Ok, whats the deal with this article...Am I wasting my time holding out [GPuL]

Fahrvergnuugen

Fahrvergnuugen

I am the law!
the articles is about halfway down on http://www.arstechnica.com/ just do a find in page for "IBM".

Is this GPuL chip the same as the Power4? Is this article total garbage or does anyone think it holds water....

I found a thread that said that IBM is going to have a press conference on October 15th regarding this chip. I am waiting till then before I make any computer buying decisions.

My current dillema is that I'm running a dual 500MHz G4 and I want to upgrade. The dual 1.25GHz is very appealing, but if I wait until MWSF, the price should drop about 1000 dollars [assuming they powermac line is upgraded]. And if these rumors are true, this "4x faster than current G4" IBM chip should be out within 1 year from now. The other question is, will apple use it right away, or will it be put to use in other ibm based systems for a while first....

So if I buy a new computer now, I could justify selling it if / when this awesome IBM chip comes out. But nobody really knows whats going on and its driving me crazy :D
 
They're talking about the exact same thing as in the "GPUL 64bits GigaProcessor for Mac (FOR SURE)" thread...
 
One thing I have learned in life and with computers, buy as you need, buy what you can afford. In a previous life, I could afford to have the latest toys. In fact, I went three straight years, one a year buying a top of the line Mac model, the $3400/model to be exact.

I'm now married, have kids and suffered about 8 months of unemployment last year and early this year. All that said... my life is completely different.

Right now, my G4/500 works fine. Other than the COOLNESS factor or the fact my windows might open a little zipper, I have no reason to upgrade my system. Back when I had the money, I did it not because i needed the speed, but because it was a coolness factor.

So, don't wait for Apple, cause if you wait 6 months or even 12 months for a faster processor, chances are, within 6 months or 12 months of that date, a faster processor will be out. And in all honesty, based upon reviews from MacCentral... the 1.25ghz system isn't really all its cracked up to be speed wise and you could probably get away with the dual 1gighz system for much less money, or even the "yesteryear model" of 1gighz for even cheaper price and you probably won't notice much.

But, if you are one of those people who run PHOTOSHOP SCRIPTS that take hours to complete, and saving 5 minutes or even 10 minutes will make or break the bank, then go for it... buy what Apple offeres today. If everything is fine and you can wait, then wait and see what comes out. At some point, something (even if its just the coolness factor) will motivate you to upgrade, do so at that time.

Admin
 
You know, that's really good advice. Thanks.

The only thing that is holding me up from buying the dual 1ghz machine over the dual 1.25ghz machine is that the 1.25ghz model has double the L2 cache [2mb per chip instad of 1mb per chip]

But honestly, my current desktop is still really fast, my biggest complaint being the graphics card. I too went through a stint where I bought a brand new top of the line powermac every six months...but I got sick of going through 2 week waiting periods before the new model would actually ship, not having a computer because I just sold my old one.

When I bought the dual 500 G4, I told myself "I will not upgrade until the G5 is here" but I did not expect it to take nearly as long as it is. I will continue to wait...unless someone here is dying to get their hands on a dual 500 with 1.2gb of ram :)
 
The one thing I didn't mention in my previous post was that instead of buying a new machine, I was just looking at buying a new video card. It would be much cheaper, and I could probably easily get another year ou tof this machine before I feel like I am as old as Mac Plus user. :)

If I were you, I'd just fork out the cash for a better video card.

Admin
 
All you will probably see at MWSF are updated iMacs. The Pro line probably won't be updated until later in the spring.

Still, even if this IBM chip is earmarked for Macs, don't expect it to make the next revision. Motorola clearly has chips that can go up to 1.6ghz, and for whatever reason, Apple isn't using them (the yields are still probably too low). Those chips will probably make the next revision. The IBM chip is probably at least a full year away, if not longer.
 
Quick question: what are you using your computer for? You said that your graphics card is slow.

I just bought a new card for my mac (g4 533), and it's great because I play games and use Photoshop n' stuff...

But as far as "normal" use... word processing, web browsing, etc. etc. etc. the interface doesn't get much of a speed boost with a better video card (and I mean a WAY better video card... I went from a rage128pro to a geforce3).

I am using 10.2, and the last time I had my rage128 in was with 10.1.5... so I'm talking about a huge graphics card upgrade in addition to the update to 10.2 with quartz extreme. My machine has 640 megs of ram... it does great for my needs, but I have pretty got as much speed out of it as I can with updates to the ram, graphics, etc... now all that holds me back is my processor.

Just wondering if an update to your graphics card is really that necessary unless you are doing really graphics intensive tasks. Especially since mac graphics cards are way too expensive... (unless you buy a pc card and flash it with a mac rom, like i did)
 
Originally posted by serpicolugnut
All you will probably see at MWSF are updated iMacs. The Pro line probably won't be updated until later in the spring.
Click to expand...

So true. But I would expect to see another small increase by MWSF, especially if either the Moto G5 or GPUL are delayed. Even if it is Apple that delays them. I expect to see updated iBooks as well. The 750FX does have a 200 Mhz bus easily enabling it to handle DDR RAM interfaces. This would also be the coup de'tat for OS 9 on that computer, since it's a new model.

Originally posted by serpicolugnut
Still, even if this IBM chip is earmarked for Macs, don't expect it to make the next revision. Motorola clearly has chips that can go up to 1.6ghz, and for whatever reason, Apple isn't using them (the yields are still probably too low). Those chips will probably make the next revision. The IBM chip is probably at least a full year away, if not longer.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't count Moto out. There's a big gulf between the 750FX, even at 1 Ghz, and the new GPUL. I do remember the G5 as not being multi-core so maybe that will become the "tween" chip or available on the low end PowerMac.:D

And the rumor in the industry is Apple designed this latest GPUL from IBM's PowerPC library. IBM helped (or is helping) with the final integration on their newest fab line in Fishkill. Gee just think, pretty soon, you too can design your own CPU. All IBM needs to get started is $100K masking costs and it's yours.

And the expertise about buying now...DO IT. Life is too short and there will always be faster computers around the corner. Enjoy !! If I had the same choice and the money, my credit card would be smokin' right now.;)
 
I primarily use my computer for Final Cut Pro, Maya, After Effects, etc [a bit more demanding than say...word processing?]. I upgraded the graphics cards in this machine once about a year ago...it now has two 32mb Radeons. I really just want better performance out of Maya. I can't really see spending hte money on a better graphics card because even the GF3 needs a 4x AGP port to make full use of its power.

The dual 1GHz G4 is remarkably less expensive than the Dual 1.25 and I would consider buying it...but I wonder how much that extra 2mb of L3 cache makes...

I can get the standard Dual 1.25GHz "Fastest" config from our school store for $3,080 or the std. Dual 1GHz "Faster" config for $2,280. I can't really see the extra 256MB of RAM and 40GB of hard disk space being worth 800 dollars...unless that cache makes a huge difference.
 
Originally posted by Fahrvergnuugen

I can get the standard Dual 1.25GHz "Fastest" config from our school store for $3,080 or the std. Dual 1GHz "Faster" config for $2,280. I can't really see the extra 256MB of RAM and 40GB of hard disk space being worth 800 dollars...unless that cache makes a huge difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah but that $800 can give you a bunch more options on the 1 GHz model, like max out the RAM and get another fast big hard drive or even a huge Firewire hard drive. Heck that can even get you a nice 15K RPM 160MBytes/Sec SCSI drive setup plus another 1GByte of RAM. You could also get the Apple 17" LCD panel and get $200 back, take a $100 and buy another 512 MBytes RAM. Man I envy you.:cool:
 
This new IBM processor is not the Power4, from what I've read. It is related. The Power4 is not a consumer desktop chip.
 
Don't necessarily rule out the DP 867. Actually, given your demands, maybe you should rule it out, but I have both the former model DP 1 gig and the new model DP 867 and there is virtually no difference. In fact, the DP 867 is a bit snappier overall believe it or not. I haven't run any benchmarks or anything, but in general user feel it's a wee bit quicker. Smaller monitor, less pixels to push?

I would have held out for MWSF, but I didn't have a computer at home at all and it was driving me nuts. The DP 867 is got a solid bang for your buck. For most people, the DP 1.25 is just not worth it. But, most people aren't using Maya professionally.

RAM will do more for you than cache. I don't care what anyone says or what benchmark or what spec sheet they show me, I have never gotten any real big noticeable benefit from bigger caches. I've always noticed a better box by loading it with RAM. Though having said that, I was amazed at how fast and stable my DP 867 was for two weeks with only 256 RAM. Now, it's even better with 1 gig.
 
Yeah, cool factor. Tech junkie. I was one. I literally bought EVERYTHING Apple has to offer from 1999-2001. Even the VP of Apple Asia Pacific knows me by person and have named my studio "The Alternative Apple Store in Real Life Application". Towers, portables, and accessories, you name it, I have it. But the downturn of the economy made me think twice, like what happened to Admin.

I started selling the machines I do not use as frequently, and had to kick the habit of being a tech junkie (this addiction went overboard to mobile phones and PDA as well). And one can imagine the amount of dough I burnt getting all the toys.

These days, I have learnt to be wiser. The performance of my newer towers are more than enough for my professional needs and this is why I did not consider the new range of Dualies offered in the recent releases, I sold my TiBook and kept the iBook instead because most of the time, I am using the portable for word processing and web surfing at coffee places.

Most real world work are done on desktops and with firewire "target transferring", I can move files pretty fast thro and fro machines. And I even drp the idea of iPod since I do not have that much time anymore to listen to music. Only when I am at the studio working.

Mac believer I still am, but addict I am not. And I still believe something is brewing in the cauldron at Infinity Loop. And this time, it is something really fast and furious. But the question is when will this new Tower/TiBook being released to the world.

I hope not too soon. I am still controlling my urge to buy new machines.

1-5 sec difference does not justify burning another few thousand dollars anymore. I can use that money for the family instead.
 
Well yes, I have to agree with those who have slowed down the technology purchases. Since I got off that merry-go-round, I have paid off ny car. I have just today paid off my house. Yes, really, I did it.
I plan to save my money for the next genration of Macs; I think they will really be something.
In the meantime, I will enjoy the things I do have. Using my iMac at coffee places has attracted the attention of lots of sweet young things! Not bad for an old guy who is 50+.

Anyway, my advice: save your money. I think we will soon see 1984 again.
 
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