[Eug Wanker]

http://kodawarisan.com/ug/PowerBook/index15.html



People are saying that judging by the size, it's indeed a 7447 (bottom left).

[vancenase]

are these reports wrong about it being a 7457 then?

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by vancenase:
are these reports wrong about it being a 7457 then?

I don't know for sure because I can't read the writing on it, but I don't see any reason to doubt the 7447 comments. (The 7457 is bigger than the 7447.) Why would Apple use the 7457 if they're not using L3? The only benefit of the 7457 is the capability of utilizing L3, and the new PowerBooks do not. Otherwise the chips are essentially identical.

[schk]

The 7447/7457 are identical chips save for the fact the 7457 supports additional L3 cache. The reason people are mistakenly assuming it's 7457 and not 7447 is because the documents with their specs are all titled 7457 even though it contains info on both.

[vancenase]

yeah, i agree -- but it just seems odd that apple would link to the 7457 off the dev pages [edit: sorry about that schk; didn't notice the sentence before about the 47/57 info on the same page -- deceiving!] .

of course, i don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of typos that were on the new powerbook pages the day they were released (well, maybe an exaggeration)

[schk]

Originally posted by vancenase:
yeah, i agree -- but it just seems odd that apple would link to the 7457 off the dev pages.

My post explained the 7457 link.

Anyways, my thoughts were confirmed when I e-mailed the guy who dissected the 15" PB.

>>
The chipset used is 7447.

Best regards,
dr-mip (Mitsunobu Tanaka Ph.D)
>>

So there's our answer. Based on this, it's pretty much save to assume all of them are using the 7447

[benb]

Am I the only one who is freakin amazed by that? I mean, look at the engineering behind it! Incredible how everything fits together.

[mainemanx]

See ... as predicted ... the first dissection occurred in Nippon

[Eug Wanker]

The chipset used is 7447.

Best regards,
dr-mip (Mitsunobu Tanaka Ph.D)

Good. I hope finally all the sites will set the record straight

And, I hope we don't get the "WHAT IS THIS STOOPID 7447 BECAUSE I WANTED THAT L337 7457 CPU LIKE APPLE SAYS IT HAS" threads from people who don't know any better.

[StiZeven]

So is this confirmed chip a good or desired one compared to those others that's been rumored? I don't know a thing about them, so if someone could fill me in. I mean, we all know that the new PowerBooks are faster than the previous, but I am not sure about the benefits or the other features (efficiency, etc.)

More importantly - is it me, or does it look like it's very easy to get inside the new 15" AlBook? If it's really only a matter of a few screws and lifting the top (which looks like it's all one neat piece), then this only makes this PowerBook even more appealing!

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by StiZeven:
So is this confirmed chip a good or desired one compared to those others that's been rumored?

One more time...

7447 = 7457 without L3 support, in terms of design and performance.

[StiZeven]

Thanks - I read that part

But, I was wondering if this was a good thing as I don't really know what it's capable of. Yes, I could dig for the answer, but was hoping a chip guru could give a summary since there were so many conflicting posts and threads about specs, efficiencies and so on in comparison to the chips in the previous models.

[awcopus]

Originally posted by benb:
Am I the only one who is freakin amazed by that? I mean, look at the engineering behind it! Incredible how everything fits together.

I join you in utter amazement. Whenever I open my Cube, I always feel the same way... thrilled at the system integration and motherboard details compressed into such a beautiful outer shell.

Now all we need is fuel cell batteries and it might actually be useful as a portable.

[crispinwilliams]

Well it is clear that the 7447 comes in a smaller package - and has fewer pins.. and at least it explains to me why the 15 inch Al did not come out 3 months ago at 1 GHz for example. The 7447 is a drop in replacement for the 7445.. and not the 7455. The 17 pb that ran at 1 GHz used a 7455... and one possible option was that Apple would just upgrade to a higher speed 7457 without any change to the motherboard.. However Apple have decided not to do this but to go with the 7447.. and save some power for the high speed 1 G fast memory for L3.. but also this is a complete redesign of the motherboard (lucky for us since Apple could also redesign the motherboard for the 9600 graphic card). So they also designed a motherboard for the 15 inch using the 7447... however doing this blocks them for bringing out a lower speed 15 inch using the 7445.. since this is without a L3 cache and has only 256 k L2. One can imagine what everyone would say if the Apple brought out a 15 inch Al that had lower benchmark scores than the Tibook..


So the powerbooks were designed for the 7447 some time ago..

Sorry - I think I am rambling..

[Matt OS X]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
http://kodawarisan.com/ug/PowerBook/index15.html



People are saying that judging by the size, it's indeed a 7447 (bottom left).

HOLY TESTICLE TUESDAY! Amazing!!

[chrisutley]

Originally posted by mainemanx:
See ... as predicted ... the first dissection occurred in Nippon

I think Sony pays these people to do this for them.

[michaelb]

Or perhaps the culture is more electronically inclined than others...

Your American would dismantle a Jeep Cherokee.

Your Brit would dismantle his soccer teams performance.

Your Australian would dismantle a croc's gizzard, and then dismantle his footy teams performance.

Your average Japanese dismantles a PowerBook...

Priorities!

[x user]

Originally posted by crispinwilliams:
Well it is clear that the 7447 comes in a smaller package - and has fewer pins.. and at least it explains to me why the 15 inch Al did not come out 3 months ago at 1 GHz for example. The 7447 is a drop in replacement for the 7445.. and not the 7455. The 17 pb that ran at 1 GHz used a 7455... and one possible option was that Apple would just upgrade to a higher speed 7457 without any change to the motherboard.. However Apple have decided not to do this but to go with the 7447.. and save some power for the high speed 1 G fast memory for L3.. but also this is a complete redesign of the motherboard (lucky for us since Apple could also redesign the motherboard for the 9600 graphic card). So they also designed a motherboard for the 15 inch using the 7447... however doing this blocks them for bringing out a lower speed 15 inch using the 7445.. since this is without a L3 cache and has only 256 k L2. One can imagine what everyone would say if the Apple brought out a 15 inch Al that had lower benchmark scores than the Tibook..


So the powerbooks were designed for the 7447 some time ago..

Sorry - I think I am rambling..

That would explain the 12"s continued use of the nCrappia chipset, at it used the 7445 (No L3 cache) correct? So that was a pin-for-pin upgrade, no redesign.

[schk]

Originally posted by x user:
That would explain the 12"s continued use of the nCrappia chipset, at it used the 7445 (No L3 cache) correct? So that was a pin-for-pin upgrade, no redesign.

They probably revised the mobo in the new 12" as USB2 and DVI out were added. But those could be minor additions, not requiring much changes. But keep in mind, PCBs in practically all electronics go through tons of revisions (for ex. routers, sound cards, video game consoles, etc.) so I would expect there had to be changes in the rev B. And the usage of the nvidia card doesn't really correlate to redesigning the mobo, the only thing similar about the 5200 go and 420 go is that they use .15 micron chips.

[:dragonflypro:]

Am I right in seeing both SO DIMM ram modules are right next to each other on the same side of the logic board?

That will make installs/upgrades a snap!

[11001001]

Anyone know:

Would the addition of L3 cache significantly increase the power comsumption?

I had read somewhere that some people were hoping that the new Pbooks would use the 7457 chips because that meant the system bus could be increased to 200. Is it true that the 7457 would have made the increase possible, and if so why does the 7447 not support such such a desireable increase? (As far as I can tell the new books have a 167 bus).

[rambo47]

Motorola's website is hosed right now so I can't find the specs on the new processor. Is it still based on the 18� manufacturing process? The Centrinos that seem so efficient are based on the 13� process. If we are to get a truely power-effecient processor don't we need a smaller die?

IBM is using the 13� process for ghe G5, but I have no faith in Moto. I was hoping the new G4 processors we're getting now would be far superior to previous chips as far as battery life goes.

[iomatic]

All very interesting topics.

However, it seems all very academic to discuss these revisions, and also pointing fingers at Motorola (I'm not vested in nor an employee of any of the aforementioned companies), seeing that I assume (and I'm aware of making assumptions is a very bad thing, and please, hang me out to dry on this one), that none of the people here are chip designers, PCB designers, or portable computing engineers. I say, if it's 1GHz, heck, I'm all for it. I can now (near a decade of doing work with Macs) heavily utilize Photoshop, Flash, and, Final Cut Pro acceptably.

Imagine this: I was barely using an LC in college for crying out loud--our family's first Mac!

I'd really like to hear from some engineers as to what we're "losing" or gaining, and what a possible strategy in the portable market Apple has in mind. (No, I'm no Wintel bot spy either.)

US$.02

[schk]

The new chips are using .13 instead of .18. Browsing the specs the other day the power usage wasn't really much different at all compared to the 7455 chipset when looking at typical Wattage. Although they mention casually in the docs that they use less than 10W, the charts with test data said otherwise. And the low power version of the 7447/7457 is ironically limited to "industrial usage" and not used the Apple laptops, so their claims of using less than 10w at 1ghz appears to be w/ using the industrial version of the chipset.

I think a good estimate (but rather unscientific test) to see just how effective the .13 process in reducing power requirements and subsequent heat generation is when we start receiving the new 12" and are able to see just how hot they run and their battery life. Shame no one from the Paris Expo really posted any info on how the revised 12" felt heatwise. But I think the fact that the 15" battery was somewhat significantly reduced wattage wise, and keep similar battery life to the TiBook shows improvement (of course there are disparate reports on the battery life thus far).

[nobitacu]

Well, at least now we know the truth, and people around the world can finally rest in peace and not have to wonder anymore...

Ming

[Kahpoosta Kid]

The Lord loves a good disassembler! nice job.

[kentuckyfried]

Exactly what impact does this have on the overall operation of the AL 15" compared to the 15" tibook? Is it better or worse?