pyroboy
Registered
If you look around at various news sites, you will get the idea that Intel is running into many problems that are similar to the issue with Motorola and the slow speed bumps with Power PC.
Intel is hoping to push people to 64 bit chips with Itanium. The only problem is that the world is centered around 32 bit. Intel's 64 bit processors run 32 bit code slower than older processors and the performance of the 64/32 bit hybrids has been lackluster.
I suppose 3 GHz looks pretty good when you look at out own 1 GHz speeds, but Intel's house currently and in the future is not as perfect as it may look.
I applaud the fact that Apple is obviously looking around to see what other alternatives are available. However, I think the best solution could very well be the new IBM POWER+ processors. Yes, their debut will be a little slow, in the 2 GHz range, but as Intel is now pointng out to their own customers, MHz is not everything (strange, since that was their marketing pitch for the last what, 20 years). A 2 GHz processor with two built-in processors could be faster than a 4 GHz Pentium.
The real issue is will IBM be a stable supplier? Motorola should be a stable supplier able to get out faster and faster processors, but as we know now, their G4 project has not been as successful as we hoped. If IBM starts out stromg and fades in a year, Apple finds itself in the same bed they are in today.
If Apple switches to Intel/AMD, it could be a great thing. We will always have the same high speed processors that Dell/Compaq and others have, both the benefits and their drawbacks.
But Intel is not the only operation in town and they do not always make the best processors. IBM seems to do very well against them in the server market. Sun is having problems as of late, but SPARC has always been a solid processor. It's hard to believe because you think the line would be dead due to neglect, but Alpha processors continue to do very well, despite all the neglect Compaq has shown.
I wonder why Apple doesn't buy out the Motorola PowerPC operation? It would make some very good sense if they were in charge of their own destiny in this area.
I am very excited to see what will happen this fall when IBM starts shipping the 970. It would be nice if Motorola was coming up with a competing processor, but I'll take what I can get.
Intel is hoping to push people to 64 bit chips with Itanium. The only problem is that the world is centered around 32 bit. Intel's 64 bit processors run 32 bit code slower than older processors and the performance of the 64/32 bit hybrids has been lackluster.
I suppose 3 GHz looks pretty good when you look at out own 1 GHz speeds, but Intel's house currently and in the future is not as perfect as it may look.
I applaud the fact that Apple is obviously looking around to see what other alternatives are available. However, I think the best solution could very well be the new IBM POWER+ processors. Yes, their debut will be a little slow, in the 2 GHz range, but as Intel is now pointng out to their own customers, MHz is not everything (strange, since that was their marketing pitch for the last what, 20 years). A 2 GHz processor with two built-in processors could be faster than a 4 GHz Pentium.
The real issue is will IBM be a stable supplier? Motorola should be a stable supplier able to get out faster and faster processors, but as we know now, their G4 project has not been as successful as we hoped. If IBM starts out stromg and fades in a year, Apple finds itself in the same bed they are in today.
If Apple switches to Intel/AMD, it could be a great thing. We will always have the same high speed processors that Dell/Compaq and others have, both the benefits and their drawbacks.
But Intel is not the only operation in town and they do not always make the best processors. IBM seems to do very well against them in the server market. Sun is having problems as of late, but SPARC has always been a solid processor. It's hard to believe because you think the line would be dead due to neglect, but Alpha processors continue to do very well, despite all the neglect Compaq has shown.
I wonder why Apple doesn't buy out the Motorola PowerPC operation? It would make some very good sense if they were in charge of their own destiny in this area.
I am very excited to see what will happen this fall when IBM starts shipping the 970. It would be nice if Motorola was coming up with a competing processor, but I'll take what I can get.