ATI X1600 Graphics Card in new Intel Macs, X1800 Soon?

[LHEAT]

Never going to happen

what about installing "Crossover" and have it running on X11 on the intel mac. I don't see why you could not run some windows 9x games on osx without windows.


(Crossover is a windows emulator that adds all the windows APIs and necessary files to run windows.)

I bet a better program than Crossover designed for the mac comes out really quick.

 

[carlos700]

X1600 is a good gaming card but I don't think it will run ut2007 at maximum settings. From what I've read, ut2007 will require dual core CPU (which we have now) and a GPU on the level of a 7800 GTX to play at absolute max. If the 20 inch iMac gets x1800 256mb or better in 5 or 6 months, it will be absolutely perfect for all the new games coming out.

I do not see a GeForce 7800 GTX, Radeon X1800 XT, or Radeon X1900 XTX in an iMac due to they create too much heat. At most, I could see a standard 7800 or X1800 running at slower clock.

With the ATI Radeon X1900 XTX coming soon, I hope to see it in the new Power Mac.

 

[FireArse]

Newer Mac mini

I just hope this hardware H.264, WMV9 etc. decoding means smooth HDTV, 1080p playback on the new iMac!

With H.264 all over the place, and with people buying HDTV's too - I hope the new Intel Mac mini can have a good enough GPU to decode 1080p H.264. That would be great. The consumers want H.264 hardware decoding - but the pro's need encoding too.

With all this talk of new graphics cards - are the hardware engineers still thinking about us AGPx8 guys with PM's? I have the 9600XT, am I left with getting a 9800XT or an Ultra 6800 (second hand) only? Hope my options are more open in the future....

F

 

[MartinAyla]

Would be nice with the WMV9 hardware decoding, so that we don't need to use Flip4Mac or something like that.

1080p WMV is one thing I would like the first iMac owners to try out as soon as your "baby" arrives

Or any 720p, 1080i, 1080p tests would be nice!

 

[HiRez]

H.264 encoding would be nice. I wonder what the benchmarks say about encoding with Intel vs PowerPC. That would be a real world CPU benchmark.

It's doubtful H.264 encoding will be built into GPUs; however, supposedly Apple now has a GPU engineering team whose task it is to move a lot of functions onto the GPU, as GPU speed and bandwidth is accelerating much faster than main CPU speed and bandwidth. One of the things they are rumored to already be working on is GPU-accelerated H.264 encoding, and apparently even the first version of that could bring 2x-3x speed increases.

 

[macintel4me]

It's doubtful H.264 encoding will be built into GPUs; however, supposedly Apple now has a GPU engineering team whose task it is to move a lot of functions onto the GPU, as GPU speed and bandwidth is accelerating much faster than main CPU speed and bandwidth. One of the things they are rumored to already be working on is GPU-accelerated H.264 encoding, and apparently even the first version of that could bring 2x-3x speed increases.

That's got Mac Mini DVR written all over it!

 

[TBi]

Upgradable graphics in iMac?

No one has seen the new iMac internals yet so it is possible that they are using a MXM, Mobile PCI-Express Module, slot which would allow you to upgrade the graphics. This is even more possible as i don't think it's feasible to add another 128MB ram via a riser and making motherboards with two different amounts of ram would not be economically viable.

 

[daddy-mojo]

extended desktop

so does this mean users can finally attach a second display to these new intel imacs and have dual displays without a hack?

Graphics and Video
ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor using PCI Express
128 MB of GDDR3 video memory
Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter2

Built-in iSight camera
Support for external display in extended desktop and video mirroring modes
Digital resolutions up to 1920 x 1200
Analog resolutions up to 2045 x 1536

 

[patseguin]

It sounds like the top of the line MacBook pro will outperform my 1st gen Dual 2.0 PM G5 and x800. Is that a fair assumption?

 

[danielwsmithee]

No one has seen the new iMac internals yet so it is possible that they are using a MXM, Mobile PCI-Express Module, slot which would allow you to upgrade the graphics. This is even more possible as i don't think it's feasible to add another 128MB ram via a riser and making motherboards with two different amounts of ram would not be economically viable.

Most likely there is an empty memory pad on the motherboard. With 256 a chip is installed with 128 it is not. That is a pretty common practice on video cards.

 

[~Shard~]

It sounds like the top of the line MacBook pro will outperform my 1st gen Dual 2.0 PM G5 and x800. Is that a fair assumption?

It looks as though the Intel iMac definitely will, so it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case with the MacBook as well.

 

[Yvan256]

Well let's hope we can install PC games without installing XP Windows.

PC game = Windows.

 

[Yvan256]

H.264 encoding would be nice. I wonder what the benchmarks say about encoding with Intel vs PowerPC. That would be a real world CPU benchmark.

http://www.mobilygen.com/

 

[TheMasin9]

x1800

i saw this card a couple weeks ago and figured theyd be putting it in the new macs. But i guess i cant complain about the new ones. They kick the crap out of the old cards.

 

[ksz]

I thought FUD was fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I'm not following how the two are connected.

David

After watching Paul Otellini's ICES keynote, I was left wondering what Viiv is exactly. Is it a new Intel chipset that works only with the the new Core Solo and Duo? Is it a whole new technology invented by Intel or refined by Intel to place Intel chips between your TV and your incoming video signal (whether cable, satellite, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming video, etc.)? Is it a fancy DVR? Does it require special new Intel software to run? Will that software be available for both PC and Mac? Is it is new set of SSE3 (vector) instructions on the chip?

What exactly is Viiv? What, in tangible physical terms, is Viiv? And why won't AMD be able to give us the same media experience with their chips?

It turns out, I think, that the original poster may be correct: Viiv appears to be just a marketing catchphrase to get you to buy Intel chips.

Apple's Front Row and iTMS have the potential to evolve into something even better (imho) than Viiv, whatever Viiv is.

So it could be FUD after all. You will fear that your computer will be a sub-par, deficient system without the Viiv sticker. You will be uncertain that you're getting the best media experience without Viiv. You will have doubts that you made the right purchase decision if it does not say Viiv on the box.

 

[TBi]

Most likely there is an empty memory pad on the motherboard. With 256 a chip is installed with 128 it is not. That is a pretty common practice on video cards.

True but still they would have to produce both types of motherboards. Although in the long run it might mean that people with a broken 128MB machine might get a 256MB replacement.

Lets hope that it is an MXM riser as that would lead to user upgrades (voiding warranty of course) to bigger and better cards (Geforce 7800Go )

 

[Peace]

After watching Paul Otellini's ICES keynote, I was left wondering what Viiv is exactly. Is it a new Intel chipset that works only with the the new Core Solo and Duo? Is it a whole new technology invented by Intel or refined by Intel to place Intel chips between your TV and your incoming video signal (whether cable, satellite, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming video, etc.)? Is it a fancy DVR? Does it require special new Intel software to run? Will that software be available for both PC and Mac? Is it is new set of SSE3 (vector) instructions on the chip?

What exactly is Viiv? What, in tangible physical terms, is Viiv? And why won't AMD be able to give us the same media experience with their chips?

It turns out, I think, that the original poster may be correct: Viiv appears to be just a marketing catchphrase to get you to buy Intel chips.

Apple's Front Row and iTMS have the potential to evolve into something even better (imho) than Viiv, whatever Viiv is.

So it could be FUD after all. You will fear that your computer will be a sub-par, deficient system without the Viiv sticker. You will be uncertain that you're getting the best media experience without Viiv. You will have doubts that you made the right purchase decision if it does not say Viiv on the box.

ViiV is just Jive...

Apple would have better off using Pink Floyd's Brick In The Wall video to get their point across

 

[danielwsmithee]

True but still they would have to produce both types of motherboards. Although in the long run it might mean that people with a broken 128MB machine might get a 256MB replacement.

No it would mean there is only one motherboard! It is simply populated with chips differently. The 128 version has a blank spot to put a second chip.

 

[CalfCanuck]

No hack on iMac

so does this mean users can finally attach a second display to these new intel imacs and have dual displays without a hack?

Graphics and Video
ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor using PCI Express
128 MB of GDDR3 video memory
Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter2

Built-in iSight camera
Support for external display in extended desktop and video mirroring modes
Digital resolutions up to 1920 x 1200
Analog resolutions up to 2045 x 1536

As one running a hacked G5 iMac, this also jumped out at me. This should be SWEET for using an mid-level iMac for Pro level programs.

One issue with the current version of Aperture on my iMac is that it won't span the screens using the hack - it appears that Aperture was looking at my system and determining two screens "weren't allowed". But I suspect these new iMacs should solve that once the Aperture Universal build (v. 1.1/1.5 ?) comes out in March.

 

[TBi]

No it would mean there is only one motherboard! It is simply populated with chips differently. The 128 version has a blank spot to put a second chip.

That's what i meant, but usually you'll order X amount with 128MB and Y amount with 256MB. It's very rare that they'll upgrade the 128MB MB to 256MB because it is so difficult to add the extra memory chips after all the other components have been put on.

Although i will admit i wasn't very clear on what i was trying to say.

 

[shamino]

Thanks for the document that was an interesting read. Does that mean that A hi end TV that advertises 1080p has their frame rate cut in half?

Or its HDMI/DVI interface supports a higher bit-rate than what you can get from an HD tuner. Useful for output from local devices (like computers, game consoles and DVD players) but not for broadcast content.

You'd have to read the fine print to know for certain.

The one thing I really appreciate is the support for a 24Hz frame rate at all resolutions. For those who don't know, movies are almost always shot at 24Hz, because that's the frame rate for film projectors. When transferred to DVD (with its 30Hz monochrome or 29.95Hz color frame rate), frames must be doubled in order to fit the spec. If a display can support the 24Hz rate directly, it means you need less work in transferring the media, which can (potentially) result in a cleaner picture.

 

[shamino]

PC game = Windows.

Could be Linux as well. There are some commercial games sold for that platform.

I suppose it could also be DOS or OS/2, but nobody has published games for those platforms in a very long time.

 

[shamino]

... I was left wondering what Viiv is exactly....

Google and ye shall recieve. The first hit:
http://www.intel.com/products/viiv/index.htm

It is an Intel trademark for a computer containing a suite of hardware and software products (much like the Centrino name). Viiv consists of:

• One of the following Intel processors: Pentium-D, CoreDuo or Pentium Extreme Edition
• One of the following Intel core-logic chipsets: 975X Express, 955X Express, 945G Express, 945P Express, 945GT Express, or Mobile 945GM Express
• One of the following Intel LAN interfaces: PRO/1000PM, PRO/100VE, PRO/100VM
• TV Tuner card (from a third party)
• "advanced" video card (unspecified)
• Intel's High Definition Audio chipset (featuring 7.1 channel surround sound)
• Remote control (from a third party)
• Windows XP Media Center
• A software suite involving video (download, streaming, DVR), music (download and streaming), photo sharing, and gaming.

Note that most of this has been available for quite some time. Even though you can get the same capabilities from other vendors, such a configuration will not qualify to have the "Viiv" name.

And why won't AMD be able to give us the same media experience with their chips?

AMD and others will definitely be able to give you the same media experience. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or working for Intel. But if you use an AMD chipset, you won't be allowed to use Intel's trademarkl

It turns out, I think, that the original poster may be correct: Viiv appears to be just a marketing catchphrase to get you to buy Intel chips.

Yes, but to be fair, it's also useful.

While you and I know enough to look at a spec sheet and decide how the computer will serve as a media center, you can't expect the average person to be able to do this. If I showed a spec sheet to my mother, she wouldn't even look at it - she'd just give up and say "I'll stick with my VCR".

A simple, easily remembered buzzword is something average people can deal with. They can ignore the spec sheet and look for the sticker on the box and know they're getting something that suits their needs.

Of course, an industry-standard buzzword that isn't tied to one vendor's chips would be far better, but you take what you can get.

 

[shamino]

True but still they would have to produce both types of motherboards. Although in the long run it might mean that people with a broken 128MB machine might get a 256MB replacement.

Or the empty pad could be replaced with a socket for field-upgrades.

Also note that some laptops do have replaceable video boards. I know of at least one model Dell and one model Sony where the video is on a daughtercard. Presumably, upgrades would be possible in addition to replacements.

 

[shamino]

No it would mean there is only one motherboard! It is simply populated with chips differently. The 128 version has a blank spot to put a second chip.

Solder pads aren't terribly useful. You'd still have to replace the board in order to upgrade.

A socket is better, but that increases manufacturing costs, and may create cooling issues.