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The Death of the G5 Pbook

Shacklebolt

Shacklebolt

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 2, 2004
596
0
Someone said this previously - but let's just clarify -

There is never going to be a G5 powerbook. Dual-core G4, maybe, but the G5 - no. No no no. No no no no no. As a new pbook owner, I take a bit of satisfaction at that.
 
There never was going to be a G5 Powerbook. Well at least not for a couple of years. The G5 runs way too hot. There was no way Apple was going to make it small enough and cool enough. Just think about the current Powermacs. In order to get a 2.7 chip they have to use liquid colling. In my opinion that's pretty weak. It's not even 3.0 GHz...
 
no g5 powerbook, so where to from here for powerbooks & long overdue ibook update?

there was never a desktop g4 1.67, how much speed is left to be extracted, the powerbook is not a consumer mac, so one wouldnt expect transition for at least a year, perhaps longer, & surely there couldnt be a ibook running a mediocre 2.4ghz chip b4 there was a comparably better pbook


laptops i think are apples biggest laggers & need immediate attention, 1.2ghz ibook, seriously who wants one?
 
I just bought a 12" Powerbook since iBooks are so long overdue that it would make no sense to buy an iBook since they have been imminent for about 3 months.
 
The 2.7 is liquid-cooled because it's overclocked (like the 2.5 was). IBM cannot produce chips faster than 2.3 Ghz. Last year, their fastest was 2.2GHz.

This was their roadmap:

2003->2004: 2Ghz to 3Ghz
2004->2005: PPC 980 (? scaled down Power5 chip): 4GHz
2005: 970MP (Dual Core): 3.2GHz


Reality:

2003->2004: 2Ghz to 2.2Ghz
2004->2005: PPC 970fx 2.2 to 2.3GHz
No Dual Cores in sight.

Twice Apple had to release overclocked PowerMacs with IBM (they had done so once with Motorola).

I hope the reason for Apple to switch to Intel is clear for everyone.

P.S. There is no such thing as a Dual Core G4, and despite claims from Freescale that some would be produced in Q4 2005, there will never be any.
 
biohazard_6969 said:
what is to be done with ANY mac now? not many peopel will want to buy anything with more ppc processor in it, knowing that the switch is imminent
Click to expand...
I see your point and understand what you are saying, but I've been wondering...is it really that imminent? I mean, yeah in a year we'll see Intel processors in some Macs (which ones...?) but the transition period will be going on for 2-3 years.

2-3 years is a long time to be using a computer, so people, if they are in the market for a Mac, should just bite the bullet and get what is currently available. I'm sure my Mom will be purchasing a iMac in the next coming days, because her G4 400 MHz is showing its age. I'm confident that she'll be able to use the iMac for at least 3-4 years, if not more.

On the other hand, I'll be waiting for the Intel PowerBooks. Currently, my PowerBook has been performing great and I can see myself using it for 3 years or more.
 
PPC Macs will be the dominant variety of Macs out there for many years to come. Software companies are not going to walk away from that potential income stream to simply support only a minority of newest machines.

Selling upgrades and new applications to this existing installed base will remain their priority for some years. So buy PPC now with confidence, whilst planning to upgrade to x86 in 3-5 yrs.
 
with the need to have a G5, dual processor recommended for DVD HD burning, for DVD Study Pro, I'm wondering if things might change. That much power you'd like to see in the top end PowerBook.

At this point, I'm not going to expect anything from Apple - there are too many possibilities and we probably won't know what's going to happen until right before it does.

D
 
^ yeah right. It will be interesting to see how soon/what happens, with the current iBook/PowerBook mhz dilema.
 
adrianjt said:
no g5 powerbook, so where to from here for powerbooks & long overdue ibook update?

( . . . )

laptops i think are apples biggest laggers & need immediate attention, 1.2ghz ibook, seriously who wants one?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking about buying one. It would do what I want to do with it pretty well, I think.


Crikey
 
biohazard_6969 said:
what is to be done with ANY mac now? not many peopel will want to buy anything with more ppc processor in it, knowing that the switch is imminent
Click to expand...

I don't understand the first thing about what you are saying. This switch means nothing to me, to you, or to any other user.
 
PB Update

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but if Intel macs/chips/ or whatever aren't going to be available until this time next year, surely they must do something about the current PB line to keep it fresh. Otherwise it's going to look dated very quickly. They can't hold out for a year without any updates. That would be crazy.
 
I for one second the "death to the G5" bantor. Even if the G5 chip was possible, how long could they keep the chip in production with increasing speed bumps.

The intel processors are the best in the market, esp for mobile laptop users. I say buy a G4 powerbook now and in three to four years you will have a a second Rev intel powerbook that will be kick ass and for God sakes get more then 3:30 hours of battery life.

Till then my current powerbook is going strong.
 
juble said:
Apologies if this has already been discussed, but if Intel macs/chips/ or whatever aren't going to be available until this time next year, surely they must do something about the current PB line to keep it fresh. Otherwise it's going to look dated very quickly. They can't hold out for a year without any updates. That would be crazy.
Click to expand...

All the mac lines will recieve updates in the next year before the transition begins. As steve jobs said there are still PowerPC projects in the pipeline. Expect to see powerbook updates in the not too distant future.

ShadoW :eek:
 
shadowmoses said:
All the mac lines will recieve updates in the next year before the transition begins. As steve jobs said there are still PowerPC projects in the pipeline. Expect to see powerbook updates in the not too distant future.

ShadoW :eek:
Click to expand...

Wow..... *expression of awe!* Where did you get a crystal ball? - I want one!!!

Who's to say that we won't have a new hardware tuesday - i imagine jobsy didn't want to overshadow his PeeCee 'clones' too much.

The most important question it seems, which has (to my knowledge) not yet been answered, is, in fact, two questions:

1). Will we have intel stickers on our computers?!
AND
2). Will Macs now play that annoying intel jingle everytime we start up?!

doc
 
It's nice to know the "G5 Powerbooks Next Tuesday" threads will die. :D Any future mention of the G5 powerbook should be in this thread only! :D
 
dhracer88 said:
It's nice to know the "G5 Powerbooks Next Tuesday" threads will die. :D Any future mention of the G5 powerbook should be in this thread only! :D
Click to expand...

Pentium M PowerBooks... next Tuesday!!! ;-)
 
the dr said:
The most important question it seems, which has (to my knowledge) not yet been answered, is, in fact, two questions:

1). Will we have intel stickers on our computers?!
AND
2). Will Macs now play that annoying intel jingle everytime we start up?!

doc
Click to expand...

I agree. These are the things that are gonna affect us the most. I hate that jingle.

Oh, and iBooks today! I really hope so. As soon as it comes out I'll own my first Mac ever.
 
weg said:
Pentium M PowerBooks... next Tuesday!!! ;-)
Click to expand...

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! :D

I honestly hope they make a new intel chip-name for the Macs. P4 and M sound so generic... ;)
 
dhracer88 said:
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! :D

I honestly hope they make a new intel chip-name for the Macs. P4 and M sound so generic... ;)
Click to expand...

Maybe the Pentium G-V (V=5)
 
The Death of the G5 Pbook
Click to expand...

Just one question. Doesn't something have to actually be born first before it can die? :D But yes, it is nice that the constant speculation over when there will ever be a G5 PowerBook is now dead for sure.
 
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