TheRegister.co.uk notes that Motorola is selling a product based on the 7457 -- hinting at it's soon arrival.
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7457 Almost Here?
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Well, thats good news, but I think that they are a year late. After trying a G5, I wouldnt buy a G4 machine. Sure that the G4 is good for the Powerbook, since it will give it true DDR and a 200Mhz bus, lower wattage, etc etc. But still, i prefer to wait until the 90nm G5 comes to the PB.
finally. a faster G4. i want this put into all of the G4 computers immediatly in one huge update fest
Well if this chip is just making it into a prototype board, why are we thinking its going to be in the PowerBooks any time soon? Kind of scary, actually.....
It might just be why we've been waiting so long on the 15" PB.....
D
It might just be why we've been waiting so long on the 15" PB.....
D
Agreed... Love ALL of Apple's laptops, but I think we're in for a radical revision within the next 6 months or so... Just a guess, but prolly best to hold off on a purchase for a little longer (but this is really killing me - I want a new PowerBook!!!)...
ooh, what a disturbing (but probably accurate) way of viewing this news! If it's only in prototype stages...
But honestly, how long can apple wait to update a product last updated in november? 10 months? a year? that's insane.
Agree with you as well. I have a Titanium 550Mhz, which I love! Served me perfectly (unless for a battery that went dead in a year and a half
) and its been a fantastic user experience. It was my first laptop and it was up to the job perfectly. When Apple releases "The fastest laptop in the world" (ala PowerMac G5 style marketing ) then Ill be on the line to get one! I wonder at what speeds will the 90nm G5 will come. One thing is for sure, that Powerbook will fly! I know that the G5 is a hot chip, but i have a solution for that! Put 9 fans on it as well, but put then at the bottom and at the top let it be full of holes so the air goes through the PB to the fans on the bottom, then it will be a HoverBook! It will fly on your lap literally! It's from the Register, with Moto webpage documentation to back it up, so...
Why page2?
"news and rumors of uncertain reliablity and lesser interest"
... and like rodney, I get no respect : )
Why page2?
"news and rumors of uncertain reliablity and lesser interest"
... and like rodney, I get no respect : )
Evaluation vs Prototype
This is an "evaluation" product, not a "prototype". It is very common pratice among chip manufacturers to put out a board-level product that allows designers to evaluate the chip in question. The board will have bus connectors on it so a designer can connect his custom logic to the board, blow new proms, and otherwise debug a potential design. I wouldn't necessarily look at this in such a negative light. These boards are available for purchase through Moto's distribution channels; that's a good thing.
Another 7457-based evaluation product has been available since early June, as reported on these forums. The company said it would likely be shipping in quantity later this quarter.
Anyway, I think this is yet another indication that the 7457s are about to roll. I certainly wouldn't be surprised, given recent history between Apple and Moto, if Apple *does* have priority access to the initial production quantities. Suppliers giving priority to large, visible customers is commonplace in business.
This is an "evaluation" product, not a "prototype". It is very common pratice among chip manufacturers to put out a board-level product that allows designers to evaluate the chip in question. The board will have bus connectors on it so a designer can connect his custom logic to the board, blow new proms, and otherwise debug a potential design. I wouldn't necessarily look at this in such a negative light. These boards are available for purchase through Moto's distribution channels; that's a good thing.
Another 7457-based evaluation product has been available since early June, as reported on these forums. The company said it would likely be shipping in quantity later this quarter.
Anyway, I think this is yet another indication that the 7457s are about to roll. I certainly wouldn't be surprised, given recent history between Apple and Moto, if Apple *does* have priority access to the initial production quantities. Suppliers giving priority to large, visible customers is commonplace in business.
Some little tidbits about the 7457 I found from a PDF I found on Moto's site:
Speeds at 867Mhz, 1.0Ghz and 1.3Ghz with typical power consumptions of 14.8W, 15.8W, and 18.7W and a maximum of 21.0W, 22.0W, and 26.0W at full power mode respectively.
5.2W in nap mode (all speeds)
5.1W in sleep mode (all speeds)
5.0W in deep sleep mode (all speeds)
Bus speeds of 33.3MHz, 50MHz, 66.6MHz, 75MHz, 83MHz, 100MHz, 133MHz, 167MHz (1.3Ghz model)
Speeds at 867Mhz, 1.0Ghz and 1.3Ghz with typical power consumptions of 14.8W, 15.8W, and 18.7W and a maximum of 21.0W, 22.0W, and 26.0W at full power mode respectively.
5.2W in nap mode (all speeds)
5.1W in sleep mode (all speeds)
5.0W in deep sleep mode (all speeds)
Bus speeds of 33.3MHz, 50MHz, 66.6MHz, 75MHz, 83MHz, 100MHz, 133MHz, 167MHz (1.3Ghz model)
In the beginning the G5s will go in the top end machines. For a while yet the G4s are adequate for the rest of the product line. Remember, that in addition to the CPU a good GPU, bus, HD, port selection, keyboard, etc. all contribute to the usefulness of a machine. I would be happy with a 1.3GHz 15" Al PB with all the other features we expect it to have.
I hope the updates are not the much better than the existing powerbooks sure a new 15", but I hope for the 12" thats what I have. I hope that ones not very good because I don't want mine to seem obsolete allready, like if they add backlit keyboard or a cooler case. I will want a new one so bad!
I'm wondering if these are still the old numbers from the first revision of the silicon, the 7457s...
The part number pdf was updated -- the power consumption table on 7/2003 -- might be a little more accurate.
Table 7 Updated Power Consumption Specifications
But, I'm wondering if the 8/2003 date is significant at this point.
I would love to see a g5 across the board. Especially in the iMac and the powerbook. If apple did that, sales would be spectacular. Isn't that what they want? How hot would a 1.4 ghz G5 be? I wouldn't even mind a super fine G3. This G4 Motorola thing is getting to the point of rediculous. Apple needs to dump them. It would be good for Motorola also. Motorolla should outsource those G4's to IBM's fishkill.
The 7457/7447 does not support direct access to DDR-SDRAM. The 200mhz bus was widely quoted in the press around february when Moto announced the chip. Moto also estimated 10 watts at 1.0ghz. I think that has been revised as well. Good ol' Moto, promise big, deliver small.
Interesting tidbit from macinfo.de:
""Alpha" samples of the new Motorola PPC are available today, "Market" samples will ship in March, market introduction is scheduled for Q4/2003. In quantities of 10'000 units a PowerPC 7457/1000 will cost 189 US$." This was posted on Feb 11 2003. Now we know how much the chips cost!