Potential Apple Product Update Dates?

[jsw]

What games?

Halo (which now sucks in 10.3.3 for some reason, but it was OK pre-10.3.3) was - at times - slow and jilty, and WarCraft III gets bogged down in intensive fights.

Note that these "problems" are only intermittent, with lots of detail set up, running on a 9600, not 9800. They aren't show-stoppers.

And my only point was that those were the only times I saw anything resembling slowness. Well, that and iMovie.

 

[djbahdow01]

For the past month I've been drooling over the prospect of new G5s. Then I checked out this site, and it's scary. When their cheapest top of the line model is way more expensive then apple's most expensive top of the line, it makes apple seem wimpy. I still wanna get a PowerMac, but jeez, those things don't make PCs look so bad- once you get over the blackened soul on the inside- the tech specs are sweet.

So one question- What's the truth behind the apple myth of lower processor speed translating to a faster real speed vs. PCs? Is this fact?

Here's hoping to a release by the 30th or I'll go into deep depression...

Also they have overclocked the Intel processors. No intel chip runs at 3.8 GHZ. They say it in the disclaimer that it is an accelerated 3.2, so basically they did the overclocking for you as well as making it the most stable so you don't go out and buy a 3.2 and overclock and ruin your warrenty as overclocking from what i know is not covered under a warrenty.

 

[rdowns]

I didn't mean for things to get off topic, just stating that i got more things on my mind than just the G5, as for me waiting i am just waiting it out just like every one else. Yes i know computers will always change but yet when i know something is inevitably close i will wait it out. In the mean time i have been waiting since i was born for the sox to win the series, if that hasn't taught me anything nothing will.

Generations of men have been born and died waiting for the AlexRed Rodriguez Sox to win. You probably stand a better chance of seeing Apple produce a $599 headless iMac.

 

[invaLPsion]

Halo (which now sucks in 10.3.3 for some reason, but it was OK pre-10.3.3) was - at times - slow and jilty, and WarCraft III gets bogged down in intensive fights.

Note that these "problems" are only intermittent, with lots of detail set up, running on a 9600, not 9800. They aren't show-stoppers.

And my only point was that those were the only times I saw anything resembling slowness. Well, that and iMovie.

Hmmmm....

I don't like this.

I wanted to get a rev B dual G5 so it will play games well with no jitter problems. Also, to edit movies with iMovie, AlamDV, and Final Cut Express.

Maybe I should consider getting a PC? I'm not exactly seeing any updates.

 

[jsw]

Hmmmm....

I don't like this.

I wanted to get a rev B dual G5 so it will play games well with no jitter problems. Also, to edit movies with iMovie, AlamDV, and Final Cut Express.

Maybe I should consider getting a PC? I'm not exactly seeing any updates.

I'd bet the 9800 would fix the problems. I've got the 9600, as mentioned, which isn't nearly as good. Plus, rumors - and the six months of time that have passed - suggest a better graphics card will be available. And, like I said, I only noticed issues in extreme (i.t.o. action and detail settings) situations.

So I wouldn't worry.

As far as iMovie is concerned - that p.o.s. (sorry...but it is too slow) would bog down a G5-based supercomputer. Final Cut Express is better. Somewhat.

You'll be cool with a rev B. If ATI ever improves their drivers, a current G5 would be fine. It's not a CPU issue, it's not even a GPU issue, it's a graphics driver issue. But newer CPUs will power through it a bit better.

 

[invaLPsion]

I'd bet the 9800 would fix the problems. I've got the 9600, as mentioned, which isn't nearly as good. Plus, rumors - and the six months of time that have passed - suggest a better graphics card will be available. And, like I said, I only noticed issues in extreme (i.t.o. action and detail settings) situations.

So I wouldn't worry.

As far as iMovie is concerned - that p.o.s. (sorry...but it is too slow) would bog down a G5-based supercomputer. Final Cut Express is better. Somewhat.

You'll be cool with a rev B. If ATI ever improves their drivers, a current G5 would be fine. It's not a CPU issue, it's not even a GPU issue, it's a graphics driver issue. But newer CPUs will power through it a bit better.

Cool.

Now I just have to last to the updates.

I wish there was more concrete information available...

UPDATES ON THE 30TH (PLEASE OH PLEASE)

 

[djbahdow01]

Generations of men have been born and died waiting for the AlexRed Rodriguez Sox to win. You probably stand a better chance of seeing Apple produce a $599 headless iMac.

Not sure about a $599 headless iMac but we'll see. As for the red sox thats another story that will be better left for another day. Like every year tho all Sox hopefulls say "This is our Year". And from the looks of it this could be it. Oh well back to the Mac rumors and say new PM's on the 30th, and PB's around WWDC.

 

[nightcap965]

Waiting for Godot (and Rev. B)

According to OS Rumors and AppleInsider, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing anything until mid-April.

<Deep, heartfelt sigh>

 

[neonart]

Hmmmm....

I don't like this.

I wanted to get a rev B dual G5 so it will play games well with no jitter problems. Also, to edit movies with iMovie, AlamDV, and Final Cut Express.

Maybe I should consider getting a PC? I'm not exactly seeing any updates.

Well, here we go again...
I like gaming on my Mac alot and will be getting a Rev B for that purpose. My top 3 games are Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six 3, and Halo. I run a Dual 1.25 G4 with 2GB of RAM and a Radeon 9800. All three of these games run real well on this machine with all settings on high and shadows low (GR,R63), or off (Halo). I run my Resolution at 1600x1200 (native LCD). Ghost Recon looks beautiful and gets as high as 60+ FPS. The Island Thunder Hacked levels run at around 30FPS. 4X FSAA and 8X AF. R63 gets about the same depending on the level with 2X FSAA only. Halo gets about 30-34 FPS on the time demo with Vertex Shaders, 2X FSAA, Lens on Medium, and High Detail. Unfortunately under heavy explosion scenes it can studder alot!

All three look amazing and play great for the most part, but I want to run full shadows and would like to get rid of Halo's choppyness under heavy fragging. This is why I would love a G5. My plan is to have 2GB of RAM in the G5 as well and put a 10K RPM Raptor for my OS and Apps. I'd reuse the 9800 on the G5.

The only comparison I have is a Single 1.8 G5 with 512 MB of Ram and a FX5200. It actually outpaced my G4 significantly on the Ghost Recon Demo. I ran it at the native Apple 20" Display resolution. I was very impressed considering this was a beat-up machine at Microcenter and had less/slower hardware aside from the CPU.

 

[Bhennies]

Any one else getting sick of this?

I have been waiting for a while to buy a new g5 and updated 23" display. Anyone else sick of waiting for them to get their S@#t together? As much as I love Apple products, this kind of procrastination is getting to be too much. And I don't care who's fault it is (IBM, Apple, ATI). Just give me my computer!!!

 

[jsw]

.... My plan is to ... put a 10K RPM Raptor for my OS and Apps.

How much of a boost would you get from the Raptor compared to a 7200 RPM SATA (like the Seagate that Apple uses). Any idea?

 

[jsw]

I have been waiting for a while to buy a new g5 and updated 23" display. Anyone else sick of waiting for them to get their S@#t together? As much as I love Apple products, this kind of procrastination is getting to be too much. And I don't care who's fault it is (IBM, Apple, ATI). Just give me my computer!!!

Dude, we are all getting sick of this. It's been a very slow quarter.

 

[invaLPsion]

Dude, we are all getting sick of this. It's been a very slow quarter.

Slow is an overstatement. It's been a horrible quarter!

I wonder if Apple will post losses for this quarter?

If they do, the only thing that will save them is to release some new consumer computer products, something that hasn't occurred for some time.

 

[neonart]

How much of a boost would you get from the Raptor compared to a 7200 RPM SATA (like the Seagate that Apple uses). Any idea?

I had a SCSI U160 10K RPM drive in my previous G4 and it was incredible on load speeds! It was quirky on newer Macs though, and therefore I gave it up when I upgraded to the DP1.25. I think a 10K drive would help greatly in games as you are constantly loading maps, sounds, etc. And SATA is not quirky at all on G5's!

Here are some tests of this drive and others. They note that while it does not kill SCSI U360 drives, it's about as good as you can get for a desktop with SATA:

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200303/20030320WD360GD_sp.html



BTW, these results show some real promise for Halo on the G5!:

http://www.barefeats.com/halo.html

 

[jsw]

I had a SCSI U160 10K RPM drive in my previous G4 and it was incredible on load speeds! It was quirky on newer Macs though, and therefore I gave it up when I upgraded to the DP1.25. I think a 10K drive would help greatly in games as you are constantly loading maps, sounds, etc. And SATA is not quirky at all on G5's!

Here are some tests of this drive and others. They note that while it does not kill SCSI U360 drives, it's about as good as you can get for a desktop with SATA:

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200303/20030320WD360GD_sp.html



BTW, these results show some real promise for Halo on the G5!:

http://www.barefeats.com/halo.html

Excellent links - thanks! Maybe I'll upgrade the graphics card when the next one's come out... The Raptor looks great, but I've got both bays full now. Maybe I'll move one external and make the Raptor a boot drive...

 

[neonart]

Excellent links - thanks! Maybe I'll upgrade the graphics card when the next one's come out... The Raptor looks great, but I've got both bays full now. Maybe I'll move one external and make the Raptor a boot drive...

Thats what I'm planning on. I've always stored my MP's, Videos, and general data in a Data HD, and stored my OS and Applications in another drive. Usually you don't need WAY too much space for that. Currently my boot drive which has a ton of demos and apps I don't even use contains 24.5 GB. The 36 GB Raptor would give me a 10GB threshold which should cover me for a couple of years... (I think)
But if you think this is too small, it's also available in a 74GB size. They are $115 and $215 from newegg.com.

I think if you're going to extract every bit of performance from a G5, making the slowest component the machine has to deal with on a constant basis as fast as possible is a must.

 

[Krrill]

Sooo, with all this new info from apple insider etc, would you guys still wait to see if it's gonna pull through on the 30th? I mean, *Cries*

Well, hope you guys have more fun then me on this whole situation you lucky S.O.B.'s (Reffering to the mac people - For all you PC people you can cry along with me, we'll have camp fires and sing kumbaya, and send smoke signals to our other technologically crippled brethern).

 

[aswitcher]

Slow is an overstatement. It's been a horrible quarter!

I wonder if Apple will post losses for this quarter?

If they do, the only thing that will save them is to release some new consumer computer products, something that hasn't occurred for some time.

I am getting pretty pessimistic about the next quarter. I can see new G5PMs but thats all...I think Steve will want to show off anything really new at the WWDC at the end of June...

 

[MCCFR]

Apple clearing house in UK - Absolute Proof

Normally Apple's refurbished store in the UK (here)is only open on a Wednesday between 10:00 and 24:00. And normally, the stock you'd actually want is available in such small quantities that it sells out by around 12:00-13:00.

So, some questions: -

• How come it is open today (Thursday)?
• How come it was stocked with displays and Powerbooks for nearly all of yesterday (Wednesday)?
• How come it's selling discounted iPods in volume in a market where iPods normally sell for full retail?
• How come there are G4 iBooks being cleared in quantity?

There is more to this than meets the eye, especially when combined with the advice to resellers that there may not be much stock in April, and the news that Ingram Micro is very low on Power Macs.

Waiting for every Tuesday in April now with baited breath, expecting the following: -

• Rev B Power Macs
• Last speed-bump for Powerbook G4!
• Speed bump for iBook
• New displays
• New iPods soon

 

[kawa_on_mac]

Wish this were true...if the price point stays the same this would be a hell of a machine.

CUT

Sorry, I think its crap. Wish it were true but he/she couldn't keep there story straight and didn't really give enough detail to be another prophet/spectulator...

I agree. General it's someone's (appleinsider PLAN-B) wishfull thinking to have this all updates at one place. Terrible situation from marketing point of view.

My own rumor would be more like this:

1) PowerMac will be udpated soon to Dual 2.4 Ghz at the top.
Redesinged displays will follow.

2) In Mid May we should see PowerBooks slight update. They will be G4 still.
12" would be at 1.25 and 17" at 1.5. That would be last update of PB G4. In next we would see G5 (January 2005)

Those two updates could improve sales of those lines, which are slighlty old now and need them (essential for marketing)

Bigger updates should happen on WWDC in June:
3) iMac huge update and redesign. G5 1.6ghz at 15" and 2.0ghz at 20"
Propably some AL design.

4) iPod gen4. colorful lcd. bigger baterry to feed it, but size unchanged thanks to smaler size of h.disks (same capacity as now)

Late August/early September we would highly welcome an PM Dual 3.0 ghz announcement which shipments would start a month later. (to fullfil Steve's promise from 2003 WWDC). 2.6 ghz and 2.8 could be shipped immediately.

This is my idea of updates for next months. That number of updates would give Apple marketing a lot of things to promote. Usually 2 -3 months is a max to promote something as a new (in computer market).

Will it happen? I wish. I will wait & watch.

 

[dbauer]

My own rumor

Since everyone else likes to get my hopes up with non-fact based rumors, I'll throw mine into the ring:

March 31st:
Update:
PowerMac 2.0 Ghz, dual 2.2 Ghz, dual 2.4Ghz, 8x SuperDrive standard

@ the event at the end of June:
Introduce:
PowerBook G5 1.3 Ghz 12", 1.6Ghz 15", 1.8 Ghz 17", 8x SuperDrive standard, New ATI graphics, 512mb RAM standard
iMac G5 1.3 Ghz 15" widescreen, G5 1.6 17" widescreen, G5 1.8 Ghz 20" widescreen, 8x SuperDrive, New ATI graphics, 512mb RAM standard
iBook G4 1 Ghz 12", 1.25 Ghz 14", 1.5 Ghz 14", same price structure as now

@ Mac World Paris (end of August)
Introduce:
PowerMac G5 2.4 Ghz, dual G5 2.6 Ghz, dual 3.0 Ghz 8x dual-layer Superdrive standard, New ATI graphics, 512mb RAM standard on 2.5Ghz, 1Gb standard on 2.8 and 3.0 dual
iPod M - new iPod with video capabilites 20Gb, 40Gb, 60 Gb

Remember, you heard it hear first. I want all the glory when these predictions come true! If they don't, I'll just say that you shouldn't believe the things you read on a rumor site.

 

[djbahdow01]

For all you PC people you can cry along with me, we'll have camp fires and sing kumbaya, and send smoke signals to our other technologically crippled brethern).

Sounds like a plan where can i sign up.

 

[jsw]

Normally Apple's refurbished store in the UK (here)is only open on a Wednesday between 10:00 and 24:00. And normally, the stock you'd actually want is available in such small quantities that it sells out by around 12:00-13:00.

So, some questions: -

• How come it is open today (Thursday)?
• How come it was stocked with displays and Powerbooks for nearly all of yesterday (Wednesday)?
• How come it's selling discounted iPods in volume in a market where iPods normally sell for full retail?
• How come there are G4 iBooks being cleared in quantity?

There is more to this than meets the eye, especially when combined with the advice to resellers that there may not be much stock in April, and the news that Ingram Micro is very low on Power Macs.
...

I still say it's because everyone is returning their Macs in anticipation of new ones - which doesn't necessarily mean that there are new Macs.

I foresee a minor announcement next week, then nothing for at least two weeks. I see this all trickling to us, slowly.

Hopefully, I'm wrong! Hopefully for you all, that is. I'm happy with what I've got!

 

[digital1]

I just need more money

 

[joemama]

I still say it's because everyone is returning their Macs in anticipation of new ones - which doesn't necessarily mean that there are new Macs.

I foresee a minor announcement next week, then nothing for at least two weeks. I see this all trickling to us, slowly.

Hopefully, I'm wrong! Hopefully for you all, that is. I'm happy with what I've got!

An email for educators just went out posting HUGE discounts on just about everything, the biggest being the low-end G5.

Also of note, drop in the 17" display. oh, and orders HAVE to be in by this FRIDAY.

from the email:

PowerMac G5 1.6 Ghz/256 RAM/80GB/Superdrive $1399 (M9020LL/A) Save $200

PowerMac G5 Dual 2.0Ghz/512 RAM/160GB/Superdrive $2049 (M9393LL/A) Save
$200

PowerMac G5 Dual 2.0 Ghz/512RAM/160GB/SuperDrive $2449 (M9032LL/A) Save
$200

17² Studio Display when purchased with PowerMac $499 (M7649ZM/B) Save $100