Will current Macs become obsolete next year??

[J-Luv]

some guys at work keep saying macs are about to switch to intel processors and that if u buy one now it will become obsolete next year when they switch...is there any truth to this??

[Orkar]

It's not going to be obsolete - not for many years.

Some folks are still doing production work on older g4 and g3 computers. One of my machines was bought in '99 and I still use it quite a bit.

As to the switch to intel processors this is because IBM wouldn't design/produce a processor for apple that would run cool enough to put in the laptops. The test models tried were frying themselves within minutes of being turned on.

(In very loose terminology) Essentially it's just how small you can design the component paths on the microchip. Intel can do it about 30% smaller than IBM currently can. this means chip that can do more tasks (~30% more)in the same confined space or run the same tasks as before but at a lower temperature.
(dont yell about the terminology folks I'm trying to make this understandable)

The other major reason for the change is that Intel offered Apple such a great deal on their volume purchasing for chips that neither side is letting anyone know the exact numbers.

So .... will your new Imac be obsolete?

Well, you won't be able to update the CPU in a few years as it will have a different motherboard. (hardly anyone does upgrade the CPU for an Imac)
You can still max out your ram.
You cant addon much else to the base machine as it's an Imac. (if you want another hard drive it will have to be external usb or firewire)

Support for your machine will still exist at the apple site for five or more years. (probably much longer) (I can still dig up G3 specs and drivers if I need them)

The mac OS will work on IBM chips or Intel chips. (current version is IBM chip only)

Apple already tested it on some Intel machines and it worked fine. Unfortunately there are rumors that Apple is trying to limit the OS to running only on Apple built Intel chip machines(and all the older apples/IBM's of course). Remember they are a hardware manufacturer and want you to spend $1500 on their box rather than $500 on a cheap compeditors machine slapped together somewhere in the third world by very underpaid labour.


So buy it if you need it. Consider a full blown desktop G5 or a PowerbookG4 (not ibook)
if you have serious production needs for the machine.

[VENGEANCE MX]

I would definitely recommend getting one of the Intel Macs when they're released - that way, you can run Windows AND Mac OS X on the same computer, without the use of an emulator or anything.

[J-Luv]

my dilema is i need a mac now in order to get some projects done by summertime next year..this intel merge with mac isnt going to happen until 2 to 4 years from now right?

[SJT]

If you need a mac now, get it now. It will pay for itself within a year anyway if you're doing enough work with it.

Also, as others have noted, the switch will not happen for 2 years, and even then there will probably be another 2 years before software for ppc macs stops getting as much development as x86 software. That's 4-5 years before you might have to start worrying about it being a problem.

[Sybersnake]

Intel Processors will show themselves in the lower-end machines and work their way up over the course of 2 years. I agree with SJT, you really won't have to worry about application compatibility for around 4 years. In which time, you've probably already felt like upgrading and have done so already. (My development machine changes every 3-4 years)