Computer Porn...sort of

[railven]

Well it seems Apple's new product is out and they decided to take it apart before posting their review.

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2951

A few things that really caught me by surprise:

They use an Intel over an IBM custom processor. Wow that is a bold move that will benefit Intel in the end. I wonder if the iPhone will run off some Intel variant processor!

Secondly they us an nVidia GPU, the Go 7300, over an ATI. This makes a huge splash in my mind as the only other competition would be the Xbox 360 with its MCE Extender options and that runs off an ATI based chipset, err AMD. I wonder if Apple even tried to get an ATI and if the merger of ATI with AMD played a role. I could predict AMD keeping ATI's stuff on a tight leash as they are starting to get the ball rolling on the K8.

It looks cute, I sort of want one! Haha.

[Sinister Angel]

Originally Posted by railven

I could predict AMD keeping ATI's stuff on a tight leash as they are starting to get the ball rolling on the K8.

Are they looking to integrate the GPU with the CPU?

[railven]

Originally Posted by Sinister Angel

Are they looking to integrate the GPU with the CPU?

[Feel free to ignore all this and just read the bolded text...I have a tendency to ramble.]

I made a hypothesis in reflect to that. Intel can create their own boards to cover all aspects but AMD couldn't. AMD would always have to have a seperate third party vendor create something.

AMD stepped it up by launching their own North Bridge line up but nVidia's nForce was still dominating the AMD CPU mobo market. ATI started to get into the work of creating their own chipsets with what I would have predicted in the near future their own motherboard line up. nVidia had a large stake in that market.

So AMD probably approached a few other third party chipset manufacturers I believe. The Core 2 line up basically put AMD back two steps. Before AMD could count on their enthusiast sales but they had little to no market in the business field. AMD servers where expensive and AMD couldn't offer huge discounts like Intel could due to their lack of production quantities.

So AMD nabs ATI, for whatever reason ATI agreed I don't know, and with ATI's internal chipset department AMD focuses them on their now dying K7 architecture they can unload a streamline of low budget econo configurations to appeal to small business and the like. With all production costs staying internal, ala Intel, AMD could make back some of their loses by cutting out third party vendors.

ATI needs to get back into the GPU race but I doubt unless the K8 delivers a strong blow to Intel's Core 2 (with Penryn coming in Q4 2007 AMD has no choice but to response) I predict AMD will stick to the general public and stay out of the enthusiast races.

So in short, yeah I could see them working on a configuration, ala VIA's Micro-ATX systems, that feature a lower power GPU supporting a high powered CPU for simple graphical algorithims.

[The Tony Show]

Dammit- This thread should have been called "Computer porn", because I opened it thinking there was free PORN inside.

Carry on....

[gary88]

Nice to see that they put an HDMI input back there.

[DILLIGAF]

Hate to be the token retard here butttt,what does it do and why do I need one?

[hardrockcamaro@mac.c]

It lets you display all the content you have on your iTunes, on your big TV.

So your computer can stay upstairs (or wherever) and you can watch stuff on your big tv.
It let's you listen to your iTunes music through your tv, see all the photos you have on your computer (well on a Mac anyway) and watch the tv shows, movies and music videos that are in your iTunes on your big tv.

It synchronises just like an iPod (except wirelessly) so you can even watch the stuff if your computer is off. You can also watch stuff off a friends iTunes if they bring their laptop round as it will stream from it over your network.

I have taken the day off work today to wait for mine to be delivered.
I have all my music and photos on my Mac, plus I have converted most of my DVDs to iPod format so they are in iTunes and I can watch them via this. No more hunting for DVDs and so on. My Mac also has a tv tuner card and I use that to record tv shows (tivo style) and I can then watch them via this box (currently I have to watch them on the computer or burn a DVD to take downstairs to watch on the big tv).


So in a nutshell, it lets you watch the content you have on your computer, on your big tv. Wirelessly.

[Jesda]

Its one of those things where if you don't need it, don't bother, but if you've been waiting for something like it, you know who you are.

I don't have a TV.

[RightTurn]

Originally Posted by rp64ctsv

Hate to be the token retard here butttt,what does it do and why do I need one?

But RP, we're used to u being the token retard.

[nikon]

man...isn't mac usually ahead of the game??? MS finally wins with media center...I know I couldn't live without it...well, you know.....and $300 for that thing!!!! my xbox360 was only 360 and does the same thing + play games.......dunno, mac needs to catch on to the whole all in one media center thing...hell even sony has a media center get-up....I dont like it, and it can't be upgraded easy...but it's something.....for once though...Windows wins.

[railven]

Ouch, bad review for the iTV.

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2952&p=1

I can't say I didn't expect all that. The real thing that caught me by surprise was the bitrate/resolution limitation. I guess it should have kicked in as the processing requirements for true HD codecs is insane.

Well it seems unless you own a device with a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive you aren't recieving "true high definition" but just a standard upscaled image. I'd have thought by now the technology would have caught but but I guess with the new formats still fresh no one is interested in that.

[And I don't care what Comcast/Verizon/Local Cable-Satellite Company/Sony/MS/Apple says if the file isn't over a Gigabyte and you're computer/console/extender doesn't drop a frame it isn't true HD!]

I've had a Multimedia style PC for almost a decade and I'm just happy with the way it is going. Now if only they could reduce the price of the hardware again. All of a sudden everyone wants a freaking HTPC and cables start costing +$20/30 what they use to cost.