Mac Studio

[Synth Master Jedi]

But they're still eating a chunk of electricity and, based on their comparisons with the Intel 12900K, the M1 Ultra processor alone might eat upwards of 140W under load.

Even if it uses 140W under load, then so what, because when you compare that to the equivalent, they're using literally hundreds of watts more, because the M1 Ultra includes the GPU.

How much watts is the intel chip + a beefy GPU going to use? over 500 watts?

[ghettosynth]

Their SSD pricing may also be expected by now. But it's still shockingly bad.. Not to mention recent revelations about Mac OS SSD handling and desktop data integrity.

Exactly so. It's more than just being able to replace the SSD with a larger one, it's being able to replace the primary component that wears out owing to simply using it.

That the systems won't start without a functioning crypto signed Apple SSD means that you have a brick when that SSD dies. Not so with older macs, you could still start them from an external. Moreover, Apple does not prevent you from booting from a different OS, e.g., Linux, so I find the choice to not use a standard SSD interface particularly annoying.

I'm sure that my use case is a small segment of the market, but I would probably own multiple M1 macs at this point if they actively embraced Linux install by helping Linux devs a bit more and allowed for standard M.2 NVME SSDs. I love the form factor and I find that it has some value. Hell, my Intel desktop cost too much for the included tech, but I'm not the least bit disappointed with it, I'm willing to pay more for small.

[jamcat]

So is the Mac Studio the Mac Pro mini, or the Mac mini Pro?

[Super Piano Hater 64]

Yes

[chagzuki]

That the systems won't start without a functioning crypto signed Apple SSD means that you have a brick when that SSD dies. Not so with older macs, you could still start them from an external.

I didn't know about that, that's bad news indeed. It's useful to have multiple OS installations; with an old iMac I relied on booting from an external drive.

[PAK]

Even if it uses 140W under load, then so what

I said "upwards" - the total system load, for an M1 Ultra, could be far north of that - Potentially over 300W. We'll see..

Whilst that's still better than "equivalent performance" Intel / Nvidia, the point is there's no physics miracle, and it's still going to be a fair amount of energy usage. Apple paid to be head of the 5nm manufacturing queue with TSMC, and the power usage is going to come down -significantly- for other companies when they also manage to move to 5nm..

because when you compare that to the equivalent, they're using literally hundreds of watts more, because the M1 Ultra includes the GPU.

Yep, but I didn't say otherwise! Your average DAW user likely isn't going to be hammering the graphics though. They just want something which can drive their display without clicks and pops. In that sense, being required to pay for an expensive GPU solution, they likely don't need, perhaps isn't the best use of their resources..

How much watts is the intel chip + a beefy GPU going use? over 500 watts

Lots of variables there. The point wasn't that Intel (or AMD for that matter) doesn't use more power. I even said as much in my post It's that these Apple parts can still draw fair amounts of power themselves..

Power usage is becoming a major issue for many. Energy costs, in the UK, are set to more than double by the end of the year, so that an average household is paying £2,900 (over US $3,800). It's enough of a difference that the cost should be factored in to purchases like these, especially if the present situation lasts (as some want it to - you will own nothing and be happy). This may well favour Apple in that case btw, especially if you plan to use the device over the next 5-10 years.

[ghettosynth]

So is the Mac Studio the Mac Pro mini, or the Mac mini Pro?

From reddit, it's the "MacFatti"

[SLiC]

WTF is the headphone socket around the back by the power socket? Surely this should have been on the front?

[FapFilter]

So is the Mac Studio the Mac Pro mini, or the Mac mini Pro?

It's of course the Big Mac mini

[Uncle E]

That the systems won't start without a functioning crypto signed Apple SSD means that you have a brick when that SSD dies.

That’s a good argument for getting the cheapest configuration and only using the internal drive for system functions.

[Uncle E]

It's of course the Big Mac mini

In France, they call it Le Big Mac mini

[jamcat]

That the systems won't start without a functioning crypto signed Apple SSD means that you have a brick when that SSD dies. Not so with older macs, you could still start them from an external.

I didn't know about that, that's bad news indeed. It's useful to have multiple OS installations; with an old iMac I relied on booting from an external drive.

You can boot from an external hard drive. It just needs to be Thunderbolt 3. I think you should also be able to boot from an SD card.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/01 ... rnal-drive

[ghettosynth]

...

[PAK]

Their SSD pricing may also be expected by now. But it's still shockingly bad.. Not to mention recent revelations about Mac OS SSD handling and desktop data integrity.

Exactly so. It's more than just being able to replace the SSD with a larger one, it's being able to replace the primary component that wears out owing to simply using it.

Just to clarify, I was actually referencing the way Apple handles data with SSD drives, which falsely inflates their performance numbers because of the way in which it delays the writing of cache data to the drive. It also means, in a device without a battery back up, you are at much greater risk of data loss.

The guy who noticed it, Hector Martin (Who is developing Linux for Apple Silicon), is the same person who discovered that Apple SSD drives were being prematurely aged last year (now fixed by Apple).
https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1494213855387734019

[ghettosynth]

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