A few G5 tidbits

synsyn
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
For the past month or so, Apple Demo Days have been going on in France, promoting the XServe. Apparently, the Apple managers there have been a bit talkative, and have leaked eerily similar info... Here's what has been told:



The G5 is being evaluated right now, and the G4 will further be modified. The G5 isn't stated for this year, perhaps the end of 2003. It does exist though, and works fine right now, however the manufacturing process is far from ready, much too costly and low yield percentage. (confirmed by many different sources) The G5 will be manufactured in France (Grenoble), the factory is not finished yet.



The G4's evolution will not be dramatic, however the motherboards will significantly change with HyperTransport (some say the XServe already implements HT) and better cache structures.



The next mobos will not support 9, so it's pretty much the end of the line for it...



The kernel following that of Jag will be clusterable at a system level...



all this is here



<a href="http://www.macbidouille.com/niouzcontenu.php?date=2002-06-21#2827"; target="_blank">http://www.macbidouille.com/niouzcontenu.php?date=2002-06-21#2827</a>;



The site has been quite reliable for a while now, since they rarely indulge in rumormongering... So take it FWIW.



The good news being that since the G5 is still far away (further than MWSF), Apple has no reason whatsoever to introduce stop-gap solutions at NY, except if the mobos aren't ready.



[ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: SYN ]</p>
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 108
    ouroborosouroboros Posts: 82member
    Wow! The end of 2003?!?! That's a ways off man. Cripes Batman, if that's how long we have to wait for the G5, then let's hope that the G4's got a big bag of tricks to dig into....



    [ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: ouroboros ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 108
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    I actually hoped for MWSF 2003 on the G5. Knowing how far behind Apple seems to like to stay I figured that was an early expectation on an arrival for it. But I did think that Apple would deliver a G5 at MWNY one year from now. I wonder how many Gigs AMD/Intel processors will be boasting by then? 5.5 maybe? of course if this article is dead on accurate we'll still be waiting until after MWNY 2003 before seeing one in a PowerMac.
  • Reply 3 of 108
    cindercinder Posts: 381member
    Won't support OS9???



    How the hell are any print professional supposed to keep up with anything now?



    the amount of software, drivers, etc etc required before we move to X hasnt even been scratched.



    I told my boss to hold off on buying a new machine because of the newer ones coming out soon.

    Man, this sucks.



    OSX is fine for consumers - but no print /graphic design professional office is gonna have anything to do with it.



    UGH
  • Reply 4 of 108
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I doubt this rumor is true :



    1) there will be for the moment no factory in Grenoble : it's a research center of big chip companies like Mot or Phillips



    2) if the G5 is ready , i don't think that it needs 18 months in order to have a good production. 6 months will be certainly sufficiant. The G5 will be fabbed upon the same process than the 8450. So if they are not able to produce industrialy the G5 they wont be able to produce the 8450 either.



    I Still hope a G5 for MWSF 03 and a minor speed bump of the 7455 on a simplified version of the Xserve mobo, with DDR memory dealing with a single MPX bus.
  • Reply 5 of 108
    blarkblark Posts: 11member
    [quote]Originally posted by SYN:

    [QB

    all this is here



    <a href="http://www.macbidouille.com/niouzcontenu.php?date=2002-06-21#2827"; target="_blank">http://www.macbidouille.com/niouzcontenu.php?date=2002-06-21#2827</a>;



    The site has been quite reliable for a while now, since they rarely indulge in rumormongering... So take it FWIW.



    [ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: SYN ][/QB]<hr></blockquote>



    I ran that through Google to translate it (for shame, an essentially unilingual Canadian... <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" /> ) and was wondering why they kept referring to "bone 9", and then I remembered that in french "OS" is "bone"...



    the perils of machine translation.... <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    Blark
  • Reply 6 of 108
    sc_marktsc_markt Posts: 1,402member
    The G5 won't be available until the end of 2003??? By that time, we'll be reading about the second generation Hammer chip and a 5+GHz Intel chip.



    I hope this French rumor site has a better source for Apple information:

    <a href="http://membres.lycos.fr/applefr/Rumeurs.html"; target="_blank">http://membres.lycos.fr/applefr/Rumeurs.html</a>;
  • Reply 7 of 108
    nebagakidnebagakid Posts: 2,692member
    WE need it NOW, and it WILL come now!
  • Reply 8 of 108
    heinzelheinzel Posts: 120member
    [quote]Originally posted by powerdoc:

    <strong>I doubt this rumor is true :



    1) there will be for the moment no factory in Grenoble : it's a research center of big chip companies like Mot or Phillips

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well, it seems like there is no Fab *yet* in Grenoble, but <a href="http://http://www.minatec.com/minatec_uk/lettre/numero3.htm#last"; target="_blank">soon there will be one ...</a>

    Considering that AMD's Fab30 in Dresden, Germany, took 3 years to build, the end-of-2003 timeframe seems somewhat optimistic. On the other hand, Motorola is already going for 13 micron in its Austin fabs, maybe Grenoble would be more about the later switch to 90 nm and below, i.e. mobile/low power G5s, as well as 300 mm wafers... . As always, only time will tell.



    [ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: heinzel ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 108
    programmerprogrammer Posts: 3,458member
    [quote]Originally posted by heinzel:

    <strong>

    Well, it seems like there is no Fab *yet* in Grenoble, but <a href="http://http://www.minatec.com/minatec_uk/lettre/numero3.htm#last"; target="_blank">soon there will be one ...</a>

    Considering that AMD's Fab30 in Dresden, Germany, took 3 years to build, the end-of-2003 timeframe seems somewhat optimistic. On the other hand, Motorola is already going for 13 micron in its Austin fabs, maybe Grenoble would be more about the later switch to 90 nm and below, i.e. mobile/low power G5s, as well as 300 mm wafers... . As always, only time will tell.



    [ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: heinzel ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Or perhaps the rumours of the G5 on the 0.13 process are wrong (imagine that, incorrect rumours!) and it will require a 0.09 micron process.



    If Motorola has a couple of G4s lined up for the meantime (and for the consumer lineup once the G5 arrives) then Apple will be able to "hang on" until then. They have said the G4 will make it to 1.8 GHz, and who knows what enhancements they are going to build into (a la 7500 rumours).
  • Reply 10 of 108
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    G5 End of 2003= Game Over.



    I'm not being pessimistic but fat chance that the G5 ships even close to second Gen Operton/Clawhammer and Intel Prescott based machines.



    This rumor has to be false ...we'd better hope.
  • Reply 11 of 108
    synsyn Posts: 329member
    Well well... I said *perhaps* end of 2003, not definitely end of 2003, the reports basically say that it is not slated for 2002, and one report says late 2003. So all is not lost, but one thing is clear in those reports: there will be no G5 at MWNY.



    No need to get all emotional about it
  • Reply 12 of 108
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    That was already clear in January..without any rumors.



    G-News
  • Reply 13 of 108
    engpjpengpjp Posts: 124member
    Interesting - I thought a lot of you guys were all believers of the Power4 Lite as the next Messianic piece of silicon? :-)



    Let me repeat myself:



    Which G4?

    Which G5?



    engpjp





    PS I do believe things will look up - but not as quickly or as dramatically as hoped for.
  • Reply 14 of 108
    doodpoddoodpod Posts: 6member
    The print/publishing industry will use OS X. And it will switch once Jaguar ships. Just watch. The whole industry was turned upside down when analog processes were ditched in the late 1980s, in favor of a nice little machine with a 9" black & white display, and it will do the same for OS X. Its far easier to get new drivers for existing devices than it is to switch to an entirely new workflow. OS X only lacks a few device drivers, and some fringe software (preflighting comes to mind, but InDesign already has preflight capabilities built in, and can open all your old Quack files). The native OpenType support is nice, and print pusblishing houses are moving more and more to a PDF-centric workflows, which OS X supports very well. Suitcase fills in nicely for the now gone-forever ATM Deluxe. Don't even get me started on how much better it is to not have to restart your computer 10 times per day just b/c your programs are fighting over the same memory.



    If there's something missing and you need it for OS X, shoot the company an email and let them know you'll buy it when they bring it out.



    What am I saying? As if all those fancy native OS X Adobe apps aren't good enough for you . . .
  • Reply 15 of 108
    vvmpvvmp Posts: 63member
    Just as Apple pre-announced all of the Jaguar details, i think they will do the same with their new high-end hardware strategy this coming MWNY. They have to clarify their intensions after going on a major buying spree...NothingReal...Grail...Prismo...etc. I don't think they are just targeting the graphics market, but now are targeting Hollywood. Eyes will be rolling unless they announce powerful new hardware to justify their entry into this market. They probably feel the heat and as a result will begin to make their strategy public. I for one look forward to hot new toys this MWNY.
  • Reply 16 of 108
    lemon bon bonlemon bon bon Posts: 2,383member
    "Well well... I said *perhaps* end of 2003, not definitely end of 2003, the reports basically say that it is not slated for 2002, and one report says late 2003. So all is not lost, but one thing is clear in those reports: there will be no G5 at MWNY.

    No need to get all emotional about it"



    (Picture of Lemon Bon Bon on chair with rope around neck...)



    'You said 'sometime' in 2003...so we're not ruling out San Fran? Well, that's alright then...'



    (Get's down from chair...)



    Lemon Bon BOn :eek:
  • Reply 17 of 108
    fluffyfluffy Posts: 361member
    Remember too that Apple explicitly stated that the G4 wouldn't be available until mid-2000, and it was introduced at Seybold 1999. I think Apple knows perfectly well what they need hardware-wise, and won't delay the G5 just because they are getting lower than expected yields.
  • Reply 18 of 108
    stroszekstroszek Posts: 801member
    What's not ready? Besides Quark, of course. InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, GoLive, LiveMotion, Flash, Dreamweaver, Freehand are all OS X native. Granted, I tend to stay on teh multimedia side of graphic design, but the only things keeping me from going X are Director, and that I simply cannot afford all the software and new hardware (my current computer is a beige G3. It's slow enough how it is...) Just curious as to what I am missing.
  • Reply 19 of 108
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    The item about future mobos not able to boot from OS 9 is interesting...



    Classic will still be around for a good long while, of course. But OS X-boot-only sounds like a good security / switch to OS X, dammit! step.



    Suspicious though. Is OS X-boot-only even technically possible?
  • Reply 20 of 108
    mark- card carrying fanaticrealistmark- card carrying fanaticrealist Posts: 315member
    [quote]Originally posted by heinzel:

    <strong>



    Well, it seems like there is no Fab *yet* in Grenoble, but <a href="http://http://www.minatec.com/minatec_uk/lettre/numero3.htm#last"; target="_blank">soon there will be one ...</a>

    Considering that AMD's Fab30 in Dresden, Germany, took 3 years to build, the end-of-2003 timeframe seems somewhat optimistic. On the other hand, Motorola is already going for 13 micron in its Austin fabs, maybe Grenoble would be more about the later switch to 90 nm and below, i.e. mobile/low power G5s, as well as 300 mm wafers... . As always, only time will tell.



    [ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: heinzel ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    This would tie in to what appears to be Apple's 3-year product lifecycle , with MWSF03 used for the launch of PMac G5 (which I think is 3 years after G4), and MWSF04 used for TiBook G5 (equally 3 years after TiBook G4, which I'm sure was when I purchased mine).



    The launch of smaller, more thermally efficient G5s for 2004 could also imply 4-way servers in a dense package (3U anyone) which would be neat for a number of markets.
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