970 Production info redux

amorph · February 17, 2003 10:16PM

Sorry to close <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=002839&p=5"; target="_blank">the other thread on this topic</a>, but I saw evidence that UBB was beginning to mess with it, and I figured better to lock it and start over than to have another whole good thread get eaten.

Carry on.

matsu · February 17, 2003 10:23PM

cool -- fighting black holes with your intergalactic mod powers -- you're not part of the Q continuum, are you?

overtoasty · February 17, 2003 11:06PM

[quote]Originally posted by Matsu:

cool -- fighting black holes with your intergalactic mod powers -- you're not part of the Q continuum, are you?

<hr></blockquote>

Good thing too, lost a whole Power5 thread last week ...

ast3r3x · February 17, 2003 11:18PM

how much does this thing cost though?!

seriously, these kill intel chips i assume, how do they compare to sun?

what other chips compare?

t'hain esh kelch · February 18, 2003 4:56AM

Well... Since we have almost no info on production matters, we cant give any ideas of price/performance.

But if we're lucky its 1 dollar per chip, with a performance of a Power5 lite at half the megahertz!

gar · February 18, 2003 4:58AM

sorry amorph, very off topic, but what is an UBB?

alex london · February 18, 2003 6:14AM

Look at the URL- it's what you're using, ultimate bulletin board.

gar · February 18, 2003 6:50AM

noahj · February 20, 2003 6:00PM

And so it goes. No news is good news I hope. I just purchased a Powerlogix 1GHz upgrade for my Sawtooth Powermac and so will be keeping it a couple years longer. However the 970 appearing as stated will be a truly tempting upgrade for me.

BTW anyone used the Powerlogix upgrades? Are they any good. It has not arrived yet and I am anticipating good things...

brian green · February 20, 2003 6:55PM

So how do we find out how many of the 970's IBM is actuallly producing, and when production began. It shouldn't be a secret considering that they announced that they already exist. How many of them do you think Apple needs? 100,000? How many can they make a day? This is all about production obviously, but someone has to know.

snoopy · February 20, 2003 6:58PM

[quote]Originally posted by ast3r3x:

how much does this thing cost though?!

seriously, these kill intel chips i assume, how do they compare to sun?

what other chips compare?<hr></blockquote>

From what I remember about chip size and number of transistors, the IBM 970 is a little bigger than a G4 but smaller than a P4. IBM's fab facility is better than Motorola's, so I would not be surprised if the price was only slightly more than the G4. I don't expect IBM to try to "skim the cream," so to speak, on this processor. IBM and Apple both want this to sell, and get the PPC platforms moving. IBM may price this on anticipated yields and manufacturing cost, not on initial yields. It would be far better to make less profit at first and get a good jump start in the market, with lots of interest and enthusiasm. I'm sure IBM is interested in Apple using the 970 in as many products as possible.

kidred · February 20, 2003 7:38PM

[quote]Originally posted by snoopy:



From what I remember about chip size and number of transistors, the IBM 970 is a little bigger than a G4 but smaller than a P4. IBM's fab facility is better than Motorola's, so I would not be surprised if the price was only slightly more than the G4. I don't expect IBM to try to "skim the cream," so to speak, on this processor. IBM and Apple both want this to sell, and get the PPC platforms moving. IBM may price this on anticipated yields and manufacturing cost, not on initial yields. It would be far better to make less profit at first and get a good jump start in the market, with lots of interest and enthusiasm. I'm sure IBM is interested in Apple using the 970 in as many products as possible.<hr></blockquote>

Considering IBM is licensing the PPC out, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM also wants the 970 to sell well with other vendors.

ast3r3x · February 20, 2003 8:11PM

weird, i could have swore i posted that in the Power5 thread...but its here

transcendental octothorpe · February 20, 2003 8:20PM

[quote]Originally posted by Brian Green:

So how do we find out how many of the 970's IBM is actuallly producing, and when production began. It shouldn't be a secret considering that they announced that they already exist. How many of them do you think Apple needs? 100,000? How many can they make a day? This is all about production obviously, but someone has to know.<hr></blockquote>

Well, I do know both answers, but I can't really say more than I already have.

I have been pretty optimistic that I will be able to fufill my sig sooner than later.

brian green · February 20, 2003 10:10PM

Transcendental Octothorpe, I am happy that you are aware of such things.

But your sig doesn't really help me out a lot because you're sig mentions wanting to get a 970 Power Mac to replace your 7500. While I'm happy that you'll be getting a fine new computer, a Power Mac is hardly travel friendly.

So the 970 in a PM isn't going to do me a bit of good, though it'll help with PM sales. When the 970 hits the PB, I'll drop the Franklins and make it happen. This 600 MHz iBook is so slow it's almost irritating. I often think of Tim Allen whispering, "Are you telling me that thing needs more power?" <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I don't care about cost, though most aren't in the same boat I am. I just care about performance and I'm not going to upgrade to a G4 when the 970 is doing the implimentation dance just out of reach. But hopefully things will get rolling soon, though the long wait for the 17" PB doesn't indicate a prompt availability of the new 15 PB. Of course, if the new PB has a G4 in it, I'm just going to suffer longer with this iBook. Good luck with the PM in your future, and I hope you're able to get a nice 23" screen to compliment it.

visigothe · February 20, 2003 11:49PM

Do not expect a PB 970 this year. Yes, the chip is cool enough to run in a laptop, but think about everything else... the companion chips, the memory, etc.

Apple will hit the PM with the 970. Once the dust settles, and the die is shrunk, you'll see a 970 in a PB. Think around the middle of next year.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

scott · February 21, 2003 12:30AM

I'm still smarting from The Great Speed Dump. 970 in 2004 if we're lucky.

boy_analog · February 21, 2003 1:47AM

Dunno if this is relevant, but <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2003/02/17.html#a2298"; target="_blank">this obscure weblog</a> from a pro-M$ writer mentions some exceptional Apple desktops:

[quote] Apple has some cool stuff coming this year to be sure -- including some desktop machines that are outperforming current Intel stuff. <hr></blockquote>

Or maybe he was just anxious to get a little traffic? <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />

costique · February 21, 2003 7:37AM

[quote]Originally posted by boy_analog:

Or maybe he was just anxious to get a little traffic?<hr></blockquote>

No, he just reads too many rumours. Is it what he is paid for?

i-bent-my-wookie · February 21, 2003 8:59AM

[quote]Originally posted by Brian Green:

Transcendental Octothorpe, I am happy that you are aware of such things.

But your sig doesn't really help me out a lot because you're sig mentions wanting to get a 970 Power Mac to replace your 7500. While I'm happy that you'll be getting a fine new computer, a Power Mac is hardly travel friendly.

So the 970 in a PM isn't going to do me a bit of good, though it'll help with PM sales. When the 970 hits the PB, I'll drop the Franklins and make it happen. This 600 MHz iBook is so slow it's almost irritating. I often think of Tim Allen whispering, "Are you telling me that thing needs more power?" <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I don't care about cost, though most aren't in the same boat I am. I just care about performance and I'm not going to upgrade to a G4 when the 970 is doing the implimentation dance just out of reach. But hopefully things will get rolling soon, though the long wait for the 17" PB doesn't indicate a prompt availability of the new 15 PB. Of course, if the new PB has a G4 in it, I'm just going to suffer longer with this iBook. Good luck with the PM in your future, and I hope you're able to get a nice 23" screen to compliment it.

<hr></blockquote>

dont hold your breath for a 970 Powerbook anytime soon, let alone a desktop.

macmedia · February 21, 2003 11:51AM

From another thread on another planet:

---------------

It appears IBM was a little further along with the development of the PPC 970 then they let on.

The 970 is a 1 way Power 4 processor where as the Power 4 is a 2 processor core chip.

Read todays <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/030221/051341.html"; target="_blank">entry level server info from IBM</a>

-------------

Chas

[ 02-21-2003: Message edited by: Macmedia ]

970 Production info redux

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