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Rev. D Powerbook Speculation: 9800 Mobility anytime soon?

D

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
When Apple upgraded the Powerbook graphic chipsets to 9700 Mobility, I'm sure you were all excited as I was. The time it took was actually quite short too, only a few months if I remember, from ATI's announcement to Apple's revision.

I think this increases the likelihood of a Powerbook revision before the "PBG5." It's exciting because, almost without a doubt, this will at least be one component we know will be part of the next revision, whenever that is. I think Apple will continue to use ATI for its high-end portable needs. With 8 pixel pipelines in a laptop, they would be foolish not to. As a student who loves to game, this kind of announcement is almost reason enough to wait!

The current revision still has a while to go I am sure. But I see the pieces coming together for the next revision. I hope to see:

  • 400MHz DDR SDRAM (from 333MHz)
  • 7200 rpm hard drive BTO option
  • 9800 Mobility graphics (still with 128MB option) :cool:
  • Faster bus speed
  • Perhaps the last speed bump for G4 processors
 
dferrara said:
  • 9800 Mobility graphics (still with 128MB option) :cool:
Click to expand...

Not sure I'd expect that one. According to all the write ups on this one, it's a BIG card, nearly the size of a desktop card and is targeted more towards the portable desktop/lan party guy who'd rather carry a 9 lb. laptop instead of a shuttle box and LCD. From the looks of it, I don't think it would fit in a powerbook.
 
well, how big is the 9700 in comparison?



the 9700 is only in the 15" and 17", which should be big enough to house the 9800 in a future revision, right?
 
FelixDerKater said:
http://www.chip.de/artikel/c_bildergalerie_12147451.html

Click through the first few pictures and you will see the chip itself and then the card on which it goes. That will explain why you won't be seeing it in a PowerBool for a while, if at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah that does look rather large. But I'm sure Apple's engineers will figure a way around it. I doubt it would add much weight, but I'm not sure. A 256MB video memory option would be astonishing.

It's interesting that Apple never implemented nVidia's latest, the Go5700 FX. I suppose Apple could change to nVidia but I doubt that.
 
I agree with one more update before the PBG5 is released, that would also mean the REV "D" powerbooks would stay around because of the OS9 compatibility as well as the people who dont want a Rev A PBG5.

After all the magical experiences of my PowerMac G5 Rev. A I would not buy a PBG5 Rev A.
 
At this size and with this kind of power consumption I don't want to have it in a notebook and I think Stevie agrees with me. And for all of you who do and are content with 1 1/2 hrs. of battery life go get a desktop. :D
 
denm316 said:
I agree with one more update before the PBG5 is released, that would also mean the REV "D" powerbooks would stay around because of the OS9 compatibility as well as the people who dont want a Rev A PBG5.

After all the magical experiences of my PowerMac G5 Rev. A I would not buy a PBG5 Rev A.
Click to expand...

OS9 compatibility? AFAIK, starting with Rev. A of the AlBooks, Apple dropped OS9 compatibility. IMO, more interesting than the discussion about future graphic chips, is the news that (according to AI) Moto (or Freescale) is working on G4 extended chip which allows clock speeds up to 2 GHz. If such a chip was in the works and Apple decided to use them, this would mean we wouldn't see a PB G5 for some time because Apple certainly doesn't redisign the PBs just for one revision.

The article on AI can be found here:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=566
 
I really hope they do update the p'books one last time. I am looking at buying one around Christmas, just in time for my last semester at college (logic - I'd still be able to get the EDU discount). Its just that I'd like to know that Im going to get a computer that is a bit more up to date than what's currently selling as a powerbook. It would be great if we saw a 2.0GHz G4, a Radeon Mobility 9800 (128Mb), 80Gb 7200RPM HD, and maybe an 8x SuperDrive for the last revision of the current PowerBook. What a going away party that would be :p
 
So is the general consensus that we will see a Rev D G4 before a Rev A G5?
 
Chaszmyr said:
Well.. the 17'' PowerBook is an awfully big machine.
Click to expand...

But it's also awefulling thin, and don't forget that the ATi Mobility Radeon 9800 generates an enormous amount of heat for a laptop card. Maybe Apple will switch back to nVIDIA for the 15 and 17 inch models?
 
wide said:
But it's also awefulling thin, and don't forget that the ATi Mobility Radeon 9800 generates an enormous amount of heat for a laptop card. Maybe Apple will switch back to nVIDIA for the 15 and 17 inch models?
Click to expand...

It's interesting, though, that the 12" model has the nVidia and is thicker, while the 17" is thinner and has the Radeon. Maybe the 9800 Mobility is larger because it's next-gen.
 
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