MWNY: G4 will be at 1.5 Ghz

[whatever]

Well, it does appear that something big will be happening in July, but my question pertains to the PowerBook. I'm considering buying a PowerBook 800MHz, however what are the chances of Apple releasing a 1GHz in New York? I'm not one to wait forever, but is it possible?

It seems that Apple keeps throughing curves at us and they're not as predictable had they once were with upgrades. I doubt we'll see G5's before 2003, except in the Xserve (expect that in November-December).

So should buy a 800MHz now or wait?

Thanks

 

[blogo]

Last MWNY the high end (733mhz) became the low end, so it's a good chance that the high ends will have about 1,5ghz in clock speed.

 

[King Cobra]

Originally posted by whatever
So should buy a 800MHz now or wait?

Look, I learned a lesson from Undeclared that would apply to this situation:

If you wait now, you will be waiting forever.

Besides, the Revision C Powerbook is an incredible machine. It already performs multiple gigaflops and has many fixed problems over the previous revs. I am pretty sure that once Jaguar is loaded in it, it will go faster. For now, however, we are stuck with 10.1.
__________________

Fear the King.

 

[jg3]

My take on the waiting game...

People fall into 4 main categories based on 2 criteria: if they can afford it, and if they need it.

If you can afford a new computer and need one, buy right away unless there's a MacWorld or something right around the corner, in which case you buy right after the event regardless of what is announced.

If you can afford one but don't need one, it's up to you. Most people should wait and use their money in a better way, but if you've got TONS of cash, well, go nuts. Help Apple's market share!

If you can't afford a new computer and don't need one, chill (this is my situation). If you still would like a new comp, set some specs that you will not compromise on, otherwise you will likely drive yourself insane trying to think of ways to get enough money to buy new equipment. Once a model that meets those specs is available and affordable (and especially if you need a new comp by then), buy.

If you can't afford a new computer but need one, you're screwed. Consider if you really need a new computer, or just want one. Try upgrading the tight spots instead if you can, and hang in there! Computers only get better.

For what it's worth, in mid-April I laid down these minimum specs:
o 800MHz G4
o 512MB DDR RAM
o DVD/CD-RW
o 40GB storage
o AirPort
o >1024x768
o Mac OS 10.2

And shortly after that, the new Ti's came out and hit those specs almost on the nose, with the exception of DDR and 10.2. Also still working on the affordability part. Maybe by Christmas, and if not then, next summer. *sigh* I hate the waiting game.

 

[audiopainter]

MWNY: G4 will be at 1.5 Ghz

Think about it! A G5 2.4Ghz translates to over a 10Ghz Pentium.
A 1Ghz G5 is OVER twice as fast as a 2Ghz Pentium (according to IBM)!

I'd be VERY happy with "just" a 1Ghz G5.

 

[arn]

Originally posted by whatever
Well, it does appear that something big will be happening in July, but my question pertains to the PowerBook. I'm considering buying a PowerBook 800MHz, however what are the chances of Apple releasing a 1GHz in New York? I'm not one to wait forever, but is it possible?

PowerBook will almost certainly not be upgraded at MWNY.

buy it now....

that is my opinion.

arn

 

[gambit]

No new TiBooks

The TiBooks will not be updated at MWNY because they just updated the TiBooks!

 

[barkmonster]

exactly 1.5ghz is impossible with a 133 or 266Mhz bus

right now the 1Ghz G4 is a 7.5 x multiplyer

As far as I know, the G4 multiplyer steps in 0.5 increments, not 0.25

because these macs will have a 266Mhz DDR Motherboard but still a 133Mhz FSB like the Athlon, we'll be looking at possible speeds like this:

1000Mhz (7.5 x)
1066.67Mhz (8 x)
1200Mhz (9 x)
1333.33Mhz (10 x)
1400Mhz (10.5 x)
1466.67Mhz (11 x)
1533.33Mhz (11.5 x)
1600Mhz (12 x)

I'm pretty much looking at the 1.4 as being the realistic one to be looking forward to because it's been mentioned a lot over the past few months. it would be cool if the line up was like this though:

1.2Ghz - Fast
1.2Ghz Dual - Faster
1.4Ghz Dual - Fastest
1.533Ghz Dual - Ultimate

Obviously, we'd want no price increases and a L3 on the entry level this time, audio inputs wouldn't go a miss either.

 

[xelterran]

it would be pretty nice....

if they put a quad in one of the new servers thatd be pretty cool..

 

[rice_web]

A jump to 1.5GHz would close the gap between AMD and Motorola significantly. Currently, the fastest XP processor runs at 1.73GHz.

 

[Grokgod]

Thats Right! riceweb~

I cant believe that I hadnt looked at it that way before!

If the new g4 goes up to 1.4 or 1.533 then its just a hop and a skip form the AMD cpu.
For some reason I was always thinking about the p4 2.4 or 2.5.
But thats just Intel tripping over themselves to get to the door with the fabulous stupid machine behind it!

230 is nothing, we will back in the race, oh crap that feels good!

I can feel the begging gene ready to activate right at New York.
Wish there was something I could do besides yearn and burn until then.

~ On a side note, not to be negative or anything, but King Cobra your avt, scares the hell out of me, I have a fear of snakes, could you please change it.
I always have to scroll really fast past your post.

thank you very much , I appreciate that.

 

[kaneda]

disappointment

You guys will be disappointed this coming July...That is all I have to say...

 

[rice_web]

I'm not expecting a 1.5GHz G4. In fact, all that I am predicting is a 1.2GHz G4 configuration, that possibly supports DDR RAM.

 

[blackpeter]

1.5GHz in July would be way ahwad of Moore's Law. I'm not so sure that they can produce such a chip in mass quanities.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

i dont expect a 1.5ghz but it is certainly a possibility. barkmonster proved this by showing the mulipler works out 1.5ghz would be a 11.5x. but like i said before this rumor is not saying anything the others didnt. all the rumors have said that they are sampling chips between 1.2 and 1.5 ghz. some of the writers have chosen to say that that means we will get a 1.2 ghz powermac, others (most) have said the middle chip the 1.4 will likley be used, and now one writer has chosen to be optimistic and say the 1.5ghz will be able to be produced in high enough quantity to make it into the new powermacs.

i would guess that even apple doesnt know yet. probably waiting to see what the fastest chip they can get in quantity is.

1.2 1.4 or 1.5 all seem to be in the works. right now it just seems we are waiting for some word that sufficient quantites have been produced of one of the chips.

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon

1.2 1.4 or 1.5 all seem to be in the works. right now it just seems we are waiting for some word that sufficient quantites have been produced of one of the chips.

sufficient quantities has been the letdown for apple all these times in the past

the pc-mac gap does not look that bad to me since at least we have jumped over the 1 ghz mark and if we hit 1.5, then so what if wintel has a 2.5?...do you think the consumers will still get duped?

i think the average consumer has caught onto the speed war thing and all the hype that surrounds it

people will now start looking at features before speed...i hope

 

[rice_web]

Speed is still a priority, as systems (and this includes top of the line Intel and AMD processors) just don't feel quick. Turning on a computer still takes entirely too long, windows can sometimes take a few seconds to pop-up, and for anything video related, speed will always be important.

However, Apple will reach 1.2GHz this MWNY (or around that time). Beyond this, is anyone's guess. Yet, most people are predicting a 166MHz system bus (I would hope for more) and DDR memory.

The one upgrade I would love to see: 10,000RPM hard drives with ATA100 or ATA133.

 

[barkmonster]

Some people seem to think the Xserve's DDR isn't for the CPU

The current G4s and, until recently, G3s don't have fast enough FSBs (front side buses) to make DDR useful. This is the main reason Apple has not added it to its systems, not because they are short sighted or didn't want to. They have been held back because of stalled FSB speeds on the G4s.

Even in the XServe the G4s cannot fully tax the DDR RAM included (FSB supports ~1GB/s, PC2100 supports ~2.1GB/s). XServe can utilize the extra memory bandwidth doing DMA from its multi-channel EIDE controller and 64bit/66Mhz PCI slots. The CPUs, however, can not _directly_ utilize the full throughput capabilities of the memory bus.

This will change "shortly" when improved G4/G5 come out with faster FSBs and/or RapidIO interfaces.

This was on MacNN in one of the forums about this topic.

It makes sense to me in a way but I still don't fully understand how PCs based on the Pentium 4, which up until recently only had a 100Mhz FSB with quad speed 400Mhz Rdram and the Athlon has a 133Mhz FSB with 266Mhz DDR Ram can be any different really.

I mean, they're not Really 400Mhz and 266Mhz are they ? it's just the speed of the motherboard and the CPU isn't comunicating with the motherboard any faster than the current G4s do. Of course now the folks at intel have got a 133Mhz FSB like us but they're Rdram now runs at 533Mhz.

I'm just thinking a faster motherboard on it's own wouldn't be enough to compete at all tasks with the new Pentium 4 or Athlon XP chips but with faster G4s, say 1.4 or 1.53Ghz, coupled with the rumoured 266 or 333Mhz Motherboards they would be reasonably faster than the current G4s are, even taking the extra clock speed into account. It's the Mac vs Mac speed that really matters. We won't be too far behind with those kinds of speeds either.

 

[Backtothemac]

Re: Some people seem to think the Xserve's DDR isn't for the CPU

Originally posted by barkmonster


This was on MacNN in one of the forums about this topic.

It makes sense to me in a way but I still don't fully understand how PCs based on the Pentium 4, which up until recently only had a 100Mhz FSB with quad speed 400Mhz Rdram and the Athlon has a 133Mhz FSB with 266Mhz DDR Ram can be any different really.

I mean, they're not Really 400Mhz and 266Mhz are they ? it's just the speed of the motherboard and the CPU isn't comunicating with the motherboard any faster than the current G4s do. Of course now the folks at intel have got a 133Mhz FSB like us but they're Rdram now runs at 533Mhz.

I'm just thinking a faster motherboard on it's own wouldn't be enough to compete at all tasks with the new Pentium 4 or Athlon XP chips but with faster G4s, say 1.4 or 1.53Ghz, coupled with the rumoured 266 or 333Mhz Motherboards they would be reasonably faster than the current G4s are, even taking the extra clock speed into account. It's the Mac vs Mac speed that really matters. We won't be too far behind with those kinds of speeds either.

Um, yes and no. The PVI is a 100MHZ bus that is quad pumped, whatever the hell that means, so it is theoretically 400 MHZ. The Athlon is 266 MHZ. Period. That is why the Athlon will smoke a P IV. Now if the G4 goes to 266 MHZ DDR and a 133 bus, it will smoke either. I personally see the Bus going to a true 266.

 

[mmmdreg]

I haven't read this whole thread so I may be repeating someone but I think 1.5GHz is a bit optimistic...I'm betting on 1.4...and to someone who posted upstairs quite a bit, a doubt the PowerBooks will be updated...that'll happen sometime between the next two macworlds...

 

[Billicus]

Originally posted by mmmdreg
I haven't read this whole thread so I may be repeating someone but I think 1.5GHz is a bit optimistic...I'm betting on 1.4...and to someone who posted upstairs quite a bit, a doubt the PowerBooks will be updated...that'll happen sometime between the next two macworlds...

Indeed. Perhaps you should have read the rest. It's all up there.

 

[Backtothemac]

Re: disappointment

Originally posted by kaneda
You guys will be disappointed this coming July...That is all I have to say...

Kaneda,
Why are you saying this? Are you refering to the rumor that started the article, or to the daydreaming that is taking place over some of the proc specs? If the 1st, then how do you know? Source?

The reason that I ask, is that the people that I know in the loop are saying yes to this rumor. What gives?

 

[Ovi]

New Mack

1

 

[Rower_CPU]

Re: New Mack

Originally posted by Ovi
After reading most of the messages, I found only a couple of people smart enough to smell the roses. Most are living in dream land. No one has been able to explain, how suddenly MOTO is now able to increase the speed on the G4 from 1ghz to 1.5ghz in 6 months. This is such a big jump that news of the breakthrough would have been all over the net. The fact that Apple placed the 1 ghz in the high end model clearly shows that they don't have many of these chips. In July we will not see a speed bump. Lower prices, more ram, and bigger drives maybe...

If 1 GHz chips are in such short supply, then why are they shipping them in dual processor configs?!? That makes absolutely no sense.

The PowerMac has been at its current speed since late January. In order for Apple to stay competitive with the PC market they need to update their flagship machine. Period.

And since when has the general public on the 'Net been privvy to the current Moto clock speeds. At the rate Intel and AMD are increasing chip speed, Moto has to make big jumps to keep up. I personally think 1.5 is high, but saying that there will be NO speed bump is ridiculous, especially for someone who has "followed Apple for 4 years".

 

[Foocha]

We all follow Apple 'round these parts

Let's face facts - everyone on this board "follows Apple" - perhaps substantially more than is healthy, myself included.

I think it's hard to identify much of a pattern in Apple's product announcements and upgrades except to say that recently there has been a shift from announcing everything at MacWorld keynotes, to making announcements as and when the product is ready with special events at Cupertino. As a result of this, Jobs had very little to announce at MWNY last Summer, leading to the legendary remark (which he probably never said) "we should have been ready..." or whatever it was he allegedly said.

Suffice to say, Jobs was disappointed by the reation of the crowd to last years MWNY keynote, and will want something substantial to announce at that event this year to make amends.

Whether the PowerMac takes center stage or we get another "breakthrough digital device" in the spotlight remains to be seen, but I'd be very suprise if we didn't see any kind of speed boost to the desktop line - and we can all wish for 1.5Ghz, right?