On the trail of the IBM 970GX


A recent IBM DeveloperWorks article suggests that the 970GX processor is already in production. Of course, this chip is expected to find a home Apple's next-gen pro towers if not other product lines.

Here's a quote of the bit I found interesting:

The only processors currently supporting AltiVec are the G4 and G5. The G4 (including model numbers 7400 and 7410) and G4+ (7450 and 7455) processors are made by Motorola. (There are more models than just the ones listed here, but these are the most widely discussed.) The G5 chips include the IBM 970, 970FX, and 970GX [emphasis added]; these are essentially POWER4™ cores with an AltiVec unit bolted on. So far, only PowerPC processors have had AltiVec [native] support, not the POWER line.

With the current PowerMacs already nine-months old, we can expect a major update, perhaps even including PCI-Express (ie improved graphics, I/O performance), any time. However, the most-likely venue is Apple's World Wide Developers Conference slated for June 6 through 10.

A long-shot opportunity for updating the PowerMac is Monday, March 14, when Doom 3 will ship.

When do you expect to see "new" P'Macs?