PowerMac Delays

[MacRumors]

Release dates for upcoming PowerMac revisions remain a topic of anticipation...

Appleinsider claims that according to their sources, new graphics cards are not likely the cause of the delay for new PowerMacs as previously suspected.

A previous report pointed the finger at cooling issues with the new PowerMacs. Meanwhile, the new PowerPC 970FX based Xserve has only recently started shipping in March.

The next defined Apple event remains the NAB on April 18th, 2004.

[Veldek]

I lost all my hope that we will see anything before WWDC.

[javabear90]

arg... so should I buy or not?

[klaus]

This is not a "new" rumor.. it's just a comprehension of previous rumors...
it is very -- maybe too -- quiet on the Apple rumor front..

[wordmunger]

Originally Posted by Veldek

I lost all my hope that we will see anything before WWDC.

Why? What's so special about WWDC? If the product is being delayed due to production problems, it suggests Apple is waiting until they have actual product ready to ship before they announce it. If that's the case, why would they wait until WWDC? I think this news means if they have it ready April 25, they'll announce it April 26.

[mkwilson68]

... that's for sure. Things have been way too quiet recently, and my guess is that this has nothing to do with a lack of chips.

I think we may see something more radical in the coming months - you don't spend $500M on R&D for a chip upgrade.

It's going to be a remarkable year - just not as soon as we'd all like.

[wannaPM]

One month ago I sold my dear G4/933 to buy a dual G5, but my honest reseller (luckily here we don't have Apple Stores here) told me: "it's better to wait, the new models should be out by the end of march" ... and my long waiting started , reading every day all of the Mac rumors sites.
I don't believe the 970FX cooling issue is true because Apple already started shipping the Xserve G5, with the same CPU in a much smaller case, and the now contradicted graphic card delay sounds odd to me, considering that Apple (and eventually ATI) had more than 9 months to decide which card they should mount on the G5 revB and to produce many pieces of them.
Today I checked the PM G5 avalaibility for the two Apple distributors here in Italy and each of them still has about 40 1.6 GHz, 120 dual 1.8 and 80 dual 2.0, with some few dozens still to come. At the actual selling rate they should last about 2-3 weeks.
My thought is that Apple is simply waiting to empty its stock while making more money now than before by selling us (or at least trying to sell) the revA G5 at the same price they sold it 9 months ago; if the new models should be announced now the old ones shall have a significant price rebate, with a consequent money loss for Apple. Probably they are also assembling plenty of revB G5s just now, to be able to ship them as soon as they are announced avoiding the usual and hated "shipping in 4-6-8-10 weeks".
I also think that they can't directly jump from the actual 2 GHz to 3 GHz because of at least the following matters:
- they never did such a speed bump before, probably because a similar thing could arise many technical problems
- the Xserve just started shipping with a 2 GHz clock, hence they can't sell a "desktop" that is almost 50% faster than the top server
- it would not be correct at all for the customers to sell a 3.0 GHz model at the same price a 2.0 GHz had few days before (but maybe Apple doesn't take much care of what is correct for its customers )
Moreover, they can't mount on all of the revB models a dual processor because they need at least a "entry level" G5, and until the iMac G5 is out they will leave the low revB model with a single CPU
Nevertheless Apple usually updates each product line every 6-7 months and the last PM update was almost 10 months ago (except the dual 1.8 on november) hence I think that Apple must announce in the next weeks some new models will be out (something to extensively test the new 970FX and "prepare" it for the 3.0 GHz bump, like single 2.0, dual 2.2, dual 2.4), bigger disks (120-250 GB), more memory (512MB - 1GB) and better graphic cards, but the real bang will be at WWDC, where they could announce the PB G5 "The first 64bit notebook" (while Asus already ships a notebook mounting the AMD's 64 bit chip ) a G5 equipped iMac "The first 64 bit soccer ball" and the 3.0 GHz PowerMacs "More bit power", many of them to be shipped on september (after all the summer ends in september, so Jobs could mantain what he promised last year).
C'mon Apple, at least tell us when the new G5s are to be announced!

[dieselg4]

Is there anybody from Apple scheduled to speak? Just thinkging out loud . . .

[garybooberry]

*yawn*

[B!nej]

No-one's going to tell you when, because people will wait longer for a set date than they will for an undefined one. Businesses have gone under by giving customers a reason to wait longer before buying. The apple dealer doesn't know any more than you do, he's just reading the rumor sites like everyone else.

I ordered a current dual 1.8 last monday, because I know that even if new models are announced tomorrow, I won't see _mine_ arrive in Australia for months, so I'd rather have a very fast computer today than a very very fast one two or three months or more from now.

My view on these "rumors" of cooling problems is that it's what someone has suggested as possibility (because everyone knows fast computers are hot) and others have now reported as "rumor", which people here will translate into "fact". It's amazing that Apple can produce machines *twice* as fast as their previous line, then can't sell them because suddenly people are deciding that's not a big enough jump and they want another one! (The G5 I am buying should work out more than four times faster than my current eMac, easily.)

Of course, I will be avoiding all rumor sites, online apple stores and computing news sites for three months after mine arrives, just to be be safe.

[oingoboingo]

Since the Xserve G5 was delayed for a while after the initial announcement, I wonder if the availability of the new 90nm PowerPC 970 processors might be the holdup, rather than cooling issues. Given that the current generation of G5s seem to have no problem with quiet cooling, and the 90nm PowerPC 970 chips should run cooler than the 130nm versions, I can't see how cooling would be an issue. We should remember that the PowerPC 970 produces much less heat than comparable Pentium 4 and AMD chips...which run happily week in, week out, in systems which much cruder cooling systems than the PowerMac G5. Sure, the G5 runs warm, but it's not the scorching nuclear furnace that people make it out to be. The elaborate cooling system of the G5 PowerMac is like that to keep thing cool and QUIET.

Or I could be talking out my arse. Regardless, this isn't good news. Those 1st generation G5 PowerMacs were announced a long time ago. And I'm sure I'm not alone here, but I know of more than one person who is holding out on a PowerMac purchase until Rev B comes along.

[fussball]

this is getting old... that's all I can say.

[whooleytoo]

I like Macosrumors.com's line better: delays due to massive secretive government orders. It sounds a bit far-fetched.. but at least it means G5 powerbooks tomorrow!

[applekid]

Alright, I'll say I have a little optimism of G5s coming "soon." But, let's say they were to come in the next month, how would this affect the release of the third-gen G5s that will most likely feature the 3 GHz (or more) machines? Is Apple going to make a September-ish release like last year?

I still suspect a graphics card problem. People are reporting problems when gaming with their G5s in the gaming section of the forum. Of course, it just might be a failure in the cooling system as the rumor states. Sorta sucks if that's the problem. That isn't exactly fixable for the current G5s if they are suffering unless Apple does a repair program of sorts.

[oingoboingo]

Originally Posted by B!nej

It's amazing that Apple can produce machines *twice* as fast as their previous line, then can't sell them because suddenly people are deciding that's not a big enough jump and they want another one! (The G5 I am buying should work out more than four times faster than my current eMac, easily.)

The G5 might be four times as fast as your eMac, but you are comparing the very bottom of Apple's desktop range to the very top. The differences between the superceded top-range dual 1.25GHz and 1.42GHz G4 PowerMac towers and the G5 lineup may not be sufficient enough to convince many users to ditch a relatively expensive, and a relatively new 9 to 18 month old investment. People often leap-frog generations when they upgrade, and I imagine there are a lot of dual 1GHz, 1.25GHz and 1.42GHz G4 PowerMac owners out there waiting to see the Rev. B G5 PowerMac appear before they make the jump.

[srobert]

Why do I get the feeling that the words "Too little, Too late." will be the keywords of the next apple products announcement? I'd really like to be proven wrong. The more they wait and the less appealing a dual 2.4 G5 will look. (Compared to the competition at least)

[Spagolli94]

I agree... If they are going to stick to their promise of 3Ghz within a year, there just doesn't seem to be time to have a bump in between now and then. Who would buy that update, knowing that in ony 3 months, another update is supposedly "guaranteed?" I think it is becoming pretty obvious that they are just going to wait to do one big update, so I guess that means we will have to wait until June.

[freddiecable]

from appleinsider:

After confirming the most recent wave of delays, sources provided AppleInsider with an updated time-frame for Power Mac revisions. Due to the sensitivity of the subject, AppleInsider will refrain from publishing these details until they can be confirmed. However, it should be noted that a number of larger Apple resellers have received a significant shipment of the current Power Mac G5 offerings over the past week.

I want to see that "updated time-frame"

[srobert]

Originally Posted by Spagolli94

I agree... If they are going to stick to their promise of 3Ghz within a year, there just doesn't seem to be time to have a bump in between now and then. Who would buy that update, knowing that in ony 3 months, another update is supposedly "guaranteed?" I think it is becoming pretty obvious that they are just going to wait to do one big update, so I guess that means we will have to wait until June.

Hmmm... maybe Apple switched their business model to one the like of the "Car Industry". From now on, we'll have one update a year, in 2 or 3 flavors: The PMac G5 2005, PMac G5 2005 GT, PMac G5 2006, PMac G5 2006 GT, etc... :-) Maybe we'll be able to ad tons of extras... or maybe they'll put more standard features.

[wrldwzrd89]

Originally Posted by Spagolli94

I agree... If they are going to stick to their promise of 3Ghz within a year, there just doesn't seem to be time to have a bump in between now and then. Who would buy that update, knowing that in ony 3 months, another update is supposedly "guaranteed?" I think it is becoming pretty obvious that they are just going to wait to do one big update, so I guess that means we will have to wait until June.

It sure seems that way to me on the PowerMac update front to me also. I wonder if we'll see the long-rumored 8x (or possibly 16x) SuperDrives in these new models. I'm also wondering if the case design will change any from the Rev. A G5, since I'm sure several members here would like to add a second internal optical drive and/or more internal hard drives. As I have said in earlier posts, I'm not in the market for a G5 right now. I am interested in what comes out between now and when I replace my iMac, since its replacement will most likely be a PowerMac.

[B!nej]

Originally Posted by oingoboingo

The G5 might be four times as fast as your eMac, but you are comparing the very bottom of Apple's desktop range to the very top. (...)

You're right, but I was actually thinking about all the QuickSilver & Sawtooth G4 owners - I see a lot more of them around than I see MDDs. I wouldn't think most MDD dual 1.25 and 1.42 owners would be in the market for a new Mac for another few months yet, but I guess there could be a bunch of late G4 owners champing at the bit for a brushed metal finish... ?

[Sabenth]

without sounding like an idiot we just have to wait and see its awaiting game

[Photorun]

If only these forums had didn't have anti swearing filters, I'd really like to say aloud where Jobs can stick that 3 GHz promise about now. This is some really exquisite bulls*** Apple is doing... big time.

[agreenster]

Well, if its true that the 18th is the release date for the new G5's, then they'd better have them ready to ship. Im not holding my breath though.

At this point though, I might as well wait until WWDC to get a dual 3ghz....but after the track record this year, I wouldnt be suprised if they miss that goal as well. How upsetting would THAT be? Talk about empty promises.

Although, I could see Apple's website in mid-April saying,

"Summer Comes Early in 2004"

and release the dual 3ghz'ers early and suprise everyone...

And then I wake up

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by wordmunger

Why? What's so special about WWDC? If the product is being delayed due to production problems, it suggests Apple is waiting until they have actual product ready to ship before they announce it. If that's the case, why would they wait until WWDC? I think this news means if they have it ready April 25, they'll announce it April 26.

It is definitely fun to speculate. I'm confident that Steve will release the Power Mac Rev. B when it is ready. Like others it looks like WWDC, if it's a major upgrade I would want to announce it in person also. If they announce Steve will be at NAB, then we will know that something will be announced.

It is interesting that you picked April 26th, it's a Monday. The biggest thing that happens on April 26th is my B-Day.