Live data from Hacker News

Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

twitter.com

31–40 of 551 posts

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#32
post #12

I'm confused. They're claiming "Apple’s M4 Max is the first production CPU to pass 4000 Single-Core score in Geekbench 6." yet I can see hundreds of other test results for single core performance above 4000 in the last 2 years?

Are those production results? https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/1962935 says it was running at 13.54 GHz. https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/4913899 looks... questionable.

Yeah that's fair lol

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#33
post #12

I'm confused. They're claiming "Apple’s M4 Max is the first production CPU to pass 4000 Single-Core score in Geekbench 6." yet I can see hundreds of other test results for single core performance above 4000 in the last 2 years?

As far as I can tell those are all scroes from overclocked CPUs.

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’ve always been good enough for gaming. The problem has just been whether or not publishers would bother releasing the games. It’s unfortunate that Apple can’t seem to really build enough momentum here to become a gaming destination.

It has always baffled me why Apple doesn't take gaming seriously. It's another revenue stream, it would sell more Macs. It's profit. Is it just some weird cultural thing? Or is there some kind of genuine technical reason for it, like it would involve some kind of tradeoffs around security or limiting architecture changes or something? Especially with the M-series chips, it feels like they had the opportunity to make…

If you look at things like Game Porting Toolkit, Apple actually is investing resources here.

It just feels like they came along so late to really trying that it’s going to be a minute for things to actually happen.

I would love to buy the new Mac Mini and sit it under my TV as a mini console. But it just feels like we’re not quite there yet for that purpose, even though the horse power is there.

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#35
post #26

I have been out of the PC world for a long time, but in terms of performance efficiency, is Apple running away from the competition? Or are AMD and Intel producing similar performing chips at the same wattage?

My assessment is that ARM is running away from the competition. Apple is indeed designing the chip, but without the ARM architecture, Apple would have nothing to work with. This is not to diminish the incredible work of Apple’s VLSI team who put the chip architecture together and deftly navigated the Wild West of the fabrication landscape, but if you look at the specialized server chip side, it’s now dominated by ARM…

Even compared to other ARM cores, Apple is in a league of its own.

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#37

I'll admit to some reflexive skepticism here. I know GeekBench at least used to be considered an entirely unserious indicator of performance and any discussion relating to its scores used to be drowned out by people explaining why it was so bad. Do those criticisms still hold? Are serious people nowadays taking Geekbench to be a reasonably okay (though obviously imperfect) performance metric?

You’re not the only one — but just curious where this skepticism comes from. This is M 4 — Apple has now made four generations of chips and each one were class leading upon release. What more do you need to see?

I don’t think they are skeptical of the chip itself. Just asking about the benchmark used.

If I was reviewing cars and used the number of doors as a benchmark for speed, surely I’d get laughed at.

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#38

What's crazy is that the M4 Pro is in the Mac mini, something so tiny can handle that chip. The Mac Studio with the M4 Max will be awesome but the Mini is remarkable.

I am still astounded the huge change moving from an Intel Mac to an Apple Silicon Mac (M1) has had in terms of battery performance and heat. I don't think i've heard the fans a single time I've had this machine and it's been several years. Nor have I had any desire to upgrade.

M3 Pro user here, agree with the same points. It's nice to be able to actually have your laptop on your lap, without burning your legs.

Re: Apple's M4 Max chip is the fastest single-core performer in consumer computing

#40
How many people does this actually affect? Gamers are better off with AMD X3D chips, and most productivity workloads need good multicore performance. Obviously MR is great silicon and I don't want to downplay that, but I'm not sure that best singlecore performance is an overly useful metric for the people who need performance.
Post reply on HN