x86? Apple Has Other Plans!

- 2002.04.05

Aren't you sick to death of everyone on the other platform telling us how Apple has to adopt "x86" (i.e., the Intel and Athlon processors used for Windows and most Linux boxen) to survive? I know I am.

Well, Steve Jobs has unleashed Apple's engineers to take the Darwin code and port it to several proof of concept machines - not a single one sporting the Pentium or Athlon.

The 64x64

The first project will warm the hearts of old time Apple II, Atari XL, and Commodore users. The Apple 64x64 starts with an updated version of the 6510 CPU found in the Commodore 128. The new 65100 has a 64-bit data bus, a 16K L2 onboard cache, and can switch between up to 64 banks of 64 KB. That means the 64x64 needs only 4 MB of RAM to reach maximum capability - the exact same ceiling as the Mac Plus.

That's not enough to run OS X? Ah, but you've only been told half the story. The 64x64 is designed for distributed processing. Each enclosure accepts up to 8 motherboards, and up to 8 enclosures can be linked together with FireWire. That's 64 processors running at 1 GHz, something that puts even a dual-CPU P4 machine with 2.4 GHz CPUs to shame.

Yes, there are some limitations. Between them, all of the CPUs only have 256 MB of RAM, which seems a bit small by today's standards. And due to architectural issues, although each CPU can drive graphics, each is limited to 48 KB dedicated to video output, so those amazing 3D graphics many users take for granted just won't work.

On the other hand, when it comes to a brute force solution, the 64x64 runs with the big boys. Best of all, you'll be able to link the whole thing to any Mac or PC with a PCI expansion slot and use it as a very dedicated OS X machine.

Apple expects that the 64x64 could sell for as little as $199 for a dual CPU system and just $50 for each additional processor card. The 64x64 runs best when it doesn't have to deal with graphics.

AltiVec? Forget about it.

Rocket '060

When Apple adopted the PowerPC, Motorola was developing their own 88000 RISC chip as well as the 68060, a successor to the 68040 that would have given the early Power Macs a real run for the money. A resurrected version of the 68060 powers the Rocket '060 prototype. Like the processor in the rumored iMac '040, the '060 runs at 2 GHz.

Unlike the iMac '040, which has no expansion bus, the Rocket '060 incorporates a new high bandwidth system bus with a 128-bit data path and 200 MHz clock speed. The 68060 CPU includes a 1 MB level 2 cache right on the chip and supports up to 16 GB of memory. A single processor model easily held its own against a dual gigahertz G4 in Apple's demo.

But there's more to the Rocket '060 than meets the eye. In addition to two 4x AGP slots and four PCI slots, the motherboard has socket for up to eight CPU cards on Apple's high bandwidth bus. That's 16 GHz of power in a fully stocked computer - and it could ship today.

Best of all, Apple has created a PPC emulator optimized for the 68040 in the iMac '040 and the 68060 used in the Rocket '060. Much as the 68K emulator allowed Power Macs to run old non-PPC code, the PPC emulator lets these new Macs run PPC code on these decidedly non-PPC processors. And they do it at about 70-80% the performance of a G3 at the same clock speed. Sorry, no Velocity Engine.

Several of the engineers on this project are rumored to be refugees from the Radius Rocket team, a phenomenal "Quadra on a card" created back in the NuBus era. Although not quite as over the top as the "Skylab" project (14 NuBus slots for Rocket cards and a power supply you could use for welding), the design team is very proud of their work.

Gigantor4

Using the same 128-bit 200 MHz bus and motherboard as the Rocket '060, Gigantor4 uses one, two, or as many as eight G4 processors, eliminating the need to emulate PowerPC code and providing the AltiVec engine that's just so darn useful for mastering DVDs and rendering 3D graphics in real time.

The design is asynchronous, so the new OS X Box can run with 800 MHz or 1 GHz CPUs today, then add more at the same speed or faster (at 200 MHz increments) as they become available. The design team also hopes the G5 - which should ship sometime this decade - will be able to run on the same bus.

This concept machine has the most potential, since Apple is already committed to the PowerPC architecture, although Jobs may deep six the whole concept since it makes it too easy to upgrade an existing machine instead of buying new iron.

Just Plain Weird and Fast

On a lark, a trio of Apple engineers managed to get Mac OS X running within 64 MB of RAM on an nVidia GeForce4 card. The biggest drawback is that there are absolutely no programs written for the GeForce CPU, so everything has to be compiled on and for the system, and it has to share video memory with the system's graphics. On the other hand, for absolutely stunning graphics and the fastest Aqua displays you've ever seen in your life, nVX will blow you away.

Rumors are Steve Jobs has approached nVidia to create a dual processor version of the card with 256 MB of RAM, making that standard for any Power Mac with AGP, and modifying the next version of OS X to let a version of X on the nVidia card handle all the display work.

Well, that's it for groundless rumors. I hope this helps you understand that Apple has far better things to do than worry about moving to the wimpy x86 architecture as so many want them to do. These guys are just too creative to follow the crowd.

Think different - or just make it easier than ever with a Mac.

- Anne Onymus

Recent Rumor Mills

• New Apple drive supports Blu-ray and HD DVD, 09.11. Tired of being second-guessed and sometimes outmaneuvered by Microsoft, Apple has embraced both next gen DVD formats with its new SuperDrive Extreme.
• California: Beyond 'no light bulbs for you', 02.01. A Calfiornia assemblyman wants to make incandescent light bulbs illegal - but that's just the beginning. His next target: CRT monitors and TVs.
• IRS to tax Second Life, WoW, Monopoly: How to fight back, 12.18. Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, and now the IRS wants to tax your virtual life as well as your real one.
• Sudden impact: Apple's great Asteroid hoax, 06.09. Truth of the matter is, the Asteroid Project didn't exist to produce a viable product, but as a way to shut down rumor sites.
• More in the Rumor Mill index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: DayStar Genesis, Oct. 1995 - The first 'Mac' with multiple processors, technology Daystar licensed to Apple.
• List of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
  
• October 6 in LEM history: 98: USB is a good thing - Can Apple save Emailer? - 99: Kihei iMacs - 00: Advice about PDS Power Macs - 03: A replacement PowerBook battery - 04: AirPort Express - 05: The Apple Lisa story - 06: Don't ignore battery recall - Use any networked computer as an additional Mac display

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• $19,800 Bentley Ego Laptop Remarkably Similar to 1999 Clamshell iBook, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.06. Granted, Apple's iBook didn't have white gold trim, a padded leather exterior, or come in colors to match your Bentley automobile.
• Use Your FileMaker Pro Databases on Your iPhone, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.06. Although there's no version of FileMaker Pro for the iPhone, FMTouch will let you use your data and layouts on it.
• The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server., Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.06. Upgrading the existing SBS 2003 Server would cost less, the the server will run up against hardware limitations long before a Mac Pro does.
• Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 700 MHz CD, $110; CD-RW, $130; Combo, $170; 800 CD, $170; 1 GHz Combo, $250; SuperDrive, $280; 1.25 Combo, $290; SD, $360; 1.42 Combo, $359.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 1.6 HD, $1,299; refurb, $1,499; new, $1,669 after rebate; 1.8, $1,919 a/r; 1.6 SSD, $2,294 a/r; used 1.8 SSD, $1,997; refurb, $2,299; new, $2,349 a/r.
• Best iPod shuffle Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Refurb 3G/1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 1 GB (3G or 4G), $47; 2 GB (3G or 4G), $67. Prices include ground shipping.
• Mac Netbook Coming?, $179 64 GB SSD, Apple Owns 20% of US Notebook Market, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.03. Also head of Norton AntiVirus team uses a Mac, Toshiba demos new battery technology, 1 TB notebook drives due in 2010, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
• Getting the Most from Your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.03. Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite nicely. Here's how.
• Apple Drops iPhone NDA, Defecting to Android, Auto Performance Apps for the iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 10.03. Also more research needed on cellphone cancer link, file sharing app for the iPhone, three new power accessories from Macally, several new iPhone apps, and more.
• Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 450 MHz, $75; 500, $99; 733, $150; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, C$349; 867 MHz dual, $225; 1 GHz, $349; 1.25, $499; 1.42, $600.
• OS X and Safari Shares Grow in September, Toxic Mac Pro?, Green Hard Drives, and More, Mac News Review, 10.03. Also Vista terrible as Mac market grows, CrossOver Mac Pro reviewed, SimpleTech Pro Drives, and a new toolkit for working on computers.
• Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 500 CD, $149; 800, $190; 600 CD-RW, $240; 800 Combo, $300; 900, $399; 14" 600, $360; 900, $469.
• Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $65; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
• Why I'm Switching from Windows Small Business Server to Leopard Server, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.02. Windows SBS 2003 has served very well, but with SBS 2008 just around the corner, it's time to reconsider that choice. Leopard Server has a lot to offer.
• The Unwritten Rule Behind Apple's App Store Rejections, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.02. "If you want to work with someone, don't attack or try to take over part of what they think of as theirs."
• The Best Browsers for Older Macs Running Tiger, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.02. A dial-up user's overview of browsers for Mac OS X 10.4 puts the emphasis on reliability, downloads, and speed.
• Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1.83 GHz, $649; 2.0 SD, $750; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 2.4, $1,204 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r.
• CodeWeavers Brings Google's Chrome Browser to Intel Macs, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 10.02. Google's new Chrome browser uses separate processes for each tab and brings other changes to Windows users. Now Mac fans can try it as well.
• Best iMac G5 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $450; 2.0 SuperDrive, $500; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $550; 2.0, $600; 2.1 iSight, $650.
• Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1G/8 GB, $160; refurb, $179; new, $198; used 16, $200; refurb, $219; new, $265; refurb 32, $319; new, $345; 2G/8 GB, $229; 16, $280; 32, $380.
• More links in our archive.