Rebirth of the Cube? [Archive]

Wry Cooter

Jun 28, 2002, 10:06 PM

I thought this was going to be commentary about the G4 imac Luxo Jr being called the "New Cube" because of backlogs clogging the inventory. Maybe there will be a MWNY special to blow out the luxo Juniors at 3 benjys less....

Anyway, What was wrong with the cube the first time around?

Got the answer yet?

Price. It should have sold around the same price as the current iMacs, which at least had a monitor built in.

There are segments where space is a concern, and flexibility in upgrading is not so, and they usually buy a lot of computers at once. Business and education. People who may already have monitors they wish to continue using.

I thought if the Cube had been priced at three figures, and been bundled with a telephony iApp (Something that could take caller ID from a phone line, and pull up an FileMaker file on the caller, and save the call time etc...), it could have sold in the numbers it was produced. Or if it were stackable like bricks for multiprocessing; but we have Xserve now.

G4scott

Jun 28, 2002, 11:08 PM

If Apple could sell a cube for less than a thousand bucks, I think that they might make some money... That's kinda what the eMac is... Just make the cube with a 700-800 mhz processor, DVD/CDRW, 30-40 gig HD, up to a gig of RAM, and all the good stuff, but sell it at just the right price...

billiam0878

Jun 28, 2002, 11:57 PM

Though I am a happy owner of a 500MHz Cube, I don't think Apple needs to or should bring it back as their product line is all ready complete (if not a little bloated).

Bill

firewire2001

Jun 29, 2002, 12:19 AM

Anyway, What was wrong with the cube the first time around?

apple's main problem was that the cube was meant to accomodate pro users -- however, pro users didnt like it cause it wasnt expandable enough.

it was too expensive and powerful for the consumer level.

tjwett

Jun 29, 2002, 01:20 AM

i think the Cube was my favorite Mac of all time, and i've had plenty. it was perfect for my needs at the time which were mainly audio. the no-fan thing was great for recording. expandibility never became an issue because of Firewire. if they came out with a special edition or anniversary Cube i'd probably buy it in a second. IMHO it was the perfect machine...and damn sexy too. wishing i never sold it.

theaz

Jun 29, 2002, 02:58 AM

Definitely a great looking machine. Thats why i got one, and I have no interest in replacing it any time soon either even if a new one does come out (well, we'll see anyway). I am forever having pc users being wowzed by its looks. Of course, any mac product will do that nowadays...

The idea of stackable cubes did not seem smart to me, and i am glad that they were never released despite appleinsiders ascertains that they were under development. The xserve is definitely the way to go for that sorta stuff.

btw, is anyone here aware of a cube dedicated site. I want to replace the DVD player in this thing for a superdrive, and I am sure that it is possible. It is just a matter of knowing how...

tjwett

Jun 29, 2002, 03:07 AM

Originally posted by theaz
Definitely a great looking machine. Thats why i got one, and I have no interest in replacing it any time soon either even if a new one does come out (well, we'll see anyway). I am forever having pc users being wowzed by its looks. Of course, any mac product will do that nowadays...

The idea of stackable cubes did not seem smart to me, and i am glad that they were never released despite appleinsiders ascertains that they were under development. The xserve is definitely the way to go for that sorta stuff.

btw, is anyone here aware of a cube dedicated site. I want to replace the DVD player in this thing for a superdrive, and I am sure that it is possible. It is just a matter of knowing how...

i never heard the stackable cubes rumor. that sounds interesting. as for putting a superdrive in, i think it can be done. hell, someone put dual 500mhz proc in one. i think that the optical drives in the cubes are the same as the ones in the powerbooks, or is that the HD? i know it has something super-slim in there somewhere. maybe if they release one for the powerbooks you could pop one in. that would be cool. now i'm getting cube fever. i miss that thing.

Dunepilot

Jun 29, 2002, 09:06 AM

Originally posted by firewire2001

apple's main problem was that the cube was meant to accomodate pro users -- however, pro users didnt like it cause it wasnt expandable enough.

it was too expensive and powerful for the consumer level.

An even bigger problem IMO was that the cube was released at the point when x86 machines had just started to rocket in MHz and Apple hadn't thought through exactly how they were supposed to scale the clock speed of the cube without increasing the dimensions. In other words, the cube had very little future-proofing.

The cooling was pretty much at an optimal level with the production cubes, I'm told. If Apple had tried to intro an 800 MHz cube or whatever, they wouldn't have been able to keep it fan-less and therefore would have upset a lot of the audio pros etc who bought them.

skunk

Jun 29, 2002, 10:48 AM

How many of those who moan about expandability ever actually need more than the Cube offers? One in a hundred? A lot of people seem to live in a fantasy world where they are all "power users" needing all sorts of slots for cards they will never buy. Now there's a 1 GHz upgrade available, my Cube will do me just fine for some time yet. I wouldn't have anything else on my desk, anyway (apart from the Cinema Display, of course). After all, it's a MoMA-certified Work Of Art.

Having read the article referred to, the guy seems pretty flaky from beginning to end. I'd guess he's just confused. What the hell is "cube software" anyway?

King Cobra

Jun 29, 2002, 11:04 AM

"skunk", what is MoMA?

But I have to agree with you. I remember a few months back there was an article, saying that there would be no faster processor upgrades for a while, and people didn't make that many accepting comments. It just goes to show you that people need the extra power.

The main reason that I don't want to upgrade is because I want a Ti500 to match the speed of my Cube, so I like neither computer more. Then, maybe in 4 years, I'll move on to a G5.

He!!, I find the only more attractive (not figuratively) computer right now to be the Ti, but I won't get one for a while, considering that I still have a well-working iBook 466. :cool:

skunk

Jun 29, 2002, 11:10 AM

Museum of Modern Art, NYC - they've got one on show.

el_aarono

Jun 29, 2002, 11:50 AM

I hope the one MoMA has doesn't look like that fruit flavored one at the top of this thread. :)

Sun Baked

Jun 29, 2002, 12:12 PM

An iMac or eMac with a processor card and a AGP slot wouldn't be bad either. Even a PCI slot would be useful. Low chance of that happening though.

I have to admit looking at the form factor of the Cube at the time I completely overlooked the important aspects that have kept the Cube a fresh idea for so long – upgradeable innards.

But it is highly doubtful the Cube will make a comeback since it would most likely hurt sales of the iMac. Especially if it remained upgradeable and at the same point. And a non-upgradeable cube would be an iMac without the screen.

Should be interesting to find of how big an impact the eMac has had on iMac sales, considering the factory has reallocated iMac production to other projects and the number of days of inventory of iMacs is huge at Ingram.

tjwett

Jun 29, 2002, 02:10 PM

Originally posted by skunk
How many of those who moan about expandability ever actually need more than the Cube offers? One in a hundred? A lot of people seem to live in a fantasy world where they are all "power users" needing all sorts of slots for cards they will never buy. Now there's a 1 GHz upgrade available, my Cube will do me just fine for some time yet. I wouldn't have anything else on my desk, anyway (apart from the Cinema Display, of course). After all, it's a MoMA-certified Work Of Art.

Having read the article referred to, the guy seems pretty flaky from beginning to end. I'd guess he's just confused. What the hell is "cube software" anyway?

where did you find a 1ghz upgrade for the Cube? I'll get on ebay and buy another Cube right now if i can drop a 1ghz proc in it! did i misunderstand you? hook a brotha up.

big

Jun 29, 2002, 02:12 PM

the cube would have been fine for me...if and only if I could have added another monitor to it...(plus the price was a little steep)

why sell your old G3 for 300-400 bucks? I'll turn mine into a server (w/the big harddrives etc) makes sense...

good this fan next to me is!LOUD!!

krossfyter

Jun 29, 2002, 02:17 PM

rebirth my arse!

man that picture up there is offensive.

whew.

they should be shot with an elephant gun.

edesignuk

Jun 29, 2002, 02:43 PM

Any one seen this (http://www.viahardware.com/sss50rev_1.shtm) before? PC rip off of the cube. Yuck!

krossfyter

Jun 29, 2002, 02:48 PM

ack! verbose you keep doing that and these eyes will fall off.

that looks pitiful. i dont even know where to begin with that one.

edesignuk

Jun 29, 2002, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by krossfyter
ack! verbose you keep doing that and these eyes will fall off.

that looks pitiful. i dont even know where to begin with that one.
I know, it's an outrage! I just searched on eBay UK for "cube" and this was one of the results, it's horrible!

krossfyter

Jun 29, 2002, 03:12 PM

i think horrible is an understatement for that one... heh!

verbose please put a pic up of something SMOOTH before my eyes fall out! help!

edesignuk

Jun 29, 2002, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by krossfyter
verbose please put a pic up of something SMOOTH before my eyes fall out! help!
Is this smooth and curvy enough for ya? :D
Slightly easier on the eyes ;)

big

Jun 29, 2002, 03:21 PM

oh dear god- YUMMY

krossfyter

Jun 29, 2002, 03:41 PM

oh heck yah verbose you redeemed yourself.

thanks.

Spock

Jun 29, 2002, 08:43 PM

Can I buy one of those at the Apple Store??

MacAztec

Jun 29, 2002, 08:58 PM

Originally posted by Spock
Can I buy one of those at the Apple Store??

Hmmm...maybe in Amsterdam!

void

Jun 29, 2002, 09:12 PM

anybody willing to sell a cube? email me (vjv@mac.com)

G4scott

Jun 29, 2002, 10:45 PM

Originally posted by verbose101
Any one seen this (http://www.viahardware.com/sss50rev_1.shtm) before? PC rip off of the cube. Yuck!

I saw one of those at Fry's. It was horrible... The thing had a fan louder than any other pee-cee I've ever seen. It was also sitting next to an all-in-one LCD pee-cee, kinda like the iMac design that Steve Jobs shot down when he introduced the iMac. It figures. pee-cee companies are so desperate, they are taking designs that Apple turned down...

Anyways, the cube is more aesthetic than that piece of *****... The cube was certainly ahead of its time...

Maybe the cube will be reborn, and it will run BeOS! The rebirth of a computer, and an OS!!! And it can have a CRT, since Apple has claimed to have killed them too...

krossfyter

Jun 30, 2002, 02:29 PM

what kind of OS does that pretty girl run?

tjwett

Jun 30, 2002, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by vjv
anybody willing to sell a cube? email me (vjv@mac.com)

i've got another case of Cube fever too. i miss mine. anyway, there's a few good ones on ebay right here in NY. there's one that has a 15" Studio Display and the 32mb Radeon upgrade. it has a Buy it Now of $1200 which is an awesome deal. good luck.

edesignuk

Jun 30, 2002, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by vjv
anybody willing to sell a cube? email me (vjv@mac.com)
Click here (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=cube&ht=1&ebaytag1=ebayreg&CATEGORY0=4599&SortProperty=MetaEndSort) to see all the cubes on sales at eBay.com

krossfyter

Jun 30, 2002, 03:50 PM

God bless the cubes!

wsteineker

Jun 30, 2002, 04:40 PM

I never thought I'd see the day where other users would lust after my beloved Cube!!!!! As a Cube owner and a HUGE fan of the machine, I'll answer a few questions...

First, 800 MHz and 1 GHz upgrade cards specificly for the Cube are currently under production by PowerLogix, and can be ordered from OWC for $599 and $799 respectively. They should SCREAM, as they use the 7455 chip and include their own fan and heatsink. Very nice work indeed!

As for Cube related sites, I HIGHLY recommend CubeOwner.com (http://www.cubeowner.com). It's got a fantastic FAQ, a large community of users, and an exceptional list serve for Cube related issues. Really a top notch site. In fact, the site's owner, Laurie Duncan, recently spearheaded a move to have a Cube specific combo drive put into production, and it should be available soon. List serve members are also recieving a modest discount on the PowerLogix upgrades.

For those worried about the extra heat, you'll be glad to know that Apple actually built an 80mm x 15mm fan bracket into the Cube's frame, and was kind enough to include a power lead right off of the logic board. It's all set up to take a stock Panaflo fan. Mine isn't even noticeable, and it keeps my 450 and the GeForce3 very cool indeed.

With upgrades like these available, as well as the compatibility of the GeForce3 with the Cubeand all of its potential for QE, it seems to me that the Cube has some life left in it yet. Vive le Cube! :D

skunk

Jun 30, 2002, 05:11 PM

I have a Radeon in my soon-to-be 1GHz Cube. Is the GeForce3 a worthwhile improvement?

firewire2001

Jun 30, 2002, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by skunk
I have a Radeon in my soon-to-be 1GHz Cube. Is the GeForce3 a worthwhile improvement?

hrmm.. if you do a lot of gaming thats fairly intense (like War3) maybe youd wanna go for the GeForce3, but even the most intense games cant really take full advantage of it, so it probably isnt worth it to you..

however, i would recommend at least a GeForce2 when jaguar is released since it will, without a doubt, increase your cubes performance greatly because of the new Quartz implementation.

i recently upgraded my cube to a GeForce2, and even in 10.1.5, i see minor speed increases..

skunk

Jun 30, 2002, 05:41 PM

firewire2001

Jun 30, 2002, 05:46 PM

I thought the Radeon outperformed the GeForce2 in all comparative tests. That's why I chose it for my Cube despite the fan. And Apple say the Radeon is fully capable of handling QE. I've got a GeForce2 in my 800 iMac and I really can't see any difference in performance.

i dont know what yer talking about?? the radeon in the cube is only like 8 or 4 mbs while the smallest GeForce2's are 32mb.. there is clearly a performance difference here.. also, Jaguar requires a video card with more than 16mb of ram.

tjwett

Jun 30, 2002, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by firewire2001

i dont know what yer talking about?? the radeon in the cube is only like 8 or 4 mbs while the smallest GeForce2's are 32mb.. there is clearly a performance difference here.. also, Jaguar requires a video card with more than 16mb of ram.

i think he's referring to the 32mb Radeon Upgrade that was available for the Cube. there is one of these on ebay right now as well.

wsteineker

Jun 30, 2002, 06:46 PM

Ok, the OEM Radeon for the Cube (complete with ADC and a fan) is a 32 MB DDR card. It is neck and neck with the GeForce2 MX in terms of 3D gameplay, but offers better DVD playback. As for the impeding Quartz Extreme...GET A GEFORCE3!!!!!

Logic would dictate that your performance will improve with a better processor, right? Well look at it this way. The GeForce3 is twice as powerful as the GeFroce2 or the Radeon, and it offers twice the memory. Drawing layer operations will, as a result, run much smoother. This is ESPECIALLY true with the processor upgrades on the way, as there will be NO processor bottleneck to deal with.

My Cube is a 450 model, soon to be 1 GHz (unless we somehow get Dual 800s) with a 60 GB Seagate Barracuda HD, 1.5 GB of RAM, and a GeForce3. I love this set up. I'm upgrading to a 17" Apple Studio LCD, so that'll be nice too. Something really sparkley to show off Jaguar and my upgrades.

P.S.- If you install the processor upgrade and/or a GeForce3, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND INSTALLING A FAN IN YOUR CUBE!!!!! Heat can kill these little things, and the fan upgrade is just as easy as a processor upgrade.

Sun Baked

Jun 30, 2002, 06:46 PM

http://www.cube-zone.com/

This site also shows quite a few of the cube upgrades & hacks (video/cpu), looks like every cube owner is waiting for the cpu upgrades to come out.

They do list quite a few of the video cards that have been tested for fit in the cube.

wsteineker

Jun 30, 2002, 06:51 PM

Originally posted by Sun Baked
http://www.cube-zone.com/

This site also shows quite a few of the cube upgrades & hacks (video/cpu), looks like every cube owner is waiting for the cpu upgrades to come out.

They do list quite a few of the video cards that have been tested for fit in the cube.

Yeah, it's a good site. I prefer CubeOwner.com (http://www.cubeowner.com) for Cube related info. The FAQ is GREAT, and the boards are quite helpful. The aforementioned list serve is also terribly handy. Enjoy!

Sun Baked

Jun 30, 2002, 07:15 PM

cubeowner does have a great FAQ that bring all the upgrade links to a easy to navigate space.

cubezone has some of the part numbers and prices at a glance at the top of the site.

Cube was a great idea, too bad SJ killed would rather sell new computers than upgradeable ones.

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 3, 2002, 05:08 PM

I adore my Cube. And now that Powerlogix has developed the 1Ghz upgrade with fan, and nVidia (unwittingly) developed the GeForce 3 with the ability to kick the little fella up a few extra notches, I think that it's got more going for it than a lot of towers out there.

Who honestly wants to lose all that real estate, when you can get a souped-up Cube with a nice daisy-chain of FireWire drives that not only does the job, but looks great in the process? (Look at the new d2 LaCie drives - they'd suit the Cube down to the ground...) After all - I bet every Cube owner loves to show off their machine to anyone who's around ("...no, I'm sorry - I don't want to buy any encyclopaedias. But come on inside - check out my Apple Cube. Isn't it the best looking computer you've ever seen?")

Recently, there have been a spate of rumours of a new slot-loading SuperDrive. From what I've been reading lately, an Apple hardware supplier in the US has been researching the feasibility of using the current range of combo drives from TiBooks, and transplanting them into the Cube (which apparently work quite nicely), as long as the demand is there for them (see www.cube-zone.com for more info, or sign the petition on www.cubeowner.com if you want the company to continue to research the possibility.). IF the slot-loading SuperDrive comes out, I can definitely see a market for the Cube's spirit to be rekindled - a nice small package that kicks around the big boys.

Now all we need to do is to convince the graphics card companies that Cube users would like graphics cards to fit into their machines without modifications. In this day-and-age of miniaturization, wouldn't it be logical to think that these new cards would actually get SMALLER rather than LARGER?

I ask you...;)

tjwett

Jul 4, 2002, 01:46 AM

i'm really missing my (ex)Cube lately and seeing the low prices on eBay is tempting me to get another one. these processor upgrades are very exciting but i'm a bit confused...is it just the processor or is it the whole mobo? is there any way to up the system bus speed? it would be great to have a Cube again, especially running at 1ghz but the 100mhz bus is sounding really old right now, compared to what we will (may, who knows?) see at MWNY. if only we could get DDR and all those goodies into the Cube...

wsteineker

Jul 4, 2002, 02:03 AM

Originally posted by tjwett
i'm really missing my (ex)Cube lately and seeing the low prices on eBay is tempting me to get another one. these processor upgrades are very exciting but i'm a bit confused...is it just the processor or is it the whole mobo? is there any way to up the system bus speed? it would be great to have a Cube again, especially running at 1ghz but the 100mhz bus is sounding really old right now, compared to what we will (may, who knows?) see at MWNY. if only we could get DDR and all those goodies into the Cube...

Ok, here's the deal. The processor in the Cube (as well as the whole of the G4 series) is on a processor daughtercard. The upgrade replaces the current 450 or 500 MHz daughtercard with a new 800 MHz or 1 GHz daughtercard, complete with onboard cooling (a really sweet looking fan). As for the system bus, there's no way that I know of to increase the bus speed safely. We're locked into a 100 MHz FSB and the requisite PC 100 RAM. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is. Still, it's pretty impressive to get even that into an 8 inch cube. I for one won't be giving mine up any time soon. Hell, by the time I can afford the upgrade (around Christmas) who's to say that dual 800s won't be an option. Now THAT would be a monster of a Cube! :D

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 4, 2002, 04:20 AM

Originally posted by tjwett:
it would be great to have a Cube again, especially running at 1ghz but the 100mhz bus is sounding really old right now, compared to what we will (may, who knows?) see at MWNY. if only we could get DDR and all those goodies into the Cube...

The bottom line is...

You've got a Cube, you invest in the 1Ghz processor, but you've still only got a 100Mhz bus.

Big deal.

Does it really matter that you're waiting around that extra 2 milliseconds for a computation to be completed, just because you don't have a 133Mhz bus?

I don't know about you folks, but I'll just sit here being thankful that I've got a G4 processor, and not a candy-coloured iMac - or late model iBook with a G3 - in the first place...;)

wsteineker

Jul 4, 2002, 04:31 AM

Right on, kiwi. I can't fathom why people are getting so worried about the system bus issue. Bottom line is that by Christmas my cube will be a beast, and for a cost that's a lot less than a new Mac. It's a damn good looking machine, too.

1GHz G4, 1.5 GB RAM, 60 GB HD, GeForce3, 17" Apple Studio LCD

Those specs are GREAT, DDR or no, especially when you fit it all into an 8" cube. I for one won't be complaining. No way. :)

skunk

Jul 4, 2002, 05:21 AM

Couldn't agree more. Viva el Cube! Just change the display to a 22"....

dobbin

Jul 4, 2002, 08:29 AM

Yeah Baby! Bring back the cube!!!

I don't see why Apple would hint "there is a small chance it will reintroduce an upgraded model of the unique computer in the future" if they didn't mean it.

How about launching a G5 cube before a G5 tower - that would be a sure way to make it sell better than last time!!!

Seriously though, it was easily the best looking computer ever, and they should bring it back for that reason alone, even if it doesn't compete in sales volumes with iMacs or Towers.

wsteineker

Jul 4, 2002, 11:46 AM

Originally posted by skunk
Couldn't agree more. Viva el Cube! Just change the display to a 22"....

Hell, let's make it a 23" Cinema HD Display. You buying? :)

skunk

Jul 4, 2002, 11:48 AM

I bought...:)

wsteineker

Jul 4, 2002, 11:56 AM

Originally posted by skunk
I bought...:)

Oh my God, you HAVE one of those things?!?!? Is it everything I hope and dream that it will one day be? I can only IMAGINE that beast sitting next to my Cube. One day... :D

skunk

Jul 4, 2002, 12:03 PM

Yes, I am guilty of extreme extravagance – but God it's beautiful! It's "only" the 22" but it's pixel-perfect. I really think they should keep the 22" as part of the line-up, as it's much better value than the 23".

edesignuk

Jul 4, 2002, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by skunk
Yes, I am guilty of extreme extravagance – but God it's beautiful! It's "only" the 22" but it's pixel-perfect. I really think they should keep the 22" as part of the line-up, as it's much better value than the 23".
I wouldn't mind them canning the 22" if the 23" took its place in terms of price - price cut to around £2,000. That would be sweet!

skunk

Jul 4, 2002, 12:18 PM

The words "dream" and "on" spring to mind....

edesignuk

Jul 4, 2002, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by skunk
The words "dream" and "on" spring to mind....
mmm...maybe...but it will happen...eventually :p

tjwett

Jul 4, 2002, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by wsteineker

Ok, here's the deal. The processor in the Cube (as well as the whole of the G4 series) is on a processor daughtercard. The upgrade replaces the current 450 or 500 MHz daughtercard with a new 800 MHz or 1 GHz daughtercard, complete with onboard cooling (a really sweet looking fan). As for the system bus, there's no way that I know of to increase the bus speed safely. We're locked into a 100 MHz FSB and the requisite PC 100 RAM. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is. Still, it's pretty impressive to get even that into an 8 inch cube. I for one won't be giving mine up any time soon. Hell, by the time I can afford the upgrade (around Christmas) who's to say that dual 800s won't be an option. Now THAT would be a monster of a Cube! :D

thanks for the info. i thought, because of it's size, the Cube had the processor right on the board, like the TiBook. well, good to know. i think i may bite the bullett and eBay up myself a new(used)Cube. it should do pretty well with all the available upgrades. i'm psyched.

cubist

Jul 4, 2002, 03:08 PM

... is where to go to get information on upgrades e.g. combo drive, CPU upgrade, video card upgrade. I've upgraded my ram and video card, and am hoping to get a combo-/super-drive upgrade and, if it's cheap enough, a CPU upgrade.

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 4, 2002, 04:50 PM

It's so nice to see that the little fella is still so popular.

If only Steve Jobs and his many little wizards got to read this forum, then they would truly understand how valued the wee beastie really is...

;)

Wry Cooter

Jul 4, 2002, 08:11 PM

Mm, no. Don't think so. The entire G4 line does not have a removable upgradable g4. Sorry. I truly wish it were so. But do you think people would be buying enitre quicksilver towers when they could merely have upgraded the chip in a Sawtooth? I don't think so. I wish so perhaps.

Catfish

Jul 4, 2002, 08:58 PM

Originally posted by kiwi_the_iwik
It's so nice to see that the little fella is still so popular.

If only Steve Jobs and his many little wizards got to read this forum, then they would truly understand how valued the wee beastie really is...

yes yes yes.

I switched too late. If only I could buy a cube now...

King Cobra

Jul 4, 2002, 09:12 PM

If I am not mistaken, Apple retired the Cube exactly on this date last year, according to an old MacOSrumors article.

Everyone wants a Cube, but I am not giving anyone mine yet...muhahahahaha! :D

King Cobra

Jul 4, 2002, 09:19 PM

cubist, I can't imagine having your name referring to a G4 Cube, while you don't use the word "cube" in your long statement just before. :D

Here is a little last something for our America.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/cube/custom_cube_flag.html

Happy Birthday! :cool:

wsteineker

Jul 5, 2002, 01:52 AM

Originally posted by Wry Cooter
Mm, no. Don't think so. The entire G4 line does not have a removable upgradable g4. Sorry. I truly wish it were so. But do you think people would be buying enitre quicksilver towers when they could merely have upgraded the chip in a Sawtooth? I don't think so. I wish so perhaps.

I'm pretty damn sure about this one, man. I know for a fact that processor upgrades are available for the Sawtooth. Sonnet manufactures a dual 500 upgrade for the Sawtooth tower, and the PowerLogix upgrades that are soon to be available for the Cube are also available in Sawtooth models. XLR8 also offers an upgrade for Sawtooth models, I'm just not sure what the specs are. I believe it's a 550 MHz upgrade. I know this because the Cube uses Sawtooth parts for most of its internals, including the logic board and the processor daughter card. :)

PyroTurtle

Jul 5, 2002, 02:04 AM

daughter cards are quite common on macs, just look back throughout the histroy, and look at all the models that daughtercard upgrades are listed for...

Neodym

Jul 5, 2002, 09:26 AM

... to have DDR-Ram? I remember the old Amiga CPU boards. They had fast 32bit memory on the CPU board itself, which was locally connected to the CPU and used prior to the slow motherboard ram.

Heck, those boards even had SCSI hostadapters onboard (admitted: The CPU slot was designed with the required signals ;-)

But the ram issue should be able on the Cube also. Just imagine: A G4@1GHz with 512MB DDR-Ram locally connected to the PPC. No need at all to use or redesign the motherboard for the memory, as the access is done with bypassing the motherboard memory controller.

I am no techie, but maybe people just can't imagine such solutions on the MAC?!

Wry Cooter

Jul 5, 2002, 03:19 PM

Originally posted by wsteineker

I'm pretty damn sure about this one, man. I know for a fact that processor upgrades are available for the Sawtooth. Sonnet manufactures a dual 500 upgrade for the Sawtooth tower, and the PowerLogix upgrades that are soon to be available for the Cube are also available in Sawtooth models.

Only after a certain point in production. The first Sawtooths out the gate can't accept Sonnet upgrades

http://www.sonnettech.com/support/errata/duet_errata.html

And all that would be available to you if your sawtooth COULD accept an upgrade, would be a dual 500.

But if you know of any other solutions... let me know.

jaykk

Jul 5, 2002, 07:47 PM

I found this at powerbookcentral.com -
PowerMax has new 450MHz Cubes (G4/450, 128 MB of RAM, 20 GB internal drive, internal CD-RW, internal 56k modem, includes keyboard) available for $1299. Just in case you missed out the first time.
PowerMax (http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate.cgi?p=C-NC-M8328LL%2FA)

I think CUBE is coming back..or at least a brand new CUBE is still around if anyone is intested

King Cobra

Jul 5, 2002, 08:45 PM

jaykk, I think you are getting ripped off with that price tag! A week or two before the Cube was put to rest SmallDog had an exact same model of that Cube, except it had 64MB RAM and a DVD-ROM drive. And that model cost under $1100. I realize that the CD-RW and extra 64MB RAM bring the price up a little, but I don't think it would jack up the price by over $200. In fact, I wouldn't even pay $1000 for the model you are showing.

My 0.5GHz Cube has 1GB RAM and a DVD-ROM. I would sell THAT for $1299, but I don't want to give away my precious supercomputer...muhahahahaha! :D

Sun Baked

Jul 5, 2002, 11:08 PM

That price is way too close to the price of a new tower, with the current rebates.

Granted a new cube is quieter and more stylish, but is it worth that much more than a new tower, when upgraded?

And in a couple weeks, the cube may spontaneously sprout a few more gray hairs.

wsteineker

Jul 6, 2002, 12:03 AM

Originally posted by Wry Cooter
But if you know of any other solutions... let me know.

The new PowerLogix upgrades come in two models: Cube (800 and 1000) and Sawtooth (800 and 1000). Check it out on their site (http://www.powerlogix.com/news/press.html#powerforceg4). Looks like a solution to the problem. Enjoy! :)

As for the confusion over the Sowtooth not accepting upgrades, we have a semantic problem. The Sonnet page that you sent me to lists all PowerMac G4 models from the AGP Graphics model on up as being compatible with the upgrade. AGP Graphics PowerMacs are the first Sawtooth models. The model before that one was the first PowerMac G4 and it had PCI graphics. It wasn't based on the Sawtooth motherboard, but the Yikes! board. You're confusing the name Sawtooth with a generic name for all graphite G4 towers. The towers that you're saying won't accept processor card upgrades aren't Sawtooth machines at all. Every Sawtooth will accept a processor upgrade from Sonnet, XLR8, or PowerLogix. Just clarifying. :)

Wry Cooter

Jul 6, 2002, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by wsteineker

The Sonnet page that you sent me to lists all PowerMac G4 models from the AGP Graphics model on up as being compatible with the upgrade. AGP Graphics PowerMacs are the first Sawtooth models.

Read more carefully.
http://www.sonnettech.com/support/errata/duet_errata.html

This errata link describes the first sawtooths, not a yikes. I know the difference. Some of the early Sawtooths before the Digital Audio variant, had asics with which the Sonnet board cannot work. The entire bit concerning using Apple System Profiler is to determine which asic you might have.

[in g4 agp sawtooth] If the Uni-North ASIC number is previous to revision 7, then your system does not support multiprocessing (thus it cannot take the sonnet board, or any dual processor board) Be nice if the ASIC had a flashable ROM.

You can tell a yikes much easier- it doesn't have AGP, some ports are perpendicular to the placement as on the Sawtooth, etc....

But thanks for the PowerLogix link... those have come out since the last time I searched this spring... now if they will only work with 10.1.5 and Jaguar without a hitch. So my sawtooth could have a 1ghz G4 and a fast 2x AGP video card such as a Radeon 8500, and perhaps run quicker, and maybe even bug free, (would the mobo create bottlenecks in this set up? Maybe not) That could allow me to wait until an actual g5 comes to market, and spend that money on OS X apps (surely Apple will not mind too much if their developers are supported by my budget in the meantime, maybe they can afford to come to MWNY expo next year.)

Anyway, as far as this all relates to the Cube discussion- there is varying difficulty in upgrading our CPUs, depending on the model, apparently a secret
of the cube is, it may be easier to upgrade than some other G4s. But some of us will be have to buy a new case and motherboard as well, as perhaps we should. But I would have loved all g4s to merely have a g4 you could upgrade as easily as putting in more ram, with a removeable zif socket CPU.

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 6, 2002, 10:51 AM

I can't understand this deal with incompatibility issues - I was always led to believe that a ZIFF socket was as easy to replace as a block of lego.

It's so nice to know that upgrade options are so limited, and not as easy as was made out by Apple when they printed all the blurb on their website, and talked-the-talk at sales time.

Thanks for disspelling that myth, guys!:(

daRAT

Jul 6, 2002, 06:39 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by King Cobra
[B]cubist, I can't imagine having your name referring to a G4 Cube, while you don't use the word "cube" in your long statement just before. :D

<snip>

heck another "Cubist" and only 6 miles or so away (when in Wells, Maine)!

About the only thing missing in a Cube is a SuperDrive, thats the only reason I am looking at towers now...

cyas!:p

skunk

Jul 6, 2002, 08:16 PM

I resorted to the cunning ploy of buying an 800 FP iMac to get the drive. Well, you need a back-up, don't you?:)

Durandal7

Jul 6, 2002, 08:40 PM

If you're not using the rest of that iMac I'm sure I could put it to good use. ;)

skunk

Jul 6, 2002, 09:49 PM

Don't call me, I'll call you...:p

jaykk

Jul 6, 2002, 10:21 PM

I saw the light very late; by that time, Cube was gone. But I switched in time to own a Ti Book..If it was not for Mac OS X and its Unix underpinnings, I should have been still stuck in the dark with Windoze.. I tried Linux for a while, but Mac OS X rocks..and hardware is even better. I hope Steve will bring back the cube :)

Hlau

Jul 7, 2002, 09:31 AM

Apple/Nintendo/Panasonic partnership anyone? I have the G4 Cube and the Gamecube and they're similar in some respects. Both cubes runs on PowerPC and OpenGL; Apple needs some games and Nintendo may want some help with its next hardware. Games can be part of the digital hub, can't they?

Wry Cooter

Jul 7, 2002, 10:34 AM

Nintendo made their game cube take 3 inch dvds to help prevent piracy. Any sort of apple/panasonic/nintendo console as you suggest would have to have a tray loading type of drive rather than the slot loading type drive of the Cube, if it were to take Nintendo Games. Nintendo also may not want Mario slipping over to the desktop world, although it might help boost game development for both Nintendo AND Apple. A Cube the price of a Nintendo GameCube? Or some other sort of Set Top box paradigm with Moxi?

King Cobra

Jul 7, 2002, 12:26 PM

>(daRAT)heck another "Cubist" and only 6 miles or so away (when in Wells, Maine)!
I'm so glad you managed to quote me about 2 and a half days late! If you don't change your name or appearance I'm comin' right over there to eat you! :eek: :D

>About the only thing missing in a Cube is a SuperDrive, thats the only reason I am looking at towers now...
The best of luck, man. Again, wait until after the expo before you purchase a tower, or you will get $çréwëd, especially since it's just over a week away.

>cyas!:p
English translation, RATmyster! :eek:

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 7, 2002, 05:23 PM

Well, King -

Rumour has it that an Optical drive hardware supplier is well into development (if not completion) of a slot-loading SuperDrive for the TiBook. That may be one of the major new hardware releases for the MWNY Expo.

If this is the case (being that the designers have finally conquered the ever-present problem of slot-loading SuperDrives currently only being able to read the disk in the horizontal position as opposed to the vertical position), then, my friends, a whole new can of worms are about to be released into the Apple stable of systems.

Imagine, then, the new range of iMacs - if you look at a picture of the new Wacom Cintiq graphics tablet, then you'll probably be on the right track. No base, no need for a bulky CPU - just a monitor and a keyboard/mouse configuration. The monitor will have to be a nice, large LCD variety (of, say, around 17-18"), just to give it that techno-edge. The SuperDrive would be housed in the Monitor, as would the motherboard. And ALL of this will be achievable solely due to the fact that slot-loading SuperDrives can work whilst laying sideways.

And that's good news for the Cube - for it is then that we, too, can enjoy the benefits of the SuperDrive inside our little beasties. :D

DakotaGuy

Jul 7, 2002, 11:10 PM

Originally posted by verbose101
Any one seen this (http://www.viahardware.com/sss50rev_1.shtm) before? PC rip off of the cube. Yuck!

Okay you are all gonna flame on me for this one...but it kinda looks like what you would get if you crossed a cube and an XServe...

skunk

Jul 8, 2002, 04:58 AM

Looks more like a dog's breakfast...

jefhatfield

Jul 9, 2002, 01:22 AM

Originally posted by jaykk
I saw the light very late; by that time, Cube was gone. But I switched in time to own a Ti Book..If it was not for Mac OS X and its Unix underpinnings, I should have been still stuck in the dark with Windoze.. I tried Linux for a while, but Mac OS X rocks..and hardware is even better. I hope Steve will bring back the cube :)

and it would be nice if there could be a newer cube with the power supply inside the actual cube and a wireless keyboard and mouse

kiwi_the_iwik

Jul 12, 2002, 08:20 AM

Well, I dunno Mr. Hat...

I reckon that the Cube was fine just how it was, with the power supply away from the motherboard - giving us a small desktop footprint, and a cooler, quieter enclosure (and a darn cool-looking one at that).

The fact that it was easy to get to the core should indicate that Apple really had great plans for it. Look at the new iMac - the graphics card is soldered on-board, the screen is rigidly stuck at 15", and the memory is a bugger to get at; all unlike the Cube.

As for the wireless keyboard and mouse, well - when Apple's Bluetooth adaptor supplier finally pulls their finger out, perhaps all USB-based Macs can benefit from having them.

PyroTurtle

Jul 14, 2002, 10:03 PM

that PeeCee thing looks about as bad as you get, there was one at Fry's awhile back....ick...
anywho, the power supply outside the "box" was a smart idea i though, i like it more, i wish i had a cube....the noise that most computers make is really really anoying imho, i like laptops for that reason...i'm rambling....i wish school would start....i need a new mac, this 400Ti is getting slow....have a nice day everyone

King Cobra

Jul 14, 2002, 11:19 PM

You would qualify for rambling automatically, since you said your 400Ti is getting slow! :D

>(kiwi)Mr. Hat...
That's classic. First we go from jhatfield to Mr. Hat. Leave me guessing for the follow up. :eek:

If you think the noise of computers is noisy, have you heard the mp3 of the new Xserve? It's like a Hoover a couple of feet away. The only difference is that the Hoover doesn't blow. :eek: :cool:

jefhatfield

Jul 14, 2002, 11:35 PM

Originally posted by King Cobra

Mr. Hat...
That's classic. First we go from jhatfield to Mr. Hat. Leave me guessing for the follow up. :eek:

my name is actually daniel but i chose jefhatfield from a cartoon character i invented

from my long essays i used to post (most early macrumor posters only had one sentence retorts), i got the name hatman with the long hatman essays

i actually only wear a 49ers or raiders baseball cap denoting my northern california origin so i do have a hat

i was usually two to three times older than most early macrumor posters so i used to give those parental, "i did this so you don't make the same mistake" speeches...he he

i fell in love with a prostitute/heroin crack junkie when i was a social worker...this happens a lot...and i learned a good lesson on making bad choices

more than a decade later withvolunteer social work with heroin addicts, i know how to keep a distance and help the way i was trained to in the first place

long distance bills to and from jail is not my idea of spending one's wages on late night bull sessions...he he