[Zoom]

MacRumors is reporting (Page 2) that there may be new PowerMac G5s tomorrow. Seems unlikely, but here's hoping.

[The Placid Casual]

To me it makes more sense than a release at WWDC...

Tomorrow will tell I guess.

[eddiecatflap]

..so , this will be an intermediate ( stop-gap ) update ?

..until the 3Ghz ships c. Sep/Oct ??

[Turias]

I just hope this isn't an attempt to fly under the radar with a sub-3.0 lineup. Either way, I should probably get out the old credit card.

[Zoom]

The thing that confuses me about this is that all the PM-related deals on the Apple site end on June 26.

This other article at MacRumors says "Meanwhile, more independent reports indicate that PowerMacs should be released tomorrow"... I'm not sure if this is in addition to the rumors actually mentioned in the Page 2 rumor or not.

Why announce three weeks before a big show when Steve could do his usual song and dance? I would have to guess one of two things:

(1) The updates aren't that impressive.
(2) Apple has so many cool things to unveil at WWDC that they wanted to get some of it out of the way now.

While I'd love to have the new PM's out ASAP, I'm worried that it doesn't bode well for what they're going to deliver.

[Komisar]

Maybe there might be a new laptop model comming out... or something just as big for wwdc.... I mean it just wouldnt make sense to unviel it tommorow... but then again job's has a couple of loose screws

[BrunoBruin]

Originally posted by Zoom:
The thing that confuses me about this is that all the PM-related deals on the Apple site end on June 26.

Meh. The rebate on 23-inch displays is about clearing out 23-inch displays, not Power Macs. And the memory savings, well, even with the promo savings, Apple's memory is more expensive than aftermarket. Besides, Apple has released new hardware before promos expired in the past; last fall, new PowerBooks arrived before the back-to-school promo ended ($200 off an iPod). The rebate applied to the new models as well.

The good news is, I think new towers now means SOMETHING big will be unveiled at WWDC. It supports the theory of a G5 iMac, or of something else altogether.

[shatten22]

I think if anything gets released tomorrow, it'll be new sub 3.0ghz Powermacs and then at WWDC we'll see a new G5 iMac revision.

Or, we may just see a speed-bumped G4 iMac tomorrow, and the updated Powermacs at WWDC.

Here's hoping something gets released tomorrow!

g

[Zoom]

Everyone is now reporting new G5's tomorrow (AppleInsider, ThinkSecret). Of course, they could all be copying each other.

The common thread is a 2.6GHz top end, which is well short of 3GHz. Looks like the earlier report from ... can't find the link, some French site (MacBidouille?).

[BrunoBruin]

I tend to trust ThinkSecret, especially the day before release.

[HvyMtlMdns]

Think Secret believes that the new machines announced tomorrow will top out at 2.6 GHz. I find this to be odd as we are supposed to see 3 GHz this summer. Maybe They will announce that the new low and mid-range G5s are available immediately, while the 3 GHz will ship later this summer. Here's hoping that that is the case.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by eddiecatflap:
..so , this will be an intermediate ( stop-gap ) update ?

..until the 3Ghz ships c. Sep/Oct ??

Are you nuts. Even if Apple announces them tomorrow they will not ship for a while and Apple would never refresh them again in 3 months

[Commodus]

I wish people would accept that IBM's chip yields weren't that great, and that 3 GHz very likely isn't going to happen on time - it's not, unless Apple decides to put out 3 GHz G5s in October (which is really, really stretching the "end of summer" claim from Apple Expo Paris). Be happy with the fact that a dual 2.6 will still be an extremely fast machine... and that it's still a better clock advancement than what Intel has achieved over the past year (from 3 GHz to 3.4 is 13%).

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Are you nuts. Even if Apple announces them tomorrow they will not ship for a while and Apple would never refresh them again in 3 months

I betcha they'll ship this month if they are in fact announced tomorrow.

[The Placid Casual]

IBM have publicly stated that scaling died when they went to .90 nm

Same has happened to Intel and AMD. Motorola are just dead in the water.

I suspect that we will have to wait for a good while before we get a 3 Ghz G5. My guess is a Power5 based chip... a PPC 980 maybe?

2.6 ghz tomorrow is a solid update even if it does not live up to Steves promise. Especially if it has a PCI-e gfx etc.

[Zoom]

This might be a bit of an odd situation. I think most of us agree that Apple was planning a speed bump earlier this year. If the problem was with the CPU chips, as is also widely believed, Apple may have already manufactured a bunch of these units. What would you do with these? You can't throw them away.

Let's say that Apple had a plan to also roll out the 3GHz models in, say, August (announced at WWDC), and they were also gearing up parts for that release. I could definitely envision having two parallel development streams, or at least two that overlapped somewhat. The delays from IBM caused them to overlap more.

If all this were correct, then Apple would all of a sudden have a bunch of units awaiting G5 chips gathering dust and a shrinking window of opportunity to sell them. If the 3GHz G5's were somehow incompatible (and this could be true in any number of ways), then Apple would either have to (a) discard the Spring revisions and eat the cost or (b) release them anyway, as soon as is humanly possible.

That's my theory. Apple has these 2.2/2.4/2.6GHz models they have to try to make some money on, so they're going to get them out immediately. They may have originally been 2.0/2.2/2.4 or 1.8/2.2/2.4 as suggested here, but because of the delay, they upgraded them. Surely that's a concession they could have gotten from IBM to make up for the delay.

And then there will be another revision with the promised 3GHz top end by Sept or early Oct (to meet the "summer" deadline).

As for G5 iMacs, a WWDC announcement would make more sense if you assumed the G5 PM upgrades would have happen in Feb.

So, in short, my theory is that the IBM delay just delayed the G5's that are due tomorrow and all the other announcements are more or less on schedule.

[osxisfun]

<quote>Update: Some Apple Stores reportedly already have boxes of new products labeled for the 8th.</quote>

From macrumors

[osxisfun]

> My guess is a Power5 based chip... a PPC 980 maybe?


975?

[Zoom]

Now they have some wacky story about new interactive displays, too. Things are just going crazy on the grapevine. Luckily it seems like we only have to wait less than a day to find out.

[videian28]

hmmm, I think they will be shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing the 3.0 at the same time, they should have learned by now that people will wait for the best one to come out, they will once again see slow sales because so many will be waiting for the "BIGUN"

that and I hope they don't so it will drive down the price of the other machines, I have plans to buy the midrange (hopefully the 2.6 dual)

[gorickey]

I sure hope all these rumors come into fruition; however, WWDC isn't far away as it is so we'll find out soon enough either way...

[Simon]

Steve's really an idiot for making that 3GHz announcement. This reminds me of the Macintosh rumors in 1983 which killed the original Lisa sales. You would guess they learned...

If he can deliver they will have lost a lot of sales because people waited for better G5s to come out.

If he can't deliver, he's dead anyway.

[eddiecatflap]

..yeah , everyone's waiting for the 3 ghz

..thing is , so is steve

..how ironic

[yannb]

this is the new line-up:
dual 1,8 (slower than the current model though)
dual 2,0
dual 2,5 with water cooling

[blakespot]

Originally posted by Simon:
Steve's really an idiot for making that 3GHz announcement. This reminds me of the Macintosh rumors in 1983 which killed the original Lisa sales. You would guess they learned...

If he can deliver they will have lost a lot of sales because people waited for better G5s to come out.

If he can't deliver, he's dead anyway.

It wasn't rumors of the Macintosh that killed Lisa sales. The Lisa was overpriced ($10,000) and underpowered (5MHz 68000). The market wasn't there.



blakespot

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by yannb:
this is the new line-up:
dual 1,8 (slower than the current model though)
dual 2,0
dual 2,5 with water cooling

? I would be *very, very* surprised to see a water-cooled G5 at this point in time.

[Simon]

Originally posted by blakespot:
It wasn't rumors of the Macintosh that killed Lisa sales. The Lisa was overpriced ($10,000) and underpowered (5MHz 68000).

That's true, but when people heard of a mini-Lisa (Macintosh) coming out for less money they waited. The wait killed Lisa and there was nothing the Lisa II / Mac XL could do about it.

[xe0]

Mac users are too harsh on the company they enjoy so much..

A Dual 2.6GHz G5 system is nothing to balk at. Fact of the matter is; All of these new machines will have some serious grunt to offer.
So no 3GHz yet?- afaik the 12-month announcement has not yet arrived- so why all the "ohh fark Steve really jammed us up the date hole this time " comments?

Personally don't get it. I say lets look forward to seeing a new line of killer PowerMacs, which will run the best OS the world has to offer

btw: OLED screens, is a very exciting rumor. Although I think it will be for the iPod revision as opposed to a monitor refresh. And then theres WWDC! I have a feeling Apple has somthing big to annouce this year

All these rumors today.. man when it rains, it pours

[Zoom]

Well, folks, today is the big day! I'm personally psyched. I would be very happy with 2.2/2.4/2.6 revisions (all dual), if the prices were right. I don't need and can't afford 3GHz. I want a dualie, though, if I can afford it. If that 2.2 is dual and under $2k, I'll most likely be getting one. However, I will still be waiting for WWDC just to see what else comes out.

My main concern is that there's another batch of G5 updates around the corner, like maybe something with a redesigned case. I would really shoot myself if I missed the chance at a second optical drive bay. Again, my theory is that this round of updates is just a minor change and that the big update will come with the 3GHz models.

I wonder how much a G5 would hold it's value over the course of 6 months.

When do they normally update the online store on release day? I seem to recall it was around 9am Pacific (noon Eastern).

[digiology2]

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
? I would be *very, very* surprised to see a water-cooled G5 at this point in time.

I don't know, I think water cooled G5s are a vital need. If you are into audio production you want no noise. I see G5s selling in catalogs alongside rackmount water cooled souped up pcs and the G5 simply isn't an option for some.
There is a greater choice for hardware in the pc world and apple have a responsibility to give us what we are deprived of.

[xe0]

Originally posted by Zoom:
Well, folks, today is the big day! I'm personally psyched.

hell yeah! thats what Im talking about!

Take into consideration, that if you were to wait for the next update or refresh in leu of better spec systems- then you would be in a chronic cycle of waiting- as the industry is constantly refreshing its systems!

I say buy when you need to

[videian28]

Zoom, if new power macs come out today you will not see any new ones at WWDC, here is why, if they announce today, it will definatly be a while before they atually ship, and if they save a better product for WWDC (3ghz dual) then so many people would be switching their orders it will be rediculous..

good thing is, that if they do indeed announce new power macs today then we know for sure that we get even MORE toys a the upcoming WWDC

it's a good month for Apple fans all around

[Zoom]

Originally posted by videian28:
Zoom, if new power macs come out today you will not see any new ones at WWDC,

Oh, yes, certainly. I said in an earlier post that I would consider a revamped iMac G5, which still may come out at WWDC.

good thing is, that if they do indeed announce new power macs today then we know for sure that we get even MORE toys a the upcoming WWDC

Yes, that's certainly true - another thing I postulated earlier (in a different thread, I think).

[Zoom]

ThinkSecret has an update on the new G5 specs:

From ThinkSecret:
Apple sources said the new models will have a top speed of 2.5GHz or 2.6GHz; the company is expected to offer dual-processor configurations of 2.5GHz, 2GHz, and 1.8GHz, as well as an entry-level single-processor 1.8GHz model.

I'll be disappointed if the low end is below 2GHz.

The article also says the new G5s may be delayed till later this week.

[videian28]

all this teasing is not fun, come out with it already

[Lava Lamp Freak]

MacRumors is now saying the release date has been pushed to tomorrow.

[videian28]

so according to thinksecret we will get a whole line revision but only one increase in speed?

I don't think so, thats foolish, no one will buy, people will wait till the 3ghz comes out.... (I for one will just for the price reduction in the 2.5ghz and then buy that)

all speculation of course, but I for one don't think that is an accurate prediction.

[Turias]

Originally posted by Lava Lamp Freak:
MacRumors is now saying the release date has been pushed to tomorrow.

Tomorrow? No, I meant the day after. No wait, next week. Actually, they'll come out at WWDC, I promise!

Sounds like February all over again.

[freakboy2]

how much faster do you guys want your g5s to be?

they kick butt as-is.. we can always use more speed, but lets face it. they rock.

i wish people would just stfu about 3.0gigahertz.. who cares.. besides this bar is _still_ not as fast as a current p4 (3.4 top right now). And we all know that clock speed doesn't matter anymore..

even intel is moving to dual-core cpus in teh next year. they went to .09 process and got overheating crap.. so now they're going to put two chips in one. ibm has been planning this for awhile and apple will probably come out with the dual-core chips in machines before the wintel world.

i'd love to see a dual cpu dual core box. 4 effective cpus in one machine. now *that* would be worth waiting for.

but 2.5 vs 3.0 vs 2.2 .. who cares?

[osxisfun]

I see the old axiom is still valid:

Those that complain about speed the most. Need it the least.


Meanwhile, I've just spent the most productive period of my work life humming along on my dual 2gig which I purchased last oct. A damn fine machine indeed.

[365]

Originally posted by osxisfun:
I see the old axiom is still valid:

Those that complain about speed the most. Need it the least.


Meanwhile, I've just spent the most productive period of my work life humming along on my dual 2gig which I purchased last oct. A damn fine machine indeed.

It must be great being you ...

[Komisar]

Im still waiting

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by osxisfun:
I see the old axiom is still valid:

Those that complain about speed the most. Need it the least.


Meanwhile, I've just spent the most productive period of my work life humming along on my dual 2gig which I purchased last oct. A damn fine machine indeed.

I agree!

I feel the same about my Dual 1.8.

A new set of machines will not make mine any less productive, and also it will have also been in use for months making me money already... unlike the vapourware people are still waiting for.

[osxisfun]

Originally posted by 365:
It must be great being you ...

I am pretty happy thanks. I also realize the difference between a 2.6 and a 3.0 is not going to make me homeless due to a lack of "power"...

[Maflynn]

For me a 1.8GHz would be more then enough, actually a 1.25 GHz PB is enough for me, but the G5 is cool. I was/am waiting for the speed bum in the hopes the 1.8GHz's price would get drop enough that I could justify to myself spending money.

Mike

[Randman]

Gee, how many of these whiners are actually going to buy one right now?

[Turias]

Originally posted by osxisfun:
I see the old axiom is still valid:

Those that complain about speed the most. Need it the least.


Meanwhile, I've just spent the most productive period of my work life humming along on my dual 2gig which I purchased last oct. A damn fine machine indeed.

I complain about the speeds, but I would bet that I need it more than most. Frankly, anything under 2.6 would be depressing.

[Lateralus]

Anything under 2.6 would be depressing because even at 2.5 we would again have the fastest 64bit processors on the market?

[Turias]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Anything under 2.6 would be depressing because even at 2.5 we would again have the fastest 64bit processors on the market?

There's nothing magical about 2.6, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. Would you be depressed if after a full year of R&D Steve announced that the G5s would scale all the way to 2.2GHz? What about 2.4? 2.5?

For me, the line is drawn at 2.6. I just find it depressing that the G5 development seems to be moving so slow.

[Lateralus]

I'll cut Steve & Friends some slack, even on the 3GHz promise. So long as IBM is able to keep pace with AMD's 64bit offerings, I'll be happy.

The G4 days should have given everybody some pretty thick skin.