Comments about:

Quad G5 PowerMacs, Powerbooks enhanced

After ranting for years after a more than 2 CPU powermac, at last I've got a dual CPU with dual cores. It's great. i don't understand still how Apple can install only 512 MB of RAM on pro computers…

I look forward after the benchmarks to compare the dual-core to the previous models, they must be bombs for our steve to be so confident about them. We'll see.

Awesome!!!!! I'm ready to buy one now!

yeah - looks cool -4 procs... but steve is confident about everything, isnt he? isnt that his/apple's thing? haha.

Anyway, the powerbooks did not get any faster. My now exactly 2 year old powerbook is still in the running with the new ones. That cant be good for apple's portable status... but maybe that will be adequately addressed once they move to intel.

With dual core procs, can a single thread still only be allocated to one half of processor though? Cause for things like MaxMSP, where (i think) all the audio runs in one thread (jitter/the max scheduler being different threads) would dual core 2.5GHz be faster or slower for the audio than dual 2.7 GHz? But maybe this would be a dream machine for running jitter (which is written to take advantage of multiple CPUs now) and MaxMSP at the same time?

The real mojo will be for multithreaded apps.

For the exact speed of these now babies, we'll need some hands on first. a dual core cpu is more efficient at moving data between cores, but less at moving data thru the bus. There are also new cache schemes too, on my part it's difficult to tell how it'll run. We can only bet apple don't issue computer which are slower than the ones they replace.

And we know all the space continuum effect of our Steve

DDR2 means less consumption, less heat, and so more batteries for the powerbook and colder tights for the user. But yea until we have the new freescale G4 (late late late late again) nothing can move this way. Now once they are released, expect some updated laptops

AND AND

PCI/PCI-x cards ARE NOT COMPATIBLE with PCI-express. so we'll have AGAIN to wait till there are some. It means new cards from Digidesign, MOTU, ECHO, RME etc.

WTFH is that?

Why all the PCI are PCI-express?

All right Digidesign was working for some month on a PCIe version of the HD cards with Apple, I hope others like MOTU, RME, Mackie/UA, TC to tell a few were in too.

Why not just use a firewire interface?

So and as they are the things, to use one pci card is very dangerous.

Just because there are some interface that are available only in this form, Digidesign will issue new HD cards. Never be deprived of choice, choice is good and firewire interfaces have their problems too. A PCI card will always be on a bus faster than the available Firewire interfaces. Faster means less errors because you don't have to trust blindly a protocol which convey your audio in digital form, there can be accidents too, even if they are negligible in regard of an analogue audio chain.

Myself I've got a PCI interface (that I should upgrade one day when i'll have time to run in the G5 if only MOTU… [insert rant here]). high end interfaces are all on some flavour of PCI cards save portable solutions.

Apple way well be selling good hardware, but they ask us for another huge step without adaptation time and it mean $$$$ for us to follow because Mr Apple impose PCIx only. We invest sometime a lot in our set up, but the market pressures to force us to upgrade all the time even when it's NOT mandatory save to be only able to use his hard earned hardware in a new computer.

For your information, right now, there is only ONE PCIx card to add FW 400 and 800 ports. we are literally sailing thru a river of choice don't you know

The new G5s may be bombs, but they mean $$$ to upgrade our other hardware. Thanks Mr Apple.