End of Powerbook Speculation?
OK,
Since everyone's been playing the "it'll be tomorrow...ok, then the next day, or the day after that" game regarding PB updates, let me throw in my 2 cents...
Apple would prefer to announce upgrades to both the PB and the iMac in Paris on the 16th, and has been carefully trying to monitor/control inventory_in the hopes of being able to hold off an announcement until then...
If, and only if there is a sudden "rush" on the existing PB line this week, will you hear anything before the 16th.
Granted, I'm a novice speculator (and a recent switcher), but I work in/understand marketing.
What will we hear from Steve: "PowerMac sales (the world's fastest PC) have exceeded expectations, and are now available in our retail stores! iPod sales have continued to amaze, and we are therefore announcing a way for people to take their iPod experience even further with our new home stereo remote/dock solution; PANTHER will be released on October ??...What can we do to top ourselves? Today we're announcing the new PowerBook lineup:...
17" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
15" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
12" PB G5 1.0 Ghz
available in November (really Dec-Jan)
and the new iBook:
14" iBook G4 1.0 Ghz
12" iBook G4 867 Mhz
available immediately.
Since everyone's been playing the "it'll be tomorrow...ok, then the next day, or the day after that" game regarding PB updates, let me throw in my 2 cents...
Apple would prefer to announce upgrades to both the PB and the iMac in Paris on the 16th, and has been carefully trying to monitor/control inventory_in the hopes of being able to hold off an announcement until then...
If, and only if there is a sudden "rush" on the existing PB line this week, will you hear anything before the 16th.
Granted, I'm a novice speculator (and a recent switcher), but I work in/understand marketing.
What will we hear from Steve: "PowerMac sales (the world's fastest PC) have exceeded expectations, and are now available in our retail stores! iPod sales have continued to amaze, and we are therefore announcing a way for people to take their iPod experience even further with our new home stereo remote/dock solution; PANTHER will be released on October ??...What can we do to top ourselves? Today we're announcing the new PowerBook lineup:...
17" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
15" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
12" PB G5 1.0 Ghz
available in November (really Dec-Jan)
and the new iBook:
14" iBook G4 1.0 Ghz
12" iBook G4 867 Mhz
available immediately.
Comments
Originally posted by Sport73
What will we hear from Steve: "PowerMac sales (the world's fastest PC) have exceeded expectations, and are now available in our retail stores! iPod sales have continued to amaze, and we are therefore announcing a way for people to take their iPod experience even further with our new home stereo remote/dock solution; PANTHER will be released on October ??...What can we do to top ourselves? Today we're announcing the new PowerBook lineup:...
17" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
15" PB G5 1.2 Ghz
12" PB G5 1.0 Ghz
available in November (really Dec-Jan)
and the new iBook:
14" iBook G4 1.0 Ghz
12" iBook G4 867 Mhz
available immediately.
If he announces new Powerbooks at Paris, they'll be G5s. If they are upgraded this week, they will be G4s and we'll see G5s at MWSF. My guess for Paris...
1.4 Ghz G5 in 17"
1.2-1.4 Ghz G5s in 15"
MAYBE a G5 in the 12, but I doubt it. If not that'll go to 1 Ghz G4.
It just makes more sense. No way in hell that we waited 10 months for a measly 200-300 Mhz speed bump with the 15" coming in line with 17" features.
And I just don't see the G4 making into iBooks. They would have to clock from 900-1000 Mhz, and there is no way the iBook is equipped to handle the heat. The iBook will be G3 or G3+ (Gobi, whatever) I think IBM has big plans for G3, it's not dead yet like Moto's G4.
But really guys, think about it. If 1.2 Ghz G4 Powerbooks were announced, they would ship immediately. Personally, I think the Aluminum enclosure was built specifically for the G5. I have no clue why Apple decided to intro them early, except maybe to spark some enthusiasm in the line. And boy did it work. The G5 in it's current state can easily fit into a Powerbook at 1.2 and MAYBE even 1.4 Ghz. Especially since it dissipates the same amount of head as a G4 running at equal or lesser speed. What is the current die size of the G4 in Powerboks now, I read somewhere it was at 180nm, I might be wrong. The 970s are currently at 130nm, but then again, I don't know anything about processor fabbing. All the common sense evidence points to G5s in Powerbooks at Paris.
EDIT: I'm an idiot, I thought it said G4...SORRY...I'll go back to my hole now.
but please, not another one of these threads, im new to posting, but i have been reading these same threads over and over and over again for the last 2 months.
Originally posted by DHagan4755
What about Bill M's encounter with the woman who said "a killer 15-inch replacement" PowerBook G5 for this week?
As much as I would love to believe the story, I got a feeling she might have been pulling the guy's chain. If she was telling the truth, I think we would hear a lot more stories like it. But her specs sounded pretty on target from what I read. So here's hopin. I've said it before, I am NOT spending any more money on another G4 product.
that is to say, more than one report has come in claiming powerbook supplies are low, particularly for the 15".
I want it now!!!.........
I have demonstrated how whining doesnt help....just sit back and enjoy Doink...(lol this is turning into an ad so fast)
15.4" Aluminum enclosure 1" thick
G5 at 1.4 Ghz
1 GB RAM
80GB Hard Drive
Radeon 9600 w/ 128MB Video RAM
Airport Extreme
Bluetooth
If it happens, I'll be first in line at my Apple Store, if not, I'll wait for something like that or close to it...and no, a G4 just won't cut it anymore.
My apologies if this has been covered in other PB threads already, but...
Is there anyone out there who can speak to the nature of a processor fab and the kinds of yields one is likely to see for a given chip? I'm speaking, of course, about the G5.
Specifically: if IBM is targeting for 2.0Ghz on the high end, how likely are we to see < 1.6Ghz chips produced simultaneously?
I think it's a fair question to ask in the midst of this endless PB speculation. If, in the process of fabbing 2.0Ghz parts, IBM also ends up with a bunch of slower-clocked, notebook-friendly chips, then G5 PBs seem like a no-brainer for Apple.
On the other hand, if producing < 1.6Ghz chips meant risking yield of high-speed parts... well, this would be a bad tradeoff. The resurrection of the Power Mac line, Apple's claim to the "fastest personal computer" crown, etc. must take priority over an already-successful notebook line, IMHO.
So, can anyone out there authoritatively speak to this? What does the distribution curve, in terms of maximum clock speed, look like for chips going through the same process?
Originally posted by dglow
filmmaker, if your prediction comes true I'll be right there in line with you!
My apologies if this has been covered in other PB threads already, but...
Is there anyone out there who can speak to the nature of a processor fab and the kinds of yields one is likely to see for a given chip? I'm speaking, of course, about the G5.
Specifically: if IBM is targeting for 2.0Ghz on the high end, how likely are we to see < 1.6Ghz chips produced simultaneously?
I think it's a fair question to ask in the midst of this endless PB speculation. If, in the process of fabbing 2.0Ghz parts, IBM also ends up with a bunch of slower-clocked, notebook-friendly chips, then G5 PBs seem like a no-brainer for Apple.
On the other hand, if producing < 1.6Ghz chips meant risking yield of high-speed parts... well, this would be a bad tradeoff. The resurrection of the Power Mac line, Apple's claim to the "fastest personal computer" crown, etc. must take priority over an already-successful notebook line, IMHO.
So, can anyone out there authoritatively speak to this? What does the distribution curve, in terms of maximum clock speed, look like for chips going through the same process?
Actually, it's FAR more likely that the same chips speed-binned as 2.0GHz would be the ones used in laptops at 1.2 or 1.4 GHz. Those "better" chips are the ones that would run cooler and more efficiently at 'laptop' speeds. This is one of the reasons laptops can be more expensive. It certainly isn't always the case, with all processors, but with things like the G5, pushing the limits, I'm sure it would come into play.
Is it possible for there to be a G5 chip in a PB this year without setting the magnesium frame ablaze? Yeah. Is it possible to use the same controller chip from the G5 tower? Nope. At .13µ, it's too darn hot, uses too much power for a PB. OK, then, is it possible that IBM can fab the controller chip at .09µ this year so it can be used in a PB? Well, maybe. Am I going to get my hopes up this soon? Not likely.
Yeah, I know the Mot 7457 is lame, sorta. However, it does have twice the L2 cache as the previous G4 and it runs cooler so I wouldn't count it out as a good chip for the next PB.
I'll bet a 1.25 gig G4 PB will Xbench about the same or better than a 1.2 gig G5 PB. If Apple has these new G4 chips from Mot, why should it bust its tail to deliver a G5 PB before IBM can comfortably move to the .09µ process? The existing 1 gig 17" has an Xbench score at 99+ while a 1.6 G5 comes in at less than 130. Extrapolate up for the G4 and down for the G5 and you see what I mean.
I don't think PB or iMac updates will be mentioned by Jobs at Paris. Maybe most of the keynote will be about Panther, a shipping date, the iTMS and when it'll be available for Europe, the iPod and some new goodies for it like a plug-in mic that turns the iPod into a dictation device (great for school!), new wireless keyboard and mouse, and maybe new display(s). That's a lot of stuff. Last year, it was all about software. Maybe some new iApp will be announced or some major update.
As much as I'd love to see a G5 PB this year, I really doubt it'll happen. When it does happen, it won't be a lame 1.2 or 1.4 GHz. It'll be a stunning 1.8 or 2 GHz using the new, cooler .09µ process.
If Steve really wanted to rub it in, we'd see new iPods with low-power G4's. (Moto is going in the embedded direction, remember?)
Originally posted by Rolo
As much as I'd love to see a G5 PB this year, I really doubt it'll happen. When it does happen, it won't be a lame 1.2 or 1.4 GHz. It'll be a stunning 1.8 or 2 GHz using the new, cooler .09µ process.
Have not posted for some time now, because we keep rehashing the same old PB 'stuff'. Anyways, have to agree with Rolo - whilst I admire any thoughts of a G5 now in a PB, a 7457 would be fine - as long as it isnt one of the rumoured specs floating around, 1.25G!, S..T!, like filmmaker said, surely we havent been waiting 10months for 250MHz!.
Cmon Apple give us something decent and just maybe competitive with PC's (1.6GHz). Now a 7457 at that speed I would buy in an instant. In any case I have a Ti400 and im due for an upgrade, and yes, even a 1.25 would seem MUCH better than a 400, but I would rather a G5 @ 1.2GHz.
"We'll always have Paris" - Rick Blaine in Casablanca.
Damn I love that movie.
Originally posted by Rolo
OK, I'll join the legion of pathetic lemmings.
... Is it possible to use the same controller chip from the G5 tower? Nope. At .13µ, it's too darn hot, uses too much power for a PB...
Interesting, do you have any numbers?
Originally posted by qazII
Didn't we recently have a "no G5 in Powerbook anytime soon" comment from Apple? How long does "anytime soon" last? I think we will see one more PBG4. This would set the stage for a "screw moto" MWSF, where we see both the Powerbook and iMac go G5, and the iBook get IBM's newer G3 (IBM's upcoming G3's have SIMD, right?).
If Steve really wanted to rub it in, we'd see new iPods with low-power G4's. (Moto is going in the embedded direction, remember?)
I think it was over a year ago that they said "No G4s in iBooks anytime soon" and we still don't have a G4 iBook.
Those of you expecting a G5 Powerbook before 2004 are going to be really upset when the next revision is released! I also clearly remember Moki saying that there wouldn't be a G5 Powerbook before Q2 2004!
Originally posted by qazII
Didn't we recently have a "no G5 in Powerbook anytime soon" comment from Apple?
yup. those people thinking they will see a g5 in a laptop before the end of the year (when we still have to get the friggin' g3's out of the ibooks) are utterly delusional.
if it's any consolation to you folks, though, if this were motorola, i wouldn't expect to see g5's in a laptop until next summer or fall, but since it's ibm, i'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt and say january or next wwdc in spring.
I know everyone is waiting for the 15 but i'm looking into the 12pb,
also, when or if the ibooks will have superdrive?
p.s. superdrive speeds updated?????