Please, can anyone tell me for sure if there is going to be a PowerBook update between october and november? I really want to buy one, but I'm willing to wait 2 more months so I can buy an updated one...but I'm not sure if there will be an update at all...
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thanks
peace
Comments
Originally posted by wanea
Please, can anyone tell me for sure if there is going to be a PowerBook update between october and november?
Steve Jobs, but he doesnt post here much anymore
Judging from recent rumors and comments from Apple, you won't see a PB G5 until next year. Since Apple probably won't develop a new motherboard or case for an updated G4, expect basically the same specs with a microscopically faster CPU and maybe a faster GPU. But that's all.
If you are desperate for a PB now, you should get it. If you could wait, might as well wait for the PB G5.
There's no hope of a PB G5 any time soon - nor a Frescale 2GHz G4, nor a dual core PB.
I bought a 1.3GHz 17" in November last year. It's plenty fast enough for me - even running virtual pc with Rational Rose is usable and everything else is fine.
The only time it chokes on is rendering video in FCP. It works fine for general editing, but not for rendering of complex effects and transitions, and on DVDSP - but that's slow on anything but a dual 2.0 G5 - which is why I just bought one
Originally posted by kiwi-in-dc
Buy one now.
There's no hope of a PB G5 any time soon - nor a Frescale 2GHz G4, nor a dual core PB.
Where did you get this from? Everything I've read seems to inidcate the 7448 will be out before the end of the year and 2GHZ has been suggested by FreeScale. 2GHZ with 1MB of L2 would be a nice chip in a laptop.
The dual-cores, it seems, should come next year with the 64bit FreeScale chip following either late in the year or early in the next year.
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
Where did you get this from? Everything I've read seems to inidcate the 7448 will be out before the end of the year and 2GHZ has been suggested by FreeScale. ...
And from the time the chip comes out, to the time that powerbooks are actually available from the Apple Store... four to six months, or possibly longer.
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
... 2GHZ has been suggested by FreeScale. 2GHZ with 1MB of L2 would be a nice chip in a laptop.
Link, please
Originally posted by Fat Freddy
Link, please
http://macintosh.fryke.com/cgi-bin/m...#20040617_7448
Little available information, but it's possible that the chips are already shipping and machines may be available by year-end. Mr. MacPhisto is right, a 2GHz G4 would be a pretty powerful computer.
Originally posted by cubist
http://macintosh.fryke.com/cgi-bin/m...#20040617_7448
Little available information, but it's possible that the chips are already shipping and machines may be available by year-end. Mr. MacPhisto is right, a 2GHz G4 would be a pretty powerful computer.
I know, also here: http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/...MP286165424903
But i can't read nothing about 2GHz nor 1MB L2C
A G5 won't happen this year for sure and I'm predicting next year either because Apple had to slow the frontside bus down on the new iMac (even with that slowdown, they still look gorgeous!) nearly 50% just to make them operate in an area that would be an inch to big for a laptop.
Even though I have my doubts I still have hope that Apple and IBM can come up with some sort of way to decrease the heat enough without slowing the frontside bus too much.
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
Where did you get this from? Everything I've read seems to inidcate the 7448 will be out before the end of the year and 2GHZ has been suggested by FreeScale. 2GHZ with 1MB of L2 would be a nice chip in a laptop.
From where I sit, here's what I see: The cycle time from chips initially sampling to full production is 2-6 months. From full production to shipping Apple product, from 2-6 months depending on how the chips are yielding.
So, if Freescale announces a 2GHz G4 today, it will be at best four months before it appears in a shipping product. More likely 6 or longer given that the 7448 is a 90nm chip - I fully expect Freescale to have exactly the same issues Intel and IBM had with 90nm - maybe worse given past performance with G4s.
Basically my advice is that a PB now is better than a slightly faster PB later. if you need it you need.
November: G4 MPC7448 at 1.8GHz max
March 2004: G5 1.8GHz max
Originally posted by Fat Freddy
My guess:
November: G4 MPC7448 at 1.8GHz max
March 2004: G5 1.8GHz max
I seriously doubt we'll ever see a G5 in a PowerBook. IBMers I know say it just doesn't make sense and doesn't work with Apple's slim designs. They will have other chips ready mid-to-late next year that would be more viable, but a G5 woul dbe crippled in a PowerBook.
I would argue that there would be no significant improvement in performance from a 1.8GHZ G4 to a 1.8 GHZ G5 - in fact, there may be performance loss. The G5 is not going to be running with even a 600MHZ bus in a PowerBook. Bandwidth is the key to the G5's success. The G4 is better with working with slower bus speeds.
Plus we have FreeScale announcing System-on-Chip G4s that may be available at the same time. A G4 with an on-die memory controller and several other features would be a much better chip in a laptop.
The only thing I know about FreeScale is that IBM is certain they will be very strong in the next year. They still need to deliver, but I still believe we will see a 2GHZ PowerBook by MWSF, likely sooner. A bump to 1.8 GHZ wouldn't be bad considering previous bumps, but I think the 7448 will surprise.
Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
I would argue that there would be no significant improvement in performance from a 1.8GHZ G4 to a 1.8 GHZ G5 - in fact, there may be performance loss.
Go at Ars and read, it's a no brainer
The G5 has a much more advanced FPU and two of them. Over 200 instructions in flight and so on...
You know Hobold from ArsTechnica-Forum?: http://www.macguardians.de/fullstory...ereich=1#24305
... They still need to deliver, but I still believe we will see a 2GHZ PowerBook by MWSF, likely sooner.
Yeah, they still need to deliver (2GHz... i don't think so
A bump to 1.8 GHZ wouldn't be bad considering previous bumps, but I think the 7448 will surprise.
If so, it will surprise, yes!
Originally posted by Fat Freddy
My guess:
November: G4 MPC7448 at 1.8GHz max
March 2004: G5 1.8GHz max
I take it you mean March 2005, but anyway, those updates are too close together. If we get a year-end 7448 model, there won't be another model for a good six to eight months.
Originally posted by cubist
I take it you mean March 2005, but anyway, those updates are too close together. If we get a year-end 7448 model, there won't be another model for a good six to eight months.
great, PB G5 with WWDC2005.
can't wait
I would argue that there would be no significant improvement in performance from a 1.8GHZ G4 to a 1.8 GHZ G5
November: G4 MPC7448 at 1.8GHz max
i doubt that the G4 can even get to 1.8 Ghz, at least in a powerbook. since most chips have gotten down to 90 nm, chipmakers can't get them much smaller with the current architecture. they either need to revamp the way the G4 is built, or do something drastic to improve it and keep heat down and performance up.
Originally posted by cubist
I take it you mean March 2005...
Yes of course
If we get a year-end 7448 model, there won't be another model for a good six to eight months.
You'll see
Powerbook G5 in Q1/2005