runnin away from Win

[mjolnir]

when you guys were talking about fanless pc's i thought you were including laptops, but i guess not.
desktop pc's usually have fans. but some of the current modern laptops just have heatsinks and have low power circuitboards.
that's what i'm using right now. the bottom of the laptop can get really hot sometimes, so i try to keep it elevated on something.

but as for ambient noise, the only noise comes from me typing on the keyboard, no fan noise because no fan.
i opened it up a few times to be sure, and there doesn't seem to be any fan. or if there is on that i can't find yet, it's still quiet as can be.

[pekbro]

So, looking in my magic cash drawer, I have the money for an M3 imac, with 1 tb storage and 24 gb ram.

I'd like to have the apple screen more than saving on a mini for space considerations and whatnot...

I'm not super interested in windows and already have a windows 11 machine, the gaming landscape has changed quite a bit, most games are available everywhere, so playstation is fine for that. Linux would be cool, but I don't need a new computer for that. I also use much in the way of commercial SW that will require either mac or windows. E.g. photoshop etc...

With a mac I will definitely have to expand with ext storage, usb considerations and whatnot.

Anyway, just rambling...

[Patrice Brousseau]

FWIW, my big i9 9900K tower is practically silent. It’s an Hackintosh but I wouldn’t hesitate to use it as a strict Windows PC DAW.

Are Mac Silicons more powerful? Sure. Any big modern PC built on AMD or Intel platform would probably leave my old build in the dust too but I don’t care.

PSU as Eco (silent mode) and the four fans including the CPU cooler are virtually inaudible… unless I open the side and put my head inside the case, not happening soon.

Macs here are quite pricey… This tower ended at around 1500 CAD and the same era iMac i9 was way out of my budget, just saying.

The only affordable Mac I bought (~1000 CAD) was my old but still working MBP early 2011. Nowadays, for ME, a real affordable Mac is out of the equation!

Tired of this Mac vs PC tiresome debate. I use the two platforms for my work and leisure…

[legendCNCD]

FWIW, my big i9 9900K tower is practically silent. It’s an Hackintosh but I wouldn’t hesitate to use it as a strict Windows PC DAW.
Tired of this Mac vs PC tiresome debate. I use the two platforms for my work and leisure…

Other half of our project abandoned his hackintosh for Win11 -> its 100% the same on Windows side in Live 12. Only the file requester is better in Windows - nothing else has changed, performance is the same if not a tad bit better. Now he can also game and watch demos in realtime on the new 4070

For me, as long as there is Ableton on - the OS does NOT matter.

[jamcat]

Sorry, but there is a world of difference between an Intel Mac and an Apple Silicon Mac. Some of you either aren’t grasping that, or conveniently ignoring it.

Intel code even runs more efficiently on an Apple Silicon Mac via Rosetta2 than on an Intel Mac. So while performance and noise on Windows and Mac are about the same on Intel, once Apple Silicon is introduced into the equation, Mac leaves Windows in the dust.

This is really all about Apple Silicon architecture being vastly superior to x86_64 architecture in every way possible. Performance per watt is exponentially better on Apple Silicon, which is why Macs are dead quiet even under load.

[jamcat]

So, looking in my magic cash drawer, I have the money for an M3 imac, with 1 tb storage and 24 gb ram.

I'd like to have the apple screen more than saving on a mini for space considerations and whatnot...
Anyway, just rambling...

Skip M3 and go for M4. M3 is just a process shrink. M4 is an architecture upgrade. Also, consider getting a MacBook and a monitor if you ever need to work somewhere other than your desk. Performance will be the same regardless of form factor, and once you hook up a monitor and keyboard+mouse to a MacBook, the user experience is identical to a desktop.

[pekbro]

So, looking in my magic cash drawer, I have the money for an M3 imac, with 1 tb storage and 24 gb ram.

I'd like to have the apple screen more than saving on a mini for space considerations and whatnot...
Anyway, just rambling...

Skip M3 and go for M4. M3 is just a process shrink. M4 is an architecture upgrade. Also, consider getting a MacBook and a monitor if you ever need to work somewhere other than your desk. Performance will be the same regardless of form factor, and once you hook up a monitor and keyboard+mouse to a MacBook, the user experience is identical to a desktop.

yeah I dunno, I'm looking at the mac studio now. basically the same price with a better chip,
and more ram, just have to supply the display. It also leaves open the option for a studio
display at a later time, after saving up another couple grand for it.

I don't want a macbook, I'm not going to use it anywhere other than my desk. As for waiting for the M4, well see, if I can get a good deal on a chip that's on it's way out, I might do that.

*I mean I like macbooks, even have an old one that still works. Just not willing to pay the extra
money to get one. When attempting to configure one, it was always almost another grand over
everything else to get the config I wanted. Well, I mean it always pushed the cost closer to
3 grand than I wanted to be, keeping it under $2.5k is my objective.

[NER]

Fanless computers for goalposts…

I find it kinda amusing that the fanbois have glommed onto 'fanless' (as the new "Most Wonderful Thing Evar That Apple Completely Invented And PCs Never Had, Honest" for this year.)

They didn't invent fanless, they moved from x86 to their own ARM chips which are way more power efficient, which means they generate way less heat and can be fanless.

[Touch The Universe]

I literally just shut off my other laptop cause the fan was annoying me and started up my M1. It's more peaceful, haha.

[whyterabbyt]

Fanless computers for goalposts…

I find it kinda amusing that the fanbois have glommed onto 'fanless' (as the new "Most Wonderful Thing Evar That Apple Completely Invented And PCs Never Had, Honest" for this year.)

They didn't invent fanless

Yes, that's what I said.

[legendCNCD]

once Apple Silicon is introduced into the equation, Mac leaves Windows in the dust.

Nope, only in perf/watt. Also a lot of problems still on the new arch what I read on other sites.
It is not a magic bullet in perf, though a good one it is.

[pekbro]

As someone who hasn't been following them (at all), I'm a little surprised at the mac studio, it seems pretty competitive against buying a PC imo, at least the max version.

[Kaine]

once Apple Silicon is introduced into the equation, Mac leaves Windows in the dust.

Nope, only in perf/watt. Also a lot of problems still on the new arch what I read on other sites.
It is not a magic bullet in perf, though a good one it is.

Yep and even then Lunar lake's early benchmarks looks like Intel's going to beat out Apple in the performance per watt terms over the coming months, this is also all before the ARM PC hardware lands. Apples had a couple of strong years with their hardware shift, but it's not as if the rest of the market is not paying attention.

[jamcat]

Intel posted a $1.6 billion loss for Q2 in August, has been selling off assets just this past week, and is desperately trying to get bought out as we speak. So I wouldn’t be so bullish on Intel’s future.

[4damind]

... and they are also stopping the construction of a 30 billion euro chip factory in Germany.
Yes, the billions in losses are causing Intel a lot of trouble, they have fallen far behind the competition. Now everyone is hoping that the Lunar Lake processors will change everything.