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rambo47 · May 9, 2003, 04:49 PM

What does THIS mean for the debut of the 970 porcessor? What the hell could Apple want with "quantities" of G3 processors whene G4 is here now and the 970 in the wings? Is the 970 going to be delayed another year and a half while we suffer with yet another "long-term interim solution"? Maybe I'm reading too much into this article. Apple is not mentioned in the article, but who else uses G3 processors? Ninetndo, in the GameCube, right? But criminy, it sure sounds like they're being made for Apple, and I had hoped to see the entire line of Macintosh products migrate to the G4. Only the iBook is still on the G3, but should move to the G4 soon. Could this processor be just for the iBooks? Are they selling that well?

When I close my eyes at night and dream this is what I see: The 970 would debut in PowerMacs and XServe, eventually working into the laptops in 970-M (mobile) form. iBooks get the G4, the eMac and iMac stay with the G4 for now but eventually goe 970 as well. That's how I had it scripted in my head, anyway.

I begin to hear a little pessimistic voice in my head when I keep hearing more about the old G3 than the new 970.

chrisutley · May 9, 2003, 05:43 PM

So you are worried that Apple will replace the G4 with this G3 750GX that has no Altivec? Nah.

I could see them using this in the iBook, but since the iBook is the only G3 left it would make more sense to bring it up to G4. Not to mention the iBook is due for a major update.

chrisutley · May 9, 2003, 05:46 PM

Oh wait... Okay so there is an Altivec version due at the end of the year?

If that is all Apple has up their sleeves for the desktops this year, they are in big trouble. I don't think that's the next PM chip.

rambo47 · May 9, 2003, 09:21 PM

I hope this isn't a blunder on Apple's part to revert to a souped-up G3 because the clock speed scales higher. The Megahertz gap has grown into a chasm that even Apple can't ignore. Not just a PR nightmare anymore, the difference in raw horsepower of the x86 chips over the pokey G4 has got to be costing Apple sales. Pretty tough to convince some one to switch to a higher priced computer unless you can sell the performance angle, and it just ain't happening.

Athens · May 9, 2003, 09:39 PM

Well maybe the new ibooks will still be G3 CPU's and they are ordering them to produce a mass amount of new ibooks for release.

euphras · May 10, 2003, 10:00 AM

I wouldn�t be worried, since:

Quote (from the cited article):
"...essential for an embedded processor, which is what the G3 family effectively is, these days."

Means, the G3 family will live on in big network printers and other stuff that uses embedded prozessors.

Pat

MacNStein · May 10, 2003, 10:42 AM

Maybe a new PDA from Apple? Or, maybe the new CPU in the Apple Tablet system, perhaps.

I do think the iBook will remain a G3 for some time, in fact with a 1.4GHz Gobi it would be quite fast.

Eug · May 10, 2003, 11:37 AM

Originally posted by Athens:
Well maybe the new ibooks will still be G3 CPU's and they are ordering them to produce a mass amount of new ibooks for release.

Yep, good news for the iBook types, if Motorola can't keep producing enough fast G4s for the iBook (when it finally goes to the G4).

At least by 2005, I doubt we will still have G3-based iBooks without Altivec.

By then, the PowerMacs (and possibly the PowerBooks) will be PPC970 based.

OreoCookie · May 10, 2003, 01:30 PM

It also mentions that the G3 will eventually get AltiVec which makes it a likely candidate for WebTablets and other stuff ...

Peder Rice · May 10, 2003, 07:53 PM

Originally posted by euphras:
I wouldn�t be worried, since:

Quote (from the cited article):
"...essential for an embedded processor, which is what the G3 family effectively is, these days."

Means, the G3 family will live on in big network printers and other stuff that uses embedded prozessors.

Pat

The G4 is primarily sold for use in embedded applications; that's virtually the entire market of the PowerPC.

Superchicken · May 11, 2003, 02:24 AM

IBM has lots of coustomers not just apple.. and uhh.... rumor sites... arn't exactly the most reliable sources.

euphras · May 11, 2003, 10:52 AM

Quote:

"The G4 is primarily sold for use in embedded applications; that's virtually the entire market of the PowerPC."

You�re so clever (and so off-topic!). This thread is about the chance (the danger??!?) that a "boosted" G3 could delay/stop the introduction of the PPC 970 chip. It�s NOT an evaluation of the current prozessor line Apple uses in his machines.

Spliffdaddy · May 11, 2003, 01:39 PM

No, he's on topic.

Off topic would be assuming that Apple is going to use the PPC970 at all - because they certainly haven't said so.

Peder Rice · May 11, 2003, 02:33 PM

Originally posted by euphras:
Quote:

"The G4 is primarily sold for use in embedded applications; that's virtually the entire market of the PowerPC."

You�re so clever (and so off-topic!). This thread is about the chance (the danger??!?) that a "boosted" G3 could delay/stop the introduction of the PPC 970 chip. It�s NOT an evaluation of the current prozessor line Apple uses in his machines.

My point was: the Gobi processor could just as easily be used in upcoming Mac revisions as a G4 (or the always-coming G5) because embedded applications do not affect where or if Apple will use the processor as nearly every PowerPC chip is used in the embedded processor market.

Catfish_Man · May 11, 2003, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by Peder Rice:
My point was: the Gobi processor could just as easily be used in upcoming Mac revisions as a G4 (or the always-coming G5) because embedded applications do not affect where or if Apple will use the processor as nearly every PowerPC chip is used in the embedded processor market.

It's in the high end server market as well, with the POWER line (I know it's not exactly PowerPC, but it's pretty darn close).

sambeau · May 11, 2003, 06:42 PM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
IBM has lots of coustomers not just apple.. and uhh.... rumor sites... arn't exactly the most reliable sources.

The Register is not a rumour site..

Eug · May 11, 2003, 07:23 PM

Originally posted by sambeau:
The Register is not a rumour site..

I hope you're not serious. The Register is one of the biggest rumour sites out there.

Superchicken · May 12, 2003, 06:55 AM

Cause after all we know reputable news sites quote Mac Rumors.com and Spy Mac... riight

Anyway, the only reason a souped up G3 would end up in a Power Mac would be if apple could actually get it faster and REALLY faster not just Mhz faster.

Anyway what would seem more likely is apple creating a few lower end computers that they could sell cheaply!

rambo47 · May 12, 2003, 04:10 PM

If Apple plans to use the GOBI G3 in a low-cost machine, great! My only fear is that we get the new G3 for a while across the entier product matrix instead of the 970 most of us are drooling over. True, Apple has not formally stated that they even intend to use the 970. We've all assumed so, and it certainly looks like it adds up that way, but how often has speculation and hope been dashed by the folks in Cupertino? Lots of times.

Maybe I'm a victim of the marketing hype, but it just seems like a backwards step going to the G3 again, even if it's a different animal by a different manufacturer. We're all but done with the current G3, and the G4 has been a dissapointment with regards to clock speed. It's high time to move ahead to "the next great thing", and that's the era of the 970.

hmurchison2001 · May 12, 2003, 06:13 PM

Common Sense says Apple will use both. With Gobi they have a Centrino competitor that sips Battery power and provides good performance. Rumors have it that it may be fabbed at 100 nanometers and scale to 1.6Ghz. That would be a nice little processor for the iBook. Going even beyond a 130nm G4.

The PPC 970 would be utilized in Powermac and Powerbooks and maybe the Top of the line iMac. This would allow Apple to differentiate the two lines by Processor type. As long as Gobi can be fabbed easily I see nothing wrong with it. Hell Apple may even choose to call it a G4 since, with the inclusion of altivec, it would be appropriate.

rambo47 · May 13, 2003, 03:27 PM

I never thought about the GOBI as an answer to Centrino. This would be a logical and needed addition to the line up - good call hmurchison2001!

If this is to be "The Year of the Laptop", then Apple desperately needs an answer to Intel's new mobile chip. Centrino based ThinkPads are, by all reports, pretty sweet pieces of kit. Over 6 hours of web surfing and spreadsheet work on a singel charge is awesome.