I won't bring up the oft discussed advantages of using G4s in the consumer computers, except that a larger G4 user base would eventually result in more Altivec coded apps, which is needed to compete with Wintels for speed.
But what if the next iMac is a G4 iMac? At first look, there is the problem of MHz with this. After all, wouldn't the iMac just get the slower G4s that are today's powermacs? With the Powermacs getting G5s? Something like:
iMac: 800- 933 MHz
Powermac G5: 1 GHz +
Since IBM has announced a new G3 that will clock at about 1 GHZ, the use of G4s in the iMac becomes even less desireable.
However, there is a development that warrants further consideration:
Motorola is developing both the Apollo G4, and the G5. If the Apollo is destined for the iMac, and the G5 for the powermacs, then this would suddenly put the pieces in place. Low power, low heat Apollo for iMac and MAYBE laptops, and the G5 for Powermacs;
Most interesting is a recent quote about Steve Jobs "wanting the entire desktop line to surpass 1 GHz."
Another is the rumored speeds of the Apollo and the G5
Apollo: 1.0, 1.13, 1.26 GHz
G5: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6 GHz.
This makes perfect sense for a product lineup consisting of desktops all running altivec enabled CPUs. From a marketing perspective it is compelling as well. The high end iMac overlaps with the powermac, which is a common occurance among apple products. But the bus speeds differ between the two:
Powermac : 266, w/ddrRAM
iMac: 133 Mhz with crap-RAM.
The motherboard architechture makes sense for this scenario as well.
What about the GHz G3? Apple could use it in the iBook, and put the Apollo in the titanium. It would be bad business to use the Apollo in both the iMac and Titanium, but if both laptops ran at about 1 GHz, one with a G3 (1 GHZ) and one with a G4 (1.0-1.26 GHz), this would make perfect marketing sense.
Everything is coming together as I have forseen it!
But seriously, bookmark this post--it will have historical value after MWSF!
[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Junkyard Dawg ]</p>
But what if the next iMac is a G4 iMac? At first look, there is the problem of MHz with this. After all, wouldn't the iMac just get the slower G4s that are today's powermacs? With the Powermacs getting G5s? Something like:
iMac: 800- 933 MHz
Powermac G5: 1 GHz +
Since IBM has announced a new G3 that will clock at about 1 GHZ, the use of G4s in the iMac becomes even less desireable.
However, there is a development that warrants further consideration:
Motorola is developing both the Apollo G4, and the G5. If the Apollo is destined for the iMac, and the G5 for the powermacs, then this would suddenly put the pieces in place. Low power, low heat Apollo for iMac and MAYBE laptops, and the G5 for Powermacs;
Most interesting is a recent quote about Steve Jobs "wanting the entire desktop line to surpass 1 GHz."
Another is the rumored speeds of the Apollo and the G5
Apollo: 1.0, 1.13, 1.26 GHz
G5: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6 GHz.
This makes perfect sense for a product lineup consisting of desktops all running altivec enabled CPUs. From a marketing perspective it is compelling as well. The high end iMac overlaps with the powermac, which is a common occurance among apple products. But the bus speeds differ between the two:
Powermac : 266, w/ddrRAM
iMac: 133 Mhz with crap-RAM.
The motherboard architechture makes sense for this scenario as well.
What about the GHz G3? Apple could use it in the iBook, and put the Apollo in the titanium. It would be bad business to use the Apollo in both the iMac and Titanium, but if both laptops ran at about 1 GHz, one with a G3 (1 GHZ) and one with a G4 (1.0-1.26 GHz), this would make perfect marketing sense.
Everything is coming together as I have forseen it!
But seriously, bookmark this post--it will have historical value after MWSF!
[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Junkyard Dawg ]</p>






