TS reveals specs

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 138
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    I am very skeptical of the powermac specs.

    I think they are not accurate.

    If end up being true and it's not dual-core, this will be a big let down for power users.

    I really hope this is not true.

    It's about time for Apple to come up with a really powerful Powermac machines for their most loyal segment.
  • Reply 42 of 138
    dave jdave j Posts: 84member
    The "update" is Apple's way of telling us to dig deep for the new, as yet unannounced, ProMac line where prices start at 4K and go up to 6K. This is the line that will sport the fast GPU's, dual core, PCIe, etc. 6K is nothing for Hollywood types (aside: isn't Mac the computer for "the rest of us"?)



    Which is all well and good except I ain't paying no six grand for "pukey Antares".
  • Reply 43 of 138
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    The specs aren't half bad but that depends on the context.





    If I had a dual 2.7 without water cooling and PCI-Express and Apple dropped the price to 2799.99



    That would influence my value perspective of the new line.





    If they are AGP/PCI-X based computers at the $2999 pricepoint then I'm thinking this line would be Apple's last hurrah and likely to only last about 6-8 months
  • Reply 44 of 138
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison



    If I had a dual 2.7 without water cooling and PCI-Express and Apple dropped the price to 2799.99



    That would influence my value perspective of the new line.





    That's true, it is not exactly the specifications but what you get for your money.



    By the way, does anyone know how well the PPC970 is going outside Apple? It is me or the this family of processors is already EOL and Apple try just to milk its customer base? The problem, besides problematic clock speed scaling, is that the 970 is way too hot and power hungry for embedded applications (laptops for our case), even two years after its introduction. It is not by chance that Apple still consider the G5 in a Powerbook "mother of all thermal challenges".
  • Reply 45 of 138
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dave J

    The "update" is Apple's way of telling us to dig deep for the new, as yet unannounced, ProMac line where prices start at 4K and go up to 6K. This is the line that will sport the fast GPU's, dual core, PCIe, etc. 6K is nothing for Hollywood types (aside: isn't Mac the computer for "the rest of us"?)



    Which is all well and good except I ain't paying no six grand for "pukey Antares".




    I think is very unlikely to Apple to introduce the Pro-line.

    Most of Hollywood types will BTO PowerMacs according to their needs.

    I don't see them spend $6k plus in a machine. It's not a big segment for Apple to invest in a total new machine.

    I work in Hollywood and not many companies are expending that much money in their current powermacs. For my surprise many companies are buying 2ghz and loading with RAM. I have not seeing that many 2.5GHZ machines out there.



    I only think I hope is if the TS specs are right, hopefully they are dual-core.
  • Reply 46 of 138
    jsnuff1jsnuff1 Posts: 37member
    PLEASE TS just this once be DEAD WRONG on these specs. These are just incremental bumbs, not even bumbs, little pecks. They cannot do this after a year of waiting. They dont even have a 9800 AGP on the high end, let alone PCI-E. Why does it seem that apple mostly cares about its new windows converts and dosnt seem to be paying much attention to us pro users. Bah we keep apple alive and when they finally get on top with their new friends we are left in the dump...typical corprate behavior.
  • Reply 47 of 138
    cubistcubist Posts: 954member
    HP offers dual dual-core Opteron systems...

    http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22539

    The systems are already being shown on their site.



    Guess that won't be another Apple first.
  • Reply 48 of 138
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    I'm still not seeing a lot of PCI-Express cards so I'm not too sure that it's still that much of a big deal.



    PCI-X is still the favorite amongst many cardmakers. I have my doubts right now that someone would be severely penalized by not having it however I can't see 3 years out now.



    If it takes another 8 months to do it right then I'm fine with that but doing it right means some cools stuff.
  • Reply 49 of 138
    cjoncjon Posts: 20member
    The PCI-E doesn't matter as much to me as the dual core procs. I'm hoping for the 970MP, but common sense, realistic expectations coupled with the 512mb cache lead me to believe that this will be a disappointing update for those who can't wait to replace their older G5's with the latest and greatest.



    my wallet lays open in hope...
  • Reply 50 of 138
    Quote:



    "this will be a disappointing update for those who can't wait to replace their older G5's with the latest and greatest."



    I am one of those people, and I cannot imagine Apple releasing single core processors with those specs. That would be pathetic. With all the talk of 970MP's, the competition going dual core next week, and Steve's 3 Ghz prediction already nearly a year late, I imagine it would be suicide.



    I'm purchasing a new machine in three months. If Apple doesn't pull their heads out of their @ss, I'm going with a wintel box. Keep my current G5 for internet and website maintenance, and grab a speedy PC for rendering, content creation, and music composition.



    I'm praying they wake up, cause I hate windows.
  • Reply 51 of 138
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    I'm still not seeing a lot of PCI-Express cards so I'm not too sure that it's still that much of a big deal.



    PCI-X is still the favorite amongst many cardmakers. I have my doubts right now that someone would be severely penalized by not having it however I can't see 3 years out now.



    If it takes another 8 months to do it right then I'm fine with that but doing it right means some cools stuff.




    You mean other than graphics cards right? All the good motherboards that have been available on the PC side for months have 1, or 2 PCI-E, 3 PCI-X, and 1 PCI. That's probably why everyone other that graphics card manufacturers are still going with PCI-X. PC Mobo makers are on the ball. If these specs are true I think Apple is dropping it. (the ball that is. look at DOOM 3 performance for cripes sakes it's sad. The XBOX is faster, and that is sad)
  • Reply 52 of 138
    gamblorgamblor Posts: 446member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    I'm still not seeing a lot of PCI-Express cards so I'm not too sure that it's still that much of a big deal.



    PCI-X is still the favorite amongst many cardmakers. I have my doubts right now that someone would be severely penalized by not having it however I can't see 3 years out now.



    If it takes another 8 months to do it right then I'm fine with that but doing it right means some cools stuff.




    I think the big thing about PCIe is the 16x slot for video. I'm assuming that CI/CV apps could be bottlenecked by the 1x bandwidth even 8x AGP provides FROM the card, whereas a 16x PCIe slot is 16x both ways (or is it 8x both ways... I forget). I don't see many PCIe cards other than video cards yet, either. It might take a while before they all switch over, if the transition from ISA to PCI on PCs is any indication...
  • Reply 53 of 138
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gamblor

    I think the big thing about PCIe is the 16x slot for video. I'm assuming that CI/CV apps could be bottlenecked by the 1x bandwidth even 8x AGP provides FROM the card, whereas a 16x PCIe slot is 16x both ways (or is it 8x both ways... I forget). I don't see many PCIe cards other than video cards yet, either. It might take a while before they all switch over, if the transition from ISA to PCI on PCs is any indication...



    PCI-E is 16x both ways, and AGP is 8x up, and 4x, or 2x down. It maybe even 1x. I forget.
  • Reply 54 of 138
    gamblorgamblor Posts: 446member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by onlooker

    [B]You mean other than graphics cards right? All the good motherboards that have been available on the PC side for months have 1, or 2 PCI-E, 3 PCI-X, and 1 PCI.



    You do? Where are they available? I checked Newegg, and can't find a single board with both PCIe and PCI-X... I can find plenty of server motherboards with AGP and PCI-X, though.
  • Reply 55 of 138
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    Ok, according toa person at Macrumors he says the 9650 is simply the 9700M and ATi marketed it as the 9700 instead of the 9650. Maybe ATi did the same thing with the 9700 that went in the 1.42 Ghz Powermac G4's. Also, the Opteron line is a server chip. Apple still has time to intro and ship their dual core G5 since it goes into a desktop. There are already dual core server chips, the Power4 was the first I believe. While I am happy about the updated Powermac spec's that I will save some money on the Powermac this xmas because I don't have to add some stuff to it. I hope though Apple will make airport extreeme built in at least in the iMacs.



    Here is the thread it is in. post #14



    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=120205
  • Reply 56 of 138
    dmgeistdmgeist Posts: 153member
    We must realize that some of these hoped updates might be far off than dreamt. PCI-Express is still a young standard, if you go to PC building sites and look for mother boards with it there are only a few. The ones I found are 64 bit boards using the 939 CPU's , so just because said boards are released from said companies does not mean apple is going to integrate these standards into there logic boards. Apple usually releases updates like that after testing to ensure 100% compatibility with all other components, unlike other manufacturing companies. AGPx8 is still the dominant standard and it might be around for a little while longer.



    As far as dual core goes this to is a young standard, chip manufacturers are just now releasing there dual core chips.



    Please realize Apple does not sell the bleeding edge of technology as does many other manufacturers.



    Its about style and innovative designs as well as ease of use not hard core speed and throughput.
  • Reply 57 of 138
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dmgeist



    As far as dual core goes this to is a young standard, chip manufacturers are just now releasing there dual core chips.





    This is true as far as AMD and Intel are concerned. IBM however has already for years dual core chips. Take for example G5's ancestor, the Power4. Given IBM's expertise on this technology, I am wondering sometimes why the Power Macs are not dual core starting from 2004.
  • Reply 58 of 138
    I?m not sure why everyone?s so doom and gloom about Think Secret?s predictions.

    Considering that in the article it says:



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Think Secret

    Sources were unable to confirm at this time whether the systems will sport the dual-core PowerPC 970MP processor or the single-core PowerPC 970GX, although unconfirmed notes point to the PowerPC 970MP. The second core would deliver performance gains far greater than the 200-300MHz bumps each processor is receiving alone with the update.



    That really doesn?t sound all that pessimistic to me, right now that 512 cache in anecdotal evidence and far from concrete.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by dmgeist

    Please realize Apple does not sell the bleeding edge of technology as does many other manufacturers.



    Really? Cause when I got my G4 with its first gen Superdrive there wasn?t a non-Apple desktop around that would let me burn my DV work to DVD without forking over several thousand bucks for an external drive.
  • Reply 59 of 138
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    The more I think about TS article the more skeptical I feel about it.

    TS is under the gun by Apple lawsuits. Whoever is their insider(s), too much pressure is under him or her and is probably afraid to reveal too much.

    I really doubt only a 200mhz increase after almost a year of waiting. That's too little. Possibly it's a Dual-Core that's coming. That would make way more sense.

    So I guess we just need to wait few more days. To find out.(assuming it's at NAB where the announcement is happening).
  • Reply 60 of 138
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gamblor

    You do? Where are they available? I checked Newegg, and can't find a single board with both PCIe and PCI-X... I can find plenty of server motherboards with AGP and PCI-X, though.



    Check Tyan, and Asus those are two are so popular it's hard to find anywhere that they are in stock. They sell out they day they come in. Which could explain your problem with new egg. Just look at any NForce4 Pro board.
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