PowerPC vs. Intel: Has Apple Been Lying to Us?
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- 2006.08.17
Was it all a lie?
The Mac Pro is the newest, coolest, fastest, and best Mac ever - or so Apple says.
Apparently, it's up to twice as fast as it's immediate predecessor, the Power Mac G5 Quad.
Sounds great, doesn't it?
A new system with a new architecture that's up to twice as fast is sure to bring in big bucks for Apple and make plenty of customers happy.
Wasn't PowerPC Faster?
But wait, there's something not quite right about all of this, something that I'm sure a lot of people are thinking: "I thought Intel chips were half as fast as the PowerPCs, not two to four times faster."
I seem to remember a time, about nine years ago, when Apple was bragging about how it's PowerPC G3 CPU was up to twice as fast as its Pentium II counterpart.
Does
the snail ad ring a bell?
Then Apple started a whole new era of computing with the 500 MHz PowerPC G4 in 1999, claiming it was 2.94 times faster than the 600 MHz Pentium III.
Anyone remember the tank ad?
Then in 2001,
we had the "Megahertz Myth" video, showing why the PowerPC's
architecture was so much more advanced and efficient than the X86
architecture.
In 2003, we had the introduction of the G5.
Apple claimed that it was twice as fast as the fastest Pentium 4 machines, and everyone loved it.
Virginia Tech put 1,100 of them together and made the world's third-fastest supercomputer.
And Now Intel Is Faster?
All that changed in 2005.
All of a sudden, Apple decided to start using processors from the same company they had been bashing for years by claiming they were half as fast as the PowerPC chips Apple used!
Now Apple said that IBM had dropped the ball, that IBM's inability to produce fast enough G5s had forced them to go down this road.
And today Apple says that the new Mac Pro with it's Quad Core Intel Xeon "Woodcrest" processors makes the new machine up to twice as fast as the Power Mac G5 Quad.
I find that very hard to believe.
For the last 12 years, we've been hearing how the RISC architecture (found in PowerPC) was so much better than the CISC architecture (used in Intel's x86 family) - and now, after all this time, Apple is abandoning that?
I think the question we all have to ask ourselves right now is:
Has Apple been lying to us for 12 long years, or are they simply
trying to get for Windows users to buy Macs by making it easier to
run Windows on them? 
Recent Vintage Mac Living articles
- If a Mac Plus can run System 7.5.5, why can't an 800 MHz G4 run Leopard?, 10.19. Apple supported the Mac Plus for over 10 years after its introduction. Why should Leopard cut off support for Macs released 4-6 years ago?
- 60 Mac models left behind: The ridiculously high cost of Leopard, 10.17. Mac OS X 10.5 officially doesn't support any G3 Macs, most G4 Power Macs, most titanium PowerBooks, half the G4 iMacs, early eMacs, or the first 12" G4 iBook.
- What a waste! Some schools would rather store old computers than put them to use, 09.12. Denver Public Schools is one example of a school district so ready to buy new computers that it has tens of thousands of old, usable computers sitting in storage.
- Why I don't want an iPhone - and really want an iPod touch, 09.06. The iPhone offers a lot of capabilities, but at too high a cost for someone who doesn't need a mobile phone or doesn't want to change carriers. The iPod touch is nearly perfect.
- More in the Vintage Mac Living index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac G5 (iSight), Oct. 2005 -Apple built an iSight webcam into the last version of the G5 iMac.
- List of the Day: The iPod List The iPod List is a forum to discuss the iPod, it's accessories, the iTunes Store, iTunes, and related topics.
- October 12 in LEM history: 98: Beyond HFS+ nightmares - 99: iMacs for all - 00: The future of low-end gaming - 01: Tips on buying a new computer - 05: iMac G5 (iSight) - Simple backup strategies - 06: Bring back flexible, easy to upgrade 'Books - 07: Road Apple nominations - PB 150 boots from Compact Flash - Leopard to slow down PowerPC Macs?
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- TruePower Battery Can Run WallStreet PowerBook Past the 5 Hour Mark, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 10.10. If you have a rugged old PowerBook but its battery is losing capacity, TruePower can give you plenty of time in the field.
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- Economic Crunch May Slow Mac Sales, a Recycled Cube, ToCA Race Driver 3 for Mac, and More, Mac News Review, 10.10. Also don't buy RAM from Apple, customize your Mac's appearance, MacTribe expanding into print, My Apple Space social networking, and more.
- Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
- Best PowerBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10. Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
- Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09. If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
- What Would an $800 MacBook Mean for the Mac mini?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.09. If Apple does release an $800 entry-level MacBook next week, the $600 Mac mini is going to look very overpriced.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
- Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
- The Power of Older Macs, Why Vista Only Sees 3 GB of RAM, Wangwriter Supplies, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.08. Also the end of an era as MIT HyperArchive shuts down and another suggestion for profiling Windows computers.
- Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08. By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
- Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.08. We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
- Will Apple's iPhone/App Store Tornado Blow Away the Competition?, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.08. The iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Store paved the way for the success of the iPhone and the App Store - and nobody can match that.
- More links in our archive.
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