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kogase · Sep 14, 2004, 10:37 AM

Anyone know if the Power Macs will be getting PCI Express any time soon?

Lateralus · Sep 14, 2004, 11:04 AM

Nobody knows for sure. But I hope PCIe is present in the next revision.

stuffedmonkey · Sep 14, 2004, 12:12 PM

I haven't seen any rumors about *any* of the changes in the next round of G5s. I would love to see this done though. While pci-e cards aren't common now, they will be in the majority in 3-4 years. I like to hold on to desktops longer then most people, so being as future-proof as possible is great.

Big Mac · Sep 15, 2004, 02:47 AM

I hope we don't see PCI-E for awhile still. I have purely selfish motives for not wanting Apple to adopt it quickly: I don't want to see my new DP 2.0 obsoleted in any respect too quickly. So Apple, please, for my sake if nothing else, do not put PCI-E into the next revision. I agonized over the decision to buy or continue to wait for PCI-E, but I ultimately chose to buy and have not looked back since. My productivity really took a hit working on my 8600 for all those years.

I really don't think Apple will get PCI-E in the G5 in the next revision. Recent history teaches that Apple is not at the bleeding edge of technology adoption. Look at DDR, Firewire 800, and USB2, for example. Now I'm not wishing that Apple take an extraordinarily long time to use PCI-E. I just don't want to see it come immediately.

OreoCookie · Sep 15, 2004, 05:15 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
I hope we don't see PCI-E for awhile still. I have purely selfish motives for not wanting Apple to adopt it quickly: I don't want to see my new DP 2.0 obsoleted in any respect too quickly. So Apple, please, for my sake if nothing else, do not put PCI-E into the next revision. I agonized over the decision to buy or continue to wait for PCI-E, but I ultimately chose to buy and have not looked back since. My productivity really took a hit working on my 8600 for all those years.

I really don't think Apple will get PCI-E in the G5 in the next revision. Recent history teaches that Apple is not at the bleeding edge of technology adoption. Look at DDR, Firewire 800, and USB2, for example. Now I'm not wishing that Apple take an extraordinarily long time to use PCI-E. I just don't want to see it come immediately.

I wasn't aware of a PC mobo that had FireWire 800 integrated before the Macs did ... I'm not sure how long Apple will wait, but just take a look at the outrage that was caused by the adoption of PCI-X (all those 5 V PCI cards won't work anymore, etc.). But since the next-gen graphics cards will almost certainly be PCIe native, Apple will (have to) go with the flow.

Maflynn · Sep 15, 2004, 12:23 PM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
I hope we don't see PCI-E for awhile still...

Recent history teaches that Apple is not at the bleeding edge of technology adoption. Look at DDR, Firewire 800, and USB2, for example.

I thought Apple was the first one to implement Firewire 800. What company beat them to the punch?

I can understand the delay with usb because it was a PC/intel thing.

What is obsolete anyways. I own a 2.0 and if apple decides to release a g5 with PCI-E tomorrow, that doesn't mean my computer works any less. You should be content with what you have regardless of what apple releases. The G5 is an awesome computer.

Mike

Big Mac · Sep 15, 2004, 02:29 PM

OreoCookie and Maflynn probably are right about my Firewire comment. I cannot name a PC manufacturer that had Firewire 800 before Apple did. I really was not thinking along those lines anyway; what I meant with the Firewire comment was that I had expected it to debut earlier than it did from Apple.

The chief reason why I don't want to see PCI-E just yet is I want to see at least one more generation of GPUs be AGP 8 compatible. I realize that there's actually a small chance I will ever upgrade from my 9800XT, especially given the anemic state of Mac GPU upgrades, but I just prefer to have options. And there's a psychological component to it. If Apple switches over to PCI-E in the next revision, there will be a demarcation between "old G5s" and "new G5s." And I don't want my G5 to be considered old less than a year from purchase.

OreoCookie · Sep 15, 2004, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
OreoCookie and Maflynn probably are right about my Firewire comment. I cannot name a PC manufacturer that had Firewire 800 before Apple did. I really was not thinking along those lines anyway; what I meant with the Firewire comment was that I had expected it to debut earlier than it did from Apple.

The chief reason why I don't want to see PCI-E just yet is I want to see at least one more generation of GPUs be AGP 8 compatible. I realize that there's actually a small chance I will ever upgrade from my 9800XT, especially given the anemic state of Mac GPU upgrades, but I just prefer to have options. And there's a psychological component to it. If Apple switches over to PCI-E in the next revision, there will be a demarcation between "old G5s" and "new G5s." And I don't want my G5 to be considered old less than a year from purchase.

Basically all current PC mobos have the same problems. I've seen that the first PCIe cards trickle into the market and I have yet to see one major workstation manufacturer (such as IBM, Compaq, Sun or even, yak, Dell) to have PCIe mobos in their systems.

And yes, your system will be considered old in a year, the CPU performance is still well within Moore's law, so the CPU power doubles every 18-24 months. Next year, we will see more speed bumps (hey, it's marchitecture) or even a new generation, who knows. You'll have to live with it that your system won't be top of the notch forever.

But why do you care if you don't really need PCIe. If you need more GPU horse power, take the gForce 6800, that's top of the line and I doubt that the average graphics card will really topple that card.

Also, if you check on the usual sites (The Register, The Inquirer), you'll notice that both, ATI and nVidia, will offer AGP cards for their next generation as well (they have to, because not every chip set manufacturer has PCIe working in their systems yet). So I don't see why you are in desperate need of PCIe.

Big Mac · Sep 15, 2004, 03:04 PM

Thank you for that reply, OreoCookie. You make a lot of great points. I am not desperate for PCIe, or else I would have waited for it. I just would rather not see it come to the Mac that quickly.

eddiecatflap · Sep 15, 2004, 03:42 PM

i cant wait for pci-express

give dell a good kick up the arse , if nuthin else

Maflynn · Sep 15, 2004, 04:01 PM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
The chief reason why I don't want to see PCI-E just yet is I want to see at least one more generation of GPUs be AGP 8 compatible.

I hear ya on that one, I too am waiting, so I guess in light of that I'm in agreement there with you.

Mike