Mac mini the first to go Intel?

Personally, I'd expect the high-end machines to go to Intel first.

This means Jobs will get his 3GHz Power Mac, people will have a next-generation PowerBook, and it will finally separate the two markets again.

Then, shortly after, the pro line would be upgraded and the consumer range would go Intel.
 
The biggest problem with that is Intel cannot compete with the high end PowerPCs in the PowerMacs yet. They will be the last to switch not the first. Now the powerbooks...
 
does this mean lower priced Macs? or Less productive Macs? i know the intel procesors are good. just why not AMD? i overall like AMD better, I guess ill have to wait and see the compatibility!
 
lurk said:
The biggest problem with that is Intel cannot compete with the high end PowerPCs in the PowerMacs yet. They will be the last to switch not the first. Now the powerbooks...
Click to expand...
Why can't they compete? I mean... Steve Jobs chose them.
 
gerbick said:
Why can't they compete? I mean... Steve Jobs chose them.
Click to expand...
Steve Jobs chose them for 2+ years down the line. He never said anything about Intel's offerings besting the G5 any sooner than that.

The general assumption has been that the Power Mac will be the last to make the move. The G5 is not currently lacking (the G4 is), so there's really no need to replace it quickly. Also, the Power Macs are professional systems, and professionals can't afford to be guinea pigs. It will take time for pro apps to be ported to Intel Macs, and until that happens, the PPC machines will be MUCH faster. This doesn't matter much to average consumers, but it makes all the difference in the world for most people who'd be in the market for a Power Mac.

Of course, this is all just speculation. Apple has never said anything definitive. All they said is that the transition should start in mid-2006 at the latest, and end in mid-2007 at the latest.
 
The current big problems are that the 64 bit support is not up to snuff compare them to Opterons if you want more of an apples to apples comparison. Look at the new quad powermac and then try to spec out an intel machine to match, it ain't gonna happen. Now once Intel puts the current netburst architecture behind them things will look up.

I just cannot see them moving back to 32bits in the high end machines ever. Now a 32 bit powerbook, that might be more palatable although I would like to have a 64 bit machine there if only to separate it from the lesser machines.
 
maz94protege said:
does this mean lower priced Macs? or Less productive Macs? i know the intel procesors are good. just why not AMD? i overall like AMD better, I guess ill have to wait and see the compatibility!
Click to expand...

In short, AMD mobile solutions is yet at par with Intel mobile solutions in terms of power consumption-performance ratio.

Notebook computers using Intel solutions with Centrino technology have longer battery life than the current AMD solutions.

I too love AMD processors--I use them to build desktop Win PCs--but when it comes to mobile solutions, AMD is still a child that only recently broke into the mobile market.

I look forward to its next generation mobile solutions, but for now, we must give it up for Intel.

That doesn't mean the PowerPC platform is dead though.

I, for one, am getting the new 15-inch PowerBook G4 because I believe it will last me three years before switching to an "Intel Inside" Mac.
 
Mikuro said:
Steve Jobs chose them for 2+ years down the line. He never said anything about Intel's offerings besting the G5 any sooner than that.

The general assumption has been that the Power Mac will be the last to make the move. The G5 is not currently lacking (the G4 is), so there's really no need to replace it quickly. Also, the Power Macs are professional systems, and professionals can't afford to be guinea pigs. It will take time for pro apps to be ported to Intel Macs, and until that happens, the PPC machines will be MUCH faster. This doesn't matter much to average consumers, but it makes all the difference in the world for most people who'd be in the market for a Power Mac.

Of course, this is all just speculation. Apple has never said anything definitive. All they said is that the transition should start in mid-2006 at the latest, and end in mid-2007 at the latest.
Click to expand...


Here, here!

I couldn't have said it better, myself.
 
I've just finished reading through this thread and took note of some comments concerning the eMac and educational computer purchasers. I know the eMac was created largely at the insistence of educational customers, but I think priorities are shifting within the sector itself. My mother works in a elementary school (K-8) which has had Apples and Macs for many years. What I have heard from her over the last year or two is that they are getting away from having a lab full of CRT iMacs and eMacs and moving toward mobile "labs" made up of iBooks. This leads me to question whether we will see the eMac transitioned to an Intel configuration or whether it will be quietly EOL'd in a year or two.
 
Well, it looks now that it may be the iMac and the PowerBook to get Intel first:
Surprisingly, the most reliable information indicates that the iMac and PowerBook -- two of the company's most recently revised Mac offerings -- are targeted to be the first two Mac models to receive Intel processors in January.
Click to expand...
link
 
kainjow said:
The 15-inch Intel PowerBook has been described by reliable sources as looking very similar to the company's current offering, but 20- to 25-percent thinner.
Click to expand...


wow...and i thought they couldnt get any thinner
 
I wish they'd get _lighter_. The PowerBooks are heavy beasts compared to some Wintel notebooks. But I guess it's not really the processor that gives that weight...

(btw.: that's "hear, hear!", not "here, here!". ;))
 
Are they really that much heavier than comparably equipped Wintel laptops? In my work I have to talk about Macs a lot and I've had to compare them to a fair number of Wintel laptops. All the times I've compared the PowerBooks to PCs with the same features the PCs have been a good bit heavier.
 
I think the problem is that Apple doesn't offer any laptops with the combination of features many people want — namely, a big screen and little else. You can't always compare the PowerBook to PCs with the exact same features, because Apple doesn't offer as many models as the PC companies. A lot of the time there is no Mac that's really equivalent to a PC, although there's always a PC that's equivalent to any Mac.
 
maz94protege said:
i thought the G Processor was better and more efficient then the Intel.....maybe im wrong
Click to expand...

View my post on another thread about why the PPC processors seem like they are no match for the Intel chips regarding OS X. Mind you, this is just my take on the whole thing, but I'm sure someone would be willing to correct me on what I posted....and I welcome it. :D

http://www.macosx.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1253520&postcount=10

You might also want to view the rest of my posts on that thread for more information that I provided.
 
I'm under the impression that the laptops will first, since they are in dire need of upgrading, then the mac mini after that...


Though, I personally think they'll make a huge amount of money selling the OS rather than just computers, with an x86 market on hand it'll probably fly off the shelves. Since you can just simply build the computer instead of buying one.
 
128shot said:
I'm under the impression that the laptops will first, since they are in dire need of upgrading, then the mac mini after that...


Though, I personally think they'll make a huge amount of money selling the OS rather than just computers, with an x86 market on hand it'll probably fly off the shelves. Since you can just simply build the computer instead of buying one.
Click to expand...

If the 90s Mac OS licensing didn't eat enough into Apple's hardware sales, this would definitely do it.

Of course, with Jobs, anything is possible down the road.....remember that NeXTSTEP became OPENSTEP and it ran on stock Pentium hardware. So again, anything is possible. Heck, we never thought that Apple would go Intel..ever! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top