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Article in the The Register on 975 as "vaporware?"

The Register has the following story about the 975
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/26/ibm_ppc_975/

IBM's PowerPC 975 - verified or vapour?
By Tony Smith
Published Wednesday 26th May 2004 14:25*GMT

Analysis So is IBM working on a processor called the PowerPC 975.

Take a look at the company's web site, and it appears that yes, IBM's first PowerPC processor derived from the Power 5 core will be called the PowerPC 975, company documents confirm.

Or do they? We found a reference to the CPU on IBM Taiwan's web site, but closer inspection reveals it to have been taken from a local publication, IT Home.

In essence, then, IBM is simply reprinting a rumour posted on a variety of Apple-watching web sites over the last few months.

They reckon that the 975 will be followed by a dual-core version, the 976, which is will be fabbed using a 65nm process. The 975 will be a 90nm CPU, the rumours suggest.

We're a little sceptical. IBM is having enough problems getting its 90nm 970FX out the door in volume, so it's hard to imagine it simultaneously starting to pump out chips based on an entirely new core using the same process but without the hitches. The problems is said to be experiencing with the 970FX sound like material problems rather than issues surrounding the chip design itself. That suggests the trouble lies with the 90nm process rather than the processor.

At this stage we can't rule out the existence of the 975 on IBM's roadmap, but it's interesting to note that much of the features attributed to the 975 were previously said to be components of the PowerPC 980. Nowadays, the 980 is alleged to be based on the Power 6 architecture. There's the PowerPC 990, a multi-core part based on the Power 8 coming after the 980. Previously, the 990 was a 65nm single-core part.

We've been supplied with accurate-looking roadmaps that purport to have come out of IBM, but the technology ramp is so fantastical, we remain doubtful as to their authenticity. At the very least, they're a guide to where IBM would like to be and not necessarily where it will be. Since so much can happen in just a short time in the life of a putative processor - just look at Intel's 'Tejas' cancellation - such long-term forecasts should be taken with a pinch of salt, even if they're genuine.

Does it matter? Inasmuch as IBM is almost certainly working on multi-core Power-derived PowerPC processors, no it doesn't. It's also working on a Power5-based powerPC. The fine point of what the products are actually called is irrelevant - particularly since Apple rarely acknowledges which specific chip it is using in any given system. Its admission that the Xserve G5 uses the 970FX was a rare slip-up.

Timing matters, of course. But that's as much because of the games played by x86 and PowerPC fanboys:

"My Apple's faster than your PC!"

"No! My PC's faster than your Mac!"

No! My Mac's... and so on.

Macatistas want Steve Jobs' promise to a 3GHz Power Mac for next summer to come true partly because they want to see the kit, but mostly because they don't want to Apple losing face by failing to make good its promise. Instead, they want to see Intel and AMD buffs eat crow/humble pie. Intel proponents and AMD fans want to see Apple fail to make good this promise for exactly the same reason.


This reporter would very much like to see a 3GHz Power Mac this summer, too. But like a lot of Mac users - Wintel users too, actually - he won't be rushing out to buy one. There's plenty of life left in his current system, a first-generation 12in PowerBook G4.

In any case, we look forward to Steve Jobs' Worldwide Developers Conference keynote next month with considerable interest. ®
 
Wrong Side of Bed

Who's the 'Negative Nancy' that woke up on the worng side of the bed this morning and posted this story?? Let's all try to be Positive Pollys at least until WWDC - save this story for a Monday or the Tuesday after the three day weekend!

:eek:

Macrumors said:
Over the past few months, various whispers have repeated rumors of a PowerPC 975 processor which is meant to be a successor to the PowerPC 970 (G5).

Unfortunately, these rumors have come from consistently unreliable sources. As a result, the existence of a "PowerPC 975" remains in question.

Due to the nature of rumors, the information has also been repeated on numerous websites and message boards.

At this time, however, there appears to be no reliable information that the PowerPC 975 is an actual planned product. Instead, it should be regarded as a possible invention of the rumor world until further confirmation is provided.
 
Frobozz said:
They speak and read Thai in Taiwan... the Chinese speak Cantonese if they are from certain areas of China. Cantonese is similar to Thaiwanese, but it's different. That's why his translation didn't work perfectly.
... snip .... The Thai likely don't care ...

Not to nitpick, and this is way off topic, but Thai is from Thailand (formerly known as Siam) which is an entirely different country, language and culture then Taiwan (an island off the coast of mainland China) some five hundred miles away. There is no such thing a Thaiwanese. There is Thai and there is Taiwanese. This is not a geography forum, but when you get things this wrong, it make your whole post look rather ignorant. Especially, if you are emphatic about the things you got wrong.

If I could figure out how to attach a jpeg of a map I would, but here is good intro to Taiwan and the many languages spoken there.

Just trying to help. :)
 
Frobozz said:
They speak and read Thai in Taiwan... the Chinese speak Cantonese if they are from certain areas of China. Cantonese is similar to Thaiwanese, but it's different. That's why his translation didn't work perfectly.
Excuse the question, but exactly what psychotropic substances have you recently injested?

You've confused Taiwan and Thailand.

Taiwan is an island contested between the People's Republic of China (PRC, "mainland China") and the Republic Of China (ROC, "Taiwan"). The official language in Taiwan is Mandarin - the script is Traditional Chinese. There is also a Chinese dialect known as Taiwanese but it is written in exactly the same way as Mandarin and using the same glyphs and is thus irrelevant for the purposes of textual translation.

Thailand is a sovreign country in South-East Asia. It is unrelated to China. The language there is indeed Thai and it is written in Thai phonetic script, which is totally unlike Chinese ideographic script.

Clear now?
 
Frobozz said:
They speak and read Thai in Taiwan... the Chinese speak Cantonese if they are from certain areas of China. Cantonese is similar to Thaiwanese, but it's different. That's why his translation didn't work perfectly.

And, I hate to be a stickler about the ....

Alright guys. Thai is spoken in Thailand. Hello!!?!
There's no such thing as Thaiwanese, or Thaiwan.
Get a map. Take a geography class. Go travel.
Please.
 
Pale Fire said:
It only says that Power PC 975 will incorporate the most important elements of the Power 5.

Most people in Taiwan speak a Chinese dialect which has a couple of different names, but the easiest is just to call it Taiwanese. Mandarin is official language and is taught in school, so everyone knows that as well. Written Chinese is virtually the same regardless of dialect.

The dominant Chinese dialect in Hong Kong on the other hand is Cantonese.

Well, I sure have learned a lot about the Thai dialects today. :)
 
qubex:

What I can't help but think is that the very declaration by Jobs of the 3 GHz goal reflects IBM's influence as an enterprise-oriented company. I don't think Apple has ever made a performance goal public that far in advance, ever! There's also been talk that Virginia Tech knew that Apple wanted to have Xserve G5s in early 2004, and had factored the "dry run" with PowerMacs into the budget. Could it be that Apple is making sincere gestures to become more institution-friendly?

I believe that Apple should make a regular practice of it (if they haven't already) to offer long-term hardware and software plans to institutional buyers, with strict NDAs attached - but, unlike companies such as Intel or Microsoft, keeping their roadmap out of the general public's eye. It would hopefully give Apple the best of both worlds: companies that want to sign major deals AND the "wow" factor of announcing a new computer or OS release to the public.
 
Postal said:
What I can't help but think is that the very declaration by Jobs of the 3 GHz goal reflects IBM's influence as an enterprise-oriented company. I don't think Apple has ever made a performance goal public that far in advance, ever! There's also been talk that Virginia Tech knew that Apple wanted to have Xserve G5s in early 2004, and had factored the "dry run" with PowerMacs into the budget. Could it be that Apple is making sincere gestures to become more institution-friendly?

I believe that Apple should make a regular practice of it (if they haven't already) to offer long-term hardware and software plans to institutional buyers, with strict NDAs attached - but, unlike companies such as Intel or Microsoft, keeping their roadmap out of the general public's eye. It would hopefully give Apple the best of both worlds: companies that want to sign major deals AND the "wow" factor of announcing a new computer or OS release to the public.

Apple needs to deliver on the 3 GHz promise (time is running out no matter if you believe in the one year from the announced date or one year from the ship date). If the 3 GHz does not materialize, then Steve can say what ever he wants at his keynote. No one will believe him.
 
I've talked to Apple sales managers in China and Italy and nobody has been interested or willing to initiate that kind of a process.

So whereas they may be considering a change, they haven't executed it yet. At least not here. So in the meantime the whole office got kitted out with HP Pentium4s rather than G5 1.6 GHz or iMacs...

*sigh*

Another three years to go.
 
iriejedi said:
Who's the 'Negative Nancy' that woke up on the worng side of the bed this morning and posted this story?? Let's all try to be Positive Pollys at least until WWDC - save this story for a Monday or the Tuesday after the three day weekend!

:eek:

There's nothing negative about this 'story.' It precisely Arn's job to evaluate the source of various rumors and weigh in on whether something is more credible or not. Given that there is zero actual fact regarding the 975, Arn is more than within his rights (as the editor of this site) to state his opinion.

Also, I'm guessing that the 'G5 Specs for WWDC!' story was pulled from Page 2 because Croquer dans la Pomme lifted the specs directly from a weblog: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=853785&blog#post853785
 
PowerPC 8.5 GHz G8

What do you mean the 975 doesn't exist? Years ago it laid the ground work for creating the first quad core PowerPC chip from IBM/AMDs Power 7. Which of course led to the dual 8.5 GHz G8 for $2799, Apple's current Enterprise class desktop code-name: Octane. I'm sure this machine will soon be available in Taiwan and on time for this summer and in Thailand as well per Jobs' statement at the 2008 MacWorld in San Francisco.
 
ehurtley said:
My wife and I have finally decided it's time to buy. Unfortunately, with possible updates only a month away, we're going to wait the month. I think we'll end up getting an eMac to fill the void until then.
...

You could also consider a refurb 1.6 for $1395. I got one, and it works fine. Or you might consider an iBook, since you may have need for a portable even after you get your dual 3G.
 
In a surprise move, Apple is set to announce the following specs for their new Power Mac G5 line-up.

Power Mac G5, 1 GHz, 20 GB HD, $1999
Power Mac G5, dual 1.2 GHz, 40 GB HD, $2699
Power Mac G5, dual 1.4 GHz, 40 GB HD, $3299


Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, will announce the new G5s as the start of a new campaign entitled "Less is more."

"Up until now, Apple has kept on building Power Macs that are faster and faster, and they just kept getting hotter and noisier," Jobs will say. "We have finally come up with a revoluntionary new trend in computer making: what consumers want is not faster machines at cheaper prices, but slower machines that are more expensive. Less is definitely more.

"People long for the good old days when life was more laid-back, with no need to rush around at lightning speed, just taking our own sweet time to do things. Apple is determined to give consumers computers that do just that, and this new line-up is the first step in an amazing new trend that we are proud to be the first to come up with."

The amazing new line-up Power Mac G5 will come with optional 14- or 16-inch monitors. According to Steve Jobs, "Boom!"

After initial outrage from the Mac community, the new "less is more" Power Mac G5s will sell in record numbers, despite actually shipping 5 to 6 months after the announced shipping date.

A new PowerBook line-up, using 500 MHz G3 chips and a built-in 3.5" floppy drive, is expected by January 2005.

:D
 
trademark lawsuit is imminent

The Red Wolf said:
Which of course led to the dual 8.5 GHz G8 for $2799, Apple's current Enterprise class desktop code-name: Octane.

hp_octane.jpg
 
Someone raised a very important point about the fact that people are buying a dual G5 for the same price as they could of got it at the very start of last year.

I don't know of anywhere else where this is true. AMD and Intel do almost weekly price changes on their chips (which in 95% of cases is the price going down), yet apple still manages to charge the same a year down the line.

In the PC world, you'd of expected the price of hardware to drop to at least half of what it cost 12 months ago.

Also, personally I can't see Apple delivering on this 3GHz promise. While I deeply wish it was true, I don't think its possible - I mean only a couple months ago they were having problems with 970FXs running at 2GHz in Xserve. How they expect a brand new chip (the fabled 975) to run at 3GHz with a good yield is beyond me. It will be very interesting and I'm sure it will be a real test of Steve's charisma if he can't get 3GHz.
 
genius

autrefois said:
In a surprise move, Apple is set to announce the following specs for their new Power Mac G5 line-up.

Power Mac G5, 1 GHz, 20 GB HD, $1999
Power Mac G5, dual 1.2 GHz, 40 GB HD, $2699
Power Mac G5, dual 1.4 GHz, 40 GB HD, $3299


Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, will announce the new G5s as the start of a new campaign entitled "Less is more."

"Up until now, Apple has kept on building Power Macs that are faster and faster, and they just kept getting hotter and noisier," Jobs will say. "We have finally come up with a revoluntionary new trend in computer making: what consumers want is not faster machines at cheaper prices, but slower machines that are more expensive. Less is definitely more.

"People long for the good old days when life was more laid-back, with no need to rush around at lightning speed, just taking our own sweet time to do things. Apple is determined to give consumers computers that do just that, and this new line-up is the first step in an amazing new trend that we are proud to be the first to come up with."

The amazing new line-up Power Mac G5 will come with optional 14- or 16-inch monitors. According to Steve Jobs, "Boom!"

After initial outrage from the Mac community, the new "less is more" Power Mac G5s will sell in record numbers, despite actually shipping 5 to 6 months after the announced shipping date.

A new PowerBook line-up, using 500 MHz G3 chips and a built-in 3.5" floppy drive, is expected by January 2005.

:D


That was the best post I've read all day. -- especially Steve's trademark "Boom!"
 
There was a road map for 3 gigs last year

It's easy to forget that after Steve J said 3 gigs in a year (at last year's WWDC) an IBM VP walked on stage and said *3 gigs in a year*. IBM's commitment is generally forgotten - people only talk about Steve's statement.

Both IBM and Apple had a road map to get to a 3 gig announcement at this year's WWDC. The 3 gig statements by BOTH Apple & IBM were well considered and were not some off the cuff remark.

Then something happened: a bit of a fab problem.

That has forced some major changes to the joint IBM/Apple road map and I believe that both companies are busting ass to get moving down the revised path.

I'm one of those that believe that the 970FX was originally designed to be used for a G5 PM speed bump in Feb/March. I also believe that it can be released before the WWDC as the WWDC is to let developers know where Apple is going in terms of developer tools and (last year) to announce a G5 PM for fall delivery. It is possible that 970FX PMs in the 2.2 to 2.6 range will be shipping soon, with the 3 gig announced for fall deliveries.

One important factor in getting any speed bump for the PM now is to Apple can release a new generation G5 iMac and generate some strong sales from that range. In an ideal situation the PM would be shipping up to 2.6 by WWDC and the hardware announcements at WWDC could be 3 gig PM in the fall and a new generation iMac available now.

On IBM's side, they are probably as unhappy with the current situation as Apple is and might just provide Apple with the 975 chip for fall to make up for the delays. Also might give Apple priority on the dual processor chip that is in the works. They will definitely want a situation were everyone knows that, yes, they did have a fab problem, but overcame the problem and then really kicked ass with major advances. Call it IBM pride, but I think they will push hard to blow our minds as soon as they can.
 
2 scenarios

The way I see it, there are two scenarios for how WWDC will turn out:

1) Apple will announce a 3 GHz machine based on (insert processor here). People are wowed. Steve keeps his promise. The rest of WWDC will be kind of ho-hum. Neat-o features from Tiger. Everybody goes home.

2) Apple announces machines shy of 3 GHz, and feeling EXTREME pressure to compensate, they go for a "shock and awe" approach with software and even non-processor related hardware to distract from the fact that Steve was a little over-zealous last year. If they implemented the rumored distributed rendering in the pro Apps in a really incredible way, along with some unbelievable features in Tiger and some novel ways to take advantage of 64-bit computing (other than marketing), throw in huge leaps in graphics cards, double layer DVD drives, storage, etc. on the PowerMacs, I think we would tend to be a little more forgiving.

New hardware doesn't mean a lot unless you've got cutting edge software that takes advantage of it, and I'm sure there's still a hefty gap between the potential of the 970 and the software that runs on it.

Now obviously you can't just come up with killer software overnight, but I have to believe that if they knew at least at the beginning of the year that they weren't going to hit 3 GHz, that would put some huge pressure elsewhere in Apple to come up with some really impressive stuff to dull the blow at WWDC.

Personally I would rather have scenario 2 - some serious software announcements and more modest PowerMac announcements at WWDC. Efficient, lean, mean, powerful, innovative software benefits everyone, not just the people who can drop 3 G's on a 3G.
 
Since no one else seems to have proved a human translation here is one...this is accurate and seems to point out that the 975 should be in production by now.


"According to IBM, the Power5 will reach speeds between 1.6GHz to 2GHz at this time, next year these chips will be released on the 90nm system
, at which these chips could reach speeds of 3GHz. IBM has estimated the 1.6GHz Power5 may achieve twice the proccessing power of the 1.3GHz
Power4. Moreover, as IBM updates its foundries for the larger-scale multi-processor systems, the PowerPC 975, which is a derivitive of the Power5 core, will start production. But the Power5 is employing a reverse stradegy of the Power 4, the Power5 will first debut in lower end servers and then be gradually extended to the higher end servers. This represents a strategy transition, worth
noting."
 
Why has everyone forgotten about rumors past:

<Quote><I>originally posted by <B>Macrumors</B></I>
The PowerPC 980 Processor is a rumored chip to be coming from IBM as a followup to the PowerPC 970. Just as the PowerPC 970 is based on the Power4 Processor, the PowerPC 980 is rumored to be based on the upcoming Power5 Processor.

First hints of a new derivative chip came from this extensive roadmap of the PowerPC, Apple, Motorola and IBM's relationships from November 2002. At that time, the PowerPC 970 had been announced by IBM but not yet publicly endorsed by Apple. Apple later announced PowerPC 970 based PowerMacs in June of the following year (2003).

Today, Appleinsider reports that the PowerPC 970 will max out at 2.6GHz with the Power 980 coming due in Q3 of 2004 to bring the PowerMac line up to and beyond 3.0GHz. The 980 is reportedly a 90nm chip and may be branded as the G6. Appleinsider also comments on updates to the subsystems of the upcoming PowerMacs offering significant performance gains.

This "980 @ 3GHz" timeframe was echoed by a detailed report from July 2003. In that report, Apple and IBM were said to be working on parallel development of the Power5 and PowerPC 980. That report also claimed that the 3GHz PowerMac would not arrive by way of the 970 -- which was said to top out at 2.6-2.8GHz, while the 980 was expected to start at 2.6-3GHz (from the July report).

A subsequent report noted that Apple was already given PowerPC 980 samples in October, and also made predictions about 90nm 970 based PowerMac updates in February at 2.5-2.8GHz. The also offered significant details regarding cache, SPEC scores, and bus multipliers on the as-yet-unannounced PowerPC 980.

Without any tangible releases from these rumors, it's hard to gauge their accuracy, though the information appears to be consistent.</Quote>

This was posted on November 20th of last year by Arn himself. As you can note IBM themselves stated that the 980 was the chip being developed alongside the POWER5. Nowhere has there been any real info about a 975 chip and now everyone is abuzz with new rumors.

A look at the release dates above does seem to fit: the expected release of a 90nm 970 in February was correct, but because of fabrication problems was only released at 2.0Ghz and only in the XServe. The 980 that was rumored to be released "quarter 3 of 2004" is also supposed to be 90nm and my guess is that IBM is probably having the same fabbing problems with this chip as it did with the 970FX. <B>IF</B> there is a "975" it would seem likely that this was a step back from the 980 and not likely to scale as high (perhaps a 130nm derivitive of the POWER5). This might be an interim step for the company until they can work out the problems they are having at 90nm.

I'm not a hugely technical computer person, so please tell me if my thinking is not logical. It just seems everyone is so caught up in the rumors that they forget about reality.

Now i'm going to Thailand to practice my cantonese withe the Thaiwanese people. :confused: :(
 
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