new powerbooks?

Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
221
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook 1.83Ghz, 1GB Ram, 60GB HD. 19in. external display, bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Closed Lid.
does anyone know if the rumor of new pb's at the end of the month is true? And if so... does anyone know what kinda stuff they are gonna do to them other than the 30 mhz increase in processor?
 
M

menace3054

Guest
i sure hope not, i just bought one... i dont think anyone knows what exactly would be done, but if i had to venture a guess i would say... probably an increase in superdrive speed, increase in standard video ram, and slight processor increase.. probably 1.67 for 12", 1.7 for 15 and 17", possibly a HD screen for 17". i cant really think of what else they could do.. maybe 100gb hd standard on 15"
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Messages
2,789
Reaction score
84
Points
48
Location
A religiously oppressed state
Your Mac's Specs
17" MacBook Pro
menace3054 said:
i sure hope not, i just bought one... i dont think anyone knows what exactly would be done, but if i had to venture a guess i would say... probably an increase in superdrive speed, increase in standard video ram, and slight processor increase.. probably 1.67 for 12", 1.7 for 15 and 17", possibly a HD screen for 17". i cant really think of what else they could do.. maybe 100gb hd standard on 15"
Maybe Back-Lit Keyboard on the 12"

PS Signature Version 2.0 ;)
 
S

sursuciofla

Guest
menace3054 said:
i sure hope not, i just bought one... i dont think anyone knows what exactly would be done, but if i had to venture a guess i would say... probably an increase in superdrive speed, increase in standard video ram, and slight processor increase.. probably 1.67 for 12", 1.7 for 15 and 17", possibly a HD screen for 17". i cant really think of what else they could do.. maybe 100gb hd standard on 15"

If what you said does turn out to be true then it looks like the Power Mac and iMac will be the first to see the Intel transition. If they did update the Powerbook that much it is only logical. I think the update will only be minor just like the ibook though. I seriously doubt 128vram but I only think that would happen on the 15" and not the 12". And I would bet money that no HD is coming this update either. They will do away with the standard combo 15" I assume as well. Tough to say what will happen though but anything can happen I guess. Who knows!
 
M

menace3054

Guest
sursuciofla said:
If what you said does turn out to be true then it looks like the Power Mac and iMac will be the first to see the Intel transition. If they did update the Powerbook that much it is only logical. I think the update will only be minor just like the ibook though. I seriously doubt 128vram but I only think that would happen on the 15" and not the 12". And I would bet money that no HD is coming this update either. They will do away with the standard combo 15" I assume as well. Tough to say what will happen though but anything can happen I guess. Who knows!


i hope thats the only upgrades because then i wont feel so bad! but realistically i cant see what else they could do.. we shall see
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
12,455
Reaction score
604
Points
113
Location
PA
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook
Arichards said:
does anyone know if the rumor of new pb's at the end of the month is true?
By the very definition of the word, regardless of whether it comes to fruition or not.....a rumor is never true, since it cannot be verified.
:black:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language said:
ru·mor
n.
A piece of unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread by word of mouth.
Unverified information received from another; hearsay.
 
L

lil

Guest
D3v1L80Y said:
By the very definition of the word, regardless of whether it comes to fruition or not.....a rumor is never true, since it cannot be verified.
:black:

The current G4 used in the PowerBooks is the Freescale (erstwhile Motorola) 7447, which tops out at 1.67GHz and is suitable for small enclosures such as a notebook. There is a new variant known as the 7448 which apparently has a 2GHz upper limit and is suitable for small enclosures.

However whether Apple 'bothers' is another matter. One thing I am quite sure of is Apple upgrading the base memory on the 12" PowerBooks inline with the iBook, instead of 256, moving up to 512MB.

Other changes may be limited to higher screen resolutions on the 15 and 17" models is possible, but again - I cannot see it happening. The Superdrives may have their speeds boosted. Essentially any upgrade will be small.

As for moving to Intel, going by what happened in 1994 with move from Motorola 680x0 to IBM/Motorola PowerPC, it was the consumer machines, the Performas that received the PPC 601 first before the Quadras were placed with the Power Macintosh series - these machines holding the flagship now held by the PowerMac G5. One reason likely is that Apple preferred consumer machines to have teething issues opposed to professional machines which are more 'mission critical'.

In terms of PowerBooks, if the PowerBook 5300* was anything to go by - might be worth hanging on for the PowerBooks with Intel to mature :)

Therefore, I expect the Mac mini's will be one of the first to jump over, with the eMacs possibly. The iMac I am not sure, but will likely follow a few months later. The iBook and PowerBook will probably follow soon thereafter, but this is hard to judge because in 1994 there wasn't a specific consumer notebook from Apple (bar the 145/150 series, the latter coming along in 1995) like there is now. As much as the PowerBook will look better spec wise for a speed bump, it depends on how confident Apple is with OS X's stability on Intel, and if they are erring on the side of caution - the iBook will probably get the revision first. It is most likely IMO that the PowerMac will be the last to jump.

Of course not of this is official but my own speculation based on the previous CPU change. Of course some of my colleagues here at the AppleCentre I work in disagree with me. But until end of May 2006, we won't know for definite! :flower:

Vicky

* The 5300 was a great laptop on paper but very unstable in its early days being one of the first PowerPC 601 based PowerBooks released by Apple.
 

rman


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
12,637
Reaction score
168
Points
63
Location
Los Angeles, California
Your Mac's Specs
14in MacBook Pro M1 Max 32GB 2TB
Steve meationed in his expo talk that all of the lower end Apple hardware would receive the Intel CPU first. I would assume that is the consumer line. I believe that the iMac and the Power line will receive the Intel CPUs when the 64bit processors are ready. I really don't think Apple is going back to the 32bit chip in the iMac and the PowerMac.
 
OP
A
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
221
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook 1.83Ghz, 1GB Ram, 60GB HD. 19in. external display, bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Closed Lid.
Benjamindaines said:
Maybe Back-Lit Keyboard on the 12"

PS Signature Version 2.0 ;)

that would be nice!
 
M

menace3054

Guest
mac buyers guide posted a new article this morning saying "new powebooks imminent?
" they then go on to say that their source is less reliable than think secret, who has stated that no new pbs will be rolling out until 06. so as of now i have no clue, either apple did a **** of a job keeping the update quiet, or there is no update. hopefully its the latter :)
 
J

Jonster

Guest
i really hope they don't get an update on another powerbook because i literally just got one last month and to find out that they made revisions and my new powerbook is not so new would be a very strong disappointment. i actually may in fact cry.
 
M

menace3054

Guest
Jonster said:
i really hope they don't get an update on another powerbook because i literally just got one last month and to find out that they made revisions and my new powerbook is not so new would be a very strong disappointment. i actually may in fact cry.

i literally got mine last week
 
Joined
May 12, 2005
Messages
555
Reaction score
8
Points
18
Location
Ridgecrest, CA
Your Mac's Specs
rMBP (Mid-2015), 2.8 Ghz i7, 16GB DDR3, AMD M370X Gfx, 1 TB SSD
I was under the impression that the new Intel chip was being developed specifically for mobile platforms, such as the iBook and Powerbook. When the intel switch was first announced, as I recall, they said it intel would be put the laptops, then the consumer desktops (mini, iMac, eMac), and then finally the Power Mac.
 
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
1,069
Reaction score
59
Points
48
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro, 8-Core 2.8Ghz, 10GB RAM, 2x1TB HDDs, iPod U2 Edition
sevenhelmet said:
I was under the impression that the new Intel chip was being developed specifically for mobile platforms, such as the iBook and Powerbook. When the intel switch was first announced, as I recall, they said it intel would be put the laptops, then the consumer desktops (mini, iMac, eMac), and then finally the Power Mac.

I would hope there are no major Powerbook updates before the Intel switch...
Any major engineering work towards the Powerbook on the PPC platform seems like it would just be a waste of time.

Now as far as Powermac is concerned that is another story. It will probably be at least another year or two before we even begin thinking about Intel Powermacs so the dual-core updates are certainely necessary for the PM line to continue selling before the IntelMacs are released.
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
726
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Black Colorware PowerBook 1.67 GHz G4, 2 GB DDR2, 100GB 7200 RPM
I hate these dilemmas, because I want to buy the best Powerbook I can possibly buy before they go Intel, and not knowing how many more upgrades are coming is a pain.
 
M

menace3054

Guest
Meyvn said:
I hate these dilemmas, because I want to buy the best Powerbook I can possibly buy before they go Intel, and not knowing how many more upgrades are coming is a pain.


thats computers for ya.. why do you want the latest before the intel? theres only so much they can do with the ppc g4 line of powerbooks.. surely any upgrades down the road will be minor..
 
M

menace3054

Guest
aparently there is going to be one hardware announcement at paris. this could be anything.. from a new powerbook, ibook, or powermac.. if it is a powerbook, its supposed to have the same speed processors, with possibly a DL superdrive, higher resolution monitor, and ddr2 memory. atleast the upgrades are that major.
 
D

djeddiebear

Guest
I hope this update (if it happens) makes a great increase in every aspect. Then I want the first Intel Powerbooks to come out January 2007. Then leaving me to get a 2nd/3rd gen intel-book afterwards.

I need a new g4 pb! :)
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top