Even more disapointing TS news
Well according to TS they have now say that PCI-E and Dual Core is defiantly not in the cards for the next update. The update wont even feature a new processor, yup they are just using a 200 mhz speed bumped FX. So what do we have after almost a year of waiting...200mhz...period. Ram and hardrive and small GPU updates are irrelivent. If this is true then apple has sinked to a new low. I would be ashamed of putting out an update like this after a year. For apple's sake I really hope TS is wrong about this update and goes down in flames after the annoucment is made.
Comments
Originally posted by Kickaha
I give it 50/50 that TS is dead on, due to problems at IBM, or that Apple is performing aggressive leak control and feeding out misinformation to see who's leaking it.
I wish I could be more optimistic..but Im willing to bet that this info is true.
If this is true then apple has sinked to a new low.
I take it you weren't a Mac user back during the Powermac G4 500Mhz debacle. This is childs play by comparison.
Originally posted by hypoluxa
I wish I could be more optimistic..but Im willing to bet that this info is true.
Cheer up!
Perhaps these machines will be 'the first' to ship with 16X SuperDrives and DL support - (i.e. Apple might choose to de-cripple the drives that they have been installing for however many months...).
Originally posted by Messiah
Cheer up!
Perhaps these machines will be 'the first' to ship with 16X SuperDrives and DL support - (i.e. Apple might choose to de-cripple the drives that they have been installing for however many months...).
Oh boy. Now were pushing the limits.
Originally posted by Messiah
Cheer up!
Perhaps these machines will be 'the first' to ship with 16X SuperDrives and DL support - (i.e. Apple might choose to de-cripple the drives that they have been installing for however many months...).
They couldn't if they wanted to. It'd be a PR nightmare.
Suddenly all the Powermacs with Superdrive "B" would gain DL support whilst those with Superdrive "C" would not because the drives were sourced from two different manufacturers. Apple doesn't do it out of spite if they must limit the functioning of a device.
Originally posted by hmurchison
I take it you weren't a Mac user back during the Powermac G4 500Mhz debacle. This is childs play by comparison.
Haha im currently a proud owner of the system you speak of At least back then they were updating every six months or so...even though they sometimes went backwards 50mhz
My feeling is at WWDC we'll see the new Powermac and I doubt Steve Jobs is just updating Powermacs by 200mhz.
I am confident something better is coming.
Once again, TS is under the gun. Whoever leeks information is scare to do so now. They are just speculating, i don't think they have any real info.
Originally posted by gugy
Once again, TS is under the gun. Whoever leeks information is scare to do so now. They are just speculating, i don't think they have any real info.
No one knows what really happens. But then again, if Apple can release something good at WWDC (say 970MP-based dual processor Power Macs - the famous Quad Mac), why let Intel steal the thunder like they did? And AMD follows soon.
Sorry, but I am afraid TS is right. I don't want to believe it, but there is zero evidence that they are wrong. It is just that the Power Mac is approaching one year without any update, and the alleged new machines will have an 8% improvement in performance in the high end, that make us willing to reject TS prediction as false.
What probably will happen though is that Steve will announce and discuss the 970MP and GX, as well as a new mobo, at WWDC, but they won't ship until August or September. This is where things like PCIe will be added to the PMacs. If I'm right, then this may also see the introduction of the long awaited PBook G5, even if it doesn't ship until fall.
In addition, a large part of the Stevenote will probably focus on Blu-Ray and HD DVD. My guess is that Apple is pushing the "agnostic front" route. It supports Blu-ray, but wants to avoid a pointless format war. (In a format war, Blu-ray would lose simply because of naming conventions; but in a world where burners and players don't care which media you use, Blu-ray will triumph ultimately.)
PS. Although Intel and Opteron dual-core chips will be in production by June, we won't see them in high volume until August. PC devotees will have a few months of bragging rights, but little more than that.
Originally posted by DCQ
PS. Although Intel and Opteron dual-core chips will be in production by June, we won't see them in high volume until August. PC devotees will have a few months of bragging rights, but little more than that.
The problem I see is marketing, the impressions war. I think Apple is in vital need to show that they are able to innovate and lead the industry. Their place in this market is of low tolerance in such "mistakes".
And I am wondering: where is IBM's expertise in dual core designs? What happened in the meantime? It is sad, to say the least, to have on your side the only big chip designer and producer, with long experience in dual core designs, manufacture for you a processor (G5) coming already from a dual core server chip (Power4), and nevertheless join (too?) late the dual core party. If the TS rumor is proved to be true, we have to recognise that this would be a harsh slap in the face for Apple and, mostly, IBM.
Intel and AMD are just selling dual core, tiger is here, the new video suite is here, maya unlimited is here, domm 3 and a lot of application that need cpu power are here. And Adobe and Macromedia are 1 now, so we must espect even worst porting on mac platform, so more power to compete with pc.
every month without a brad new mobo pmac is a step behind in market for apple
at least in my opinion... and sorry for bad and poor english
Originally posted by hypoluxa
I remember reading about the previous PM update here or at another mac site and the rumors ended being true. I can't prove it obviously but I swear I read it somewhere here or in the ether.
If you are talking about the Power Mac updates before WWDC last year, then yeah, you are right. No one could believe that the 3 GHz promise was lost in the dust. No one could believe that IBM had so big manufacturing problems with the 970FX. It seems that history likes to repeat itself.
Originally posted by PB
The problem I see is marketing, the impressions war. I think Apple is in vital need to show that they are able to innovate and lead the industry. Their place in this market is of low tolerance in such "mistakes".
And I am wondering: where is IBM's expertise in dual core designs? What happened in the meantime? It is sad, to say the least, to have on your side the only big chip designer and producer, with long experience in dual core designs, manufacture for you a processor (G5) coming already from a dual core server chip (Power4), and nevertheless join (too?) late the dual core party. If the TS rumor is proved to be true, we have to recognise that this would be a harsh slap in the face for Apple and, mostly, IBM.
I agree to an extent. But it's not all that desperate. Apple has survived much worse. As for adopting things like PCIe, etc. Apple has to be very careful not to fracture their market too much. Given how few PMacs they sell in general, they can't be too bleeding edge because few manufacturers will earn anything from making a product for a fraction (new PMacs) of a fraction (the PMacs) of a fraction (the Mac market as a whole) of the market. Frustrating perhaps, but that's the niche we're in.
Apple's CPU growth opportunity right now is with the the iMac and the mini, and lifestyle accessories like iPod, Airport Express, Bluetooth phones, movie making, music making, digital music dloads, Blu-ray/HDDVD, and (perhaps) the long awaited (and prematurely hyped) golden convergence. And that's where I think we'll see real "innovation." (I'm particularly excited about the mini becoming an entertainment media server--a kicka$$ BT remote, plus Blu-ray/HDDVD player/burner, plus HD encoding, plus a nice HDTV, plus a surround sound system would rock.)
As for IBM's expertise in dual-core design and production. Yeah, it's a bit sad. But the G5 has increased leaps beyond the P4 in the same timeframe. If we have to wait a few months for volume shipment of something that the PC world will only see trickle amounts of in the meantime, then...whatever. It's not really the end of the world for Apple. If we survived Moto, then we can survive pretty much anything. IBM has their own problems and Apple is a small--but important--concern for them. If the migration to 90nm and dual core hit a small (but larger than expected) speed bump, then at least we can say with pride that we will have the smoothest 32- to 64-bit transition imaginable (while the PC world is still wondering where it's going), not to mention the fact that our OS of choice is now something like 2 generations ahead of Windows.
Does it suck that Doom3 is barely playable on a $3000 Apple rig, while it's smooth as silk on a $1500 Wintel box? For some, maybe. In terms of bragging right, definitely. (But we've all known that gaming has been less-than-ideal on the Mac for going on 7 years.)
I'm at the point where I've faced up to the fact that the Mac market simply cannot compete with the vast amounts of capital that Intel has to throw at any given problem. And even when it falls flat on its face, as with the Itanic disaster, it has enough clout and money to just shrug it off, when a similar move would spell certain doom for a smaller company. The only way this will change is with increased market share. At this point, Apple's intelligence, foresight, and flexibility have allowed it to keep pace. If it doubles or triples its market share, and is able to throw more money at problems (and convince others like IBM to take greater risks for that market), then who knows what can happen.
Until then, I'm getting tons done on my four-year-old Quicksilver, and impressing the crap out of my coworkers and family with homemade DVDs, slideshows, GB songs, etc. When they come over to see me work, every single one does a double-take when I hit Expose. (I sometimes just do it on purpose to see their reactions.) And several members of my wife's family are possible converts on the strength of iChat AV/iSight and iMovie/iDVD. They could really give a rat's a$$ about dual-core chips, PCIe, and the like. Their biggest excitement in terms of computers is when AOL releases new emoticons, and their biggest computer headache is--bar none--viruses. (The main obstacle is that my step-father-in-law's favorite golf game isn't on the Mac... )
By the time the fall semester starts, this crisis too shall have passed. And hopefully, a bunch of iPod-using Wintel converts will wonder what the heck we were worried about.
http://www.amd.com/us-en/0,,3715_11787,00.html
This kinda stuff tells us why IBM is dragging it's feet.
The e326's dual-core technology design puts IBM in the lead to help customers transition to future dual-core solutions. "Designing for the dual-core specification, IBM has invested to enable our customers to be more confident with their hardware investments," said Alex Yost, director of product marketing, IBM eServer. "For organizations with high-performance computing demands that want investment protection and a migration path from 32-to-64-bit applications, the eServer 326 provides an optimum platform for clustering at an affordable price."
AMD Dual Core Overview
The AMD Opteron? processor was designed from the start to add a second core
Port already existed on crossbar/SRI
One die with 2 CPU cores, each core has its own 1MB L2 cache
Drops into existing AMD Opteron 940-pin sockets that are compatible with 90nm single core processors
A BIOS update was all that was necessary to get the 4-socket server up and running with dual-core AMD Opteron processors
The 2 CPU cores share the same memory and HyperTransport? technology resources found in single core AMD Opteron processors
Integrated memory controller and HyperTransport links route out the same as today?s implementation
Perhaps I should get a mini...
No PCI-E slots - check
No Blu-ray optical drive - check
What exactly is "new" about these lame excuses of machines.
Man, Apple can't buy any luck with CPU makers. First Moto, now IBM is giving it to them up the old butt.
I think IBM has to much focus on making chips for Sony, MS, and Nintendo and Apple is getting sloppy fourths.