[Crusoe]

Will the new 15" and 17" drop L3 cache when they are updated to the 7457 processors which have 512KB L2 1:1 cache? I'm guessing they will drop L3 cache and am hoping they'll past the savings on to us. The new processor will be a nice performance boost for the 12" and a marginal performance reduction for the 15 and 17" PBs (not considering higher clock speeds).

.. and I thought I knew which model I wanted.

[Eug]

No, most likely they'll keep the cache. The chip is still memory bandwidth starved.

[BrunoBruin]

They had better #*^$!! well not. The L3 cache is a way to partially make up for the choked-off bus, and Apple had better hang onto it until Moto delivers a processor that doesn't need it (or until PowerBooks go to the G5). I'm actually hoping they DOUBLE the L3 cache!

[Fyre4ce]

A 512k 1:1 cache would indeed be very nice, but not at the expense of the L3. With a 133 MHz, or at best 167 MHz bus the G4 is starved almost beyond hope. Hence the need for the large, elaborate, multi-layered cache structure. I think if Apple told you how much of a performance difference it makes, and how much extra cost it adds to the machine, you'd agree it's a good design decision.