Product Inventory Delays?

There were some reports from new machine owners of the PPC970FX starting to show up recently in the 2.0GHz PowerMacs, and some reports of sudden delays in 1.8GHz people's BTO orders (sudden 1-2 day to 2-week switch).

Apple "could" very well be in transition from the 130nm to 90nm CPUs in the 1.8/2.0GHz PowerMacs, which would put a temporary crease in product availability.

It's a move that Apple needs to make as soon as they can, since the 90nm CPU should be less expensive than the 130nm part.

Of course it is also the back-to-school period...

The article opens with "a majority of Apple's products are experiencing longer-than-normal shipping delays."

Sounds dire--but when you read on, most Apple products are still pretty easy to come by. To summarize:

The following have delays of at least a week or two if not more:

PowerMac dual-2.5
iMac G4 (duh!)
iPod Mini
30" displays (and 6800 Ultra DLL)

...While the following are generally available, at least IF you order from Apple directly:

PowerMac dual-2.0
PowerMac dual-1.8
12" PowerBook
Top-end iBook
iPod (4th gen.)
20" & 23" displays

...And these are readily available at Apple and resellers alike:

Xserve
Xserve RAID
15" PowerBook
17" PowerBook
Low-end iBooks
eMac

There were some reports from new machine owners of the PPC970FX starting to show up recently in the 2.0GHz PowerMacs, and some reports of sudden delays in 1.8GHz people's BTO orders (sudden 1-2 day to 2-week switch).

Apple "could" very well be in transition from the 130nm to 90nm CPUs in the 1.8/2.0GHz PowerMacs, which would put a temporary crease in product availability.

It's a move that Apple needs to make as soon as they can, since the 90nm CPU should be less expensive than the 130nm part.

Of course it is also the back-to-school period...

How does one tell? I have a dual 2.0 showing up tomorrow and am interested to find out whether it'll be the regular 970 or the FX.

Ya know, I love apple's products and all the 'emotion' that evolves around WWDC and all the other Apple Conferences, but I am definatly loosing confidence in apple's ability to "deliver". Sure, they have the hotest products around at the time of anouncements, but by the time you are able to get the product in your hands it's already near a release cycle for the next version of the product.

How does one tell? I have a dual 2.0 showing up tomorrow and am interested to find out whether it'll be the regular 970 or the FX.

Type in...

ioreg -l | grep cpu-version

to get the PVR/PID value.

Edit - Use the Terminal, and just using ioreg -l will print everything out.

Type in...

ioreg -l | grep cpu-version

to get the PVR/PID value.

Edit - Use the Terminal, and just using ioreg -l will print everything out.

From Ars -

$ ioreg -l | grep cpu-version
| | | "cpu-version" =
| | | "cpu-version" =

M.Isobe - IBM changed not only version number, but also PID (processor ID) of 970FX. Your processors are PowerPC 970FX (PID: 0x003C) revision 3.0.

Apple "could" very well be in transition from the 130nm to 90nm CPUs in the 1.8/2.0GHz PowerMacs, which would put a temporary crease in product availability.

when the 2.5s came out, i thought i noticed on apple's pm page that apple changed its info about the pm from using 130nm processors to 90nm processors. i just looked, and i can't find references to either size on apple's site. are the xserves have 90nm, right? but the dual 2.0 in the pm does not?

i just looked, and i can't find references to either size on apple's site.

are the xserves have 90nm, right? but the dual 2.0 in the pm does not?

The XServe G5s had the 90nm (PPC970FX) processor from the start, and a huge long wait for such a low volume product.

When M.Isobe first checked the 1.8 & 2.0 Rev. B PowerMac G5s, they still had the 130nm processor -- was either that or wait until Aug/Sept to kick the darn things out the door as 2.0-2.5GHz units.

Some people have recently reported getting new 2.0GHz PowerMac G5s with the PVR/PID value jwdawso referenced.

Even ThinkSecret says the XServe G5s are starting to flow, and if the 1.8/2.0GHz PMs finally are getting 970FXs -- it's good news for the iMac G5.

Isn't it funny that even with all the whining, the dual 1.8's are more popular than the 2.0s.

will the performance effects of 90nm vs. 130nm be evident to the consumer in any way?