G5
The G5 is a microprocessor used in the newest Apple Macintosh computers. The G5 was publicly announced in June 2003 by Apple Computer. G5 is Apple's term for the IBM manufactured microprocessor called PowerPC 970, and stands for the fifth generation of Power PC microprocessors. It's a true 64-bit design (with full backward compatibility for 32-bit code without rebooting).Power Macintosh G5
Models of Apple's Power Macintosh announced in June 2003 incorporated these microprocessors running at speeds of 1.6, 1.8 and, in a dual-chip version, 2.0 GHz. The G5 can communicate through its frontside bus at up to half its internal clock speed; a 2 GHz G5 thus has a 1 GHz frontside bus, and due to the 64-bit processor the G5 has a RAM ceiling of eight gigabytes (a full four gigabytes above current THEORETICAL limits on 32-bit processors) . The technology behind the IBM PowerPC 970 (based on IBM's POWER4 design paired with a 128-bit, 162-instruction SIMD unit for Apple's use) and that of the Power Macintosh G5 is cutting edge for a desktop system as of its introduction.
In June 2003, Steve Jobs, Apple Computer CEO, announced that chips running at speeds of 3.0 GHz would be available "within a year". The move that Apple is making to 64-bit hardware suggests the G5 will have a long future ahead of it.
Apparently work has been started at IBM on the POWER5 processor series but no official word has been made on what the project's goals are.
