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InfoWorld Thinks Apple Will Use IBM's Power5 Sometime in 2005
by , 4:30 PM EST, December 15th, 2004
In a special report on IBM's Power5 Processor family, the bigger, badder cousin of the G5 PowerPC processor Apple uses in Power Mac and iMac models, InfoWorld predicts that some form of the chip will make its way to a Mac soon.
"PowerPC and Power form a continuum of compatible, and now open, processor designs," writes reporter Tom Yaeger, "and our guess is that the Power5 design will arrive in some form in an Apple machine in 2005. The companies that rely on PowerPC will do very nicely betting on the No. 2 horse."
The comment comes in a sidebar to an in-depth piece on the Power5 architecture, with the sidebar looking at IBM's biggest PowerPC user, Apple. The piece specifically highlights Apple as the driving force behind PowerPC design and development through the years, and says "the public partners that sign IBM's open license could carry Mac users all the way to Power without the suffering that blocked users’ migration from x86 to Itanium."
The Power RISC architecture was the basis for PowerPC development, with Apple, IBM, and Motorola (the AIM Consortium) focusing PowerPC development on use in personal computers. The Power family, which also continued in development, was focused more on server use, and packs a big processing punch, though at the expense of greater power consumption and waste heat.
Apple's G5 processor was a PowerPC offshoot of the previous generation Power4 family, which means that when and if Power5 technology comes to a Mac, it will bring significant improvements in processing power to it.
InfoWorld found that the latest generation of Power processors, the Power5 family, has licked some of those power and heat issues, making the processor more suitable for use in smaller machines.
From the article: "Power5 uses what it knows about the facilities needed by each RISC instruction to, in essence, power down portions of the chip that aren't needed at that moment. This potentially puts a new spin on Power's infamous power and heat problems. It certainly seems simpler than OS-driven power management schemes such as those employed by x86 processors."
The full article has much greater detail on what makes the Power5 tick, all of the technologies that have gone into the design, and several other issues. The main 3-page article focuses on the technical issues of the Power5, while the sidebar focuses on Apple's role in PowerPC development. There is also a column from InfoWorld editor in chief Steve Fox about how IBM is still in the hardware business, despite having sold off its PC business.
Observer Comments
Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:58 pm Subject: With Apple conTROLLing the Whole Widget and Wudget
Wed Dec 15, 2004 6:33 pm Subject: This is where the R&D money is going
While people tend to think that the iPod is taking all the R&D dollars at Apple I have a feeling most is going into the IBM relationship, both in developing the new chips and in engineering future macs - and iMacs.
As I understand it, the opening speed of the new chip is 3 gigs and i have a feeling that Steve J wants that as soon as it can be done. Hopefully there will be a chip or two faster than that so the PM range can use the new chip at all levels . . .
This also bodes well for the PB going Gx and G5's in eMacs. iBooks are going to be a challenge, but freescale might have something nice to put in it.
My money is that rumors are going to go wild before the summer keynote.
QuoteAFCdtLoeb wrote:
I don't think that would change much. Taurus guys aren't going to go out and buy an Aston Martin just beacuse Ford owns them now. Businesses don't like Macs, and putting an IBM nameplate on it won't change much.
I don't believe that's quite true. Most Wintel folks think that Big Blue is the Alpha and the Omega. If they were seen to be sprinkling holy water on the G5 and XServers by distributing them, I think it would change a whole bunch of purchases. Wintel offices are sick of viruses and OS patches.
Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:44 am Subject: Well...
Quotekenaustus wrote:
While people tend to think that the iPod is taking all the R&D dollars at Apple I have a feeling most is going into the IBM relationship, both in developing the new chips and in engineering future macs - and iMacs.
As I understand it, the opening speed of the new chip is 3 gigs and i have a feeling that Steve J wants that as soon as it can be done. Hopefully there will be a chip or two faster than that so the PM range can use the new chip at all levels . . .
This also bodes well for the PB going Gx and G5's in eMacs. iBooks are going to be a challenge, but freescale might have something nice to put in it.
My money is that rumors are going to go wild before the summer keynote.
I don't think that's true; IBM's name has huge recognition in the business world, and though things have changed a lot for the company, the name still denotes great computing. If IBM repackaged Apple's Xserves and RAID, or if it merely did the servicing of Apple equipment, people would buy it. In Fact, if IBM got more involved with Apple to any extent more than they are now, it would be a big plus for Apple in the business world. And it would not hurt IBM in the least.
Vern Seward
QuoteSo many people are already fed up with their Windows systems. Some have already considered Macs as an alternative, but many are wary. If IBM of all companies were to put such a significant stamp of approval on these systems, that would likely push a lot more IT people over the edge. In addition, IBM (unlike Apple) would actually start marketing the systems. Obviously everyone wouldn't suddenly switch to Macs. The change would be gradual just as the iPod halo effect has taken a long time to develop. Slowly the Mac presence in the enterprise would grow and IBM would get the profit margins they failed to get with their PC hardware.AFCdtLoeb wrote:
I don't think that would change much. Taurus guys aren't going to go out and buy an Aston Martin just beacuse Ford owns them now. Businesses don't like Macs, and putting an IBM nameplate on it won't change much.
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