PowerPC For Mac

New design means faster clone systems

By Mary Hayes

PowerPC chip that was designed to vastly improve data throughput in Macintosh-based systems will make its debut at MacWorld Expo in Boston this week.

Manufacturers of Mac clones will demonstrate systems featuring the PowerPC 750 chip, which includes a built-in controller that provides high-speed access to Level 2 cache memory of up to 1 Mbyte. That means the chip design, previously called "Arthur" and "G3," will let desktop makers build systems that operate 70% faster than Mac systems shipping now.

Power Computing Corp. claims it will beat Apple and Motorola to market by shipping its PowerTower Pro G3 line, featuring the PowerPC 750 chip, by Aug. 29. However, Will Searingen, manager of marketing product for Motorola's PowerPC division, says IBM and Motorola don't expect anyone to be able to ship in volume before October because of internal chip supply schedules.

Some Macintosh users are encouraged by the design overhaul. "I'm a little disappointed with the [current] PowerPC systems," says Chris Cain, an IS specialist with the Carson Group, a New York financial consulting firm. "We don't seem to get the throughput with some applications on the PowerPC systems that we get on Windows PCs."

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