# New ghz PowerMacs next Tuesday...



## serpicolugnut (Jan 18, 2002)

or at least that's what's being reported. Apparently, dealers have been notified that new stock of machines with 800, 933, and dual 1ghz processors should be arriving on Tuesday...

Seems like this is a stall move to prepare for G5's this summer with new mobo...


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## julguribye (Jan 18, 2002)

From ThinkSecret:

*More details emerge on updated Power Mac G4
By Nick dePlume, Publisher and Editor in Chief


As anticipated by Think Secret in the days leading up to Macworld Expo/San Francisco, there was clear disappointment among many Mac users as Apple failed to roll out new professional desktop units despite hints from the company that the expo would bring speed gains. 

In that article, we predicted that faster Power Mac G4s using an "Apollo" chip at 1 GHz or faster would be unveiled not too long after Macworld. "Apple has the chips, but not in great quantity. It makes sense to wait a month," a Motorola source told us at the time. Nevertheless, it is important that Apple begin shipping the new Power Macs as soon as possible, to prevent a lackluster pro desktop quarter due to the fast G4 iMacs. As one Apple representative said on the show floor, Apple has to release new Power Macs in the near future so to not undermine its product line.

(Although Apple has considered marketing the Apollo G4 as a G5, the company is not on the verge of releasing desktops with a true G5 chip, as we first reported last month. The fact that several hardware and software developers are referring to the chip in their documentation may indicate that such a marketing plan exists, however.)

Since Macworld, a few new details have leaked out. Word on the show floor from multiple vendors is that the motherboard of the new G4 will have a new 66 MHz PCI bus with a theoretical maximum sustained throughput of 512 MB per second. Another show floor informant said that the new Power Mac's AGP slot could be an AGP Pro, but stressed that it could easily change at the last minute. According to the source, Apple hasn't seen any significant performance gains from the AGP 4X slot to AGP Pro.

So, when will we see the new pro G4s? For the past two weeks, estimated ship dates have ranged from late January, to Seybold (February 19), to Macworld Expo/Tokyo (March).

Sources are now indicating, however, that the release may come as soon as next week, confirming a recent report from our friend the Blade from MacEdition's NMR Report. The Blade's reporting on 1.4 GHz may also be on the money, the same source says. Apple representatives at Macworld hinted that 1 GHz would just be the starting point, but just how far Apple can get with the Apollo chip hasn't been quite clear.

At press time, Apple has not informed journalists of a media event next week for the Power Macs, but the company may do so later in the week.*


I belive new G4's are right around the corner


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## tagliatelle (Jan 18, 2002)

This is rumored before, but seems more concrete... I think it is most psychological. "comparing processors and the vrooooom instinct"


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## ulrik (Jan 18, 2002)

Great...Ghz G4s. Hopefully, they are not running with PC133 RAM.


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## serpicolugnut (Jan 18, 2002)

> Great...Ghz G4s. Hopefully, they are not running with PC133 RAM.



I would bet that they are nothing more than the current Quicksilver models with nothing more than a speed bumped processor. I'm sure Apple is going to release the new G5's this summer, and with it a new motherboard. I doubt they would debut a new motherboard in what is essentially a minor modification...


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## ulrik (Jan 18, 2002)

Well, I don't know enough to say how big the change in the architecture of the board would be. The shark-series of motherboards is just getting old, and feeding a Ghz G4 from a 133 Mhz RAM bus just seems wrong for a computer which claims to be a workstation. I don't wanna badmouth the G4, it's a great Mac, but it is time for faster (DDR) RAM, if you ask me. Then again, I tend to agree that this speed bump is just to keep the G4 better than the iMac, and to fill the gap until the G5 is released. 

BTW: What about Gigawire? I haven't followed the rumours, was this also just another joke from SpyMac or are they really releasing a new BUS type???


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## serpicolugnut (Jan 18, 2002)

Gigawire is a recently registered Apple trademark, and probably meant to be the marketing term for either wireless Firewire or Firewire B. Either way, I doubt this will find it's way in to the next QuickSilver revision.

From all the rumors, the next motherboard revision should feature Gigawire, AGP Pro, USB 2.0, and the new Hypertransport bus that Apple is licensing from AMD.


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## julguribye (Jan 18, 2002)

USB 2 is 480mbps, right?
And FireWire is 400...
Gigawire is at least going to be 800!
FireWire2/GW will beat the hell out of USB2!

...And my point is?


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## chemistry_geek (Jan 18, 2002)

On a related note...

I went to a CompUSA today to see if the new iMacs were in, they were not, but will be in 2 weeks.  They had just received the new iBook with larger display (it's VERY nice).  If it had an 800 + MHz G3 chip, I'd buy one.  Now onto the G5 news of which the Apple specialist there shared with me.  The G5's will not be arriving in March, but faster G4's will be arriving soon (she smiled...).  The Apple specialist said the G5's would be arriving much later in the year.  I take that to mean July and after.

Not trying to spread rumors or hear say, just telling you exactly what I heard.


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## vanguard (Jan 18, 2002)

I don't mean to post flamebait but as a new guy fairly new to the mac scene (bought first mac in June) I see a clear pattern.

Expectations are set by the rumor sites, Apple falls short.

I'd say that it wasn't Apple's fault if they didn't hype like they did for the last show.  Ok, I love their products.  The next time I buy a machine it will be a mac.  However, if they keep slipping behind in terms of performance I'm not sure sure the machine after that will be from Apple.

Let's hope that things get back on track.  If they don't Apple's going to find itself in the "web appliance" market.

Vanguard


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## theCaptain (Jan 18, 2002)

Apple has also posted a 10 day waiting period on all of their Power Macs, I dont know what the usually wait is but this seems a bit lengthy.


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## GadgetLover (Jan 19, 2002)

My dog Clarus just took a dump on my Time magazine.  I guess he wasn't *that* impressed with the new flat-panel iMacs.

That's because---JUST LIKE YOU FOLKS!--his expectations were too high.

My advice: try not to eat spicy foods and lay of the hype, that stuff 'ill kill ya!


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## Dak RIT (Jan 19, 2002)

theCaptain, the 10 day waiting period is standard from Apple when they are very close to releasing upgrades to a product line.  The Apollo G4s should be released very shortly, early next week most likely.  (seem to be reports that Tuesday is the day now).

A little disappointing, yes.  Although it probably means the iMac line will be even stronger than usual for a couple months now which won't be a bad thing.  And everyone knows the G5 is in the pipeline and almost ready for release... possibly as soon as Macworld Tokyo (March), but no later than Macworld NY (July).

Cheers,
Dak


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## vanguard (Jan 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by GadgetLover _
> *That's because---JUST LIKE YOU FOLKS!--his expectations were too high.
> 
> My advice: try not to eat spicy foods and lay of the hype, that stuff 'ill kill ya! *



It's Apple's job to set expectations.  When they fail to do a good job they fail to meet expectations.  What people are looking for is no secret.  Hell, there are web sites out there that explain it all in plain English.

Has Apple been missing expectations for many years or is this something that has just started in mid-2000?


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## Edge100 (Jan 19, 2002)

that all everyone seems to say is "I'm disappointed"???  It seems that everything Apple does leaves us disappointed.  That's because we all expect so much of a company that has given us so many great products over the years.  And so we should.  But perhaps we shouldnt be so quick to judge.  We all say, "Oh, Apple needs to ________ in order to stay competitive", and so forth...and for the most part, they do.  Its never up to our huge expectations, but they consistently deliver excellent, innovative products.  

Anyone who has used a Mac for more than 20 minutes knows that the EXPERIENCE is far and away better than what you get on Windows 95/98/NT/Me/2000/XP etc...that is what we pay the premium for, the experience.  Everything makes sense and everything works (mostly)...yeah, the G4 towers are lagging a bit, but they are more than adequate for nearly anything you need to do TODAY.

What is the point of all this?  Apple knows what they are doing (right??? )  Perhaps we need to have some faith.  G5s will appear soon enough, and then, once again, Apple will boast the fastest tower around.  We'll still be disappointed that it doesnt take out the garbage for us, but it will be the best.  It will cost too much at the beginning, but it will be the best.  PCs will pass it in speed within 6 months, but the G5 will still be the best.

We are all very lucky to have the intelligence to use Macs.

Now that I read this post, it seems a little pointless...oh well.


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## ulrik (Jan 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Edge100 _
> *that all everyone seems to say is "I'm disappointed"???  It seems that everything Apple does leaves us disappointed. *



I wasn't dissapointed with the last keynote. And I also don't think the hype was too big, I just don't want to argue about this opinion


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## mindbend (Jan 19, 2002)

I think it's clear from the new iMac's introduction and the Digital Hub marketing that Apple has resigned itself to the fact that Motorola or whomever wimply can't crank out fast enough chips.

Don't get me wrong, the new iMac and the digital hub strat are fantastic consumer level solutions. I hope they sell another six million. I might be one of them, for home anyway.

At work is another story, I need speed, and every ounce of it I can get. And now with OS X being as demanding as it is, we're now playing catch up just to get back to OS 9 levels in many areas.

A 1 gig machine will certainly be welcomed, but since it'll probably cost $3500 in a DP configuration, I may hold out for yet another bump or prcoessor jump. My crusty G4 450 is getting creaky, especially under X, can we shoot for at least 1.2 at next bump? Pretty please.

Also, the lineup of 800/900/1 Gig is too tight, especially when Apple demands $1000 more for each jump (though they offer other stuff to, but still, it's the CPU that we crave). A 10% difference is arguably unnoticeable in typical work conditions and 20% for $2000 is painful. That's a whole extra computer in that $2000, I want to see at least 40-50% gains.

And finally, pointing out the obvious issue with the new iMac being fairly freaking professional. The only thing I can't do with it that I would want to is having two non-mirrored monitors. Other than that, it trounces my 450. I have phased out all my SCSI stuff, so the old "I need a dozen PCI slots for pro work" is mostly gone. Apple can't afford to confuse products, so they really need to set the tower line apart from the iMac.


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Jan 19, 2002)

maybe this was stated earlier and i just didn't want to read through everyone's long messages... 

I heard (well, read somewhere... i think appleturns.com but i dunno) that the G4's at the GHz level will be used only in Dual Processor models...

that makes Apple have a 4+ GHz Product!

right? just multiply the clock speed by 2 and you get the correct comparison between Intel/AMD and Apple's Mac Processors..

oh well... i'm still gonna like my 800Mhz iMac w/SuperDrive no matter it's comparison to new chips!


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## vanguard (Jan 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by BlingBling 3k12 _
> *
> that makes Apple have a 4+ GHz Product!
> 
> ...



Wrong.  It's actually a lot more complicated than that.  For one, AMD and Intel are different.  But comparing PPC to x86 is even tougher.  It has a lot to do with what you're actually doing.  If you're working with integers than the PPC chip might have some advantages over comparable X86 chips.  If you're doing floating point stuff then the clock speed isn't a bad indicator of performance.  (Of course this is more complicated too.)

Anyway, a dual ghz machine won't regain any speed crowns.  A dual PPC will probably be slower than the fastest x86 chips.  It won't be close to a dual AMD 2000+ config for any task.  

My concern was that this small step will be the only step forward we see.  However, as I think about it more that doesn't have to be true.  Maybe they'll release a little speed now and then some more notable speed a few months later?  A clock speed rev doesn't mean the g5 isn't coming.


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## simX (Jan 19, 2002)

I dunno about you guys, but I get the feeling from all of the reports of Motorola woes, the G4 speed dump fiasco a few years ago, as well as the failing of Motorola to ship G4s faster than 500 MHz for a long time, coupled with the fact that Motorola doesn't seem to be able to crank out the necessary 1+ GHz G4s, and the soon-to-come G5s, that the time is right for Apple to ditch Motorola.  It seems that Motorola is just not really caring about the chip development, or maybe it's the economy -- but Motorola just doesn't seem to be up to the job.  I, for one, am hoping that Apple will be buying all of the PPC assets off of Motorola so all of the development can be done in-house, and a much more capable company like IBM can manufacture and crank out those chips.

I think it's really Motorola that is the cause of the Mac lagging behind in performance and clock speed, not Apple.

Anyone else get this feeling?


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## Captain Code (Jan 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by simX _
> *I think it's really Motorola that is the cause of the Mac lagging behind in performance and clock speed, not Apple.
> 
> Anyone else get this feeling? *



Definately!


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Jan 19, 2002)

thanx for clarifying... you would think Intel has 20 processes and PPC has 7, so multiply by 2 and you get a rough estimate...

anyways, I think Apple should definitely do the PPC themselves... we'd already be up to G6 probably!


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## tagliatelle (Jan 20, 2002)

What a mess! You can hear it even in Dutch. www.macfan.nl


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## tazmandevil (Jan 20, 2002)

look, it has two sides, that Apple does'nt like or support rumors by itself:
 rumors:
people, who likes rumors, get to much expectations and in the end, they will be disapointed. Look to the windows-users. They spend a lot of time, to discuse and speculate, that this one or that one will come, and if it would be compatible with the other one... and they just spend less of time, to think about, if they really need it! they are consumers!
At least, they buy products, that are gona be promoted for 2 years, but when they are out, they are not "new" anymore and they still have a lots of bugs and the next promoted standard lets they think, not to support this one, because the next one will get much better.
 no rumors:
(i personally like this kind of Apple)... sometimes, let's say, all year or all two years, they surprise you with a new technology and product, that sure isn't still unbuggy, but it's finished and it's available and the magic stays longer, since its publishing! And usually, we all know, that Apple does not bring something old, as something new, just in another packing!


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## serpicolugnut (Jan 22, 2002)

As always, you are right on the money...

If Moto can't provide Apple with the chips it needs NOW, then Apple needs to use the clause in their contract, buy them out, and start farming CPU production out to whomever can take Apple's designs and give them decent yields of fast PPC processors. IBM, AMD, whoever can produce the damn things, get it done.

This was embarrassing two and a half years ago when Apple had to back peddle on the high end 500mhz G4's. 2 1/2 years later we still haven't hit the ghz mark! This is fr$#kin unreal!

As you can read from my signature below, I definitely love Apple. But I'm getting in to 3D design/production, and every clock cycle counts. My G4/800DP is a decent machine, but I'd be kidding myself if I thought I got a great deal on speed/performance for 3D (Lightwave) work. For what I paid, I could have gotten 3 decked out AMD Athlons, all with about the same Lightwave performance as the dual800.

Apple is going to lose pro customers if they don't get this rectified soon. Unless Jobs is heading the company in to a consumer only space (doubtful), he better wake up and smell the silicon...


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## tagliatelle (Jan 22, 2002)

www.apple.com.au/hardware


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## serpicolugnut (Jan 22, 2002)

Herve - soooo what?

That link is completely irrelevent to this topic...


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## tagliatelle (Jan 22, 2002)

The g4 2x800 server is launched in this way!


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## serpicolugnut (Jan 22, 2002)

The G4/800DP Server has been available here in the US for months.

This is nothing new...


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## tagliatelle (Jan 22, 2002)

Apple released hardware not always first in the US!
Continue with your threat, good luck!


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## ulrik (Jan 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by serpicolugnut _
> *The G4/800DP Server has been available here in the US for months.
> 
> This is nothing new... *



287 posts imply that you spend some time on this forum...and you STILL take Herve seriously?


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## Matrix Agent (Jan 22, 2002)

Right on. Imagine how much more fun the foum would be if everyone tried to take herve seriously. Mass confusion ensues.....


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## vanguard (Jan 22, 2002)

Maybe Herve is a child?  I've tried to make some sense out of his posts.  I've put him on my ignore list but I often still end up reading his posts just to sastisfy my curiosity.

Either he's just a total waste of time or he's a little kid that deserves some slack.

As for motorola, I agree they aren't serious competitors in the CPU market anymore.  Maybe they'll leapfrod the x86 guys again when the G5 comes out?  However, they had better do it soon because Apple can't stand still much longer.


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## ulrik (Jan 22, 2002)

Herve can't be a child. His posts are too....too.....a child can't do such stuff.

I really like his posts


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## Matrix Agent (Jan 22, 2002)

i think we should cut him some slack because he is trying to learn english!


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## chemistry_geek (Jan 22, 2002)

It is now Tuesday evening.

HA - NOTHING NEW FROM APPLE, but the sun did rise and set, just as I predicted.


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## ulrik (Jan 23, 2002)

As Spymac would say:

"We are still correct with our rumour! We said there will be new Powermacs on January, 22nd....we didn't say the year, so what we heard from our contacts at Apple (they are REAL, MAN, REEAAAL, CALL THEM FOR YOURSELF YOU..YOU NOT GOOD MAN WHO NOT BELIEVES ME) is - as always - correct.
And the iWalk we had was a very early prototype model of the later this year..."


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## ksv (Jan 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by ulrik _
> *As Spymac would say:
> 
> "We are still correct with our rumour! We said there will be new Powermacs on January, 22nd....we didn't say the year, so what we heard from our contacts at Apple (they are REAL, MAN, REEAAAL, CALL THEM FOR YOURSELF YOU..YOU NOT GOOD MAN WHO NOT BELIEVES ME) is - as always - correct.
> ...



At least you were close; 

"And although new systems were not released today, Spymac.com stands by its original statement... the update will be released within the very near future" -spymac.com

Let's ignore them, eh?


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## banjo_boy (Jan 23, 2002)

Apple will is no longer going to make any new products. If a new Mhz machine comes out it will only be 1 Mhz fast than the last one. With Apple, ALWAYS make your expectations low. Lower than current products if possible. I will be excited when the TiPB 550 comes out... Oh wait a minute it has. Now I can be happy with Apple. 

This is the mind set I am going to use from now on. Spread this around and everyone will be happy if new products come out.


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## JimNoble (Jan 23, 2002)

www.mosr.com has what someone claims to be the new G4 specs, cut and pasted from the depths of one of Apple's websites.

Nothing particularly new, oh except perhaps for the NVidia Geforce4 bit...  

Jim


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## JimNoble (Jan 23, 2002)

http://www.macosrumors.com/ even

Jim


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## edX (Jan 23, 2002)

Apple is not going to release anything new until they are ready to remove the Time magazine cover from the opening page


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## Matrix Agent (Jan 23, 2002)

The problem here is, like Ed said, they don't want to take the iMac off the homepage. Now lets say that this revision did not reach the majic number of 1Ghz, I think apple could get away with updating its towers like it did with the servers. Now 1Ghz is prolably going to be reached, and therefore, it will problably be at least a week at best before there is any probable dates for introduction.


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## tagliatelle (Jan 26, 2002)

Details on the Gigahertz Macs [Updated] 
Thu, 24 Jan 2002, 00:33 Lando Calrissian  I work for an Apple reseller in [removed], and here Apple has an internal training program. Today, someone screwed up. they posted, albeit VERY briefly, the new G4 specs, in their entirety. So here they are:  Chips:  800-MHz Power PC G4  933-MHz Power PC G4  Dual 1-GHz Power PC G4  On-chip cache:  256K L2 at 800 MHz  256K L2 at 933 MHz  256K L2 at 1 GHz per processor  L3 cache (DDR SDRAM):   On 933mhz - 2MB with 3.7-GBps throughput  On 1Gh DP - 2MB per processor with 4-GBps throughput  Main memory (PC 133 SDRAM)   800 - 256MB  933 - 256MB  1Gh DP - 512MB  Hard disk drive   800 - 40GB (7200 rpm)  933 - 60GB (7200 rpm)  1Gz DP - 80GB (7200 rpm)  Graphics support:  (now THIS is interesting!!!)  800 - ATI Radeon 7500 with 32MB of DDR RAM  933 - NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 64MB of DDR RAM  1Ghz DP - NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 64MB of DDR RAM  Optical drive   CD-RW  SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)  SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)  FireWire  Two ports  Two ports  Two ports  USB  Four ports  Four ports  Four ports  PCI  Four slots  Four slots  Four slots  Ethernet  10/100/1000BASE-T  10/100/1000BASE-T  10/100/1000BASE-T  Wireless networking  AirPort ready  AirPort ready  AirPort ready  Modem  56K  56K  56K  Accessories   Apple Pro Keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse, and modem cable Seems plausible. Anyone care to confirm or help us with the date?
Next Week?


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