A G6 in July? [Archive] - MacRumors Forums

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invaLPsion

Mar 30, 2004, 11:15 AM

MacOSRumors has a very interesting report:

"Straight to PowerMac G6?! Several new reports have painted a very interesting picture, and the best part is that we may only have to wait a couple of days to find out how much truth is behind them.
Wednesday, IBM will be holding its POWER/PowerPC processor event -- and if these rumors prove true -- we could hear from Apple shortly thereafter.

If so, the news might be PowerMacs that will adopt the POWER5-based PowerPC 975 processor as Apple's "G6," fulfilling Steve's 3GHz promise and paving the way for G5 (970FX)-based Powerbooks/iMacs.
We're not putting too much stock in these reports just yet, but it will be interesting to see where along the predicted spectrum Wednesday's news places us...stay tuned for real-time coverage. "

Interesting. :)

idkew

Mar 30, 2004, 11:50 AM

regardless of the validity of what you wrote, the will NOT be a G6 for a long time. New chips will be called G5s. Plain and simple.

DreaminDirector

Mar 30, 2004, 11:52 AM

riiiiiiiiiiiiight...

(edit: oops, that sarcastic "riiiiiight" was for the chance of a G6 in July, not to idkew's comment.)

dudeami

Mar 30, 2004, 11:55 AM

It will be nice to hear if there is anything new from IBM either way.

spencecb

Mar 30, 2004, 11:55 AM

Yeah, this just seems very unlikely....but it would be cool.

PlaceofDis

Mar 30, 2004, 12:13 PM

not going to happen, G5s havent even been around for a year yet...

redAPPLE

Mar 30, 2004, 12:18 PM

think about it. no new hardware until july. motorola focking up (again?). they said, the consumer machines will only get g5 when the prosumer machines all get the faster g5 (or g6).

the answer? g6 in july and all consumer machines g5 by july!!!

:D *sarcasm*

don't worry people. we are only hallucinating because of the lack of hardware updates...

idkew

Mar 30, 2004, 12:34 PM

besides, who cares when the chip is called? i would be happy with a mac with a Chocolate® Chip, as long as it is fast.

m-dogg

Mar 30, 2004, 12:40 PM

Is MacOSRumors ever right about a rumor? I don't think I've seen one thing. Ever!

wrldwzrd89

Mar 30, 2004, 12:58 PM

Is MacOSRumors ever right about a rumor? I don't think I've seen one thing. Ever!
I agree! MacOSRumors' accuracy is downright AWFUL; I can't remember the last thing they predicted correctly. I still visit for an interesting read.

slipper

Mar 30, 2004, 01:01 PM

i have inside information, top secret, which confirms this G6 update in july. in september, there will be a G7 which will be based on the intel P4

Zaty

Mar 30, 2004, 01:12 PM

keysersoze

Mar 30, 2004, 01:21 PM

don't worry people. we are only hallucinating because of the lack of hardware updates...

Well said. Like mirages in the desert. And merwomen.
:)

merwomen was so peecee. haha

aswitcher

Mar 30, 2004, 02:15 PM

Well I don't care what they call it as long as my new PB has 64bit, a decent bus, decent graphics card and comes out by July. ;)

FuzzyBallz

Mar 30, 2004, 02:42 PM

LOL *chokes on donkey*

But seriously, Mac will probably juice the current G5 until Mac OS 11 comes out.

jimsowden

Mar 30, 2004, 02:58 PM

michaelrjohnson

Mar 30, 2004, 03:02 PM

yeah, not going to happen.

but an updated G5 is a good thing still!

Ensoniq

Mar 30, 2004, 03:14 PM

Everyone...let's remember how all these chip names work.

The actual name of the IBM chips in PowerMac G5 systems is the "PPC 970". It is based on IBM's "Power 4" line of server processors. The term "G5" is only an Apple-invented marketing tool.

Now...IBM's next server processor line is called the "Power 5". If you ask them, they will certainly tell you it's a different generation than the "Power 4" was. Their desktop version of the "Power 5" is supposedly going to be the "PPC 975".

If the "Power 4" and "Power 5" are considered different generations, than the desktop chips based on them ("PPC 970" and "PPC 975") would almost certainly be considered different generations.

So now we're back to Apple...if IBM is calling the PPC 970 and PPC 975 different generation chips, WHY would Apple not do the same? Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Apple would introduce the PPC 975 Power 5-based desktop CPU as: G6 or G5 Extreme.

To say that Apple definitely WILL NOT give it a new name would be incorrect. Apple may or may not...but if they did, it would create more publicity and makes it look like we're leaping ahead of Intel and AMD.

"Wow, Apple's pro-line uses the G6, and the consumer line uses the G5, and IBM moved ahead a full processor generation in just one year!" It's a marketing pinhead's dream! And don't tell me you can't imagine His-Steveness gloating all about it at this upcoming WWDC.

I'm not saying I believe anything MOSR has to say. I don't even know how far along the PPC 975 is in development. Neither do most of you. But don't be so quick to say "no" to something that is at least a possible "maybe". :)

1macker1

Mar 30, 2004, 03:28 PM

All the rumor sites have a poor history as far as I can tell.
Is MacOSRumors ever right about a rumor? I don't think I've seen one thing. Ever!

Knox

Mar 30, 2004, 03:39 PM

But don't be so quick to say "no" to something that is at least a possible "maybe". :)

Winning the lottery is a 'maybe' but that doesn't mean it's going to happen ;) I would be very surprised if Apple moved to a new name that quickly - just look at the G4. The G4 now is a very different chip to the one that was first used, but the name stayed for a long time.

All the rumor sites have a poor history as far as I can tell.

Maybe, however, MacOSRumors has recently had an extremely poor history. There's a reason this isn't on the site - iirc arn has said he won't be posting anything from mosr because they just make stuff up now.

idkew

Mar 30, 2004, 03:44 PM

To say that Apple definitely WILL NOT give it a new name would be incorrect.

You miss the entire point of chip names. It has less to do with the chip design than with marketing. Apple will not up the generation of the chips they use until a couple things happen. (barring a HUGE change, like risc to (NO!) cisc)

• All the pro line is using the newest chip generation
• Enough time has passed that it will not confuse consumers to go to the next generation

When you say it is a "dream" to jump two generations in a year, or close to it, you are right. It is a dream. I am saying it now, and I will stick to it. There will not now, not ever, be an Apple G6 in 2004, and maybe not even 2005.

Besides, what says that Apple is even going to continue naming the chips by their "Generation"? Computers are constantly becoming less about the components inside and more about what they can do. Hertz ratings are on their way out. This same type of thing may occur with all things computer.

Lets think about it for a minute. Mac processor release dates (dates approximate):

680X0- Jan. 1984 all-in-one (basically Generation 1)
PPC 601- 1994
PPC 603- 1995
PPC 604- 1995 (basically all 60Xs are Generation 2)
G3- Released in a Beige desktop/mini tower in November 1997.
G4- Released in a mini tower in August 1999.
G5- Released in a tower in June of 2003 (when did it finally ship?)

So- in 20 years, Apple has upped the Generation of its processors 5 times. On average, about every 4 years. Not counting the 10 years at 680X0, we will call it about every 3 years.

If history has taught us anything, we will have learned that we have a good long year (or more) left in the G5 moniker. It is basically 4/2004. We might not see a G6 until 6/2006. That is 26 months from now. Even if IBM release a Power6 version for desktops, it will still be called a G5 for the foreseeable short term.

crazzyeddie

Mar 30, 2004, 04:18 PM

Is MacOSRumors ever right about a rumor? I don't think I've seen one thing. Ever!

MOSR has been right on many things... just not many things in recent times. Also, alot of their correct rumors are shrouded by other rumors. They post alot of different things from different sources, which is not the practice of most other rumor sites (MacRumors included). Regardless of whether or not this chip is named the "G6" by Apple, I think there is a possibility of this occurring.

crazzyeddie

Mar 30, 2004, 04:23 PM

Lets think about it for a minute. Mac processor release dates (dates approximate):

680X0- Jan. 1984 all-in-one (basically Generation 1)
PPC 601- 1994
PPC 603- 1995
PPC 604- 1995 (basically all 60Xs are Generation 2)
G3- Released in a Beige desktop/mini tower in November 1997.
G4- Released in a mini tower in August 1999.
G5- Released in a tower in June of 2003 (when did it finally ship?)

So- in 20 years, Apple has upped the Generation of its processors 5 times. On average, about every 4 years. Not counting the 10 years at 680X0, we will call it about every 3 years.

If history has taught us anything, we will have learned that we have a good long year (or more) left in the G5 moniker. It is basically 4/2004. We might not see a G6 until 6/2006. That is 26 months from now. Even if IBM release a Power6 version for desktops, it will still be called a G5 for the foreseeable short term.

I think that according to your little chart (which is very nice BTW) that Apple could (although its not likely) start naming processors like they did with the 60x series in order to make it look like their moving along quicker.

G5 2003
G6 2004
G7 2005

Why buy a P4 when you can get a G6!!

However, the G stands for Generation (more or less), so perhaps Apple would adopt another naming scheme, or maybe Steve will do something funny, like naming it the G5.5 :D

miloblithe

Mar 30, 2004, 05:39 PM

G5 Extreme seems like a possibility, even if it's a dumb name. But that would be pretty amazing if these came out any time soon.

But wouldn't it be nice to be amazed by Apple?

bennetsaysargh

Mar 30, 2004, 05:48 PM

Just remember what the "G" in G3/4/5 stands for. It would be ridiculous to declare an updated 970 a new generation. Since the G4 made its debut only two years after the introduction of the G3 we might in fact see a G6 next year(although I doubt it) but certainly not in July of 04.

but there was a 4 year gap between the g4 and the g5, so thats another thing you have to keep in mind. as for g6, not this year, not next year. i say 2006 sometime, maybe even 2007. not next year. to soon.

invaLPsion

Mar 30, 2004, 06:30 PM

Regardless if this G6 rumor is correct, the IBM Power Event is still our best chance to see G5 updates, especially if the rumors are correct and Apple will have a presence there.

Updates Tomorrow?

macrumors12345

Mar 30, 2004, 07:20 PM

Is MacOSRumors ever right about a rumor? I don't think I've seen one thing. Ever!

No, they are not. The only reason you should ever read that site is if you want to know what definitely is NOT going to happen (i.e., anything you read there you can be almost 100% certain is untrue, and will only be correct by pure chance). You're better off going to your local fortune teller for inside Apple info than you are reading MOSR.

nutmac

Mar 30, 2004, 07:54 PM

I am not a fan of MacOSRumors.com. Their editorial style reflects that of wannabe Apple prophets.

That said, they raise an interesting point. When G5 is ready for consumer Macs (iBook, iMac, and eMac), it does make sense to migrate pro Macs (PowerMac, PowerBook, xServe) to "G5+"/"G5 Extreme"/"G6" processor (a.k.a., PPC 975). Although I do not have numbers to back up my theory, it's plausible that many people think iBook G4 performs more or less similar to 12-inch PowerBook -- all because they both use the G4 processor, regardless of variation.

x86isslow

Mar 30, 2004, 09:18 PM

to beat intel's marketing, Apple would need to release a Dual 3.2 Ghz PM, and then have a BTO Dual 3.4Ghz G5Extreme Edition. And have them both be of equal or equivalent price to a similar peeeceee system.

note that the above is about as likely as a MOSR 'rumor' to come true. :eek:

Mr. Anderson

Mar 30, 2004, 09:54 PM

As much as would love to see this, I can only shake my head....

A second generation G5 seems much more reasonable, given the XServes config....but even 3.0 GHz G5 might be too much to ask...

D

Applexilef

Mar 30, 2004, 10:47 PM

ok man, how about you stop doing so much mushroom...

aswitcher

Mar 31, 2004, 02:07 AM

As much as would love to see this, I can only shake my head....

A second generation G5 seems much more reasonable, given the XServes config....but even 3.0 GHz G5 might be too much to ask...

D

I dont think they are going to appear without a fanfair...that means for me odds on either WWDC end of June or Paris end of August...

wdlove

Apr 3, 2004, 02:19 PM

As much as would love to see this, I can only shake my head....

A second generation G5 seems much more reasonable, given the XServes config....but even 3.0 GHz G5 might be too much to ask...

D

I'm optimistic and holding Steve to a 3.0 dual, which would be this summer. I agree since we are waiting longer than expected, it must be a major upgraded Rev. B! :)

BornAgainMac

Apr 3, 2004, 03:15 PM

I can believe a G6 this year. The reason is that Apple needs to move away from the G4 for the consumer also. Apple also doesn't like to have the consumer and pro models have close to the same specs. So they will move the pro models to the G6 and consumers to the G5 (finally). And the G4 will be used in phones or alarm clocks for all we care. I have no idea what will happen to the powerbook. Will it use the G5 or G6? Or perhaps a mobile G5? That will be a mystery.

wdlove

Apr 5, 2004, 01:32 PM

If this turns out to be true that we get a G6 this summer, that would mean Rev. A. Since I plan to purchase late Summer early Fall. Then that would mean that I would be getting a Rev. A. My hope is that Apple has learned from its mistakes on the G5. That what is has learned will make a consumer ready G6. :)