Since Think Secrets July report on Antares, the forthcoming dual-core PowerPC 970MP processor, sources have provided Think Secret with additional notes regarding IBM"s PowerPC development and the direction it might take Apple. The biggest news is that Antares will also be available in a single-core version, code-named AntaresSP, which is expected to be named the PowerPC 970GX. At present, Apple"s dual-2.5GHz Power Mac G5 uses the PowerPC 970FX processor. Like Antares, the 970GX will initially come in at speeds around 3GHz and is said to feature 1MB of L2 cache, double what the 970FX processor sports. Like the 970FX, however, the processor will not have any L3 cache.
At present, sources suggest that the 970GX might be ready around the first or second quarter of 2005, while the expected availability of the 970MP remains unknown at this point. Low-power versions of the PowerPC 970 intended for use in the PowerBook G5 remain in development at speeds between 1.6GHz and 1.8GHZ, but little else is known. Apple"s current PowerBook line-up hasn"t been updated in seven months, however, suggesting a revised model could arrive as soon as Macworld Expo San Francisco in January.