Uh, oh, maybe Jobs will go back to PowerPC now...

I highly doubt apple is going to use intel processors for few years and then go back to ppc. I have a feeling whatever IBM did can probably be carried over to intel.

vniow said:

That article didn't say anything about PPC, just mentioned semiconductors, which are used in any kind of chip.

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we both assumed PPC because the article said IBM did it.

As long as Macs get faster and go down in price, as they always have, and are better than the stuff in the PC world, I really don't care what type of processor Apple uses.

I have had machines with Motorola, IBM, and Intel chips (among others) and they have all served me well.

vniow said:

That article didn't say anything about PPC, just mentioned semiconductors, which are used in any kind of chip.

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But nonetheless, It does specifically state that IBM is it's developer, which manufactures the modern PPC chip. Therefore, I highly doubt that IBM would gladly pawn off their new technology, but instead would use it to get back a recently lost business partner (hint hint ). It sounds like this should be interesting, especially if the technology has been developed for dual or quad core processors. Just imagine the power and pperformance you would recieve from such a chip. I think it would be a little more free in a Mac than an Intel chip would be. Let the race begin!

Correct me if I'm wrong but IBM didn't even make the PPC that was in the last line of Power Macs etc..


[edit] nevermind I was thinking about the PowerBook G4..DO'H! [/edit]

But that speed increase sure sounds cool!!

So we're not gonna get 500Ghz macs or even 300Ghz macs, but we could see a 50Ghz mac within the next 3 years, right?

adk said:

I highly doubt apple is going to use intel processors for few years and then go back to ppc. I have a feeling whatever IBM did can probably be carried over to intel.

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not to mention the others will be soon to follow. it isn't like intel and amd aren't trying (and will) to break the same barriers speeding millions on r&d.

macgeek2005 said:

So we're not gonna get 500Ghz macs or even 300Ghz macs, but we could see a 50Ghz mac within the next 3 years, right?

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Ha ha I'd like to see 1 THz (1 Terrahertz, 1000 GHz).

WildCowboy said:

300 GHz at room temp, 500 GHz at ultra cold temps...for a single transistor. Full chips will run much slower.

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Article said:

That speed was hit only when IBM researchers, working with counterparts from the Georgia Institute of Technology, cooled the transistor to near absolute zero, but Meyerson said the device still ran at 300 gigahertz at room temperature.

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Absolute zero? Practical...

kildraik said:

Ha ha I'd like to see 1 THz (1 Terrahertz, 1000 GHz).

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This is the feature after we reach the physical limitation of a traditional cpu. these will be faster than you can phantom at the moment.

http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~westside/quantum-intro.html

I highly doubt that Apple will revert back to PowerPC. If people have worked so hard to make their software and programs to Universal status, Apple would certainly keep Intel for at least five years. Besides, the new processors that Intel is currently producing keep on getting faster (one was clocked at 2.5GHz from what I know).

-Phil

I think this theorical for now and the practical application of this would be used on the professional and server market not the hardcore gamer at home market.

But a 50GHz Mac would be totally sweet

Of course, the announcements say nothing about power consumption, and don't provide much in the way of detail. Also, by using an "exotic" element, they may run into problems trying to integrate this into a complete chip design.

I'm sure we'll see the benefits of this technology (in intel chips), but I don't think it will be as soon as they are leading us to believe.

Those speeds, even 50GHZ are extremely impressive. I remember when the 1ghz processor came out. I was so excited (because the computer i was using was a 200mhz). Pretty sweet let me tell you. No more wait time on anything...click...safari is open....no more bouncing of the application icon...

Here they are putting the cooling system in place for one of these chips:

I have never owned a power PC Mac I went from Motorola to Intel . However great speed jump...

This means Steve now will have to pull out the MHz myth argument, again!

These days, everything's either PPC or Universal...not PPC or Intel. I could see Apple easily jumping between PPC and Intel (and even RISC or whatever those CPU's are called) for where ever it suits the users needs the best.

kildraik said:

Ha ha I'd like to see 1 THz (1 Terrahertz, 1000 GHz).

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You laugh now, this quote will be used one day.

I'm 19 the first computer i had in my house was a 66mhz 486, i thought it was fast with its 8mb ram and 400mb storage. 12 years later we have a Quad G5 with 1TB internal storage and 4Gb of ram. Thats 151 times the processor (4cores) 2500 times the storage and 512 times the ram. Using that as a basis in another 12 years i could be using a computer with a total of 1.5Thz in cores 10,000TB (wtf) and 2TB of Ram. Imagine that running solitaire

JRM PowerPod said:

...in another 12 years i could be using a computer with a total of 1.5Thz in cores 10,000TB (wtf) and 2TB of Ram. Imagine that running solitaire

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Yes, but it will still use Intel integrated Graphics...

JRM PowerPod said:

You laugh now, this quote will be used one day.

I'm 19 the first computer i had in my house was a 66mhz 486, i thought it was fast with its 8mb ram and 400mb storage. 12 years later we have a Quad G5 with 1TB internal storage and 4Gb of ram. Thats 151 times the processor (4cores) 2500 times the storage and 512 times the ram. Using that as a basis in another 12 years i could be using a computer with a total of 1.5Thz in cores 10,000TB (wtf) and 2TB of Ram. Imagine that running solitaire

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way more than 151 times the speed. the 66MHz 486 can do 50Mflops the quad G5 does 80Gflops thus it's 1600 times faster.