It would be nice to see the eMac line continue at a low cost, though. I know there's talk that the new iMacs will have a low model that makes the eMac unecessary, but there's no way to know if that's true it.

I can't see how any G5 iMac can cost $799 in the near future so I'd rather see the eMac continue on and keep getting upgraded to stay current. They're great entry-level Macs for first-time home users and I think that's a great thing to have. Punching them up to 2.0 GhZ G4s could keep them useful to people for quite a while longer.

Dude, the two biggest complaints about the G4 are:

1. Frequency scaling

2. FSB throughput.

Both have now been addressed by Freescale. The G4 in such a configuration will be an awesome Mac processor. We should encourage this kind of competition within the PPC world. Heck, we the consumer have everything to gain.

I've been ready for a more powerful Powerbook for the past year. I finally broke down and bought a Sony VAIO notebook. It's faster and cheaper then anything Apple had to offer right now. Window's still sucks, but it's never really been problematic for me since I'm a security freak on my computers anyway. I'll be replacing this machine in a year with hopefully a G5 Powerbook. If not, then I guess it will be another PC notebook.
:{

Since I apparently can't delete my post, I'll just do this.

I would agree that a G4 with significantly more raw speed and support for bigger FSB's and high speed memory would still be a nice chip to have. If the G5 laptop is too far off, this would be the way to go. The downside is that it just further puts off Apple's complete switch to 64-bit.

Man, a 2Ghz dual core G4 could really lengthen the lifespan of my Quicksilver 933...

Could it actually be that Freescale is free enough from Moto that they are going to start delivering exciting chips?

I don't think there is a problem with putting a dual core G4 chip into the PB in Oct, even if it is only there or 4 - 6 months. It would boost performance and get more people looking at the PB to see what a dualie notebook is like. (I would love it if current PB users, like me, could buy the chip for an upgrade!)

Even more important is that a dual core running at 1.8 - 2.0+ would significantly boost the iBook or a fair while - at least until IBM is flush with G5 chips. Might actually go longer than that IF the dual core significantly boosts performance over the current G4. Might it be that Apple has a new iBook design waiting for this chip? You know that they have prototype chips available to play with. Can you see someone telling their friend, "I've got a little dual core chip in my iBook that blows off your 3.2 Dull desktop"?

Also can add life to the eMac, which is going to be around for a while. A 2.0 dual core with a CRT would work very well for a lot of people and keep the education folks happy.

If Freescale is delivering a DUAL core G4 that can use a faster FSB then a 1.6 would give a G5 1.6 a run for the money. A 1.8 and a 2.0 would drive the PC world nuts. I'm rather happy about this development and hope that Freescale can deliver.

The way things are going Motorola will get to 3GHz before IBM. Motorola will have the last laugh, and Steve Jobs will have picked the wrong processor again.

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kenaustus wrote:
(I would love it if current PB users, like me, could buy the chip for an upgrade!)

His need for love has been twitsed into a negative response mechanism. Every post he creates is aimed to agitate, aggravate and hate.

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RealityCheck wrote:
...and Steve Jobs will have picked the wrong processor again.

Exactly - eMac is still at the top of the all-time bang for buck scale for Mac. Pumping it up to 2.0 gHz would be fantastic, especially if the price remains the same.

This new chip sounds sufficiently different that Apple need not call it a G4. If it is a superior chip to the "G5" they could call it a G6. These are just marketing names. FWIW I doubt Apple would put a strong performing dual-core chip in low-end machines before the high end got such chips, and they wouldn't discontinue the "G5" to reintroduce the G4. Logic tells me that it either won't outperform the G5 or it won't be called a G4.

Will

I think this is great. More choice for customers. Choice is good, right Real?

Sorry.

Anyway, why not continue to develop an already great chip to its full potential? I sure would like to see 2Ghz in my little eMac. Hell, if I could upgrade, I wouldn't need to buy an iMac this....

Wait a minute.

Yeah. I'm not sure how they would sell this. This would probably cannibalize sales of the new, spiffy iMac. But still, overall, it's definitely a Good Thingâ„¢.

Reminds me of the 440 vs. Hemi Mopar debate in the 60s. One side said the 440/6bbl was a better setup than the Hemi/4bbl. Each one did different things better, and different tests put each one ahead. In the end, people got to choose, and Dodge/Plymouth dominated the era of muscle cars.

I would like to see Apple dominate the era of muscle chips.

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Billy K wrote:

I would like to see Apple dominate the era of muscle chips.

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RealityCheck wrote:
The way things are going Motorola will get to 3GHz before IBM. Motorola will have the last laugh, and Steve Jobs will have picked the wrong processor again.

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Small White Car wrote:
It would be nice to see the eMac line continue at a low cost, though. I know there's talk that the new iMacs will have a low model that makes the eMac unecessary....

Yes one can just imagine everyone saying how right SJ was in sticking with the wonderful new improved Moto G4 rather than going for that G5 64bit thingy that came out over a year earlier than this incarnation and will comfortably outperform it when it does and represents the ealy stages of the next generation of chips rather than a much improved but dead end incarnation of the last generation. Its a good lower end to middling chip thats all, but a G5 killer, like those iPod killers, I think not, even for SJ's marketing skills.

Kenaustus wrote: "I would love it if current PB users, like me, could buy the chip for an upgrade!".

Sorry, that's not going to happen. In current PowerBooks, the CPU is soldered directly to the motherboard to reduce thickness. It's also damned near impossible that the Freescale chip would have the same dimensions, power requirements, heat output and -- most importantly -- pinout as the current generation of G4 chips.

-Will

This chip could actually put stock laptops on par performance wise in many things with the Towers; In Altivec heavy tasks, likely it could be better since the Motorola Altivec implementation is more advanced than IBM's. Wouldn't it be ironic if the PowerBook was a faster workstation than a G5 for Final Cut Pro?

(RAM Limitations aside of course.)

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RealityCheck wrote:
...and Steve Jobs will have picked the wrong processor again.

PC egotist

The eMac is a beautiful computer. Every bit as fast and functional as the iMac. It just has a CRT instead of a digital display. I for one do not want a digital display. I want an eMac. I hope they come out with a G5 eMac. Be still my
heart !!!!!!!!. A G5 eMac with a top of the line video card would have every Mac gamer drooooling!!!!!!!!

I agree. In keeping with schemes of the past, they could call it "G4e."

On the other hand, the dual-core feature is far more than a simple enhancement of a single processor. Two processors in the same package have significant performance advantages, even over two single-core processor packages on the same board. And support for DDR 2 SDRAM does even more for the performance.

So why not take a page from the book of the car model-naming gurus and call it "G4 2xe?" Can't you just hear Strong Bad saying that name?

n/t

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Guest wrote:

So why not take a page from the book of the car model-naming gurus and call it "G4 2xe?" Can't you just hear Strong Bad saying that name?