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2nd processor in the Tibook

Why waste precious space, when it is possible to build a dual-core processor chip? That way, cooling, circuitry, etc, isn't increased nearly as much in the PB design.

Hell, with dual core chips, and the existing free space, you could have a quad proc TiPB. (If you had an asbestos lined pair of pants to put your "laptop" on.)

bwanabob..
 
Originally posted by bwanabob
Why waste precious space, when it is possible to build a dual-core processor chip? That way, cooling, circuitry, etc, isn't increased nearly as much in the PB design.

Hell, with dual core chips, and the existing free space, you could have a quad proc TiPB. (If you had an asbestos lined pair of pants to put your "laptop" on.)

bwanabob..
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but i like the heat, it soothes the hemorroids
 
Originally posted by tjwett
keyboard is off and i'm looking into my 550 right now and i don't see the empty space behind the optical drive. the first thing to the rear of the drive is he ribbon cable for the keyboard and beyond that there is a area the size you described but it's occupied with various diodes, conductors, and other electronic thingys i know nothing about. i still don't see another proc fitting in here. let me know if i'm looking in the wrong place. i want to see this before i ship this thing away soon.
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The space might only apply in the combo drive model (if that's not what you have). Here's a pic of the inside of my 550:
 

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That space in the picture is from the size reduction of the DVD/CD-ROM drive. On my TiPB, the drive fills that space entirely.

Bwanabob..
 
I'm not saying they should put the second CPU behind the combo drive... I'm saying that if they moved some motherboard electronics to that area they might be able to find room for a second CPU elsewhere on the board.

This gap might not exist in the rev Cs, though. Anyone else want to share their pics?
 
i think this thread is about trying too hard to come up with a real rumor...oh look! there's some empty space in my powermac tower....maybe apple is going to put in 8 more processors
 
Originally posted by alex_ant

The space might only apply in the combo drive model (if that's not what you have). Here's a pic of the inside of my 550:
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i have the DVD drive and it goes back all the way. weird. i guess the combos are smaller. oh well.
 
My 800MHz TiBook doesn't have any space in that area. Everything inside the TiBook is really packed in there (no free space).

BTW, I have the combo drive inside the TiBook (came that way) so they are not smaller. I suspect some photoshop work was involved in the picture showing a gap between the optical drive and the keyboard attachment.
 
here's a pic of the tibook rev C innards to confirm alpha's post. Sorry for the bad quality pic
 

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Thanks chibianh, I don't have a digital camera, with no plans to purchase one either. Which makes it difficult to post pictures up fast. :D
 
np Alpha.. a digicam comes in handy. Every since I got it along with my tibook, I haven't used a camera that uses conventional film. Ordering prints with iphohto is sweet, too. If taken at a high enough resolution, the prints are comparable to regular prints. I like.. :)

btw, the pic above with the space behind the combo isn't photoshopped.. I checked my brother's ti550 and it has that space also.
 
Originally posted by AlphaTech
My 800MHz TiBook doesn't have any space in that area. Everything inside the TiBook is really packed in there (no free space).

BTW, I have the combo drive inside the TiBook (came that way) so they are not smaller. I suspect some photoshop work was involved in the picture showing a gap between the optical drive and the keyboard attachment.
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I don't even have Photoshop. The gap is definitely there. But as chibianh shows, it's apparently gone now. Oh well. Mine was one of the first combo drive models - I ordered mine with the DVD drive, two days before the combo drives came out, and Apple gave me a combo drive model free because the DVD models were discontinued. So that would explain the gap - not enough time to redesign the innards.
 
Originally posted by alex_ant
I don't even have Photoshop. The gap is definitely there. But as chibianh shows, it's apparently gone now. Oh well. Mine was one of the first combo drive models - I ordered mine with the DVD drive, two days before the combo drives came out, and Apple gave me a combo drive model free because the DVD models were discontinued. So that would explain the gap - not enough time to redesign the innards.
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Having a second person confirm definiately helps the point... I didn't have a rev. b TiBook (went from rev. a to rev. c) and haven't seen the innards of one either.
 
Hey you know what would be really cool, is if they did add a second processor and then put groves and a lid on the bottom, you could flip it over and presto, A George Forman Grill!!! (okay I know my humor needs work)hehe
 
If you stacked them vertically, wouldn't the heat from the one below mess with one on top?

I dunno really since I'm not a hardware expert...
 
There is a reason that all multi-cpu systems don't stack them up. Besides heat, there are pipelines to consider. Apple does place the dual processors close to each other (on the same processor card). Just look at some of the peecee DP motherboards. The chip slots are at least an inch or two away from each other, with heat sinks and fans for each.

You would have more then a grill with the second processor in a TiBook, you would have a heat welder. :eek: :D
 
Well I don't know about anyone else,but I would be all over a 25-30lb "briefcase sized powerbook with a 19" screen,dual processors,PCI Slots,lifesize components and 10 pounds of that weight being batteries that would last for 15+ hours.I don't need to use a computer on a plane,I need a hefty robust powerhouse that I can fold up and drag to a gig or whatever.All this obsession over compact and light really does nothing for the professional mac user that only needs one thing....PORTABLE!I've pondered this as much as to wonder if it would be at all possible to do some sort of extreme modification like this to my tower?I guess I must be the oddball in the crowd,but dammit I would buy such a machine in a hurry!
 
heat is not an issue as it relates to being too hot for the components that it may somehow damage them

but where heat comes into play is where it means it is soaking up the battery time

if this were a pc board and we were talking about a dualie laptop with two and a half hours battery time, we would all be at the store right now buying it

but since this is a mac we are talking about, a tibook with dual processors and only two and a half hours of battery time would appall us and would not sell since we are used to four and five hour battery times

miniaturize the micron process to yield less heat and then we are easily talking about a dual g4 tibook with at least four or five hours...the current g4 chip may soak up the battery if used in dual mode

however, there is the new lithium polymer battery which can easily handle the power consumption but we don't have that for any mac laptops yet

maybe, like someone said, have the dual tibook only run the second processor when it's plugged in....but that would defeat the purpose of the mobility characteristic of a laptop advertising dual processor capability
 
Originally posted by rEd Eye
Well I don't know about anyone else,but I would be all over a 25-30lb "briefcase sized powerbook with a 19" screen,dual processors,PCI Slots,lifesize components and 10 pounds of that weight being batteries that would last for 15+ hours.I don't need to use a computer on a plane,I need a hefty robust powerhouse that I can fold up and drag to a gig or whatever.All this obsession over compact and light really does nothing for the professional mac user that only needs one thing....PORTABLE!I've pondered this as much as to wonder if it would be at all possible to do some sort of extreme modification like this to my tower?I guess I must be the oddball in the crowd,but dammit I would buy such a machine in a hurry!
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have an external battery source that is portable yet rechargeable...but that thing would probably weigh fifteen to twenty pounds

being an ex club musician for many years, fifteen pounds here and there is nothing when compared to lugging around seventy five pound speaker cabinets, forty pound amplifiers, and oodles of instuments, mikes, patch cords, effects, and other junk

of course at a gig you will have ac power...just bring something sturdy like an emac or crt imac or even a g4 with a sturdy crt monitor

i would never bring a laptop or lcd to some gigs i have been to...some idiot would break it
 
Originally posted by rEd Eye
Well I don't know about anyone else,but I would be all over a 25-30lb "briefcase sized powerbook with a 19" screen,dual processors,PCI Slots,lifesize components and 10 pounds of that weight being batteries that would last for 15+ hours.I don't need to use a computer on a plane,I need a hefty robust powerhouse that I can fold up and drag to a gig or whatever.All this obsession over compact and light really does nothing for the professional mac user that only needs one thing....PORTABLE!I've pondered this as much as to wonder if it would be at all possible to do some sort of extreme modification like this to my tower?I guess I must be the oddball in the crowd,but dammit I would buy such a machine in a hurry!
Click to expand...

25-30lbs (and all the other 'features' you listed) goes against everything that a laptop computer is. If you want to lug around a system, just get a carry strap setup (there are computer places that sell them for people to take their systems to LAN parties). :rolleyes: Or, just get a new tower, LCD screen and set it all up on the power grid.

BTW, the Mac towers are semi-portable as it stands. With the two handles on top it's not difficult at all to carry one. You can even carry it around by one of the handles (I have done it). I haven't looked at the new Apple LCD screens, but I seem to remember handles on the previous generation of them.

Yes, you ARE an oddball wanting a monster 'portable' computer like that. Especially since Apple pretty much has what you want in their tower (or eMac as suggested in jefhornyfield's post :eek: ;)).
 
2nd CPU Why on earth?

I believe the latest and greatest PB suffers a major bottleneck between the main memory and the CPU. If so, does that not mean that your dual CPU's would choke the bottleneck faster than a single CPU and yield little performance improvement.

I don't think we'll see a dual PB until at least we have a faster bus and faster RAM.

But, even then, as so many posts have already stated: the heat and battery-life issues would be profound without some kind of super duper heat sink that is integrated with the casing or something (wild idea) and a much improved battery.

A second CPU in a PB this year? Stop the madness!!! Remember, Soylent Green is made of people!!!!!!

Eirik
 
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