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MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

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Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#731

Post by sudosysgen »

dagmx wrote: post #697
sudosysgen wrote: post #495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of laptops with iGPUs that can do this, yes.

Afaik the Intel Integrated GPUs either have a hard limit on the addressable RAM or are capped to half the available RAM. I don’t know of any AMD G series equipped laptops with that much memory , but admittedly I haven’t looked closely at the options. Then there’s the issue of memory sharing of actual data resources. Albeit, this is down to Software, but more software for Mac can assume shared memory to take advantage…

The AMD laptops don't need to be in the G series to have an iGPU - they all do. The G series only exists for desktops.

> Albeit, this is down to Software, but more software for Mac can assume shared memory to take advantage of it, versus other brands because iGPUs have historically been very limited.

AFAIK there is no such software that only supports Macs. You can query these features at runtime, and it's easier to do so than to rewrite your renderer for Metal.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#732

Post by SiVal »

wpm wrote: post #476
newsclues wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your laptop complaints are addressed by the MBP models, which aren't much heavier if that is your primary objection.

The 14" M2 Pro is 30% heavier than the M2 Air and 20% thicker. I don't really classify that as "not much". I have a 14" M1 Pro from work and a personal M2 Air and it's always surprising how much heavier the M1 Pro feels from my Air.

Oh, please don't let anyone at Apple hear you complain about "thicker". I'm still not back to trusting them after years of downgrades pretending to be upgrades: "We've made the thinnest, best-looking Mac ever while removing less functionality than we've removed in most previous upgrades!"

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#733

Post by orangecat »

camgunz wrote: post #368

I bought a MBP 14 (max 32, 32GB, 2TB) Dec 2021 and I mostly don't regret it (probably should've only gotten 24 GPU cores and gone silver). Here are some pros and cons I don't think get enough play: - Turning on "Low Power Mode" when on Battery gives me roughly 10h of battery life. Functionally this is more than good enough for me. - Backlight leakage around the keys feels janky - It's pretty hard to pick it up unless…

As it is, the integer scale is 1512x982, which many websites think (including some you might build!) is a tablet.

That's odd, I've never noticed that on my 14". Websites usually choose layouts according to width and 1512 is well into desktop territory.

the Air's resolution is more mainstream and usable

The Air is 2560x1664, and at the default (non-integer, so less sharp) scaling it presents as 1470x956 which is also non-standard and lower than the MBP.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#734

Post by somethingreen »

sem000 wrote: post #62
gnufied wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have both a latest generation Thinkpad P1 Gen5 and Macbook Pro 16 inch M1 pro and while it is true that Macbook comes pretty close to being a perfect laptop, I still miss the productivity of a Linux laptop (for backend dev work). From what hardware POV you are correct, I wish though Apple would adopt Carbon Magnesium chasis that thinkpad uses. For same 16inch size, Thinkpad is noticeably lighter. I can happy lug my…

What is your Linux laptop giving you that your MBP doesn’t? And how does it hurt your productivity? Genuinely curious as I don’t see how it can be any different.

- window management that is either sane (i.e. restores minimized windows when alt/cmd+tab'ed to) or can be customized

- desktop environment that is either sane (i.e. doesn't center align panels with variable number of controls like dock does) or can be customized

- keyboard without missing buttons, with actual button travel yet not touching the screen when closed

- option of a screen that doesn't double as mirror

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#735

Post by computerfriend »

djtriptych wrote: post #395

My new setup as of November is an M2 Air (16GB /1 TB) and an base model M1 Studio. I really couldn't be happier. I run a small WFH / Music Production / Photography studio in my basement and I really wanted an always-on always connected computer, for which the Studio has been perfect. The M2 Air is pretty close to a perfect laptop. My complaints (low audio volume, slighty cramped screen) are absolutely dwarfed by the…

It's amazing. Except it has only two USB ports and can only support a single external monitor.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#736

Post by rconti »

prewett wrote: post #727
dbg31415 wrote: post #701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The M2 Air has MagSafe. (= Killing MagSafe has to be the singled DUMBEST product decision anyone ever made. I'm so glad they finally brought it back.

I thought killing MagSafe was pretty dumb, too, but every time I tripped over the USB-C power cable on my 2018 MBP it came right out, no problem. Plus it's really nice to be able to move the power cable to whichever side the outlet is close to. When I upgrade, I think I'd choose to continue using USB-C power if possible. I'll actually miss the Touch Bar. It's an interesting idea that seems useful, but isn't, except i…

I've also tripped on a magsafe cord and watched my 2011 air fly off the table and bounce+flip on my wood floor, so it's not a panacea. I think the right-angle ones were more prone to yanking your machine off the table, especially if pulled perpendicular to the magnetic connection.

Thankfully, the computer was perfectly fine.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#737

Post by danbee »

shusaku wrote: post #265
superkuh wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things may be great on the high end of Apple's M1/M2 laptops given they actually have enough ram for simple tasks. But those are also insanely expensive. At the low end Apple is actively ripping off users providing computers which can't even edit photos. My father, a long time apple user, decided to get an Apple M1 to replace his old Apple macbook. He bought the M1 8GB model (without consulting me). Turns out that th…

Surely such an issue would have been solved with the invention of virtual memory in… the 50s?

Indeed, and said feature allowed me to open and edit 70MB photoshop files on a Pentium 75 with 4MB of RAM back in the late 90's. Albeit pretty slowly.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#738

Post by sudosysgen »

agloeregrets wrote: post #624
sudosysgen wrote: post #617

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not true that iGPU memory always has to be reserved anymore. Some programs and APIs don't support it, but you can address main system memory from many iGPUs and vice-versa. In Vulkan for example you can do this by setting the HOST_COHERENT, HOST_VISIBLE and DEVICE_VISIBLE for a buffer. Of course, this is subject to driver bugs, and you have to be careful with caches that may or may not be shared depending on th…

The example here is an M2 Max, which presumably is at least 2.X times faster than M1 Pro, but hey, good to know!

In those applications you're likely to be limited by raster performance, and I can't find any metrics for that. TFlop for TFlop, the 780M which is the main competitor should be within 10-30%, but that is not relevant for this application.

The only other application where this could be relevant would be 3D rendering, where the 780M would win by a large margin due to RT acceleration.

Re: MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max

#739

Post by theturtletalks »

prewett wrote: post #727
dbg31415 wrote: post #701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The M2 Air has MagSafe. (= Killing MagSafe has to be the singled DUMBEST product decision anyone ever made. I'm so glad they finally brought it back.

I thought killing MagSafe was pretty dumb, too, but every time I tripped over the USB-C power cable on my 2018 MBP it came right out, no problem. Plus it's really nice to be able to move the power cable to whichever side the outlet is close to. When I upgrade, I think I'd choose to continue using USB-C power if possible. I'll actually miss the Touch Bar. It's an interesting idea that seems useful, but isn't, except i…

Without Apple removing MagSafe, we wouldn’t have had USB-C charging on MacBooks.
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