# Power Mac with intel Chip: When can I buy one?



## Akkarin (Mar 4, 2006)

Can anyone tell me the approx date I should expect to see a Power Mac with an Intel chip inside on the Mac web site to buy?

I hope it is not too much longer I want one to repalce my Mini. I have out grown it in only a couple weeks.  

I don't want an iMac although they do look very nice.

Thank You!


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## dmetzcher (Mar 4, 2006)

I think the guess is that it will probably be the last Mac to be migrated over to the Intel processor, so you are probably looking at MacWorld San Fran 2007 in January. Maybe later, but Apple seems to be moving faster than they let on, so I doubt it.


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## Quietly (Mar 4, 2006)

dmetzcher said:
			
		

> I think the guess is that it will probably be the last Mac to be migrated over to the Intel processor, so you are probably looking at MacWorld San Fran 2007 in January. Maybe later, but Apple seems to be moving faster than they let on, so I doubt it.



Interesting estimate, seeing as Apple have stated that all their Macs will be Intel by the end of 2006.


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## adambyte (Mar 4, 2006)

lol. Straight from Steve Jobs mouth... "by the end of 2006."

So... I say... sometime between now... and then.


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## fryke (Mar 4, 2006)

I personally think that Apple will create a "Mac Pro" when intel's ready with the desktop processors based on the Yonah's architecture, i.e. Conroe. This should be around MW in July, although Apple has been absent last year in Boston.


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## chevy (Mar 4, 2006)

Conroe is expect around Q3. But Apple may wait for the 64-bit Merom.


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## Quietly (Mar 4, 2006)

I thought Conroe was 64-bit. Isn't Merom the mobile version of the NGMA? And then Woodcrest the server version?


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## fryke (Mar 4, 2006)

I thought Merom is just the next version of Yonah with 64bit extensions, Conroe would be the desktop version of that, Woodcrest the server version. If I'm right, Merom would go into the MacBook Pros, the iMacs and the Mac minis (maybe the iBooks/MacBooks, too) whereas Conroe would go into the Mac Pros and Woodcrest into the Xserves. From intel's roadmap, that seems quite clear to me. Oh, I'm right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Next_Generation_Microarchitecture ...


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## Quietly (Mar 4, 2006)

Interesting - so we're already expecting an update to yonah/core duo! Wonder how soon that'll happen?


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## fryke (Mar 4, 2006)

Same time frame as Conroe... I guess Apple will want to stay on top of intel's curve, i.e. they don't want to be second or third to announce notebooks based on new intel processors... Or so I hope. But this thread's about the desktops.  ... I actually wonder about the desktop cases... The huge G5 thing isn't needed anymore, now (well, "then", I mean...) that we don't need 9 fans for a normal desktop computer...


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## Quietly (Mar 4, 2006)

Keep the size, fill the space with other useful things. Couple more HD bays would be nice.


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## RGrphc2 (Mar 4, 2006)

Quietly said:
			
		

> Keep the size, fill the space with other useful things. Couple more HD bays would be nice.



can we say 2TB of Harddrive space RAID?


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## adambyte (Mar 4, 2006)

An internal RAiD...  that would kick so much ass... I dunno if I could take it. Heehee.


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## ergo proxy (Mar 4, 2006)

I don't know what is conroe or yonah, but as long as pro video cards like 
Nvidia's Quadro is available as an option, I'll get one.


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## Shookster (Mar 4, 2006)

So no-one thinks they may be unveiled at NAB in April?


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## Quietly (Mar 5, 2006)

RGrphc2 said:
			
		

> can we say 2TB of Harddrive space RAID?



That's what I'd want - but I doubt if we'll get it!



			
				Shookster said:
			
		

> So no-one thinks they may be unveiled at NAB in April?


I'd like to think so, but if Conroe is not scheduled until Q3, there'll be no new PowerMac till Q3.


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## fryke (Mar 5, 2006)

Unless they'd use one of the older-architecture intel processors. And I'd like to think they won't.


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## Lt Major Burns (Mar 5, 2006)

with respects to what fryke said about the case design, i'm really dissapointed with the lack of.... _any_ change in the case designs so far, the most drastic being that someone sat on the 15" powerbook to make a macbook pro... these are 2-3 year old designs now.... 

but i admit they are very good designs, but i was always hoping, excited to see what Ive and his team would come up with being as they set their task to be so difficult...


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## fryke (Mar 5, 2006)

I guess they want the cases to state that even with intel processors, those boxes are still very much Macs. They look and act the same, only with a faster heart.


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## Stridder44 (Mar 6, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> I thought Merom is just the next version of Yonah with 64bit extensions, Conroe would be the desktop version of that, Woodcrest the server version. If I'm right, Merom would go into the MacBook Pros, the iMacs and the Mac minis (maybe the iBooks/MacBooks, too) whereas Conroe would go into the Mac Pros and Woodcrest into the Xserves. From intel's roadmap, that seems quite clear to me. Oh, I'm right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Next_Generation_Microarchitecture ...



HA! I knew it! This is why I will wait before I get my new Intel iMac. I suppose we'll be seeing alot more updates now, and more often too, due to Intel's new releases and surly Apple won't want to be left behind.


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## dmetzcher (Mar 6, 2006)

Quietly said:
			
		

> Interesting estimate, seeing as Apple have stated that all their Macs will be Intel by the end of 2006.


You are correct. In the last Intel Mac mini announcement, I believe, he said exactly that. I had forgotten about that part of the announcement. "Interesting estimate", I assume, was an attempt at being a smart-ass. Seeing as you like to point things out, I thought I'd point that out for you. Try not to be so obvious about it. 

In any case, it was a simple mistake, I'll retract my previous statement, and beg forgiveness from both you and the Macintosh gods for ever (1) forgetting what The Great Steve said in an announcement, and (2) for misquoting the same.


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## Quietly (Mar 7, 2006)

Smart-Arse actually 

Steve first stated that all Macs would be Intel in 2006 when launching the new iMac & MacBook Pro. So he's now said it twice!


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## Veljo (Mar 7, 2006)

I think it's safe to say that there's still a while to go. While Apple are making good progress with their complete product line overhaul, I think the new Power Mac  will have something leaps and bounds over what's currently being offered in MacBook Pros, iMacs and Mac Minis.


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## RGrphc2 (Mar 7, 2006)

Well pre-production models of the conroe (the 64-bit desktop successor to the Yonah) are out, and they have been tested against the Athlon FX 64.  Wow...can't wait till these things are in the new powermacs.

test


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## Lt Major Burns (Mar 8, 2006)

i also read those benchmarks.  conroe seems to be a bloody gaming chip, not a workstation chip, apparently - did you you see how the athlon still thrashed it in media encoding - this is what we want, not 20% better performance in games we can't play...


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## fryke (Mar 8, 2006)

20% compared to what exactly, Lt.?  ... We'll have to see how the conroes compare to the G5, really, and my guess is they'll do just fine indeed.


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## Lt Major Burns (Mar 8, 2006)

i was talking about the benchmark linked at the bottom of the previous page, which guns the Conroe against the current fasted Athlon. and shows that conroe kills it.  i misread the benchmarks (media encoding, lower figures are better.... duh....).

i want a conroe system.


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## fryke (Mar 8, 2006)

... i want merom, of course.


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## Lt Major Burns (Mar 8, 2006)

when i'm rich again, i'll replace this with a quad-kentsfield 3ghz with 10.6/11 and CS4. oohoooh.


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