The river deepens, the path widens, the mountain pass melts...
Moto have optimized their 130 nm fab and the next Powermac revision will bear the fruits of this labor. While migrating the G4 to a new fab, Moto has taken the time to incorporate a number of changes, the most significant of which is the bus. RapidIO is the new face of the G4, and of course with it comes full DDR support. What Apple finally will use is unknown to me, but test mules have employed both PC2100 and PC2700.
Clock speeds are impressive. Without deepening the G4?s pipeline, Moto has attained clock speeds other CPU manufacturers only dream of. We?ve seen boxes ranging from 1.0 1.6 GHz, however, most likely is a 1.4 GHz high end. Apple will probably choose such a high end for several reasons. One is that it allows them to keep the low end tower at 1.0 GHz using the cheaper 180 nm G4s, thus fattening their margins. The second is that they will be able to offer dual 1.4 GHz towers. Finally, Apple wants to leave some headroom so that they can get in at least one more speed bump before the G4 is demoted to consumer system status and G5 Powermacs debut.
I don?t have a timeline for you, but I can assure you that these systems are fully functional and ready for mass production. If they are not announced at MWNY, I will be surprised.
--Lymphoid out
Clock speeds are impressive. Without deepening the G4?s pipeline, Moto has attained clock speeds other CPU manufacturers only dream of. We?ve seen boxes ranging from 1.0 1.6 GHz, however, most likely is a 1.4 GHz high end. Apple will probably choose such a high end for several reasons. One is that it allows them to keep the low end tower at 1.0 GHz using the cheaper 180 nm G4s, thus fattening their margins. The second is that they will be able to offer dual 1.4 GHz towers. Finally, Apple wants to leave some headroom so that they can get in at least one more speed bump before the G4 is demoted to consumer system status and G5 Powermacs debut.
I don?t have a timeline for you, but I can assure you that these systems are fully functional and ready for mass production. If they are not announced at MWNY, I will be surprised.
--Lymphoid out
Comments
=(
dang, cinder beat me by 7 seconds
[ 06-28-2002: Message edited by: Mack Damon ]</p>
<strong>how come everyone's got 'inside dirt' except for me?
=(</strong><hr></blockquote>
Because your post count is out of 'single digit territory'
1 post. As sure sign of a real insider!
<img src="graemlins/surprised.gif" border="0" alt="[Surprised]" />
[ 06-28-2002: Message edited by: zaz ]</p>
<strong>
Clock speeds are impressive. Without deepening the G4?s pipeline, Moto has attained clock speeds other CPU manufacturers only dream of. We?ve seen boxes ranging from 1.0 1.6 GHz, however, most likely is a 1.4 GHz high end. </strong><hr></blockquote>
This portion is puzzling...Other CPU manufacturers only dream of 1.0 to 1.6 Ghz?...perhaps they were dreaming of them a couple years ago.........of was the entire post meant to be a sarcastic joke that I missed?
<strong>
This portion is puzzling...Other CPU manufacturers only dream of 1.0 to 1.6 Ghz?...perhaps they were dreaming of them a couple years ago.........of was the entire post meant to be a sarcastic joke that I missed?</strong><hr></blockquote>
No sarcastic joke, just a slight nonsequitur.
For almost a year (or longer) we've been hearing that the great system in the sky will descend next macworld. I assume the test boxes do exist but that's all this is a report of a test box, ready for mass production. Come NY that could be everything or nothing, we won't know untill then unless someone slips and breaks the NDA.
P.S. if this is what we get at MWNY I'll be quite happy, yes I wanna believe too.
[ 06-28-2002: Message edited by: pey/coy-ote ]</p>
Now this one claims motorola is on the ball and Apple will kick ass.
Hey Programmer, if credibility is currency here, then not only are we all broke, but we're in debt!
<img src="graemlins/surprised.gif" border="0" alt="[Surprised]" />
[ 06-28-2002: Message edited by: Bodhi ]</p>
<strong>I think it is highly ironic that a "source" has posted his email in his profile for all to see, especially Apple & Mot.
<img src="graemlins/surprised.gif" border="0" alt="[Surprised]" />
[ 06-28-2002: Message edited by: Bodhi ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hey! Don't ruin this for me by using FACTS to create doubt. I was happy believing this rumor was legit.
Then Moki said 1.2GHz was in line with what he had heard, (which I mention because it makes some difference in believability for me). Moki also sez we get DDR and 166 bus so forgetting the dual thing these rumors are not that far apart, and the one mentioned here is fairly consistent with Dorsal's post as well(if my memory serves).
Maybe it's just spymac trying to get back at our Programmer for planting misinformation.
Ironically, we (the forum readers) usually seem to behave as if we despise what we actually crave! We all are anxious to know what Apple has hiding behind door #3...want someone "in the know" to share their secrets with us. Yet we habitually pounce on anyone who is daring enough to post what might be real information.
There is nothing in what you said that anyone can prove is false. So they attack you for your post count, as if that is any indication of the validity of your remarks. I've been reading these forums for over a year, and only post when I feel there is something useful to say. Maybe since I'm older than some here, I have no need to artificially inflate my post count, or reflexively attack anyone who dares come here as a new arrival.
Ironically, I probably would not have even contributed here tonight, if I hadn't gotten upset when I was about to post to the "Has anyone read this before?" thread started by "ConvertedFromPC" and found that it had been closed. That particular thread discussed information about the infamous G5, supposedly from an Apple employee.
But the following messages after the alleged Apple employee report consisted of nothing but "that was BS" posts...nothing but messages claiming the entire report was false. Not a single bit of actual reasoning or logic to validate the claim that the report was false, just more of the same negativity found in Apple rumor forums everywhere.
I mean, there are still people who don't believe the G5 exists, for crying out loud! They'd rather believe that Steve Jobs, the masterful visionary who led Apple to success with the release of every single new iProduct (hardware and software) over the last 3 years, has intentionally let the PowerMac line become a joke. Steve Jobs, Reality Distortion Field aside, knows business...and knows Apple needs something more than just an improved G4.
The PowerMac line is due for a major overall. It should be clear to anyone that the QuickSilver case was a stop-gap...a slight adjustment to better fit with the current color scheme. The periodic speed bumps we've been getting are fair, but not stunning. The Dual-1 GHz machine was announced in a press release, with no fanfare whatsoever. Why do you think that is?
Apple knows about DDR, and faster FSB! (See the XServe for proof.) They know we want ATA/100, and FireWire 2...even USB 2 for the spec-a-holics in us. Do you think Steve hasn't cringed a little inside with each new PowerMac G4 upgrade, knowing the ridicule and sadness it always brings the Apple fanatics? Do you believe we're really seeing all Apple has to offer, and their very best work? Absolutely not.
Regardless of whether you call it a G5 or not, Apple has been working on a 64-bit next-generation processor for nearly 2 years now. They know about Itanium and Clawhammer, and have their own plan of attack. Anyone who thinks otherwise, simply because THEY don't have the evidence they would like to prove it, is frankly misguided. The only logical reason why so many new technologies mentioned above haven't made it to the G4 systems yet is because Steve wants to save every single bit of the "wow" factor for when the next generation PowerMac is introduced.
I could continue on my rant to further explore my logic on this, but I am going to stop now...even I realize I've gone on way too long. I will soon click "Add Reply" on this screen, knowing that when I come back to this forum tomorrow morning I may have been the next target for the angry mob. Because since I can't give a release date, or a spec sheet, I will almost certainly be crucified for my remarks.
And that, Lymphoid, is why I suggest that you don't let the negativity get you down. A lot of people read these forums. The relatively small group of vocal forum-goers that attack every new thought posted here do not necessarily represent the majority view.
-- Ensoniq
Well I appreciated your post. Speaking only for myself, I would love to get my hopes up. And yes, I certainly could be called of being overly negative. I admit it. I do it because frankly I don't want to set up expectations "too high" as many have stated.
But your post made me feel good for another reason. Sure it *might* be unreasonable to expect the world for the next expo, but it is good to appreciate the fact that being overly negative and acting like a little kid stomping around in his room because he's sure he isn't going to get what he wants is rather silly too. I think myself and some others are over-medicating ourselves with emotional padding because:
1. we work with Apple every day (I make my living using a PB every day, for most of the day)
2. we care a lot about what Apple is and what it stands for
3. we want Apple to succeed and are tired of other things in the industry
4. we want more bang for the buck and know that Apple is capable of giving us this bang if Motorola and other "get their act together" -- in whatever form that means.
So for me, thanks. I for the first time in several years have actually fallen for this "Apple is doomed" stuff. I think I'm going to lay off and just wait and see and worry about the demise of Apple until after I see what they do.
ok, this should do for 2002.
jkm
This may be fuzzy logic since I don't design chips but going on the fact that Motorola had an orderable part number for a 1.1 GHz MPC7455 on one of its webpages, and that .18 microns is ~1.385x.13...
1.385x1.1 = >1.5 GHz. 1.4 GHz doesn't seem that hard, though I guess AMD went to .13 and only went up to 1.8 GHz from 1.733.
So basically I have no idea.
1. leave the lowend machine on the current board
2. Create a second boaed for the temporary use of the bottom end machine
Of course #1 would seem to mitigate against a radical new case and #2 doesn't seem to make sense from a business perspective.
As far as all of us being in debt on credibility, the US government has operated with a huge debt for a number of years and no one seems to be marching on Washington with Pitchforks and torches???