The G4 speed bump has the advantage that it can be made with very small changes on the motherboard.
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Quote:
I think this would be the easiest way to increase the iMac's value proposition for the next 6-12 months while it's stuck with a G4. Hell, they could even get away with a price increase on the high-end.
Yeah, but do you guys really want Apple to do the easy thing?
I don't. I want Apple's engineers to design until their hands are bloody stumps... THT's list on the last page would be a great start, but with one change: Drop the price on the servers $1000 across the board, and drop the video. Dell has a 1U Poweredge 650 for $850, and I think a G4 Xserve would probably compete well in that space.
These numbers don't seem to make sense. Power consumption scales by the square of the ratio of the two voltages. Given 15.8 W at 1.3 V, a 1.1 V 7457 should be around 11.3 W. So one of the reported tables is wrong or they are both wrong.
These numbers don't seem to make sense. Power consumption scales by the square of the ratio of the two voltages. Given 15.8 W at 1.3 V, a 1.1 V 7457 should be around 11.3 W. So one of the reported tables is wrong or they are both wrong.
The low end is still not comparable price performance wise to x86, but once it's that low, people are a lot more forgiving given other redeeming features (software, industrial design, etc.). So, yes, I think the iMac should get a 1 to 1.4 GHz 970 processor and I trust Apple has the knowhow to make it quiet in a similarly stunning design as the current iMac.
iCEO THT, I really liked your line-up!
To me, that's where I'd like to see Apple's line-up go by early 04.
Question. Just where are all the 1.4 970 CPUs? Being stockpiled for iMac/Powerbook intro in the Fall? If not, what happened to them. The 970 was supposed to debut at that speed at the low end...are they running the processors a little hotter? Just curious... Maybe they found they could get good enough yields to skip the 1.4 and went for 1.6.
I still think that anything over 1K (Sterling) should be a G5 of some sort by Jan' 04/ish.
Glad THT's on board for the idea of a cheaper, headless Mac and he likes the mini-tower G5 thing. THT's line-up if fully featured and forgiving spread of product. It looks generous all round. Most people could fit into an Apple target group with a line-up like that. iCEO THT for Apple growth.
If I were looking to increase market share, that line up would do very nicely, thank you very much. Could you please email that to Apple?
Email to Apple? Really? You think they'll listen? I'm not sure if it is economically possible yet.
If Motorola was selling 1 GHz 7455 CPUs to Apple for around $200, and then sells 1 GHz 7457 CPUs to Apple for around $80, I can maybe see Apple selling a $600 eMac system:
$ 80 1 GHz 7457
$ 50 256 MB PC2100
$ 60 32 MB Radeon 9000
$ 40 40 GB ATA/66 disk
$ 50 DVD/CD-RW
$ 30 KeyLargo I/O (audio, USB, etc.)
$ 40 UniNorth northbridge
$ 80 Motherboard integration
$100 17" CRT
$ 50 Assembly
$580 Total
$145 25% Margin
$725 Price to customer excluding taxes and shipping
Doesn't quite make it. There are costs I just pulled out of thin air. Maybe Apple doesn't make 25% margin on low-end machines, or they can get parts for lower than pricewatch listing so a $599 price point is doable. For sub-1000$ machines, it's vital for Apple to have a <$80 CPU, and hopefully they can get a 1 GHz 7457 for that price.
With an iMac, a 17" monitor costs around $300, a 1.2 GHz 970 probably in the $150 to $200 range, a bigger system ASIC, more expensive memory, and all within a nifty industrial design package. That extra $700 (600 -> 1300) in cost I put up gets eaten up in a hurry... but I think it's in reason.
Well, as long as we're supposing - Why not make cases for the mini G5's and mini G4's the same as for the iMac's.
Looking from the top, it would have to be almost rectangular, throw in rounded edges for astetics. Smack dab in the top center would be an Apple logo that would be removable for mounting the arm for the LCD screen.
From the front it would be low profile similar to the 7500's but again with the rounded edges and corners for the astectics of the current iMacs. Heck, add some feet so the keyboard and mouse scoot under it out of the way.
(Think of taking a picture of a 7500 and a current iMac sans the LCD and running a morphing program and stopping half way in between.)
Order it headless, save money, order it AIO for convenience. If in the future you want to add an Apple LCD, buy the upgrade kit with the included support arm and LCD - instant iMac AIO.
Apple saves money on box design, one box fits four of the models and a total of 7 computers listed in your table.
As far as emailing Apple, sure why not, they have said they want to increase market share and your line up would definitely accomplish it. It's up to them to figure out how to sell at those price points, after all they're the experts, right.
Looprumors weighs in with more evidence of a Paris intro of new iMacs:
"According to information we just received, Apple plans to update the iMac line in September. These new iMacs should debut at Apple Expo, Paris. We're looking into exact changes, and will post them as soon as we have them."
Looks like 7457 G4s in both iMacs and Powerbooks at Apple Expo Paris. Makes sense to give both product lines the new chip at the same time.
Comments
The G4 speed bump has the advantage that it can be made with very small changes on the motherboard.
...
I think this would be the easiest way to increase the iMac's value proposition for the next 6-12 months while it's stuck with a G4. Hell, they could even get away with a price increase on the high-end.
Yeah, but do you guys really want Apple to do the easy thing?
I don't. I want Apple's engineers to design until their hands are bloody stumps... THT's list on the last page would be a great start, but with one change: Drop the price on the servers $1000 across the board, and drop the video. Dell has a 1U Poweredge 650 for $850, and I think a G4 Xserve would probably compete well in that space.
Originally posted by smalM
That is the table for the 1.3v version
Code:
Table 7. Power Consumption for MPC7457
Processor (CPU) Unit Notes
1 GHz
Typical 7.5 W 1, 2
Maximum 12.5 W 1, 3
...
Deep Sleep 2.0 W 1, 3
This is the table for the 1.1v version
These numbers don't seem to make sense. Power consumption scales by the square of the ratio of the two voltages. Given 15.8 W at 1.3 V, a 1.1 V 7457 should be around 11.3 W. So one of the reported tables is wrong or they are both wrong.
Originally posted by THT
These numbers don't seem to make sense. Power consumption scales by the square of the ratio of the two voltages. Given 15.8 W at 1.3 V, a 1.1 V 7457 should be around 11.3 W. So one of the reported tables is wrong or they are both wrong.
Both data sheets are still at the Motorola site:
MPC7457EC/D 1.3v version
MPC7457RXNXPNS/D 1.1v version
The low end is still not comparable price performance wise to x86, but once it's that low, people are a lot more forgiving given other redeeming features (software, industrial design, etc.). So, yes, I think the iMac should get a 1 to 1.4 GHz 970 processor and I trust Apple has the knowhow to make it quiet in a similarly stunning design as the current iMac.
iCEO THT, I really liked your line-up!
To me, that's where I'd like to see Apple's line-up go by early 04.
Question. Just where are all the 1.4 970 CPUs? Being stockpiled for iMac/Powerbook intro in the Fall? If not, what happened to them. The 970 was supposed to debut at that speed at the low end...are they running the processors a little hotter?
I still think that anything over 1K (Sterling) should be a G5 of some sort by Jan' 04/ish.
Glad THT's on board for the idea of a cheaper, headless Mac and he likes the mini-tower G5 thing. THT's line-up if fully featured and forgiving spread of product. It looks generous all round. Most people could fit into an Apple target group with a line-up like that. iCEO THT for Apple growth.
Lemon Bon Bon
Originally posted by rickag
THT
If I were looking to increase market share, that line up would do very nicely, thank you very much. Could you please email that to Apple?
Email to Apple? Really? You think they'll listen? I'm not sure if it is economically possible yet.
If Motorola was selling 1 GHz 7455 CPUs to Apple for around $200, and then sells 1 GHz 7457 CPUs to Apple for around $80, I can maybe see Apple selling a $600 eMac system:
$ 80 1 GHz 7457
$ 50 256 MB PC2100
$ 60 32 MB Radeon 9000
$ 40 40 GB ATA/66 disk
$ 50 DVD/CD-RW
$ 30 KeyLargo I/O (audio, USB, etc.)
$ 40 UniNorth northbridge
$ 80 Motherboard integration
$100 17" CRT
$ 50 Assembly
$580 Total
$145 25% Margin
$725 Price to customer excluding taxes and shipping
Doesn't quite make it. There are costs I just pulled out of thin air. Maybe Apple doesn't make 25% margin on low-end machines, or they can get parts for lower than pricewatch listing so a $599 price point is doable. For sub-1000$ machines, it's vital for Apple to have a <$80 CPU, and hopefully they can get a 1 GHz 7457 for that price.
With an iMac, a 17" monitor costs around $300, a 1.2 GHz 970 probably in the $150 to $200 range, a bigger system ASIC, more expensive memory, and all within a nifty industrial design package. That extra $700 (600 -> 1300) in cost I put up gets eaten up in a hurry... but I think it's in reason.
Looking from the top, it would have to be almost rectangular, throw in rounded edges for astetics. Smack dab in the top center would be an Apple logo that would be removable for mounting the arm for the LCD screen.
From the front it would be low profile similar to the 7500's but again with the rounded edges and corners for the astectics of the current iMacs. Heck, add some feet so the keyboard and mouse scoot under it out of the way.
(Think of taking a picture of a 7500 and a current iMac sans the LCD and running a morphing program and stopping half way in between.)
Order it headless, save money, order it AIO for convenience. If in the future you want to add an Apple LCD, buy the upgrade kit with the included support arm and LCD - instant iMac AIO.
Apple saves money on box design, one box fits four of the models and a total of 7 computers listed in your table.
As far as emailing Apple, sure why not, they have said they want to increase market share and your line up would definitely accomplish it. It's up to them to figure out how to sell at those price points, after all they're the experts, right.
"According to information we just received, Apple plans to update the iMac line in September. These new iMacs should debut at Apple Expo, Paris. We're looking into exact changes, and will post them as soon as we have them."
Looks like 7457 G4s in both iMacs and Powerbooks at Apple Expo Paris. Makes sense to give both product lines the new chip at the same time.
With prices the same and DVD burner and better graphical cards etc it will look better