[Back up 15 and punt]

If I'm not mistaken the current lineup of PowerMacs (and many previous models) use a daughter card to mount the PowerPC chip. What I am wondering is just how hard it would be to provide a new daughter card using a future Intel chip? I'm especially curious about the current lineup of PowerMacs. Does anybody have any insight as to the possibilities?

[Lateralus]

It's possible, but the number of work arounds required to make it function properly would probably be prohibitive. You've gotta take into account the fact that the motherboard was designed around and for the PowerPC architecture. So there'd be a number of things about the motherboard's architecture that a swapped in x86 CPU would either not be capable of accessing or have trouble doing.

What I'd expect is something along the lines of a PCIe 'PC' card. A card that would feature an x86 CPU and all the necesarry chips and ROMs for it to function as a secondary processor for doing things like running x86-native software.

I'm doing more than expecting it, actually, I'm counting on it. I have every intention of buying the of last G5 Power Macs (if this revision should so be it) and using it for several years (5-10). First, until the PowerPC native software begins to dry up, and then beyond that with an secondary x86 processor.

[mduell]

I'm with Lateralus that swapping the G5 for an Intel chip would be nearly impossible.
However, I don't think we'll see PCIe cards with Intel chips on them. Any chip on that card would be more starved for bandwidth than the early 400Mhz FSB Pentium 4.

[t500]

There are a lot of G5's out there. I believe it is within reason that some other mother board manufacture out there figures out what is so special about the Apple Intel mother boards and clones them. This is a big PC market. It’s only a matter of time before it hits the Mac.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by t500

There are a lot of G5's out there. I believe it is within reason that some other mother board manufacture out there figures out what is so special about the Apple Intel mother boards and clones them. This is a big PC market. It’s only a matter of time before it hits the Mac.

On the same idea, I think we're more likely to see (3rd party Intel CPU compatible) motherboards with the right layout and screw positions for the PMG5 case rather than CPU swaps or CPUs on PCIe cards.

[OreoCookie]

This would amount to designing a bridge chip which mediates between Intel's cpu bus and IBM's interconnect for the PPC970. Also, throttling the cpu, decreasing the core voltage and/or frequency would be difficult to say the least. Technically, I guess it's feasible, but I doubt the performance would be great either. I also doubt it would be cheap. Lastly the drivers had to be modified (since I doubt the drivers for all components on a motherboard for the G5 have been included for the x86).

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by mduell

However, I don't think we'll see PCIe cards with Intel chips on them. Any chip on that card would be more starved for bandwidth than the early 400Mhz FSB Pentium 4.

There's already precedent for PCs-on-PCI cards for the Mac.

[t500]

Hummm, I was thinking about an entire mother board swap. No retro fitting... New computer, same sexy case

Yeah it will be a 3rd party that does it...

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by mduell

However, I don't think we'll see PCIe cards with Intel chips on them. Any chip on that card would be more starved for bandwidth than the early 400Mhz FSB Pentium 4.

There's already precedent for PCs-on-PCI cards for the Mac.