Macs to go Intel or AMD??


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An article in this months PC Magazine stated that Apple is at a "crossroads", and could choose to put Intel or AMD chips in there upcoming boxes, and may even jump right to the 64-bit processors to get a jump on IBM compatibles. Anyone have any thoughts?

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Have a read of this post by Ritsuke:

https://www.neowin.net/comments.php?category=mac&id=333

From the article it doesn't look like they will be using Intel/AMD chips any time soon, seeing as they are releasing the new G5 chips.

I am not a mac expert (not even slightly :roll: ), but I think it would make mac's even more like PC's. Is this a good thing?

Ritsuke would be the man to comment on this, he is up on all the mac news, etc.

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it'dd be interesting to see AMD or Intel Processors in Mac OS, M$ would lose lots of their users to Apple because quite a few ppl who have pcs want mac os, and that'll be the beginning of custom built mac pcs.

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If Apple goes either way, mac users will rejoice knowing that it would be possible then that MacOS X will be usable on pc's (or vice versa, ie windows on mac :D). Unless Apple figures out another gay way to keep it all to themselves :ditsy:

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'Tis true that Apple and AMD are rather close these days.

Since Apple has hop?d on AMD's Hyper Transport bandwagon, I could only imagine Apple is considering AMD to take over production of their G5 chips if IBM decides not to do it. Another rumour is that Apple might open up the box and allow chip makers, like AMD, to fill the void.

Now, these are only rumors that arose after Motorola decided to pull out their heavy support of PPC for desktop comps.

Just remember that Microsoft owns A LOT of Apple stock. I seriously doubt Apple will make the crossover jump anytime soon (Microsoft wanting competition?) - not to mention Jobs' pure dislike of Wintel systems.

(p.s. I didn't post that particular article - However, I did discuss it somewhere - and I can't find i:(:()

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Originally posted by radixvir

wow i always believed it was the os holding macs back. i thought their chips and case design was excellent, but i always hated that mac os. inefficiencient.

Very, very true. The Macs' OS still has code from 17 years ago. OSX, combined with G5 chips, might actually push them ahead.
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The pplz at Mac are afraid of Intel, because thanks to their good engineering, Intel should have chips that are better than the G*'s in all aspects (i am not going to go into details of processor architecture, go do it yourself!). I am not sure what AMD has cooking up in the next 3-4 years, but i am sure it is something just as good.

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i always have like IBM. I believe that their processes are very good. hell macs had risc processors 10 years before intels will. (intel has planned to make risc processors in 2005 i believe) i think intel CAN make good chips but refuse to, because they can make more $$ if they release them in small increments. i for one say that G5s will be way better than p4s, but its that @$@# os that will hold them back. I hope linux on the desktop will take off soon (more compatibility i mean) cause id like to give the PPC variant a go on a G5.

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  • 3 weeks later...

hmm someone was telling me that windows used to be used on the ibm processors back in the 80s....

lots of mac users would be really mad if apple went amd cuz they wanted to stay away as far as possible from windows, and switching it to amd would bring windows closer than ever before to mac os

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Only thing is currently Apple is using RISC processors, so that will be a huge leap with the software to change over... Though I think they will side AMD if anything, they already have signed on with Hypertransport.

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I will be very sad to see the current Apple Architechture go :( .. It roolz so much .. to put and AMD or an Intel chip into a mac is like installing windows on a pC! (****)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Do any of you ever watch Business news on any network?

Motorola has announced that it may discontinue it's chip research and development in order to cut costs(at this point Apple loses it's chip manufacturer). IBM has made offers to buy the department, but Motorola isn't sure if it wants to sell (good for Apple because IBM is want to leverage Apple into liscencing Aqua for Linux). But you had better believe that Apple will hedge it's bets and test the hell out of every processor it can get it's hands on.

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UMM, well, the thing is All of the G chips are Motorola including the upcoming G5. IBM and Apple share R&D on networking and new mobo designs. That is why Apple sticks with both IBM and Motorola.

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G5, when clocked at 1.6GHz, is a minimum twice as fast as the P4. Most of the time it was at 200% - 400% faster. 64-bit processor helps out a lot. Their current G4 is equivalent to a p4 so apple is really a generation ahead.

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Well the point is now moot.

A Motorola spokesperson told MacCentral that the company's next generation G4 processor, codenamed Apollo, announced at last year's Microprocessor Forum, "is on schedule to ship in early 2002."

Apollo is set to run at "GHz+ speeds" said David Bearden, Senior Member of Technical Staff, Somerset Design Center at Motorola during Apollo's announcement presentation at last year's Microprocessor Forum. Motorola's spokesperson told MacCentral that the company is committed to the G4 roadmap, but would provide no further particulars.

During the 2000 Microprocessor Forum presentation, Bearden said that the Apollo processor would have a seven stage pipeline, four AltiVec execution units, a 256-bit internal memory subsystem, a 256KB on-chip L2 cache, and support for an up to 2MB off-chip L3 cache. Apollo's memory subsystem will support 36-bit memory addressing -- allowing up to 64GB of physically addressable memory. Finally, Apollo will support either a 60x system bus or an MPX system bus.

Motorola has already announced many G5 processor products -- the MPC 8540 in the networking space, announced at this year's Microprocessor Forum and the MPC5500 family in the automotive space, announced October 1, 2001. The MPC 8540 is one of the first G5 products to be announced and will be sampling in the first half of 2002, according to Motorola's Microprocessor Forum presentation. None of these G5 processors have all of the necessary components to be used by Apple on the desktop.

According to Motorola's microprocessor strategy roadmap, all fifth generation (or G5) products take advantage of Motorola's latest fabrication technologies. The G5 generation of Motorola processors use Motorola's seven layer 0.13-micron SOI manufacturing process. This is Motorola's most advanced manufacturing process, and is the most important of a half-dozen or so new features that Motorola is adding to its PowerPC processors with the fifth design generation. However, Motorola's spokesperson told MacCentral that Apollo was not able to take advantage of this process due to its earlier introduction date. The G5 products that Motorola has announced have all been announced in the past year since Apollo's announcement

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macs fricking suck! windows does too! i havn't used linux so i don't know what it's like..... but..... i'm on a roll so it sucks too! until theres no crashes at all, it sucks. until theres no people ****ing me off trying to make me join their f***ed up messenger service, it sucks. until theres no fricking penguins running computers, it's crazy, they have wings, and no opposible thumbs..... how the he!! do they type? IT SUCKS.

OLAY! :bandit:

:cross:

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heh... this phil dude... shh... he sucks too ;)

actually phil - i kinda like your Avatar...

at first i though that i was soo tired i so things move :paranoid:

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