970 Ready for Production?

[MacRumors]

MacBidouille claims that the 970 is cleared for production... and as of April 15th will start production in IBM facilities.

The PowerPC 970 is the rumored successor to the current PowerPCs used in Apple's computers. MacBidouille has had a variable history of accuracy regarding rumor postings... and has been a particular vocal source of 970 rumors in the recent days.

[Vlade]

Any ideas of the clockspeed? Will it be 1.4,1.6,1.8 or 1.6,1.8,2.3?

[Kyle?]

Sweeeet!!!! if this is true. It seems like the information could at least be more than a rumor sometime (a word from IBM).

[bikertwin]

So does this mean that, come September, we'll all be in heaven?

--970 Hardware
--Panther OS X 10.3
--Final Cut Pro 4
--DVD Studio Pro 2

Add a 20" flat screen and I'm really in Heaven!

[dricci]

Glad the processors are ready to go, but how about Apple's new logic boards? I'd assume they'll have to put any final logic board plans through a few months of testing to make sure everything works well together.

Also, there's no reason Apple would have to wait for 10.3 to get these shipping. I'm sure a special build of 10.2 could be made to work with the 970 hardware. Sure, the OS would be running in 32-bit mode, but we'd still have faster processors and an updated architecture. 10.3 could fully take advantage of everything a few months later, and be the icing on the cake

[jrv3034]

Originally posted by bikertwin
So does this mean that, come September, we'll all be in heaven?

--970 Hardware
--Panther OS X 10.3
--Final Cut Pro 4
--DVD Studio Pro 2

Add a 20" flat screen and I'm really in Heaven!

You took the words right out of my mouth
This Fall I'm getting a new PowerMac, 970 or not. I'll need it to edit a digital video project I'm shooting this summer with a Panasonic DVX100. It seems like all the pieces are coming together for a SUPREME DIGITAL VIDEO WORKSTATION from Apple this September or so!!!

[hvfsl]

Apple would have had samples of PPC970 chips for a while now if this rumor is true. What the rumor is saying is that the PPC970 is now ready for mass production, so I have no doubt Apple will be ready for the chip. This is what I would like to see in the next PMac:

1.6Ghz-1.9Ghz PPC970 (maybe duals)
PCI extreme (much faster than PCI and AGP 8X and backwards compatible with PCI)
900Mhz system Bus
Serial ATA
Firewire 800
USB 2
Airport Extreme
BlueTooth
Water Cooling, so there is no fan noise

[MisterMe]

Originally posted by bikertwin
So does this mean that, come September, we'll all be in heaven?

--970 Hardware
--Panther OS X 10.3
--Final Cut Pro 4
--DVD Studio Pro 2

Add a 20" flat screen and I'm really in Heaven!

No, in September you'll be bitching about Apple's not releasing a 3.5 GHz PowerMac for $750.00 US.

[Kamu-San]

Main diff would be the maximum amount of memory, since the 970 runs 32-bit code as is.

[maradong]

Originally posted by jrv3034
You took the words right out of my mouth
This Fall I'm getting a new PowerMac, 970 or not. I'll need it to edit a digital video project I'm shooting this summer with a Panasonic DVX100. It seems like all the pieces are coming together for a SUPREME DIGITAL VIDEO WORKSTATION from Apple this September or so!!!

Cool, I ll get a powermac. But i wil definitly wait till the 970 s are shipping. I think if they are now ready to be produced in masses, perhaps, they will see the light in august or september. There will certainly be some testing of it.
But what, by the way, will they call that? g5? to let the people in the mind of continuation, or 970 because it is the reallity, or something else. What do you think ( different )?


[Edit]
I forgot. I hope strongly the 970 s will not make something like a x86 pc out of the mac computers. I mean with loud fans and everything to allow the cpu to be cooled coorectly.
[/Edit]

[Ensoniq]

Originally posted by dricci
Glad the processors are ready to go, but how about Apple's new logic boards? I'd assume they'll have to put any final logic board plans through a few months of testing to make sure everything works well together.

MacWhispers reported last week that two new motherboards for the PPC 970 machines (one single, one dual) went into production. Full production indicates that testing is over...the motherboards are finalized. The rumors that the PPC 970 is in full production now means testing of those chips is over too.

Since we're only dealing in rumors, it doesn't mean any of this is true. But just to clarify, full production of both the chips and the motherboards means testing (except for normal quality assurance) is over. These machines will be ready to ship as soon as Apple can put them in a box and make an announcement. To assume months more of testing is probably inaccurate.

Full production is defined as "debug mode complete." Yes, they may have to rework things if they find any serious issues in the first full scale run. But we're not talking about designing the chip or motherboard anymore. We're beyond that now.

[rog]

While I hope this is all true, when was the last time a rumor site got something this big right many months ahead of time. I remember when the G4 came out in 8-99 that it took many people by surprise because everyone thought it was months away and were only expecting a speedbump for the B&W towers. Also, there were even more reports like this about the impending G5 back in late 2001, that were supposedly coming any day and we all know what happened with that hope.

[phlevin]

The big difference with the 970 vs G4/G5 is that IBM is using the chip in their own machines. So more motivation for them (than Motorola) and more sources of information for the rumors.

[MacManiac1224]

If they are in production now, when can we expect to see them appear in new machine? is it possible they can appear in June at WWDC?

[mangoman]

Originally posted by MisterMe
No, in September you'll be bitching about Apple's not releasing a 3.5 GHz PowerMac for $750.00 US.

Man, ain't THAT the truth. And I'll still be bitching about the lack of an Apple PDA...

*sigh*

[Kamu-San]

By the way, don't forget that IBM will use the PPC970 itself, so the fact that production of the PPC970 starts doesn't mean that Apple *will* release a 970-based machine in September, just that they *can*.

[Kamu-San]

By the way, who is going to do the translation from French?

[maradong]

If you want i can do it....
takes some time huh!

[maradong]

Jusqu'à maintenant, les processeurs PPC 970 qui étaient fabriqués étaient des prototypes servant à des tests. Hier, Peter Sandon, père du PPC 970 a donné son feu vert. Le PPC 970 est maintenant considéré comme exempt de tout bug et bon pour la production.

Dès le 15 avril, il sera fabriqué en série dans les usines d'IBM. Les puces seront intégrées dès la fin Juin dans les serveurs Blade d'IBM et bien entendu dans les machines Apple. On peut noter la similitude de dates entre la sortie des machines IBM et la WWDC. Connaissant Apple, ils ont probablement négocié l'exclusivité de l'annonce de l'arrivée du PPC 970 à quelques jours près.

In english it should be something like this, without any garantee, as there are words not existing in that context in english:

Till now, the 970 's CPUs were protoypes, only serving for tests. Yesterday, Peter Sadon, the father of the 970 has given his ok. The 970 is now considered bug-less and ready for the mass production.
As soon as the 15 th april, the 970 will be producted in series at IBM's. The micro-processors will be integrated as soon as late June in IBM's Blade Servers, and of course in the Apple machines. Note the similarty between the release of the 970 and the WWDC. Knowing Apple, they probably already have negociated l ' exclusivity ( does that word exist ? :/ ) to announce the arrival of the PPC 970.

[punter]

just imagine that Apple has decided not to go with the 970, and despite the fact the chip is ready for production, we won't be getting it. That would really make me cry if we had to stick with g4s for another half year or more.

To tell the truth I would prefer if Apple went intel or whatever. Then there would be no more mhz race, we'd always have the market standard at mass produced prices. Perhaps the 970 might be faster, but it takes some great engineering to consistantly produce a faster chip when it sells to only a fraction of the market.

Obviously there are huge technical flaws in what I've said. But it was just a thought...

[Kamu-San]

Yes, please. I tried to read the French article, but although I understand it mostly, I'm not able to make an accurate translation.

'scuse me, I seem to have some lag. This was supposed to be a response to maradong 8-)

[richie]

Translation:

Until now, the PPC 970 processors that have been made have been prototypes for testing purposes. Yesterday, Peter Sandon, the 'father' of the PPC 970 gave his green light. The PPC 970 is now considered bug-free and ready for production.

Starting the 15th of April, it will be made in series in IBM's factories. The procs will be integrated into IBM's Blade servers by the end of June, and of course, also into Apple's machines. One should note the similarity in dates between the release of IBM's machines, and WWDC. Knowing Apple, they've probably negotiated an exclusive announcement about the arrival of the PPC 970 several days in advance of this.


EDIT: Err.. the other translation hadn't gone up when I started this. Sorry I'll leave it up anyways..

[Kamu-San]

Punter, I think it has been discussed several times before , but since the 970 runs the current PPC-code without modification, and an Intel chip won't, you probably see why moving to Intel would be problematic.

[maradong]

Please Lord Dont make apple use intel cpus. They need masses of cooling, they are slow compared to g4 s (relatively in4 mhz ).
If Apple starts using intel cpus. I think Apple can just as well stop immediatly producing pcs. If they are gonna use x86 cpus marklar will be released. Many people will think. hey thats the os i wanted all the time. And will buy a dell pc as it is the cheapest out there, and put Mac OS X on it. That s the end of Apple as a HardWare vendor.

[tgrundke]

Now, let's assume a best-case scenario and Apple *does* in fact release a 970 based PowerMacintosh. Hell, let's assume that Apple at this time revamps the entire product line so that the iBook is bumped to a G4 and the iMac gets a massive boost up to a 1.25 and 1.4ghz setup.

This having been said (and is potential, though the timeframe is most likely off), the problem will be PRICING.

Will Apple try to gouge the initial 970 based PowerMac buyers through price increases? Or, will Apple keep prices "as is"?

My belief is that Apple will have to keep prices "as is". Sales are stagnant right now and I feel strongly that it has nothing to do with "perceived value" (this is a phrase that has been thrown around Cupertino for years now and has led to the belief that if Apple crams more features into the computer such as DVD-Rs and higher quality LCDs and matierials, that people will buy more Macs). Unfortunately, the increasing commoditization of the industry combined with a fierce and bitter price war between some of the major players is forcing Apple into an increasingly uncomfortable corner.

The 970 has the potential to make Apple competitive in the price/performance ratio once more. The question is: will Apple use this as an opportunity to grab market share, or to boost profit margins?