? Will it ONLY be the highest end (Ultimate) powermac or the WHOLE powermac line? I'm hoping for the whole line. With powerbooks and iMacs following quickly with the poor iBook trailing behind.

[BackCheck]

I see a similar pattern as the current PowerBooks.

Apple announced new 12" and 17" PBs in January. 15" stayed the same to clear out inventory.

17" and 15" shipped at the same time in late March early April.

I predict(absolutely NO information to back these prognostications):

Announcement of new xServes in July and they will ship in October along with new PowerMacs which will be announced in a September Apple event.

At least it's fun to guess what will happen;)

[ryan]

Originally posted by timbloom
IF the 970 gets slapped into a powermac, I think it will definately be at a trade show, Macworld most likely, but it sure would be much more fun to intro them at a generally-pc show, just to dangle powerful new macs running X right in front of the die-hard PC users.

I'll keep my mind open until I hear good rumors or confirmation that Apple is planning to adopt. Just been let down too many times by rumors predicting when the G5 will be out, nothing is certain anymore.
No, No, No, NO!!! Haven't you people been listening! Apple is no longer going to tie their product releases to some arbitrary date, set months in advance, i.e. Macworlds. They have been, and will continue to release new hardware/software when it is ready!

[vniow]

Originally posted by ryan
They have been, and will continue to release new hardware/software when it is ready!

They release hardware and software when it's ready?

So how come the 17" Powerbook still hasn't shipped yet and iMovie 3 was quickly patched?

[rice_web]

Although, the 970 launch will be HUGE (though largely anticapted).

So....

If it is a 970 clocked at 2GHz or above (very unlikely as far as I can tell), I'd bet we'll see it launched at a trade show.

Otherwise, it may simply be a side announcement.

[Computer_Phreak]

riiiiiiiight....

Apple's going to quietly update their page with the new "G5 PowerMacs".

no!

Steve will show everyone, with his fancy words and dramatic pauses, just how fast the new processor is.

I think anyone saying that the PPC970 won't be released at MacWorld isn't thinking, let alone thinking different.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by BackCheck
I see a similar pattern as the current PowerBooks.

Apple announced new 12" and 17" PBs in January. 15" stayed the same to clear out inventory.

17" and 15" shipped at the same time in late March early April.

I predict(absolutely NO information to back these prognostications):

Announcement of new xServes in July and they will ship in October along with new PowerMacs which will be announced in a September Apple event.

At least it's fun to guess what will happen;)

What kind of September Apple event?

[janey]

well after reading all your predictions, i guess early 2004 is probably going to be it...unless steve's planning on unveiling new hardware at WWDC (highly highly highly unlikely) this may.
I was hoping september 2003 though. it seems like a good time and i doubt that there is a september apple event.

[BackCheck]

Originally posted by wdlove
What kind of September Apple event?

Good Question.:)

They've done intemediate announcements before. By intermediate I mean between tradeshows. Maybe they'll show the PowerMac off and beam the presentation into all of the Apple Stores????

[Centris 650]

Would it not be in Apple's best interest in releasing the new 970s before Dec. 25th? I know I would probably get one since I could get it for Christmas AND still right it off my taxes as a business expense for this year. Even if it didn't ship until Dec 31st I'd still be happy. :D

[yzedf]

Originally posted by Bear
That may true, however, I suspect the top end PowerMac will always be a least a dual processor system.

People who use the system for rendering will always be interested in more speed.

And there are those who need a relatively speedy system and don't want to have to replace the system every year because their needs increased. If by buying the top model you get another year or two out of the system, then you have saved money in the long run.

I hope that dual/quad is a option. A single 1.42 (for example) would offer most of the performance, for most people, at significant savings. Also, less heat and noise.

As I have said before, options are good.

[scem0]

I believe apple will try to get these out before christmas. I hope they do. ;)

[edenwaith]

Originally posted by Bear

And there are those who need a relatively speedy system and don't want to have to replace the system every year because their needs increased. If by buying the top model you get another year or two out of the system, then you have saved money in the long run.

Quite true, for the most part. One thing which fortunately hasn't changed too much is that the life span of a computer (at least to keep up with current software requirements) ranges around 3 years. Even back in the 80's this applied (my parents bought a Tandy 1000 HX in 1987...by 1990 there was about no software which the Tandy could run).

But, also, it depends on what you need the system for. My system, a 400 MHz G4 PowerMac is satisfactory for me about 95% of the time. It would be nice for programs to start a little faster, but all of the programs I have, run just fine on the machine. My only worries are some of the newer games coming out and the plausibility of my computer being able to run them. I'll probably need a new machine to run Neverwinter Nights, or Everquest. [However, note that the current specs for Shadowbane is a 350 MHz G3. The PC requires 700 MHz machine...go figure]. So, if I want to run those games, then I'll probably need a new machine. Also, if I want faster emulation under Virtual PC, then I'd probably need a faster machine for that, too.

But if all you do is standard word processing, e-mail, and web browsing, then an original iMac can suit you just fine.

As for a 'new and improved' processor, I've gotten to the point where I'm not anxious and it'll just come some day. Supposedly the chips by Motorola which could be the G5 were being created in late 2001, and yet it doesn't seem like there is some all-powerful new chip in the Macs. So I'll just wait until next year, I suppose. If it happens. If it does happen earlier, then great!

[wdlove]

Originally posted by BackCheck
Good Question.:)

They've done intemediate announcements before. By intermediate I mean between tradeshows. Maybe they'll show the PowerMac off and beam the presentation into all of the Apple Stores????

I would like to see an Apple in store event. Enjoyed the last one that I attended. Steve could beam the announcement live via the internet, can't wait!

[TylerL]

September 22 2003.
Seybold San Francisco.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by TylerL
September 22 2003.
Seybold San Francisco.

Are you thinking that Apple won't participate in MWNY '03?

[TylerL]

Originally posted by wdlove
Are you thinking that Apple won't participate in MWNY '03? The last few PM revamps weren't at MacWorld, and the G4 was originally announced at Seybold long long ago.

MWSF and NY have been more for consumer level products, and Seybold is a big show for graphics professionals.

...and a lot can happen between July and September, and with current estimates for the 970 in "Fall 2003", I don't think Apple wants to pull another 17" PowerBook so soon.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by TylerL
The last few PM revamps weren't at MacWorld, and the G4 was originally announced at Seybold long long ago.

MWSF and NY have been more for consumer level products, and Seybold is a big show for graphics professionals.

...and a lot can happen between July and September, and with current estimates for the 970 in "Fall 2003", I don't think Apple wants to pull another 17" PowerBook so soon.

Another words Apple will have the G5 PPC 970 available for sale September 22, 2003? If this is true it would be the perfect timing for my purchase. You truly have me excited! :)