Yowsa! Apple Power Mac G5 specs: Dual G5 2 GHz with PCI-X and 1 GHz bus - $2999 and faster than dual Xeon 3.0 GHz.

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
Oo good. Maybe they'll upgrade their hardware in their laptops so that come august I will get a good one.

I am hoping the same thing...

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
Oo good. Maybe they'll upgrade their hardware in their laptops so that come august I will get a good one.

I'm assuming they'll be upgrading the 15" soon since it's the only Titanium Powerbook left. There 12" and 17" might also get a tweak since they both were announced 6 months ago.


Lethal

 

[jdogg707]

I heard about a 15.4" Widescreen display, hopefully with DDR RAM and Firewire 800

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
My hope: Apple announces this new hardware with an ATi Radeon 9800 PRO (or maybe R360) with Doom ]|[ benches...and it wipes the floor with the best Windows/Intel/nVidia have to offer.

Here's to hope :beer:

:beer:

 

[krackato]

Okay, none of these links point to anything that says G5, 2Ghz, or anything resembling a leak.

 

[lameaway]

Assuming this is real, I'd bet money that they dont *really* have what we'd call a "1ghz bus". More likely, there are 2 CPUs each on an independent 533mhz bus. Maybe even with single-channel DDR266 for the memory. Apple's marketing department is known for stretching the truth. That said, I think a setup like this would still be an admirable acheivement, and couldn't come at a better time for Apple. There are plenty of Mac heads out there who would pay outrageous sums of money on a computer (and these undoubtably will be outrageous), especially if they can say it stomps their buddy's top-of-the-line Dell. But Apple currently has nothing out to satisfy that - could be a great shot in the arm for the company.

Of course, to compare this to a 3ghz intel single proc. setup would be comparing apples to oranges. It'd only be fair to compare duallies to duallies. Even better, price range to price range. An Opteron system at a similar price would likely be much faster than this system when it comes out, so I dont think PC purists have anything in particular to worry about. From a PC user's standpoint I actually really like it. Here's hoping that Apple's swift move to PCI-X will spur the PC industry to hasten support of PCI Express.

Again, this is all assuming. But I personally beleive that such a beast _is_ waiting in the wings. What, did everyone expect Apple to just curl up in a corner and die with the end of the G4 line?

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Eug
Leaked by Apple themselves:

1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, or Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 Processors
Up to 1 GHz processor bus
Up to 8GB of DDR SDRAM
Fast Serial ATA hard drives
AGP 8x Pro3 PCI or PCI-X expansion slots
One FW800, two FW400 ports
Bluetooth & Airport Extreme ready
Optical and analog audio in and out

How the heck are they gonna get 1 GHz bus? Dual channel DDR400 I could see - 800 MHz, but 1 GHz?!?!?!?

Have you checked your eyes lately guys. It says G4 everywhere.

 

[Lucky]

Have you checked your eyes lately guys. It says G4 everywhere.

read the first line of specs foolio.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Eug

Holy smokes! What's with using PCI-X though? The rest of the market is heading towards using PCI Express.

At that speed, who the hell cares? :evil:

Eug, it matters at any speed. PCI-X is basicially only a faster version of PCI; it is not compatible with PCI Express, nor is it a point-to-point bus like PCI Express. In short, if it does use PCI-X(and Apple sticks with it), then it means Mac expansion cards will end up being incompatible with PC expansion cards(and vice versa) in the future. As it stands right now, most cards(excluding video cards, and some assorted other cards) are bi-platform, so a break like this would be a big problem.

PS FrustratedUser, the image has been changed. It earlier had the specs Eug listed

 

[krackato]

Okay, I see it now:

http://home.xnet.com/~robc/pics/misc/g5_leak1.jpg

To the left of the big Powermac, but all the various customize things on the bottom (fast, faster, fastest, Ultimate) still say G4.

Is it Dual 1.6ghz, Dual 1.8ghz, and Dual 2ghz or single 1.6ghz and 1.8ghz with the Dualie being reserved for the 2ghz?

Man, Dual G5 2ghz... 64bit, OS X Panther, 4ghz of power.... that'd be one sweet Final Cut Pro setup....

 

[addragyn]

It was a mistake.

The page uses many small graphics.

One was changed.

An important one.

 

[addragyn]

Article

http://news.com.com/2100-1042_3-1019444.html

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by: addragyn
It was a mistake.

The page uses many small graphics.

One was changed.

An important one.

This was a "real" mistake. Apple has already sent requests to remove the info from some mac sites.

 

[Eug]

Heheh, this is friggin' hilarious. Time for an ass kicking.

Is it Dual 1.6ghz, Dual 1.8ghz, and Dual 2ghz or single 1.6ghz and 1.8ghz with the Dualie being reserved for the 2ghz?

Single 1.6, single 1.8, and dual 2. Too bad too. I'm sure many would love to have a dual 1.8 mid-range, or even a dual 1.6.

Assuming this is real, I'd bet money that they dont *really* have what we'd call a "1ghz bus". More likely, there are 2 CPUs each on an independent 533mhz bus. Maybe even with single-channel DDR266 for the memory. Apple's marketing department is known for stretching the truth.

Well, the chip is technically capable of a 1 GHz bus. IBM has already said as much. Well, actually they said it was based on core speed, and that the bus clock can be up to 450 MHz - 1/4 of bus speed. Thus, the effective speed was up to 900 MHz. When the top was 1.8 GHz, they said the bus could be 900 MHz. Similarly, the max speed for a 2 GHz would be up to 1 GHz.

See article here.

However, what I was expecting was dual channel DDR400 ie. 200x2x2. Maybe they have the ability in the BIOS to do 250x2x2, but just come with 200x2x2 RAM for now? I dunno. Are PPC 970 CPUs multiplier locked?

Eug, it matters at any speed. PCI-X is basicially only a faster version of PCI; it is not compatible with PCI Express, nor is it a point-to-point bus like PCI Express. In short, if it does use PCI-X(and Apple sticks with it), then it means Mac expansion cards will end up being incompatible with PC expansion cards(and vice versa) in the future. As it stands right now, most cards(excluding video cards, and some assorted other cards) are bi-platform, so a break like this would be a big problem.

Yeah, you're right, but this could be changed in the future. It is of note though that one of the big backers of PCI-X is IBM (along with HP), which would explain why Apple would use it with the PPC 970. I betcha Apple is simply planning to use these as PCI slots (since PCI-X slots are backwards compatible with PCI) for the time being. See article here. If it pans out, then they'll stick with it. If it doesn't, then they won't (or will put both in the same machine possibly).

Maybe they'll upgrade their hardware in their laptops so that come august I will get a good one.

They will soon, but I HIGHLY doubt it will have a "G5" in it. At best it will have a Motorola 7457 at 1.25 GHz or something. It will be a 15.4" widescreen, but with a slightly lower resolution than the current Titanium.

Of course, to compare this to a 3ghz intel single proc. setup would be comparing apples to oranges. It'd only be fair to compare duallies to duallies. Even better, price range to price range. An Opteron system at a similar price would likely be much faster than this system when it comes out, so I dont think PC purists have anything in particular to worry about. From a PC user's standpoint I actually really like it. Here's hoping that Apple's swift move to PCI-X will spur the PC industry to hasten support of PCI Express.

True, not a direct comparison, but the main difference is that you'll be able to walk into the local Apple store and walk out with a dual 2.0 pre-packaged in a box to take home to your family to run Final Cut Express or whatever. OTOH, a dual Opteron is really a server machine, and requires a specific Opteron to run in SMP. And P4s can't be dually.

So yes, you are right, but these are completely different markets. Dual Opterons compete against dual Xeons. Dual PPC 970 Macs compete against the P4. Price is still an issue, but we'll see what Monday brings us in terms of price. I'd be willing to pay somewhat of a premium for a Mac though, since they're generally better built, better looking, and of course, OS X (and software) absolutely rocks.

Now the question is, what about the Xserves (since they will compete against dual Opterons)?

BTW, I still think this G5 specs thing is simply a booboo, but even if it were, it has turned out to be a huge PR success for Apple. Or else it's just a piece of marketing genius... Everyone around the net are going gaga over the specs of the top-end machine.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Eug

Of course, to compare this to a 3ghz intel single proc. setup would be comparing apples to oranges. It'd only be fair to compare duallies to duallies. Even better, price range to price range. An Opteron system at a similar price would likely be much faster than this system when it comes out, so I dont think PC purists have anything in particular to worry about. From a PC user's standpoint I actually really like it. Here's hoping that Apple's swift move to PCI-X will spur the PC industry to hasten support of PCI Express.

True, not a direct comparison, but the main difference is that you'll be able to walk into the local Apple store and walk out with a dual 2.0 pre-packaged in a box to take home to your family to run Final Cut Express or whatever.

M$ is getting there...but they are still a few miles from the mark w/ you being able to bring any old XP box home and make movies easily.

OTOH, a dual Opteron is really a server machine,

We need an Opteron board to come out ASAP w/ an AGP slot to prove that one wrong . I have a feeling there are a few people with $1000 video cards who want to see what Opterons can do for them.

and requires a specific Opteron to run in SMP.

"specific Opteron" ?

And P4s can't be dually.

...and Xeons aren't the most impressive little guys anymore (lagging behind in chipsets, and especially memory, Athlon MPs are still competitive).

So yes, you are right, but these are completely different markets. Dual Opterons compete against dual Xeons. Dual PPC 970 Macs compete against the P4 [and Athlon64].

Given the price of Macs, I imagine single Opteron workstations will also be a good thing to watch for. AMD just made their main launch for servers, and I imagine the rest will come out with the A64.

Price is still an issue, but we'll see what Monday brings us in terms of price. I'd be willing to pay somewhat of a premium for a Mac though, since they're generally better built,

Depends...I know my PCs are well built...but I make them.

better looking,

I'll grant that, though most of us don't care much and would rather do the work ourselves if we did (I've been thinking of making strange household items into cases, recently).

and of course, OS X (and software) absolutely rocks.

...but there's no tinkering to be done!

Now the question is, what about the Xserves (since they will compete against dual Opterons)?

Don't know. Likely wouldn't be dismal failures, but I think the Opteron has most everything beat for servers.

BTW, I still think this G5 specs thing is simply a booboo, but even if it were, it has turned out to be a huge PR success for Apple. Or else it's just a piece of marketing genius... Everyone around the net are going gaga over the specs of the top-end machine.

Except those of us who wouldn't buy one .

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: shady06
mac users, start selling off them organs to pay for these suckers

From a Mac forum: "I might just have to sell a kidney on the black market to pick one of these up."

Originally posted by: Cerb

Originally posted by: Eug
and requires a specific Opteron to run in SMP.

"specific Opteron" ?

Yeah. The 1xx series Opterons (which would presumably be the cheapest in the Opteron line) do not support SMP. See here. OTOH, currently only 2xx series Opterons are available for sale anyway.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Eug

Originally posted by: shady06
mac users, start selling off them organs to pay for these suckers

From a Mac forum: "I might just have to sell a kidney on the black market to pick one of these up."

Originally posted by: Cerb

Originally posted by: Eug
and requires a specific Opteron to run in SMP.

"specific Opteron" ?

Yeah. The 1xx series Opterons (which would presumably be the cheapest in the Opteron line) do not support SMP. See here. OTOH, I see only 2xx series Opterons for sale for now, so the point may be moot for some time.

Ah. Well, non-technically, the same is true of Athlons. I imagine the two 2- 4-/8-way ones will work on the single processor boards, and they may be the same thing, like the Athlon XP/MP differences. However, you generally wouldn't go from a single CPU and board to a dual CPU and board. Typically anyone with some sense would go for a dually board and one processor that could be gotten a counterpart later for dually use (or upgrade to newer dual CPUs on the same board).

 

[Eug]

I'll grant that, though most of us don't care much and would rather do the work ourselves if we did (I've been thinking of making strange household items into cases, recently).

Well, I build my own PCs too, but there just something about the simple beauty of my Ti PowerBook.

and of course, OS X (and software) absolutely rocks.

...but there's no tinkering to be done!

Actually, since OS X is essentially Unix, you can command-line to your heart's content. The PowerBooks have become quite popular with the *nix crowd, either for dual booting Linux and OS X, or else just running OS X. Apple even advertises X11 for OS X now. But I don't know anything about Unix so ask me any questions.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Eug

I'll grant that, though most of us don't care much and would rather do the work ourselves if we did (I've been thinking of making strange household items into cases, recently).

Well, I build my own PCs too, but there just something about the simple beauty of my Ti PowerBook.

and of course, OS X (and software) absolutely rocks.

...but there's no tinkering to be done!

Actually, since OS X is essentially Unix, you can command-line to your heart's content. The PowerBooks have become quite popular with the *nix crowd, either for dual booting Linux and OS X, or else just running OS X. Apple even advertises X11 for OS X now. But I don't know anything about Unix so ask me any questions.

Yeah, but you don't have to tinker with it. On most any PC, Windows and Linux (esp. Linux, except for a few) need work. IMO that takes some of the fun out of it.

 

[sharkeeper]

Holy smokes! What's with using PCI-X though? The rest of the market is heading towards using PCI Express.

Typical Crapple. Always behind in the i/o department. THE only thing they have to offer is FW-2. A simple $30 PCI card solves that.

At that speed, who the hell cares?

Sigh. This is exactly the problem that is hurting low end Intel desktops. Lack of PCI-X and/or PCI-E. Integrated GLAN and RAID helps out however power users (SCSI!) still need a bolt on solution that eats bandwidth like a democrat eats tax dollars. PCI-X is coming to P4 Uniprocessor systems though. (Thank goodness!)

(I am not factoring in the SMP-able Intel Xeons or Itaniums, because these CPUs are not used in desktops.)

Completely untrue. Many high end shops have Xeons and SCSI RAID on the desktop.

My hope: Apple announces this new hardware with an ATi Radeon 9800 PRO (or maybe R360) with Doom ]|[ benches...and it wipes the floor with the best Windows/Intel/nVidia have to offer.

It's still a Crapple. Same software incompatibility.

...and Xeons aren't the most impressive little guys anymore (lagging behind in chipsets, and especially memory, Athlon MPs are still competitive).

You have that completely backwards. The 7505 is light years ahead of the 762MPX which is pretty much a dead stick in the water. The MPX has slow memory (that's really crippling the K7 above 1.6 GHz) and AGP performance that is rather lacking.

So yes, you are right, but these are completely different markets. Dual Opterons compete against dual Xeons. Dual PPC 970 Macs compete against the P4 [and Athlon64].

Not a valid comparison at all. Of course SMP (even Crapple) is gonna be superior to a uniprocessor system. Just because the OS "thinks" HT is SMP it most certainly is NOT.

-DAK-

 

[Eug]

Typical Crapple. Always behind in the i/o department. THE only thing they have to offer is FW-2. A simple $30 PCI card solves that.

??? They get PCI-X and you're complaining? Anyways, PCI Express would have been a non-starter anyway at this point. PCI-X cards are uncommon, but PCI Express, well you know the story... Maybe next year...

It's still a Crapple. Same software incompatibility.

Most Unix software can be fairly easily ported, or so I'm told. The server software come with a lot of the server side *nix software already in the package. But again, I'm not a Unix person (despite the fact I use it every day on my laptop). Perhaps someone else can give you more info on the issue of *nix software compatibility.

 

[sharkeeper]

??? They get PCI-X and you're complaining? Anyways, PCI Express would have been a non-starter anyway at this point. PCI-X cards are uncommon, but PCI Express, well you know the story... Maybe next year...

Yes! Why? this is a future product. IF manufacturers fail to include these features, the wait for the peripherals will be longer. PC's had USB ports for YEARS before you could even buy a single USB device!

Most Unix software can be fairly easily ported, or so I'm told. The server software come with a lot of the server side *nix software already in the package. But again, I'm not a Unix person (despite the fact I use it every day on my laptop). Perhaps someone else can give you more info on the issue of *nix software compatibility.

Will it run Windows fast?

See, that's the problem. Everything runs on Windows. Laugh if you like, but that's the way the big fish with eight figure checkbooks with their pen in hand and my name on the check are thinking. Money talks here.

When will one of these systems be in CompUSSR for a test drive?

-DAK-

 

[Eug]

Yes! Why? this is a future product. IF manufacturers fail to include these features, the wait for the peripherals will be longer. PC's had USB ports for YEARS before you could even buy a single USB device!

True, but then again, it's not a serial port vs. USB thing. Macs were among the first to adopt USB, because serial sucked so much. ie. It was medium speed (for the time) vs. ultra slow. With PCI-X vs PCI Express, it's fast vs. fast.

Anyways, I suspect the a major reason they went with PCI-X is because of IBM, which is supporting PCI-X. I'm thinking Apple had a lot of input from IBM when they were designing the motherboard.

Will it run Windows fast?

Heheh. Good question. I suspect it won't be uber "fast", but my guess is that Windows will run quite nicely on a dual 2.0 GHz G5 with 2 hard drives... with Virtual PC. (I can run it on my 1 GHz laptop enough to surf adequately and use business appz, but it definitely ain't fast.)

What I use for Windows on my Mac laptop (for Quicken, because I didn't want to buy it again), is Microsoft Remote Desktop. Works great to take over my PC over the network.

As for software, I agree Apple does need to gain marketshare and titles, but fortunately for them, pretty much all the major software for their traditional stronghold and needs is already on OS X.

eg. Office, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Shake, Logic, Maya, QuarkXPress, InDesign, the iApps (incl. iTunes), Dreamweaver, UT2003, Director, After Effects, Premiere, Quicken, Quickbooks, Mathematica, Palm Desktop, Bryce, Cinema 4D, etc.

Anyways, I use both my Mac and PC, since each has its strengths.

 

[Eug]

Bwahahaha!

G5 Tshirts already out. I like the curves on the women's shirts.

And...

Job opening at Apple..

 

[gramboh]

The dual 2GHz will probably cost as much as a Dual Xeon with 4 gigs of RAM and a SCSI RAID setup. $5000+ USD is my guess.