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PowerMac and PowerBook Updates?

Originally posted by Dr. Distortion
Nice rumor recap Arn! Let's hope that these new products Apple is undoubtedly working on get announced soon... a G5 PowerBook is all I'm waiting for... and I love to see how the performance gap between Apple/IBM and WinTel increases steadily :)

-Dr. D.
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How many 'rumor recaps' have we had? I'm getting sick of every rumor site on the Internet, as well as every Mac forum, talking of new PowerMacs and PowerBooks. When will Apple release them??? PBs are DUE for an update NOW! C'mon, Apple! Let's have G5s!

p.s. My dad's G5 is awesome! I wish I had one (even a 1.6GHz blows away my iBook 933 in Final Cut Express rendering, which I do quite a bit of).
 
Originally posted by centauratlas
I think that the reason we haven't seen the updated PM G5s (and perhaps PB G5s) is IBM.

Take note of the following facts:
1. Apple's xserve G5s are shipping in "6-8 weeks".

2. InfoWorld quotes an IBM spokesman, Feb 13, 2004 (http://www.infoworld.com/article/04...bmblends_1.html) that says "Samples of the chip have already shipped, and production volumes are increasing." Note, they are producing, but if they were producing at full capacity they'd have said so and not used the language they did.

3. There was an article here (http://www.reed-electronics.com/ele...mp;doc_id=30982) that said this:
"IBM is about to deliver its very first volume production of an SOC on 90nm, said Reeves. This will be a design for Apple."
Note that it says "about to".


So, I think it is safe to say they are producing them in some volume, but it is not yet enough to handle xserve G5s, PM G5s (updated with the 970fx of course), and PB G5s all at once.

Thus, I would expect Apple to catch up on the xserve G5s (or at least know *when* they will be able to do so) and then announce upgraded PM G5s at that point to ship as soon as they can after xserve G5 orders.

Until they can handle demand for those two, I doubt you'll see PB G5s. There may be other factors delaying the PB G5s, but 970fx chip supplies may be one of them.

I am waiting for both - a want to replace my Dual 800 G4, and get a PB G5 (I can wait however long it takes though for it, but I don't WANT to have to!).
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I agree, many do not realize that this is another major processor change. Going from 130NM to 90NM is a major change for IBM. If they pull it off by March, that will be great. Now that we have the advantage of hindsight, if it would have been possible, Apple should have considered a 130NM 2.2GHz G5 release within December. But, maybe everyone was working on the 90NM chips by then.
 
Originally posted by centauratlas
I think that the reason we haven't seen the updated PM G5s (and perhaps PB G5s) is IBM.

"IBM is about to deliver its very first volume production of an SOC on 90nm, said Reeves. This will be a design for Apple."
Note that it says "about to".


So, I think it is safe to say they are producing them in some volume, but it is not yet enough to handle xserve G5s, PM G5s (updated with the 970fx of course), and PB G5s all at once.
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It also means they are "about to".

IBM tends to give reliable "road maps". This is good and HARD news.

Rocketman.
 
Powerbook G5 possibilities

This is all speculation, but i'm bored and i like thinking creatively.......

What if Apple were to produce a liquid-cooled single-processor G5 based on the 970FX chip....lets say that the chip spec is 2.5Ghz... now we know that even with a lower power consumption and lower heat, a chip in a powerbook would run too hot and/or consume too much battery to keep it cooled with liquid.....soooooo....here's my idea:

When running on battery, the chip clocks itself down to 1.8Ghz or whatever it can run at without the need for liquid cooling...THEN.....when a user plugs the powerbook in at home/office, they drop it into a sleek looking dock that is a "liquid cooling" dock that allows the powerbook (when using AC power) to run at full chip spec of 2.5Ghz (or whatever speed)

Seems to me like a good tradeoff between speed, power consumption (battery life), and using it as a desktop machine as well as a portable one.


Let me know what ya'll think...maybe some engineers have some logistical feedback as to how apple would accomplish this in a 1" thick design.


I'll fool around in Photoshop later and see what i come up with... (Remember my black 15" powerbook???)


-Dave
 
Reason to believe...

..that IBM may also be producing regular 970 (not 970FX) on 90nm and might therefore Apple would be able to put those into new PowerMacs? Reason being, would they be cheaper? Would they scale up to 2.4-2.5ghz? Does a PowerMac need the additional technologies the FX is sporting? Does the FX cost more than the regular 970? If it's a volume issue, would it make sense for IBM to produce the 970 and the 970FX (both on 90nm) at the same time?

I obviously don't know enough about the manufacturing process to answer these myself. Perhaps there's been something said that the regular 970 is being retired?

Uh-oh, this post might not be completely useless, so i have to add that i predict that there will be a G5 powered eMac before the end of the year. And a resurrection of the cube.

:D
 
liquid cooled laptops are old hat

Originally posted by Stelliform
(Although that would be so cool to own a liquid cooled laptop!)
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My 3 1/2 year old Compaq M700, as well as my new Dell Centrino, uses liquid-cooled heat pipes as part of the CPU heat sink.

Liquid-cooling is an established technology....
 
Originally posted by Foxer
I thought he was talking about the "beach ball."
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It's a beach ball on the Mac and an hourglass in Windows...

Of course I think Apple should update the Powerbooks (since I am sure they have bigger margins) then the PowerMacs, and then last the iMacs.

Somedays, I wish I had some say so in when or how things are released, or at least I knew why they weren't released.
 
"sources"

I guess, given the dismal collective record of the rumorworld recently, that MOSR is not the only site whose "sources" have been revealed as the site author's hunches/imaginings, eh?
 
Originally posted by Rocketman
It also means they are "about to".
Click to expand...

I agree, but does "about to" mean, last week or in early March or late March? And from their delivery, how long will Apple take to build the machines. My guess (based on Apple delivery times) is that mid March for IBM to ship enough volume for the 970fx xserves, plus a few weeks to get caught up with demand.

IBM is great, don't get me wrong, I just think that they haven't delivered enough volume to support 970fx xserve G5s, PM G5s, and (perhaps) PB G5s all at once.

And I agree it is good hard news, except that "about to" is undefined.
 
Re: liquid cooled laptops are old hat

Originally posted by AidenShaw
My 3 1/2 year old Compaq M700, as well as my new Dell Centrino, uses liquid-cooled heat pipes as part of the CPU heat sink.

Liquid-cooling is an established technology....
Click to expand...

Heat Pipes, yes.

Liquid Cooling, no.

Please post a link to back up your statements, I looked but I couldn't find anything that mentioned Dell using liquid cooling in laptops!
 
Re: if they don't update

Originally posted by spinko
the powerbooks to G5 soon, I'll be getting a VAIO

:D
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Go ahead, but you will find it preloaded with one of the worst oses.
 
Re: Re: liquid cooled laptops are old hat

Originally posted by Dippo
Heat Pipes, yes.

Liquid Cooling, no.

Please post a link to back up your statements, I looked but I couldn't find anything that mentioned Dell using liquid cooling in laptops!
Click to expand...

Heat pipes rely on liquids to work.

The only other liquid cooling I know of is for dinosaurs and then you hook up tap water.
 
Re: Re: liquid cooled laptops are old hat

Originally posted by Dippo
Please post a link to back up your statements, I looked but I couldn't find anything that mentioned Dell using liquid cooling in laptops!
Click to expand...


It probably isn't mentioned because liquid-filled heat pipes have been used for so long it isn't worth noting....


Look at http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/latd600/sm/thermal.htm#1000001, in particular the picture:


thermal4.jpg


#1 is the plate connected to the CPU itself, above it you can see the liquid-filled heat pipes that carry the heat to the radiator, which is located behind the fan when installed. The fan does not blow on the CPU, it forces air through the radiator and out the vent opening in the back of the case. The liquid in the heat pipes transfers the heat from the CPU to the radiator.
 
Re: here is something you all will love

Originally posted by kristo
check this out

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/35749.html

heh, my guess is a long wait for those G5 powerbooks....
Click to expand...
hmmm.. interesting. Looks like this could fit the PB for a quick update. However, it doesn't seem to offer that much more for less power, but at least I guess it will allow the 12" to move up to 1.25GHz. I could see Apple using this while allowing the available G5 processors to ship in Xserves and PowerMacs.
 
Thank you guys, now I have learned something today. I did not realize that liquid cooling was currently used in a laptop PC. Hopefully Apple can put their innovative touch into this technology. Using it so that a G5 processor can be used in the next generation PowerBook.
 
Originally posted by ntg
The expected cooling is this from Cooligy:

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=7028

It's different, AND involves Apple (amongst others!) already!

Nig.
Click to expand...

Cooligy uses all liquid with an active fluid pump, whereas heat pipes uses a vapor-liquid passive system (the heat from the CPU makes the liquid boil, and the vapor moves through the tube to the condenser (radiator) - where the vapor gives up its heat and returns to liquid and gets back to the heat source - where it boils....).

Note that the Cooligy website has diagrams and discussions of using the technology for servers and PCs, not laptops. Maybe they need to work on miniaturizing that fluid pump.
 
Re: here's my question

Originally posted by Trowaman
if this new chip tops out at 2.5 and if it were to go in G5 desktops released in the next month or two, wouldn't a processor bump from 2.5 to 3.0 come June seem a bit soon. I think since Apple skipped Jan and Feb for Powermac upgrades they should hold off until June and do the juge leap.

On that note there are no rumors of chips hitting the 3.0 ghz mark. Are they even going to make good on their promise:mad:
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I believe that it would be good marketing to ship a 2.5 GHz, even if its replacement is announced in 4 months--just to show that progress is being made (vs the tiny Moto speed jumps).

The rumors about the 3 GHz have centered around the PPC 980--the rumor is that Apple and IBM have been doing dual-tracked development, meaning that they have been working on the 970 & 980 lines at the same time. The 980 is a derivitve of the Power5 chip. I'm pretty sure that the techincial fortunetellers have said that the 970 can't make 3 GHz, so the goal all along was to make good improvements on the 970, while having its replacement (the 980) ready in time when the 970 ran out of speed upgrade steam.
 
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