PowerMac G5 Updates - March 23rd?

[MegaSignal]

Never again

sheesh. i couldn't agree more. some of us are geeks who know how to buy our own parts and put things together. i wish apple has a configuration like this: Processor, Motherboard, Case, Power Supply. I know where to buy the hard disk, ram, and burner myself for half the cost of all their parts.

I seemed to have had bad luck with the cheap memory: whether it's due to things like "yields" or some other aspect of quality control, the Apple branded memory seems to work completely without kernel panics or system freezes.

That being said, here's hoping for a G5 in an iMac soon!

 

[Foxer]

Steve never said "3.0 GHz by the Summer 2004", he said "3.0 GHz within a year". This was back in September when he said that (though the first G5's didn't actually ship until October), and it's March now, so it looks like Apple could be on track with their 3GHz claim, boosting CPU speed every 6 months.

I beleive he said that in May (possibly June). It was at the WWDC.

 

[IndyGopher]

Don't forget that the 2 Ghz would still be sold in the xServe.

I thought about that, but the XServes use different CPU's.

 

[DeusOmnis]

Look a little on the conservative side to me. No graphics card update and it's about time they made 512MB RAM standard on all models, how about a gig on the top end? Is that really too much to ask?

But then, maybe they'll get the date right, but a few of the details may be sketchy.

You are so incredibly right, I would never let a person get 256 mb ram, that's horrible.

 

[FMGreen]

I imagine they are being conservative with the dual 2.4 as the top model right now so they can really make a big splash when they release the 3.0s by the end of summer, especially if they are dual 3.0s

And this date seems as though it would be directly at the halfway point between the previous update and Jobs' statement of 3.0 by the end of summer.

November 18 - March 23 - July ??, Anyway, late July is certainly the middle of summer.

 

[delete]

Video Boards

So is there a huge difference in the Nvidia board from the 9600 for doing 2D/Photoshop work?

 

[IndyGopher]

You could also see a G5 2GHz in a 20" iMac and G5 1.8GHz in the 17" iMac. Hope springs eternal.

lasuther

I suspect the close quarters in the iMac would pretty much require using the 90nm CPU's that one finds in the G5 XServes. I would love to see a G5 iMac, and I'm sure we will.. but that's down the road a way I think.

 

[vanmonkey]

Translation into english please?

 

[MrToast]

I seemed to have had bad luck with the cheap memory: whether it's due to things like "yields" or some other aspect of quality control, the Apple branded memory seems to work completely without kernel panics or system freezes.

That being said, here's hoping for a G5 in an iMac soon!

I've never had a problem upgrading my own system with non-Apple parts. Just turn off, install, and reboot.

 

[AirUncleP]

Birthday present

That'll be on my lady's birthday! I hope I don't get too excited about one of those events that I forget the other!

Face it, it's about due, so there's no real surprise. My guess after that is the top end PM will get another lift in Aug-Sep time along with the PB range. Then a G5 iMac by Christmas and a chocolate coated iBook in time for Valentines.

Ignoring all of that puff though, I was expecting a better graphics card. Perhaps that'll be later.

Get your lady a new G5 for her birthday and then tell us all about her reaction.

 

[gop007]

I am very skeptical of this report.

To me it is more like guessing by some site and we all jump on it like it is confirmed.

Dual 1.8 as base makes little sense, since it is already available.

I forsee a 2.0 Single at $1999, 2.4 Dual at $2799, and a 2.6 Dual at $3399.
The reason I feel optimistic about these numbers is because they would follow a pattern seen in the past with upgrade and IBM is now involved. Steve will shock us with a system pastt 3 ghz come July.

The only part I would hope is true about this report is the release date.

 

[eizzumdm]

3.0 GHz within a year

Come on, guys. When Steve said "3.0 GHz within a year," he did not necessarily mean a Terran year.

One Martian year (1.88 Earth years) should be more than enough time to reach 3 GHz.

 

[centauratlas]

"within a year" (links etc)

I beleive he said that in May (possibly June). It was at the WWDC.

What he said was two things at two times (June 23, and Sept 16, 2003):
"We've committed before the end of next summer" to get the Power Mac G5 to 3GHz. That was September 16, 2003, see links below. June 23, 2003, he said (https://www.macrumors.com/wwdc2003.html) it would be at "3ghz within 12 months." I was never clear if he meant 12 months from then or 12 months from release. Given his Sept 2003 statements, I think it meant from release (or they just realized by Sept 2003 that late June/early July 2004 would be too soon and revised his meaning).


Sept 16 links: http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/09/16/liveupdate/index.php?redirect=1078732421000
and:
http://www.macminute.com/2003/09/16/appleexpo2
and:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=6904

 

[Steven1621]

i believe that is the day that the memory promotion ends. that might make sense. it will help clear out the old inventories.

 

[deepkid]

French site, MacPlus.org, reports:

Dual 1.8GHz G5, 256MB DDR400, 80GB HD, GeForce 5200 Ultra
Dual 2.2GHz G5, 512MB DDR400, 160GB HD, Radeon 9600
Dual 2.4GHz G5, 512MB DDR400, 160GB HD, Radeon 9600

Hey all,

Speculation:
First of all, keep in mind that this is speculation. This is not an official release by Apple.

CPU and other gains:
Some of you seem to think that a 400Mhz CPU speed increase is mundane. Are you nuts?? If the rumored line-up is true, the top end machine would boast of an incredible speed increase not only in terms of raw CPU speed, but a faster system bus and likely improvements. Think about total system improvements, over just raw CPU gains. Forget the Mhz myth.

Complaints about low RAM:
Often times Apple will release machines with low memory configurations in order to give resellers a selling opportunity to bundle free RAM. I'm sure it's a small concession. If you're buying directly from Apple, don't waste your time buying memory from them. Check out pages like ramseeker.com for more sensible pricing.

iPod mini click wheel, stupid headless iMac, never-ending and pathetic PDA rumors:
You have to give it to Bill Palmer for articulating how stupid these never-ending headless iMac and PDA rumors are. Please, just let them die. Come up with something much more interesting to ponder than rumor remakes. A note of interest and I've not seen anyone mention this... but do you remember the patent filing that was discussed a while ago that had the rotating, clicking wheel? Many thought that this was a new Apple pro mouse, but I've not seen anyone link this to the new scroll wheel on the iPod mini.

3.0Ghz powermacs, when?:
Apple has a few months left to deliver these machines. And if they're late, so what? Look at the tremendous gains that the company has made in the last two years. A stronger alliance with IBM has completely changed the pro landscape. Honestly, there are few of us on these boards who really *need* a dual 3.0Ghz, so let's cut Apple some slack. However, I would love one of those to render video for a feature length film.

 

[joemama]

i believe that is the day that the memory promotion ends. that might make sense. it will help clear out the old inventories.

Apple has always takenm advantage of people on memory, but if this rumor is true, what a shame..

So you pay $1799 (at least that) for a computer with 256MB Ram...?

Just another open door for PC-users to take a crack at us....

 

[Frobozz]

French site, MacPlus.org, reports that according to their source, 3 new PowerMac G5 models will be released on Tuesday, March 23rd.

And that would mean the most likely date for the release (not announcement) of Dual 3.0 Ghz macs would be September of this year... aren't most releases 6 months apart?

I'll be waiting for the dual 3.0, since I already have a dual 1.0.

 

[garybooberry]

If the dual 1.8 get's near 1700.00 with an educational discount, I'm buying.

 

[paulypants]

The new R420 and NV40 cards will be out then (next generation Radeon and Geforce cards). So I dont think those specs are correct. I would expect the R9600pro to be the low end and the R420 or NV40 in the high end. Plus I thought IBM had chips running at 2.5 Ghz now.

Thats what i was thinking and I hope it to be true
because the graphics cards in the G5s need to be better

 

[wizard]

Hi Johnny;

My thoughts exactly, it is not like RAM cost Apple any more than any other manufacture. So one has to wonder why they can't do better, especially when they now have an OS that can make use of it. There is nothing worst than throwing something on the market that can not reach its potentials because you are to cheap to buy contemporary components. This is one thing about Apple that drives me crazy.

Beofre anybody response saying they can get RAM cheaper I have to say no you can't. Apple may over charge for their REM expansions but in a base machine they are getting the RAM cheaper than you will ever get it as a retail customer. Apples stingyness with RAM is a clear indicator that they value milking their customers over offering value. It is not like 1gig of RAM is going to impact the price of the top of the line machine that much!

As to the other rummored features I have to say topping out at 2.4 GHz is rather sad. It is nto the increase that Apple needs if they want to remain market leaders. It might be all they can give us, but this does have shades of Motorola about it. Considering the rated temperature range of the 970fx Apple should be delivering everything that IBM can offer, which publicly is 2.5GHz.

All of this is of course rumor, but I'm begining to believe that Apple needs consumers on there design commitees. Either that or they need to look at the retail market in a differrent light. At the moment they appear to be followers instead of leaders, it is no wonder their market share is dropping like a rock.

Thanks
Dave

Look a little on the conservative side to me. No graphics card update and it's about time they made 512MB RAM standard on all models, how about a gig on the top end? Is that really too much to ask?

But then, maybe they'll get the date right, but a few of the details may be sketchy.

 

[Grimace]

I'm wondering what is going to differentiate the mid-level PM from the top model. Just CPU??

FASTER SUPERDRIVES PLEASE!!

 

[jamilecrire]

Well, i guess the recent rise in the Apple stock reflects some insider info leaking into the financial market! That, more than the small speed increase, are good news!

Any pricing info?

Wrong. The Mini iPod sellout is what spurred the stock jump. I'm a big Apple fan but their ROI is crap. There are significantly better companies to invest in for growth and long term appreciation.

Picking stocks based on what's cool and not on financials is like picking women soley on breast size, nice to start with but then you've got to talk to her.

 

[kilometer31]

Worry about the 1.8?

This thought just sent chills down my spine (not in the good way):

Some have thought the 1.8 base model is odd -- why not 2.0? And the overall specs on the 1.8 are more modest (other than dual CPUs).

I would HATE it if the base model did not have the update 970 FX chip, and was just continuing with the original 970.

 

[mpopkin]

Ah when an idiot cant see, NVidia has not even announced the NV40 and Ati the R420, March 23rd is two weeks away, i almost guarentee that you wont see an nv40 in the next g5, maybe the r420 for the high end, but not the 9600 pro as the bottom end for sure
Grow up, think logically and do not be stupid

The new R420 and NV40 cards will be out then (next generation Radeon and Geforce cards). So I dont think those specs are correct. I would expect the R9600pro to be the low end and the R420 or NV40 in the high end. Plus I thought IBM had chips running at 2.5 Ghz now.

 

[wizard]

Well if I was a stock holder I'd be disappointed!! This reflects just a 20% rise in clock rate, no increase in video capabilities to speak of and stingyness with memory. It is not a machine that will change Apples market share condition.

The only way to save this machine would be to drasticlly lower the price of the line. That is like $1200, $1700 & $2200, otherwise it would be foolish to even consider them in non traditional roles. Acceptability in non traditional roles is the only way for Apple to show significant market share gains.

Thanks
Dave

Well, i guess the recent rise in the Apple stock reflects some insider info leaking into the financial market! That, more than the small speed increase, are good news!

Any pricing info?