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eightoeight · May 21, 2003, 05:02 PM

I was wondering if it would be a possibility to just buy the first PowerMac with the new processors, just so that in the future you could upgrade to faster processors? or is this impossible? It doesn't seem like Mac's are too upgrade-able...but I'm new to Mac's and so I'm not totally sure.

exa · May 21, 2003, 05:08 PM

It's pretty possible the new computers will be upgradable, given that almost everything before it are upgradable... However since the product you speak of does not exist, no one can be sure.

I mean, the PPC970 isn't even confirmed in Macs yet.

Superchicken · May 21, 2003, 05:30 PM

Almost certainly you'll have the proccessors on a daughter card unless the PPC 970 would for some require it to be on the Mobo, which I havn't heard anything about so most likely it'll be upgradeable.

Upgrades tend to be expencive though. Look at Powerlogix or Sonnet for details on their upgrades.

OreoCookie · May 21, 2003, 05:32 PM

Quite likely they will be upgradeable. I just wish that Apple would somehow sell CPUs: imagine, buy a single, then think again: you need more CPU power. Buy another CPU, pop it in and wosh, your PowerMac flies again.

The cell concept proposed by IBM would really be cool: Plug different modules together and it automatically configures itself to use the maximum of raw power. Drool.

eightoeight · May 21, 2003, 07:06 PM

I like how you can pretty much build your own PC...there are good and bad aspects...but it doesn't seem like Apple will ever do this?

-Q- · May 21, 2003, 07:50 PM

Originally posted by eightoeight:
I like how you can pretty much build your own PC...there are good and bad aspects...but it doesn't seem like Apple will ever do this?

No, I think Apple would have to get a whole lot more marketshare for that to ever happen. It seems to go against the philosphy of Apple and their computer design.

So for the near future, getting a Mac will require going thru Apple.

Cipher13 · May 21, 2003, 09:50 PM

Ugh.

1. The 970 PowerMacs are not out.
2. We do not know if they will EVER be out.
3. Right now the possibility of their existence is complete CONJECTURE.
4. Nobody knows anything about them at all, let alone regarding their upgradeability.

Catfish_Man · May 21, 2003, 10:51 PM

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
The cell concept proposed by IBM would really be cool: Plug different modules together and it automatically configures itself to use the maximum of raw power. Drool.

Erm... IBM's CELL chip isn't like that. It uses a number of cores, but they're all on one piece of silicon, so the user isn't going to be able to change them. I think some people are working on "lego like" clusters, where you just stack the servers up and they work, but that's not quite the same scale.

docholiday · May 22, 2003, 01:29 AM

Since IBM is licensing the chip to other companies, then (if the new Powermacs indeed use the PPC 970) there might be a good possibility we will be able to obtain higher clockrate chips that would be compatible with the motherboard.

Scotttheking · May 22, 2003, 01:42 AM

this thread is a little premature...
I don't expect the chips to be on a daughter card like the current ones are. I also don't expect you to be able to take a single proc machine and upgrade it to a dual, etc.

I do hope apple has a mac motherboard just like this, except with much faster ram and 970 based.