Why there are no G5s

[madamimadam]

I think there is an issue that many people might miss. In fact, I did not think about it at first; there is no real marketing value for the G5 JUST YET. If you think about it, there is no real option for the average PC user to go to that can out perform the G4. Sure, the Itanium is around and about but who has seen one? The Itanium is not at a level to be released to "regular" consumers. If people want a machine faster than the Mac for the heaviest of number crunching there is always a machine from companies like SGI to handle their requirement, each company with its specilisation.

Basically, if Apple had released the G5 when they released the G4 1GHz they would have been getting ahead of themselves and would have lost potential profit. While we all what the G5 out NOW, Apple is still a business like all others and need to take steps that ensure their long term success and profit not cut their availiable releases down by skipping processer stages.

The extra conviencing factor for Apple on not releasing the G5 now, I would imagine, would be the extra time to work out all those bugs.

I would GUESS the G5 would be released after Mid-year (is that NY?) BUT if the PC work has not caught up with a consumer 64-bit chip, I would not be suprised if Apple milks the G4 longer. To my knowledge, though, the G4 Apollo was only designed to get to 1GHz which makes milking it for longer in the PowerMacs a more difficult task.

Of course, I don't actually KNOW anything, everything is obviously my application of logic and market signs to the situation.

 

[Kid Red]

mm, no, I think it's because they simply aren't ready yet.

 

[madamimadam]

Originally posted by Kid Red
mm, no, I think it's because they simply aren't ready yet.

Well, we can ONLY think, can't we but I would question Apple being THAT far behind, esp. if you consider that Mot. already sells the G5 for the other parts of their business (eg. routers ect.)

 

[Xapplimatic]

Originally posted by madamimadamtimallen


Well, we can ONLY think, can't we but I would question Apple being THAT far behind, esp. if you consider that Mot. already sells the G5 for the other parts of their business (eg. routers ect.)

That simply isn't true... Motorola hasn't sold a single G5 for manufacture in any product yet. It would have been announced. The only announcements made in this regard is that many companies are eagerly awaiting G5 for use in those systems. You are confusing this with the announcements that many router companies like Cisco are using 745x PPCs in their products.. note that 75xx chips are all G4s.. G5 numbering starts in the 8000 series according to their published roadmap. See related article:

http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=mot&script=411&layout=-6&item_id=195613

 

[ThlayliTheFierce]

No, they did release it in a product, not the G5 Apple will use, but in the same family. I'd look up the article but haven't got time. Anyone else want to post it?

 

[ftaok]

Originally posted by Xapplimatic
<snip>
You are confusing this with the announcements that many router companies like Cisco are using 745x PPCs in their products.. note that 75xx chips are all G4s.. G5 numbering starts in the 8000 series according to their published roadmap.
<snip>

Actually, the way Motorola numbers their chips, the 75xx would be a G5. The first number determines where the chips would be used. (i.e. 7xxx is for computers and 8xxx is for communications applications) Hence, the latest Motorola PPC road map (that I have anyways) shows no G5 for computers.

They only show an 85xx (from 800mhz to 2Ghz+). The G4 map shows the 7450 and 7440 as the latest. Note that subsequent press releases my supersede this info.

It's also interesting to note that Alti-vec is NOT listed as a feature of the G5.

 

[OSeXy!]

Originally posted by ThlayliTheFierce
No, they did release it in a product, not the G5 Apple will use, but in the same family. I'd look up the article but haven't got time. Anyone else want to post it?

Is this the article you mean?

http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sp...?code=MPC8540&nodeId=03M943030450467M0yqX0l0H

As I understand, this is for an MPC 8540 embedded processor which was announced at the Microprocessor Forum last year. While the specs show some similarities to what we are all expecting in the G5 (PPC 85xx), its a different chip:

"... the MPC8540 is a powerful control element for network routers and switches, storage subsystems, network appliances, and print and imaging devices."

 

[mac15]

becuase the g4 still got plenty of life in it
I read somewhere that it will reach 2ghz plus(i think it was here)
The G4s are super fast so stop complaining
some people can't stop complaining
I'm happy with my imac DV 400mhz
so shutup

 

[madamimadam]

Since the 75xx is not on the roadmap maybe it is the G4 1/2


Just because you are happy with your machine does not mean everyone else has to be. Some of us do stuff with our computers that need more power. Some of us will ALWAYS ask for more power because the software we use keeps asking for more. As soon as one task is narrowed down to a second or two another great function is thrown in that has to work overnight.

 

[Hemingray]

Originally posted by mac15
becuase the g4 still got plenty of life in it
I read somewhere that it will reach 2ghz plus(i think it was here)
The G4s are super fast so stop complaining
some people can't stop complaining
I'm happy with my imac DV 400mhz
so shutup

And some people can't discuss a topic maturely... so far I haven't seen one person complaining here except you. We're discussing why the G5's aren't here yet, not how "slow" the G4 is.

 

[mac15]

sorry
I didn't read the thread properly

 

[Ifeelbloated]

This has nothing to do with the thread but I was struck by a thought today by certain circumstances. Why does it seem that the people with the biggest intellects are the ones with the least amount of common sense???

 

[Catfish_Man]

As far as I can tell...

...the MPC 7500 is the G5. The Register said it was a G4, but the features on it (.13 micron, 500MHz RapidIO bus, >1GHz, on chip memory controller, etc...) sound exactly like what we've been hearing for the G5. My guess is that both the 8540 and the 7500 will use the e500 core that the G5 is supposed to be based on (vague memory there, correct me if I'm wrong), but the 8540 will be the embedded one and the 7500 will be the desktop one (bigger power drain, Altivec, axe the networking/embedded specific stuff). If The Register's info is right then here's what we'll see:

Some time this summer: MPC 7470 and 7460 up to 1.5GHz (maybe, I kinda doubt that increase, but I could be wrong) w/ 266MHz MPX+ bus hooked to DDR ram, .13 micron process, 512k L2 cache, and 4MB L3 cache. This fixes most of the problems with the G4 (bus speed......), but it's still a G4. The 7460 wouldn't have the L3 cache and would use less power. (>1GHz TiBook? it would let them use the Sahara in the iBook.)

Near/Just after the end of the year (MWSF maybe?): MPC 7500 G5 up to 1.xGHz (maybe 2, I can't say), 500MHz RapidIO bus hooked to DDR 333 ram (it should be becoming mainstream then, but I'm guessing. The bus would certainly be able to handle it), all the cool cache and wire size stuff of the 7470. I don't know if it will be 64 bit. It would be good marketing, but it wouldn't do much.

Anyway, the 7500/85xx stuff fits so well I'd be really surprised if it didn't work out that way. It never made sense that the G5 was listed as an 8xxx processor. That finishes todays overly-optimistic-but-logical prediction. Feel free to rip it to shreds now.

 

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by Ifeelbloated
This has nothing to do with the thread but I was struck by a thought today by certain circumstances. Why does it seem that the people with the biggest intellects are the ones with the least amount of common sense???

Ask an engineer... they fall into that category big time. I have an uncle that is an engineer, so I know from first hand experience.

 

[Hemingray]

Originally posted by mac15
sorry
I didn't read the thread properly

No biggie, I've been just as guilty of that too.

 

[ftaok]

Wrong ...

Originally posted by AlphaTech
Ask an engineer... they fall into that category big time. I have an uncle that is an engineer, so I know from first hand experience.

Being an engineer is all about common sense. It's the scientist that have no common sense. They're the ones that come up with great discoveries and then tell the engineers to figure out how to use it to make life easier.

And then they get all the credit and all the "Science Groupies". It doesn't make sense.

So I guess that you are right. Engineers have no common sense.

 

[anshelm]

"the MPC 7500 is the G5"

It's all marketing. Motorola is calling their integrated host 8xxx chips "G5". However, those are integrated chips desgined for routers and the like. Apple uses the 7xxx line. Apple will probably call the 75xx line the "G5", but Motorola will still call it a "G4".