What I'd like to see is for iBooks to get the Mobility Radeon 9700 and for the PowerBooks to get Mobility Radeon X700 256 MB VRAM in a PCIe 16x slot. Maybe that's what Apple is waiting on. It's true that with Tiger, the GPU now does much more work and not only when playing games, giving Apple much more reason to be less stingy when choosing GPU's for their computers.
Its impossible with the g4's architecture to run PCI-Express (let alone AGP 8x). This is why the powerbook still has a 9700. So you can count out a x700 for the time being.
iBooks are supposed to be low price low end machines. Asking to put a 9700 in one is like asking to put a 9700 in a mini. Price wise it doesn't add up. Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong, but I do believe that the e600 maxes out at AGP 8x.
I'd be happy with just a 9800 in a powerbook... OR at least have the powerbooks COME WITH 128mb vram built in. Or have it BTO on the 15" powerbooks.
Note that I said May 6th for DELIVERY...the mythical Tuesday, May 3rd could be when the iBook is RELEASED. I would never, ever assume that an Apple product could ever potentially or even possibly be released on any such day excepting Tuesday. Sunday shall be the countdown thus started, followed immediately by Monday, but nor should the countdown end on Monday, nay the releasse date must occur on Tuesday. Wednesday is totally unnacceptable...And THURSDAY IS RIGHT OUT! Tuesday is the day of the releasing....and the day of the releasing shall be Tuesday.
go monty python - may you opponents be blown to smithereens.
WOOT:
EDIT: Oh right, the answer to the thread. Well - to run the (admittadly) very pretty special FX in Tigger (t-i-double ggg-rrrrrrrr), you need at least an ATI Radeon 9600 - which is why imacs/powermacs went to this. personally, I would be happy with that GPU, though they will probably keep the AGP4x, just to seperate out the iMacs from the iBooks, and hell it saves them money on redoing all them motherboards.
you need at least an ATI Radeon 9600 - which is why imacs/powermacs went to this. personally, I would be happy with that GPU, though they will probably keep the AGP4x,
Sure do get tired of repeating myself...
7447a/b (g4's in general) architecture does NOT allow the gpu to go passed AGP 4x. They would have gone passed it a long time ago. This is why the Powerbooks have had a 9700 for so long.
Might want to do your homework next time. The FX 5200 Go has been in the 12" PowerBook ever since Sept. 2003, and it was only when it was first introduced that it shipped with 32 MB of video RAM. The April 2004 update (which I have) and the January 2005 update both have 64 MB of memory onboard.
I know the current 12" PowerBooks have a NVidia GeForce FX Go 5200 with 64MB RAM, but my point was Apple had a Core Image supported graphics card that had 32MB RAM. If Apple is intent on keeping the graphics cards in the "entry level" iBooks at 32MB, they can kill two birds with one stone by using the 32MB version of the GeForce FX Go 5200.
Its impossible with the g4's architecture to run PCI-Express (let alone AGP 8x).
No, it might be impractical with the current 74** series CPUs, but it is not impossible. The 8641 series will have PCI-e integated on the CPU, which I trust will be fully possible to use.
And as an interesting sidestory, I've heard (second hand info, so take it with some table salt) that the 7448s have started sampeling. Apparently a company called Genesi has recived some and used it in a machnie of theirs (running Linux) in a demo in China.
No, it might be impractical with the current 74** series CPUs, but it is not impossible. The 8641 series will have PCI-e integated on the CPU, which I trust will be fully possible to use.
And as an interesting sidestory, I've heard (second hand info, so take it with some table salt) that the 7448s have started sampeling. Apparently a company called Genesi has recived some and used it in a machnie of theirs (running Linux) in a demo in China.
As I mentioned in all my other posts about this... I specifically stated 7447a/b series (and older) was limited. The e600 will be the first (that I know) that will support a faster technology.
Well the 7448 was supposed to sample sometime in the first half of this year so that seems reasonable.
Presumably the 90nm barrier has been the delaying factor, after all it's still using the same G4e core. Tweaked a little sure, but still the same basic architecture.
If Apple chooses to use the e600 core, I hope they get a custom version.
After all the 8641/D's 4 Ethernet controllers are a little bit of overkill for a laptop.
Of course they could accept the shortcomings and use it anyway because IBM can't seem to produce a low power laptop chip.
It's a router chip first and foremost. But IIRC the 86xx chips don't have Altivec and run at lower speeds, isn't that so? Or has that changed?
You are thinking of the e500 core chips, which are G3s with specialised FPUs unsuitable for desctop use. The e600 suffers from no such "fault". The Freescale famely you are thinking of is named the 85**.
What's with the moderators locking every friggin' "semi-duplicate" topic?
I frequent quite a few forums, and this one is by far the most restrictive/over-moderated.
Just wondering what the deal is...
I'm a moderator myselfe on a site with decent trafic. Nobody is interested in a sea of duplicate threads, and if the mods feel the need to take a tough stance to crack down on the phenomenon, I say more power to them.
Heres my 2 cents. My hunch. My gut feeling. My...whatever.
WWDC is in 4 weeks. Steve is kicking it off with a keynote. EVERYTHING but the laptops have been updated. EVERYONE has been waiting for the G5 powerbook. And updates to the ibooks.
Add it all up...and it looks like a good time to wait. Not too long. Hang in there.
Am I saying that the powerbook G5 is DEFINATELY being announced on June 6th?....Welll.......ummmmm.....
YES!
But if so...will the ibook get a G5 at the same time? Or will it get the current specs of the G4 powerbook line? Will the ibook get a complete refresh? Will it look different? For that matter, will a G5 powerbook look different too?
My guess is YES.
I know the waiting game is no fun, and fraught with dissapointment...but I think its worth waiting this time. Its only 4 weeks till WWDC. Wait.
Heres my 2 cents. My hunch. My gut feeling. My...whatever.
WWDC is in 4 weeks. Steve is kicking it off with a keynote. EVERYTHING but the laptops have been updated. EVERYONE has been waiting for the G5 powerbook. And updates to the ibooks.
Add it all up...and it looks like a good time to wait. Not too long. Hang in there.
Am I saying that the powerbook G5 is DEFINATELY being announced on June 6th?....Welll.......ummmmm.....
YES!
But if so...will the ibook get a G5 at the same time? Or will it get the current specs of the G4 powerbook line? Will the ibook get a complete refresh? Will it look different? For that matter, will a G5 powerbook look different too?
My guess is YES.
I know the waiting game is no fun, and fraught with dissapointment...but I think its worth waiting this time. Its only 4 weeks till WWDC. Wait.
Woo HOO!!!!
I give it 100:1 G5 powerbooks are announced.
1,000,000:1 that G5 iBooks are announced before Q3 2006.
It's a router chip first and foremost. But IIRC the 86xx chips don't have Altivec and run at lower speeds, isn't that so?
Not quite. You can read here the specifications of this chip. Production is scheduled for 1H 2006. If we judge from recent whispers that the MPC7448 will go soon into production (which was scheduled for 2H 2005), then it seems that Freescale may be very well on track to release the 8641D on time too.
This chip, or better a custom version of it (as the 4 ethernet controllers do not make much sense in a notebook), will breathe new life to the aging Powerbook line, if Apple chooses to use it. And as of yet, they have no other option.
Comments
iBooks are supposed to be low price low end machines. Asking to put a 9700 in one is like asking to put a 9700 in a mini. Price wise it doesn't add up. Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong, but I do believe that the e600 maxes out at AGP 8x.
I'd be happy with just a 9800 in a powerbook... OR at least have the powerbooks COME WITH 128mb vram built in. Or have it BTO on the 15" powerbooks.
Originally posted by ogion
Note that I said May 6th for DELIVERY...the mythical Tuesday, May 3rd could be when the iBook is RELEASED. I would never, ever assume that an Apple product could ever potentially or even possibly be released on any such day excepting Tuesday. Sunday shall be the countdown thus started, followed immediately by Monday, but nor should the countdown end on Monday, nay the releasse date must occur on Tuesday. Wednesday is totally unnacceptable...And THURSDAY IS RIGHT OUT! Tuesday is the day of the releasing....and the day of the releasing shall be Tuesday.
go monty python - may you opponents be blown to smithereens.
WOOT:
EDIT: Oh right, the answer to the thread. Well - to run the (admittadly) very pretty special FX in Tigger (t-i-double ggg-rrrrrrrr), you need at least an ATI Radeon 9600 - which is why imacs/powermacs went to this. personally, I would be happy with that GPU, though they will probably keep the AGP4x, just to seperate out the iMacs from the iBooks, and hell it saves them money on redoing all them motherboards.
only64mb as well
But, i hope they update soon.
Originally posted by pyriX
you need at least an ATI Radeon 9600 - which is why imacs/powermacs went to this. personally, I would be happy with that GPU, though they will probably keep the AGP4x,
Sure do get tired of repeating myself...
7447a/b (g4's in general) architecture does NOT allow the gpu to go passed AGP 4x. They would have gone passed it a long time ago. This is why the Powerbooks have had a 9700 for so long.
Originally posted by Commodus
Might want to do your homework next time. The FX 5200 Go has been in the 12" PowerBook ever since Sept. 2003, and it was only when it was first introduced that it shipped with 32 MB of video RAM. The April 2004 update (which I have) and the January 2005 update both have 64 MB of memory onboard.
I know the current 12" PowerBooks have a NVidia GeForce FX Go 5200 with 64MB RAM, but my point was Apple had a Core Image supported graphics card that had 32MB RAM. If Apple is intent on keeping the graphics cards in the "entry level" iBooks at 32MB, they can kill two birds with one stone by using the 32MB version of the GeForce FX Go 5200.
Originally posted by emig647
Its impossible with the g4's architecture to run PCI-Express (let alone AGP 8x).
No, it might be impractical with the current 74** series CPUs, but it is not impossible. The 8641 series will have PCI-e integated on the CPU, which I trust will be fully possible to use.
Someone correct me on this
Like me?
--------------------------------------------------------
And as an interesting sidestory, I've heard (second hand info, so take it with some table salt) that the 7448s have started sampeling. Apparently a company called Genesi has recived some and used it in a machnie of theirs (running Linux) in a demo in China.
Originally posted by Eric_Z
No, it might be impractical with the current 74** series CPUs, but it is not impossible. The 8641 series will have PCI-e integated on the CPU, which I trust will be fully possible to use.
Like me?
--------------------------------------------------------
And as an interesting sidestory, I've heard (second hand info, so take it with some table salt) that the 7448s have started sampeling. Apparently a company called Genesi has recived some and used it in a machnie of theirs (running Linux) in a demo in China.
As I mentioned in all my other posts about this... I specifically stated 7447a/b series (and older) was limited. The e600 will be the first (that I know) that will support a faster technology.
Presumably the 90nm barrier has been the delaying factor, after all it's still using the same G4e core. Tweaked a little sure, but still the same basic architecture.
If Apple chooses to use the e600 core, I hope they get a custom version.
After all the 8641/D's 4 Ethernet controllers are a little bit of overkill for a laptop.
Of course they could accept the shortcomings and use it anyway because IBM can't seem to produce a low power laptop chip.
What's with the moderators locking every friggin' "semi-duplicate" topic?
I frequent quite a few forums, and this one is by far the most restrictive/over-moderated.
Just wondering what the deal is...
Originally posted by Electric Monk
.. After all the 8641/D's 4 Ethernet controllers are a little bit of overkill for a laptop. ...
It's a router chip first and foremost. But IIRC the 86xx chips don't have Altivec and run at lower speeds, isn't that so? Or has that changed?
Originally posted by cubist
It's a router chip first and foremost. But IIRC the 86xx chips don't have Altivec and run at lower speeds, isn't that so? Or has that changed?
You are thinking of the e500 core chips, which are G3s with specialised FPUs unsuitable for desctop use. The e600 suffers from no such "fault". The Freescale famely you are thinking of is named the 85**.
Originally posted by spiVeyx
Just a quick question from a newbie:
What's with the moderators locking every friggin' "semi-duplicate" topic?
I frequent quite a few forums, and this one is by far the most restrictive/over-moderated.
Just wondering what the deal is...
I'm a moderator myselfe on a site with decent trafic. Nobody is interested in a sea of duplicate threads, and if the mods feel the need to take a tough stance to crack down on the phenomenon, I say more power to them.
It's a safe bet the iBooks will be updated before the June WWDC so Jobs can say that the entire line is now Tiger-ready.
Probably new features like:
-speed bump to 1.42GHz
-larger and faster HD's
-built in BT
-drop protection
-track pad
-better GPU to support core image
-maybe $100 price drop in top end 14"
Minor stuff that seems like a lot on features list...but enough to refresh it until the PB's get a major overhaul perhaps in late fall.
Still, probably worth waiting if you're in line to buy a cheap laptop.
Heres my 2 cents. My hunch. My gut feeling. My...whatever.
WWDC is in 4 weeks. Steve is kicking it off with a keynote. EVERYTHING but the laptops have been updated. EVERYONE has been waiting for the G5 powerbook. And updates to the ibooks.
Add it all up...and it looks like a good time to wait. Not too long. Hang in there.
Am I saying that the powerbook G5 is DEFINATELY being announced on June 6th?....Welll.......ummmmm.....
YES!
But if so...will the ibook get a G5 at the same time? Or will it get the current specs of the G4 powerbook line? Will the ibook get a complete refresh? Will it look different? For that matter, will a G5 powerbook look different too?
My guess is YES.
I know the waiting game is no fun, and fraught with dissapointment...but I think its worth waiting this time. Its only 4 weeks till WWDC. Wait.
Woo HOO!!!!
Originally posted by regan
Hey All.
Heres my 2 cents. My hunch. My gut feeling. My...whatever.
WWDC is in 4 weeks. Steve is kicking it off with a keynote. EVERYTHING but the laptops have been updated. EVERYONE has been waiting for the G5 powerbook. And updates to the ibooks.
Add it all up...and it looks like a good time to wait. Not too long. Hang in there.
Am I saying that the powerbook G5 is DEFINATELY being announced on June 6th?....Welll.......ummmmm.....
YES!
But if so...will the ibook get a G5 at the same time? Or will it get the current specs of the G4 powerbook line? Will the ibook get a complete refresh? Will it look different? For that matter, will a G5 powerbook look different too?
My guess is YES.
I know the waiting game is no fun, and fraught with dissapointment...but I think its worth waiting this time. Its only 4 weeks till WWDC. Wait.
Woo HOO!!!!
I give it 100:1 G5 powerbooks are announced.
1,000,000:1 that G5 iBooks are announced before Q3 2006.
Originally posted by Dr. J
I give it 100:1 G5 powerbooks are announced.
1,000,000:1 that G5 iBooks are announced before Q3 2006.
Are you taking bets? In that case I put 10 dollars on both.
Originally posted by cubist
It's a router chip first and foremost. But IIRC the 86xx chips don't have Altivec and run at lower speeds, isn't that so?
Not quite. You can read here the specifications of this chip. Production is scheduled for 1H 2006. If we judge from recent whispers that the MPC7448 will go soon into production (which was scheduled for 2H 2005), then it seems that Freescale may be very well on track to release the 8641D on time too.
This chip, or better a custom version of it (as the 4 ethernet controllers do not make much sense in a notebook), will breathe new life to the aging Powerbook line, if Apple chooses to use it. And as of yet, they have no other option.
Originally posted by spiVeyx
I frequent quite a few forums, and this one is by far the most restrictive/over-moderated.
Just wondering what the deal is...
Although I am not a moderator to give you an answer, here is a hint: this keeps discussions focused.