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iMac G5

vouder17

vouder17

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 30, 2003
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I am really eager on an iMac update, i was wondering if by any chance that the next update might include the low voltage PPC 970 , would this at all be possible(considering heat, consumer product etc.).
Well i would like to perhaps here some views.

Thanks wouter
 
Not likely until next year -- I think

Not until next year. Apple still wants to create artificial demand for the PowerMac. iMac hurts low-end PM sales enough as it is. G5 would be bad right now. After the next speed bump (Feb/Mar) we might see them.

Or they could come out Tuesday (not that I am saying which one)...

Who knows.
 
I don't think it's very likely that the iMac will move to the G5 until late next year at the earliest. The low-voltage PPC 970 (980?) isn't due until 2004, and I would expect that the PowerBooks would get them before a consumer machine like the iMac would. Plus the G4 in the iMac is only at 1GHz, and there are several speed bumps left that the iMac could get, and that's assuming Moto doesn't bump the G4 up closer to 2GHz...
 
I agree -- the G5 in an iMac doesn't seem likely: With the current process, there is not much growth left for a low-power G5. Apple might wait till IBM switches to a better fabrication process (90nm?) and then use these processors in the iMac and PowerBook.

Looking at the Buyer's Guide, one might speculate that the PowerBooks might be updated with the new 7457 G4 in September, and the iMac in October?
 
Even if the iMac doesn't get a G5 soon, I hope it at least gets a faster G4. I would like to see the next revision have a 1.25 GHz G4 on the low end and a 1.33 GHz G4 (or maybe a 1.42 GHz G4) on the high end. They would still be slower than the low end G5, but it would at least make the iMac faster.
 
I would expect Apple to have a G4 faster then 1.4GHz. If they could take the 7455 to 1.42GHz, then they could definitely take the 7457 past 1.42GHz. Cooling in the iMac might pose a problem though.
 
even a 1.25 g4 imac would be a very nice machine. i dont think the 7457 will be ready and they are still trying to crank out those 7455's at 1.25 & 1.4. if apple would only give emac/imac better video cards but they really do create an artificial market for powermacs like yzedf says instead of letting the market dictate where the imac line,emac line goes. Anyways a loaded 1.25 g4 superdrive imac would make for a very good all around computer and the same goes for a 1.25 emac.
 
I understand the reasons for the iMac not going G5, but am I the only one who thinks that the iMac line is kind of iffy? We have cheap Macs (iBook, eMac), powerful Macs (powerbook, powermac G5), and then the iMac, which is neither all that powerful nor all that cheap.

It would cut into their profits I guess, but I think the iMac should come down in price to be a truly affordable consumer machine, and reduce the eMac/iBook prices accordingly. I bet most people would still shell out the big bucks for a G5 tower anyway.
 
when the next iMac update comes
in addition to just a CPU speed bump,
Apple should bump the bus speed
to take full advantage of DDR memory,
add a FW 800 port, a USB 2.0
port and beef up the graphics card
for gamers.
 
No iMac G5 until Powerbook G5

There is no way Apple should put a G5 in the iMac before the powebook. Hopefully, they when they announce the G5 powerbook in a year or so, they announce the G5 iMac right after that.

The PowerMac will be up to 3GHz by then, and be DP capable, so a 1.8GHz G5 iMac won't hurt those sales IMHO. It will however help sales of iMacs, and help get rid of motorola even more, and further the chances of G5 optimized apps! Consumers win, and so does Apples profits.

--Waluigi
 
Originally posted by peccles
when the next iMac update comes
in addition to just a CPU speed bump,
Apple should bump the bus speed
to take full advantage of DDR memory,
add a FW 800 port, a USB 2.0
port and beef up the graphics card
for gamers.
Click to expand...

right, and they should take off the display, put it in a big rectangular case, and up the price $1,000...

oh, wait...

i think mid to late 2004 or perhaps early 2005 is reasonable...

pnw
 
Dont Hurt Me,

The 7457 is a third quarter chip, it was supposed to be in the fourth quarter but progress was better then anticipated. I cannot see them changing it from quarter four to three if they were to release it in September. While that is in the third quarter, any delays would push it back into the fourth quarter.

peccles,

The 7457 has a 200MHz bus, so all the systems will get their bus upped by one-third. They should also add Serial-ATA as well.
 
Some rumors say it has already started shipping. Why would Apple want to use the 7455? The 7457 will be cheaper, have twice the cache and the bus will be one-third faster. All together will make it a better performing chip. You will probably see the 1GHz model be close to the 1.25GHz all while taking less power and producing less heat. Not to mention it is cheaper as well. You are correct that Motorola is not known for meeting deadlines, but this is not exactly an all-new chip either. It's mainly a die shrink with a few added extras.
 
Well, I don't think we'll see the G5 in iMacs for some time. I think that we will see them speed-bumped to 1.25 or 1.3 Ghz within a few months.

If the PowerMacs are a 3Ghz by this time next year, like Steve Jobs promised, then I think that we may see a 2Ghz iMac by this time next year.

A lot of Apple's future is riding on the G5, I think.
 
i agree with macfan, also the g4 lack of progress has ment apple had to holdback if you will the imac/emac. Now that the g5 is almost out i think they will crank up the emac/imac g4's. for lanbrown the 7457 may show itself or apple will just use the 7455 1.25 untill 1st of the year.
 
Apple would be stupid to wait. For one the 7457 will be cheaper to buy, that will help their bottom line right there and it performs better. The 7457 at 1.3GHz is 30% faster then the 1GHz 7455 and it uses ~10% more power (16.6 instead of 15) and that will aid in keeping the systems cool, especially the notebooks, not to mention a faster bus and more cache will allow the chip to perform better. The 1.25 will use even more power and generate more heat. Waiting nearly six months after it is released (7457 will only hurt them. Sales will fall on those products and Apple cannot expect one product (G5) to carry them. The 7457 is pin compatible with the 7455, and out of the 200 pins, one that was not used is not used. So if the boards are setup with the pin, they can just drop the chip in. If they wanted to do that, waiting does nothing for them. They should take it as an opportunity to update the line with FW800, Serial-ATA, better GPU and maybe the ability to house more RAM. This would go along with a 200MHz bus that the 7457 has.

If Apple was going to use the 1.25GHz across the board, why haven't they? It is pin compatible with the 1GHz, so why delay it? Get the products out now and sell them before the school season hits. There are quite a few people waiting for the update before they spend their money. Some may decide to stick or switch to a PC. Or what about some schools that require a PB? Those students will spend a lot of money on one only to have Apple release a faster one not long after school has started. Apple does a lot for the educational sector, so they better do something.
 
the delay is or was you cant have the imac at 1.25 when the powermac had just got there. Apple had been delaying the imac because of the powermac. now they wont have to play that game. What iam saying is it will be easy to go from the 1 gig machine to the 1.25 g4. maybe the 7457 will be in the next imac but a 7457 at 1.3 ghz wont be much different from a 7455 at 1.25 ghz performance wise. and you dont have to engineer a new board which they just did for the 1 gig imac vs the 800. so they can use the current board and pop in the 1.25, no hassle
 
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