PowerPC 970 Info Thread

Fryke posted:
Whether it'll be faster at the _same_ clock speed, ... Dunno.
Click to expand...

What do you mean exactly? A single 970 is faster than a single P4 (even with Hyperthreading) at the same clockspeed according to these estimates:

Dhrystone
970 ... 1.8GHz ... 5220
P 4 .... 1.8GHz ... 4119
P 4 .... 3.066GHz 7724 (Hyperthreaded)
........................ 7009 (without HT)

SPECint2000
970 ... 1.8GHz .... 937
P 4 .... 1.8GHz .... 612
P 4 .... 3.066GHz 1130

SPECfp2000
970 ... 1.8GHz ... 1051
P 4 .... 1.8GHz .... 678
P 4 .... 3.066GHz 1103
 
Originally posted by Cat
Fryke posted:

What do you mean exactly? A single 970 is faster than a single P4 (even with Hyperthreading) at the same clockspeed according to these estimates:
Click to expand...

Heck, I think a 486 is faster for a given clock speed than a P4. I think he was referring to the G4 (or G3 or even 604e).


Dhrystone
970 ... 1.8GHz ... 5220
P 4 .... 1.8GHz ... 4119
P 4 .... 3.066GHz 7724 (Hyperthreaded)
........................ 7009 (without HT)


Hey, when I originally read your post, I saw some numbers for the Athlon, where'd they go (or is the caffiene wearing off?) Anyway, IIRC the 1.8ghz Athlon had about the same Dhrystone value as the 1.8ghz 970!?!
 
Hey, when I originally read your post, I saw some numbers for the Athlon, where'd they go (or is the caffiene wearing off?) Anyway, IIRC the 1.8ghz Athlon had about the same Dhrystone value as the 1.8ghz 970!?!
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Yeah, sorry. I edited them out while trying to get all the numbers nicely aligned :D

These were the the numbers for the Athlons:

Dhrystone
PPC970 1.8GHz ................. 5220
Athlon XP 2800+ (2.25GHz) . 6406
Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8 GHz) .. 5125

SPECint2000
PPC970 1.8GHz .... 937
Athlon XP 2800+ .. 933
Athlon XP 2200+ .. 765

SPECfp2000
PPC970 1.8GHz .... 1051
Athlon XP 2800+ ... 843
Athlon XP 2200+ ... 671
 
Ya know...many rumors say that the PPC970 will come about some time later this year (2003). Many rumors also say that 10.3 (Panther) will also come about the same time...later this year. Maybe Apple is already optimizing their next upgrade (10.3) to work best with the next generation processor. What I'm saying is that 10.3 might be released around the time (or after) the next processor is announced. September was the time about when 10.3 is supposed to come about (i think). So i bet thats when we can expect the next processor come about as well. Then again...Im probably wrong...lol...:p
 
I'm pretty sure that _if_ the PPC970 comes in a PowerMacintosh computer this year, the operating system will come in a separate version with the machines. I think Panther will be released this Summer whether the PPC970 is ready or not, the latter being more probable.
 
Is fryke some kind of super human, possessing PPC 970 powers? Can he will the macintosh line to upgrade? Who takes over when he is asleep, does he sleep?
tune in next time for fryke man!
 
Okay, a little contest. Design me a little comic figure of FrykeMan. The best entry will be my new avatar on here for at least a month. ;)
 
On another note... macwhispers has a story of two new Motherboard designs that are currently out on bid from an apple partner. From the previous timelines this should be out in 3 to 4 months. New Powermacs on the way with "completely new" motherboards?

Link

Late Thursday, MacWhispers learned that an Apple OEM assembly partner has placed a new motherboard design out for bid with at least two Taiwanese circuit board contractors. Our source within one of these contractors has been surprisingly forthcoming in his report.
What we have been told is that a set of CAD files detailing what "appears to be a final design for a pair of completely new motherboards" was given to at least two contractors this week for review and production price bidding. The deadline for bid responses is said to be March 28th.
Our source states that these designs "are obviously for new PowerMacs," and that "the architecture of the boards looks to be totally different" from existing models. We were told that this price bidding activity typically indicates a finalized product being readied for production, and that this point in the process usually precedes actual production by 3 to 4 months.
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frykeman.gif
 
My probable conclusions about the 970 and a new version of Mac OS X is the 10.3 version will more than likely be a 32-bit version revamped just for the 970. Why? Because the biggest drawback to creating a 64-bit version of OS X is drivers. All of your hardware drivers would have to be redesigned for the new kernel. Living through the 64-bit changeover in the Solaris world it was mostly a big non-event. ALL of my 32-bit software worked fine even big database products like Informix. In fact I noticed a little pick up in speed, especially I/O. But drivers needed updating for anything directly connected. Sun controlled most of it and these were already done.
 
Just imagining an installer that asks: "Do you want to break compatibility with your printer and scanner to gain 64bit support?" :p

But... Up until now, Apple has always broke most drivers with the big updates. So: No news. We will be waiting for HP, Brother, Canon and consorts, anyway... Sure, we hope that it'll not be the case... But I'd wait for beta testers' reviews before upgrading to 10.3, anyway, even on our 'old' 32bit hardware.
 
Even if the the 970 is shipped this fall in new Power Macs, the real question is whether anyone will be able to afford it. Knowing Apples track record, I'd be surprised if you could get one for under $3000.
 
Originally posted by jocknerd
Even if the the 970 is shipped this fall in new Power Macs, the real question is whether anyone will be able to afford it. Knowing Apples track record, I'd be surprised if you could get one for under $3000.
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Well that's hardly surprising since Apple usually prices their "top of the line" right around the $3000 mark. One would really have to be smokin some good stuff to imagine that Apple would come out with systems more powerful than the current ones but yet undercut the current prices by any substantial margin. Instead they will do what they (and everybody else) always does. The 970 based machines will slot in at the top, the current high end will get pushed down. So though you may not be able to afford that 2.4ghz DP 970, you can suddenly afford the 1.4ghz DP G4. Then in another year 1/2 to two years (after the first 970), the first iMacs will start shipping with them and they will go "mainstream".

Does anyone have any reason to believe that the G4 -> 970 transition will occur any different than the G3 -> G4?
 
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