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12GB/S Hypertransport Video GPU!

P

peter2002

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 1, 2002
253
1
Dallas, TX
Apple is known for cutting edge new technologies. It is no wonder that Apple, AMD, and Nvidia are partners developing the new Hypertransport bus standard.

Although, soon most PC makers are to announce video/game cards based on the new AGP 8X 2 GB/sec bus, the Hypertransport bus can easily handle 12 GB/sec. This will give Apple and soon to be released AMD Opteron/Hammer systems a 6X lead in video and 3D performance for games, video editing, high definition, and 3D animation and design over Wintel systems.

Today, The Inquirer gives some great insight on some likely new features coming from the next PowerMacs like Hypertransport video using Nvidia GPUs and new Hypertransport system RAM, and the use of x86 AMD processors instead of Motorola PowerPCs within 2 years.

I can't wait until MWSF 2003!

Peter :D
 
Nice little tidbit there

I like that Triumvirate of Apple AMD and Nvidia. The could form a pack that could contain enough power to really dent Wintel.

This is BETTER than simply moving to X86.
 
Sounds very impressive, lets hope that once the technology is ready Apple get it into there product line as soon as is possible and get kicking some wintel a$$!!!! :D :p
 
Let's hope cooler heads prevail

Originally posted by topicolo
Sounds familiar.

Didn't they say the exact same thing for Apple-IBM-Motorola, the AIM partnership?
Click to expand...

I never thought AIM would make it. To form a strategic alliance each partner must bring new skills with a minimum of overlap. AIM was awkward because IBM and MOTO both wanted to have their designs take precedence. Apple Nvidia and AMD don't quite have this same dichotomy.
 
First PDA's ..... now x86....

When will the silliness end?:rolleyes:

Repeat after me kids: APPLE WILL NOT BE USING X86 CHIPS IN YOUR LIFETIME.

It's FAR more likely that Apple and IBM will PARTNER with AMD to create a hybrid PPC. x86 is a dying technology, jumping ship from PowerPC just as it's exiting adolescence in favor of x86 while it's on life support is rediculous. Just because there's a lot of them out there doesn't make them better, it just means the system lacks adequate predation. ;)

And DO NOT start the whole "Mhz=Speed and here's a report proving it." arguement cuz it's ****. x86 machines are only quicker OFF THE CHIP. It's the differences on the motherboard and in how the machines move data around so unless you can find a real comparrisson on functionally identical mobos DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW FAST x86 CHIPS ARE.

As to Motorolla. They suck, everybody both in Cupertino and around the world agree on this one. But do not assume that the ONLY alternative is the obsolete, geriatric x86 platform. IBM is a perfectly viable supply alternative and if you look around you'll find they've begun building a Chip plant specifically for chips designed by other (partner) companies like Apple. This plant is known to be set up with all the techniques in place for fabbing the next 2 revisions of PPC as per the PPC roadmap.

AMD has a chance at making parts for Apple only in light of partnered chip design and potentially in fabbing a Hypertransport mobo with built in nVidia chipset.
 
ARGH!!!!!!

That is a LETTER TO THE EDITOR. You are taking a LETTER TO THE EDITOR as NEWS!

Just shoot me now!
 
Re: First PDA's ..... now x86....

Originally posted by mischief
... jumping ship from PowerPC just as it's exiting adolescence in favor of x86 while it's on life support is rediculous.

Click to expand...
A gem. I never heard it said better than this. Also, IBM, Sony and Toshiba have come up with some kind of cell computing technology, and IBM will be producing it in a couple years. That may be the real future for Apple, and more reason to go with IBM now. Read about it on news.com I believe.
 
... jumping ship from PowerPC just as it's exiting adolescence in favor of x86 while it's on life support is rediculous.
Click to expand...

Have to agree on that one, that's summed it all up in 1 funny quote :D

There's a world of difference between a cpu family designed to scale from 32 - 64bit with backwards compatability, have low power requirements, efficient caching schemes and low pipeline stages to a family of cpus that dedicate a large amount of their 2 fold transistor count advantage over the G4 to converting ancient x86 instructions to RISC instructions just so the "stuck in the 70s" world of Intel and AMD chips can keep everything very backwards compatable and never change. They still have floppy drives and parallel ports just to make them look even older and dumber than they already are.

The x86 family started it's life in 1978 with the intel 8086, the Pentium 4 is sometimes refered to as the P7 so we can assume from the naming that the Pentium 4 is would have actually been called an 80786 or something if intel hadn't introducted catchy names after the 486 line.

The PowerPC family on the other hand have only been out since 1992 and has loads of life left in it because it's only just begun to shine with the Voyager and Apollo G4s.

You could say PowerPC is getting brighter and the lights are slowly going out for the x86.
 
Originally posted by topicolo
Doesn't look like it from the speed gap I'm seeing...:eek:
Click to expand...
Yes, Intel and AMD are getting higher clock rates, but the design is still near the end of it road. Don't take anyone's word for that, just consider what Intel is doing for the future. They are NOT going with the x86 architecture for higher performance applications. The Itanium is a completely different design.
 
Guys lets keep things in perspective.

No one knows that Apple will never use x86 chips period. Keep in mind that Macs as we know it may not use them but that doesn't keep Apple away from using them in other products that may still utilize some form of the Mac OS. Think about it.

Also how many times have we heard that Apple is going out of business? Just as many times as I've heard over the years that x86 is nearing the end of the road. Someday it will but not for at least another 7-8 years...possibly closer to 10 in some form.

And don't even talk about the Itanium. Sure it might get somewhere, someday but until the price comes down and there's software taking advantage of it that meets a consumer level price performance ratio don't even bother. Also keep in mind that Intel isn't just trying to abandon the x86 market by pushing the Itanium. It's about control and making money at Intel. Don't you guys get it that they will have more control over chipsets and such produced for an Itanium system thus controlling prices?

Frankly you're going to see MS use AMD to leverage Intel into producing cpu's with x86 64 bit extensions. It's already happening. The whole x86 market is going to revolve around how AMD wheels and deals with MS while combatting Intel. MS would much rather work with Intel than AMD but they know that Intel's current roadmap is not a good one. Keep an eye out cause things are just beginning to get interesting.
 
Originally posted by Cappy
Also how many times have we heard that Apple is going out of business? Just as many times as I've heard over the years that x86 is nearing the end of the road. Someday it will but not for at least another 7-8 years...possibly closer to 10 in some form.
Click to expand...
I was thinking significant improvement road, not use of the x86 in products. But still, you could be absolutely right. We should never underestimate what cleaver minds may dream up to keep it very competitive for years more. I personally think STI (Sony, Toshiba, IBM) has a far better chance of more rapid and significant design improvements in processors. Just my gut feeling, but I believe we would benefit more if Apple is teams up with STI, rather than AMD.

I just realize that this topic has gotten sidetracked from Hypertransport. I wonder whether STI, or at least IBM, has joined that group? Great technology.

Another interesting thought. Sony is porting games to OS X, but not to classic Mac OS. Is Sony getting ready to develop games for a system using PPC and AltiVec instructions? If they were porting games to the Mac to make money, they likely would develop them in Carbon. If it is a practice drill, using Cocoa is faster and easier, but only runs on OS X.
 
I've had similar wonderings...

Originally posted by snoopy


Another interesting thought. Sony is porting games to OS X, but not to classic Mac OS. Is Sony getting ready to develop games for a system using PPC and AltiVec instructions? If they were porting games to the Mac to make money, they likely would develop them in Carbon. If it is a practice drill, using Cocoa is faster and easier, but only runs on OS X.
Click to expand...

With Apple and Sony currently under a Patent-Sharing agreement we could see Sony selling Mac OS Clones or we could see PS2 games working NATIVE on Jaguar without emulation.:D :eek: :p :cool:
 
i was reading macaddict and they mentioned holographic storage (able to store 100DVD's on an ice cube sized block) when will this come out, and what the hell is it??????:confused:
 
Re: I've had similar wonderings...

Originally posted by mischief


With Apple and Sony currently under a Patent-Sharing agreement we could see Sony selling Mac OS Clones or we could see PS2 games working NATIVE on Jaguar without emulation.:D :eek: :p :cool:
Click to expand...

Either I took a nap or someone is on crack. ;) When did Apple and Sony enter a patent sharing agreement?
 
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