Part One rumors consisted of the PowerMac and G5 combination, Part Two concerns the iMac, eMac, and laptops.
Since the general concensus is that Altivec (in some form or another) is coming to IBM processors in a lite version of the Power4, but what stops IBM from putting these vector instructions into the 750FX--IBMs flagship PowerPC processor at the moment.
An enhanced version of the 750FX, or 750FXe (as I've already posted one time before) would be a great fit for the iBook, the PowerBook, the iMac, the eMac, and maybe even the classic iMac--if they do not discontinue it.
So, here are prospects for use of the 750FXe:
iMac:
- 1GHz G4
- 166MHz system bus
- PC2700 DDR memory
eMac:
- 1GHz G4
- 133MHz system bus
- PC2100 DDR memory
iBook
- 800MHz G4
- 133Mhz system bus
- PC2100 DDR memory
PowerBook
- 1GHz G4
- 166MHz system bus
- PC2700 DDR memory
But, here's the great part of this entire thing. All of these computers would use the same exact processor, with the iBook receiving an underclocked 1GHz 750FXe. This helps Apple buy in bulk and thus lower the price of their purchases, which could lead to more inexpensive eMacs, etc. The other fact, is that the use of DDR across the board also means cheaper memory (or at least from Apple's standpoint, they'll probably still charge us an arm and a leg).
One a note on the DDR memory, the 750FX fully supports DDR memory, so the 750FXe would likely do the same. Some might question the use of crippled DDR in the PowerMacs and a full implementation of DDR memory in the consumer and laptop products, but a better PowerMac using the 7470 G4 from Motorola or a G5 from IBM is likely on its way soon.
Since the general concensus is that Altivec (in some form or another) is coming to IBM processors in a lite version of the Power4, but what stops IBM from putting these vector instructions into the 750FX--IBMs flagship PowerPC processor at the moment.
An enhanced version of the 750FX, or 750FXe (as I've already posted one time before) would be a great fit for the iBook, the PowerBook, the iMac, the eMac, and maybe even the classic iMac--if they do not discontinue it.
So, here are prospects for use of the 750FXe:
iMac:
- 1GHz G4
- 166MHz system bus
- PC2700 DDR memory
eMac:
- 1GHz G4
- 133MHz system bus
- PC2100 DDR memory
iBook
- 800MHz G4
- 133Mhz system bus
- PC2100 DDR memory
PowerBook
- 1GHz G4
- 166MHz system bus
- PC2700 DDR memory
But, here's the great part of this entire thing. All of these computers would use the same exact processor, with the iBook receiving an underclocked 1GHz 750FXe. This helps Apple buy in bulk and thus lower the price of their purchases, which could lead to more inexpensive eMacs, etc. The other fact, is that the use of DDR across the board also means cheaper memory (or at least from Apple's standpoint, they'll probably still charge us an arm and a leg).
One a note on the DDR memory, the 750FX fully supports DDR memory, so the 750FXe would likely do the same. Some might question the use of crippled DDR in the PowerMacs and a full implementation of DDR memory in the consumer and laptop products, but a better PowerMac using the 7470 G4 from Motorola or a G5 from IBM is likely on its way soon.
