Twin bank? From what I've gleaned, it's an attempt to increase Ram performance/bandwidth without a cpu running into a feeding 'starved of data' bottleneck. ie current memory may not be fast enough in single banks to feed a 970...so you feed the cpu with 'two at a time' ie to get 'effective speed'.
I just think of roads. Bit like the M25 ring road (for all those London commuters...)... Too much traffic? Take your four lanes and 'twin bank' it on 8 lanes...and hey presto, no traffic congestion...
Still, that's the theory...but in real life, whether motorways or internet or computers...we never seem to have enough 'road space/bandwidth'...
The [nvidia] TwinBank architecture is designed to provide a high degree of flexibility, scalability and upgradeability. Its technical benefits include:
Both 64-bit and 128-bit operations. In 64-bit mode, the DIMM can be located on either MC1 or MC2. In 128-bit mode, both MC1 (DIMM0) and MC2 (DIMM1 / DIMM2) are utilized.
Both controllers are functionally identical with all control and timing parameters independently programmable. This allows asymmetric DIMMs with different memory organization, size, and speed to be used on MC1 and MC2 and still provide the full performance benefits of the 128-bit memory system.
...
Support for odd total memory size; eg. 64MB + 128MB = 192MB, while still taking advantage of the 128-bit TwinBank architecture.
Another explanation for the dual sets of memory slots might be that apple made one type of prototype board for testing two different types of memory (among other things), which might be more cost effective.
This particular "partner" was then supposed to test only one memory tech, at least this particular team at this particular time.
I like the rumour of solid shipments. Yay, Twinky Cakes..! And a few rumour sites are leaky 970 details like there's no tomorrow. No rock-solid proof...but there's alot of smoke out there... Kinda choking on it...heh...cough...a-heh...!
Somebody over at Macrumors did a spec list based on the Loop rumors stuff...
1.4 Powerbook
1.6 single Powermac
1.8 Dual.
2.0 Dual. (Speaking of which...it would be simply awesome opp' to breach the 2 gig barrier. It says, 'We're back. And how.' It's too good an opp' to miss. Bump the line upto 2.5 gig later in the year with 1.8 as the starting number...)
Now that's what I call 'the Year of the Laptop!'
I'd much prefer that. That way, Apple can boast that the cpu in their laptop pans the latest 3 gig P4!!!
Still, having four 'Power'Macs with the lowest '1.4' with a more penetrating entry point re: price would be nice. Get a Mac tower for £999 and it spits bullets at a 3 gig P4? That would be Apple getting all Medieval on the Wintel mob.
Hey, you wanna kickstart the Tower line? Got to get aggressive. New Cpu, new OS...this opportunity won't be coming their way for many, many years.
I would like £250 price coverage for each model from £999 to £2k!
I was going to sell my TangBook and grab an iceBook and then later a low end, single 970 Powermac. Now? Now I'm all confused. (Happily confused, mind you).
TwinBank is really just a marketing buzzword for Dual Channel RAM. This allows more data throughput at the same clockspeed [think 2 pipes to the CPU rather than 1]
But, more important, there are 8 connectors of RAM on the board (probably PC3200) with which 4 are covered with enormous a "do not use" sticker on top. These 4 are cabled differently than the 4 others (no more info).
I can live with upgrading in pairs again. I suspect that they're cabled differently because they're the second channel.
Quote:
traditional heat sink.
Traditional as in Radeon 9700 heatsink (normal) or as in GeForce FX 5900/Dual G4 heatsink (space station)?
Quote:
Get a Mac tower for £999 and it spits bullets at a 3 gig P4?
The current low end PowerMac is £978 without VAT; £999 including VAT is £824 excluding VAT.
Powerbooks would get the low power 1.2 GHz varient of the 970. I don't think IBM mentioned a 1.4GHz low power, only 1 and 1.2 (I could be off on this one). I think the normal 1.4GHz 970 would be too much heat (I think it uses more than a G4, while the low power uses less).
Quote:
And after MWSF
0) eMac 1.2 and 1.4 G4
1) iMac 1.4 and 1.6
2) PowerBook 1.4 (12") 1.6 (15" and 17")
3) PM single 1.8
4) PM dual 2.0
5) PM dual 2.3 or 2.5
( 6) PM ultra dual 2.5)
eMac could stay G4 or go 970, so that sounds reasonable.
iMac would probably go 1.2GHz (low power, fanless ), and maybe 1.4 (a 600MHz jump is a little much for one update to an iMac).
Powerbooks wouldn't see an update so soon if they get updated at or around WWDC/MWNY, and would just progress with the low power 970's (so if new low power chips were available, the PBooks could get updated with them).
Powermacs sound reasonable schedule wise.
But you forgot iBooks I am still thinking they will move to GOBI, and then to the 850 (SIMD, rapid-io, super G3). Go IBM!!
It could be.....labour in Taiwan is way cheaper than in US
An article a while back on Macworld said Apple was going more and more Taiwan to cut costs and be competitive with their competitors (yes, that's Wintel, folks...)
Good call, Apple. It allows cheaper prices and a chance for growth. They can't sustain the 'treading on water' and the kind of pounding their overpriced/stagnant G4s were giving their tower sales. The greater range of cpu clock the 970 offers will help broaden the tower range.
A further price cut on the tower range (with lower entry point) coupled with a 970 cpu boost will allow for a reversal of their tower sales. A cpu boost alone...nope...A further realignment of prices will be necessary. The days of £1350 entry points for an upgradable tower should be well over. If they can get just one 970 single cpu tower at £1k, they've done their job.
Powerbooks would get the low power 1.2 GHz varient of the 970. I don't think IBM mentioned a 1.4GHz low power, only 1 and 1.2 (I could be off on this one). I think the normal 1.4GHz 970 would be too much heat (I think it uses more than a G4, while the low power uses less).
I don't think there is a special low power version of the 970. The 1.2 just has lower power consumption than the 1.6 and 1.8 and therefore is cooler. I don't know exactly how the 1.4 970 will compare with the current 1.0 G4, but they can't use that much more power.
Quote:
eMac could stay G4 or go 970, so that sounds reasonable.
Will probably stay G4 for a while, at least a bit longer than the iMac
Quote:
iMac would probably go 1.2GHz (low power, fanless ), and maybe 1.4 (a 600MHz jump is a little much for one update to an iMac).
Hey, if Apple can get a 1.4 ghz processor into the iMac they will even if it is a 600 mhz increase in clockspeed. The iMac is a premium machine and deserves a premium processor. Right now it looks like a Porsche but has a engine of a Lada
Quote:
Powerbooks wouldn't see an update so soon if they get updated at or around WWDC/MWNY, and would just progress with the low power 970's (so if new low power chips were available, the PBooks could get updated with them).
Waybe they will get the 970+
Quote:
Powermacs sound reasonable schedule wise.
But you forgot iBooks I am still thinking they will move to GOBI, and then to the 850 (SIMD, rapid-io, super G3). Go IBM!!
Gobi is very likely I think. Hope we'll see them soon.
If all the chips are going to taiwan (foxconn) does this mean that apple will no longer make powermacs in california?
It probably just means that motherboard production is in Taiwan (is any PC motherboard made in the US?). Final assembly will probably still be done in Apple's own plants.
Good call on Taiwan. Better for Apple to grow their marketshare on the backs of slave laborers than to employ Californians, and there's always the extra benefit of doing more complex designs in Taiwan, because the children workers can fit their hands in places adults can't reach!
I could have sworn there was a special low power varient running at 1 and 1.2 GHz. I could be wrong, but I could have sworn....
The G4@1 GHz uses something like 15-22 Watts. A [email protected] uses about 24 W. So a little hotter, but not as bad as I thought...
I think what you might be refering to was the voltage setting for the 1.2's, and wattage that they will consume. The info dosnt state that there is a seperate low power design for the chip.
Quote:
At 1.8GHz, the PowerPC 970 will consume 1.3-volts and dissipate 42-Watts. At 1.2 GHz, the PowerPC 970 will consume 1.1-volts and dissipate only 19-Watts. For comparison, a 1GHz G4 consumes 1.6-volts and dissipates 21.3-Watts.
As for the predictions for the new lin-up. The rumours on Mother Boards suggest that there are 2 seperate designs, one for singles and one for duals. If this is true, and the second design isnt for another product, such as the iMac or Cube successor, then I would imagine that there will be more singles, possibly extending through the entire speed range. I could see Apple spending the extra money to produce a special board for the high end where they have a higher margin, but not in the low end where price pressures keep their margins lower.
This combined with that rumor we had a few weeks ago about Apple having chosen final motherboard designs with Hon Hai (one DP, the other single) makes me wonder if we have some great things coming for notebooks before year-end; I wouldn't expect them before November or December, though.
People pointed out that Hon Hai was typically the chosen manufacturer for PBs/iBooks, and now that we might know where Power Mac components are being built, it could turn out those two MBs were for the 'books. It would be pure gold for Steve to be able to debut a dual-970 17" PowerBook alongside a 970-powered 15" and 12". But I wouldn't count on seeing either til the smaller die process 970 rolls around -- which could be before the first quarter of Apple's fiscal year.
Comments
I just think of roads. Bit like the M25 ring road (for all those London commuters...)... Too much traffic? Take your four lanes and 'twin bank' it on 8 lanes...and hey presto, no traffic congestion...
Still, that's the theory...but in real life, whether motorways or internet or computers...we never seem to have enough 'road space/bandwidth'...
Starts scratching armpit awkwardly...
Lemon Bon Bon
The [nvidia] TwinBank architecture is designed to provide a high degree of flexibility, scalability and upgradeability. Its technical benefits include:
Screed
This particular "partner" was then supposed to test only one memory tech, at least this particular team at this particular time.
Somebody over at Macrumors did a spec list based on the Loop rumors stuff...
1.4 Powerbook
1.6 single Powermac
1.8 Dual.
2.0 Dual. (Speaking of which...it would be simply awesome opp' to breach the 2 gig barrier. It says, 'We're back. And how.' It's too good an opp' to miss. Bump the line upto 2.5 gig later in the year with 1.8 as the starting number...)
Now that's what I call 'the Year of the Laptop!'
I'd much prefer that. That way, Apple can boast that the cpu in their laptop pans the latest 3 gig P4!!!
Still, having four 'Power'Macs with the lowest '1.4' with a more penetrating entry point re: price would be nice. Get a Mac tower for £999 and it spits bullets at a 3 gig P4? That would be Apple getting all Medieval on the Wintel mob.
Hey, you wanna kickstart the Tower line? Got to get aggressive. New Cpu, new OS...this opportunity won't be coming their way for many, many years.
I would like £250 price coverage for each model from £999 to £2k!
I sez dey walk out de stores...
Lemon Bon Bon
<wishful> 15.4" 1.4 GHz 970 AlBook.</wishful> Zowie!
I was going to sell my TangBook and grab an iceBook and then later a low end, single 970 Powermac. Now? Now I'm all confused. (Happily confused, mind you).
Screed
Originally posted by Leonis
Can anyone explain what TwinBank is?
TwinBank is really just a marketing buzzword for Dual Channel RAM. This allows more data throughput at the same clockspeed [think 2 pipes to the CPU rather than 1]
Originally posted by keyboardf12
If all the chips are going to taiwan (foxconn) does this mean that apple will no longer make powermacs in california?
It could be.....labour in Taiwan is way cheaper than in US
But, more important, there are 8 connectors of RAM on the board (probably PC3200) with which 4 are covered with enormous a "do not use" sticker on top. These 4 are cabled differently than the 4 others (no more info).
I can live with upgrading in pairs again.
traditional heat sink.
Traditional as in Radeon 9700 heatsink (normal) or as in GeForce FX 5900/Dual G4 heatsink (space station)?
Get a Mac tower for £999 and it spits bullets at a 3 gig P4?
The current low end PowerMac is £978 without VAT; £999 including VAT is £824 excluding VAT.
A possibly relevant article from The Register:
IBM rumoured to be building 65nm fab for AMD....
Originally posted by Stoo
A possibly relevant article from The Register:
IBM rumoured to be building 65nm fab for AMD....
Nice article, but
I have a hard time believing the register.
Originally posted by NETROMac
So what will it be:
When introduced at the WWDC:
a) PM single 1.4
b) PM dual 1.6
c) PM dual 1.8
This sounds reasonable.
A) PowerBooks 1.4 (15" and 17") with 1ghz 12"
C) PM dual 1.8
D) PM dual 2.0
Powerbooks would get the low power 1.2 GHz varient of the 970. I don't think IBM mentioned a 1.4GHz low power, only 1 and 1.2 (I could be off on this one). I think the normal 1.4GHz 970 would be too much heat (I think it uses more than a G4, while the low power uses less).
And after MWSF
0) eMac 1.2 and 1.4 G4
1) iMac 1.4 and 1.6
2) PowerBook 1.4 (12") 1.6 (15" and 17")
3) PM single 1.8
4) PM dual 2.0
5) PM dual 2.3 or 2.5
( 6) PM ultra dual 2.5)
eMac could stay G4 or go 970, so that sounds reasonable.
iMac would probably go 1.2GHz (low power, fanless
Powerbooks wouldn't see an update so soon if they get updated at or around WWDC/MWNY, and would just progress with the low power 970's (so if new low power chips were available, the PBooks could get updated with them).
Powermacs sound reasonable schedule wise.
But you forgot iBooks
It could be.....labour in Taiwan is way cheaper than in US
An article a while back on Macworld said Apple was going more and more Taiwan to cut costs and be competitive with their competitors (yes, that's Wintel, folks...)
Good call, Apple. It allows cheaper prices and a chance for growth. They can't sustain the 'treading on water' and the kind of pounding their overpriced/stagnant G4s were giving their tower sales. The greater range of cpu clock the 970 offers will help broaden the tower range.
A further price cut on the tower range (with lower entry point) coupled with a 970 cpu boost will allow for a reversal of their tower sales. A cpu boost alone...nope...A further realignment of prices will be necessary. The days of £1350 entry points for an upgradable tower should be well over. If they can get just one 970 single cpu tower at £1k, they've done their job.
Lemon Bon Bon
Originally posted by kupan787
This sounds reasonable.
Maybe too reasonable
Powerbooks would get the low power 1.2 GHz varient of the 970. I don't think IBM mentioned a 1.4GHz low power, only 1 and 1.2 (I could be off on this one). I think the normal 1.4GHz 970 would be too much heat (I think it uses more than a G4, while the low power uses less).
I don't think there is a special low power version of the 970. The 1.2 just has lower power consumption than the 1.6 and 1.8 and therefore is cooler. I don't know exactly how the 1.4 970 will compare with the current 1.0 G4, but they can't use that much more power.
eMac could stay G4 or go 970, so that sounds reasonable.
Will probably stay G4 for a while, at least a bit longer than the iMac
iMac would probably go 1.2GHz (low power, fanless
Hey, if Apple can get a 1.4 ghz processor into the iMac they will even if it is a 600 mhz increase in clockspeed. The iMac is a premium machine and deserves a premium processor. Right now it looks like a Porsche but has a engine of a Lada
Powerbooks wouldn't see an update so soon if they get updated at or around WWDC/MWNY, and would just progress with the low power 970's (so if new low power chips were available, the PBooks could get updated with them).
Waybe they will get the 970+
Powermacs sound reasonable schedule wise.
But you forgot iBooks
Gobi is very likely I think. Hope we'll see them soon.
Originally posted by keyboardf12
If all the chips are going to taiwan (foxconn) does this mean that apple will no longer make powermacs in california?
Aren't they just assembling them in California and Ireland?
Originally posted by keyboardf12
If all the chips are going to taiwan (foxconn) does this mean that apple will no longer make powermacs in california?
It probably just means that motherboard production is in Taiwan (is any PC motherboard made in the US?). Final assembly will probably still be done in Apple's own plants.
Originally posted by NETROMac
Maybe too reasonable
I don't think there is a special low power version of the 970. The 1.2 just has lower power consumption than the 1.6 and 1.8 and therefore is cooler.
I could have sworn there was a special low power varient running at 1 and 1.2 GHz. I could be wrong, but I could have sworn....
I don't know exactly how the 1.4 970 will compare with the current 1.0 G4, but they can't use that much more power.
The G4@1 GHz uses something like 15-22 Watts. A [email protected] uses about 24 W. So a little hotter, but not as bad as I thought...
Maybe someone with apple friends in the Sacramento area can chime in?
Originally posted by kupan787
I could have sworn there was a special low power varient running at 1 and 1.2 GHz. I could be wrong, but I could have sworn....
The G4@1 GHz uses something like 15-22 Watts. A [email protected] uses about 24 W. So a little hotter, but not as bad as I thought...
I think what you might be refering to was the voltage setting for the 1.2's, and wattage that they will consume. The info dosnt state that there is a seperate low power design for the chip.
At 1.8GHz, the PowerPC 970 will consume 1.3-volts and dissipate 42-Watts. At 1.2 GHz, the PowerPC 970 will consume 1.1-volts and dissipate only 19-Watts. For comparison, a 1GHz G4 consumes 1.6-volts and dissipates 21.3-Watts.
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2002/10/16/ibm/
As for the predictions for the new lin-up. The rumours on Mother Boards suggest that there are 2 seperate designs, one for singles and one for duals. If this is true, and the second design isnt for another product, such as the iMac or Cube successor, then I would imagine that there will be more singles, possibly extending through the entire speed range. I could see Apple spending the extra money to produce a special board for the high end where they have a higher margin, but not in the low end where price pressures keep their margins lower.
People pointed out that Hon Hai was typically the chosen manufacturer for PBs/iBooks, and now that we might know where Power Mac components are being built, it could turn out those two MBs were for the 'books. It would be pure gold for Steve to be able to debut a dual-970 17" PowerBook alongside a 970-powered 15" and 12". But I wouldn't count on seeing either til the smaller die process 970 rolls around -- which could be before the first quarter of Apple's fiscal year.