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Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

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Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#521

Post by theshrike79 »

ActorNightly wrote: post #453
mark_l_watson wrote: post #363

I run a lot of local models (I am always experimenting) on my 32G M2-Pro MacMini - I would love to upgrade. The financial aspects don’t work however: I can learn and experiment with what I have for local models, and I pay as I go on FireWorks.ai for open model inferencing and no matter how much I use this service my monthly bill is between $10 and $40 and much faster than any reasonable home rig. Hybrid ‘small local’…

Honest question - why are you so stuck on Macs for local inference? A 4 GPU linux box with 3090s, which are $1500 a piece right now, will blow this thing out of the water. Even 2x3090 rig will run most of the good local models like Gemma4:31b at 100+ tok/sec The VRAM of the GPUs are MUCH faster than the unified ram within Apple Silicon. The only difference is the initial model load, which takes longer from disk to VR…

A Mac mini running an LLM is quiet

A PC with similar capabilities is going to sound like a jet taking off.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#522

Post by g42gregory »

g42gregory wrote: post #499

How many Neural Accelerators does M5 Ultra has in its 64 vs 80-GPU variants? Anybody knows? Just to clarify, Neural Accelerators have nothing to do with Neural Engine.

Ok, I just read the announcement word by word. There is a neaural accelerator in each GPU core. So presumably 64 vs 80 neural accelerators, with corresponding inference performance difference. It will make a difference for pre-fill.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#523

Post by spacedcowboy »

VCFundedGenYer wrote: post #347
derwiki wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading Infinite Games, they tell an anecdote about a Microsoft exec on a flight telling an Apple exec that the Zune was a way better portable music player than the iPod. The Apple exec was just “yup, you’re probably right” and then soon after the iPhone dropped

To be fair, the Zune actually was a better media player than the ipod in almost every way. That wasn't a false statement. The issue was the abysmal marketing and "me too" attitude Microsoft had (and still has).

And marketing it with "turd brown" ass (oops!) an option

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#524

Post by alluro2 »

I was blown away by M1 Pro, and used it for 4 years before it became a little sluggish, and replacing it with an Asus S16 running on Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (an excellent laptop). One of the main reasons was missing my old Linux setup.

I've briefly tested M5 Pro in an Apple store and was surprised by how quick it felt and did anything. A tangible and significant difference, and I really feel it would be good getting it, or M6.

However - before, MacOS was a big factor driving me towards Apple - now, it would be hard for me to give up my Linux setup and all the stuff I love about it, even for such performance...Linux progressed really nicely, while MacOS deteriorated at the same rate, and it's changing the balance and the decision for me.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#526

Post by apparent »

I wonder to what extent the timing of this release was driven by their need to increase prices, but not wanting to apply it to in-market hardware. It's kind of a weird time to drop new Macs, between WWDC and the iPhone release, but not early enough that it could be purchased by college students. I get that most students use laptops, but if I were heading off this year I might use an iPad + Mac mini for more horsepower while maintaining portability.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#527

Post by mft_ »

ActorNightly wrote: post #453
mark_l_watson wrote: post #363

I run a lot of local models (I am always experimenting) on my 32G M2-Pro MacMini - I would love to upgrade. The financial aspects don’t work however: I can learn and experiment with what I have for local models, and I pay as I go on FireWorks.ai for open model inferencing and no matter how much I use this service my monthly bill is between $10 and $40 and much faster than any reasonable home rig. Hybrid ‘small local’…

Honest question - why are you so stuck on Macs for local inference? A 4 GPU linux box with 3090s, which are $1500 a piece right now, will blow this thing out of the water. Even 2x3090 rig will run most of the good local models like Gemma4:31b at 100+ tok/sec The VRAM of the GPUs are MUCH faster than the unified ram within Apple Silicon. The only difference is the initial model load, which takes longer from disk to VR…

AIUI you can only connect two 3090s at a time with NV link? So you’d only have 48GB of fast combined memory? That’s not tremendously interesting as you’re still limited to the smaller models which, while impressive in their own right, are still IMO too limited to use as your only model.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#528

Post by lowbloodsugar »

theshrike79 wrote: post #521
ActorNightly wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question - why are you so stuck on Macs for local inference? A 4 GPU linux box with 3090s, which are $1500 a piece right now, will blow this thing out of the water. Even 2x3090 rig will run most of the good local models like Gemma4:31b at 100+ tok/sec The VRAM of the GPUs are MUCH faster than the unified ram within Apple Silicon. The only difference is the initial model load, which takes longer from disk to VR…

A Mac mini running an LLM is quiet A PC with similar capabilities is going to sound like a jet taking off.

>A PC with similar capabilities is going to sound like a jet taking off.

Not at all. Airflow with big fans is quiet. What I do hear is coil-whine. In fact my PC is quieter than my Macbook when both are running top speed. But one has 4000 AI TOPS.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#529

Post by sgerenser »

shric wrote: post #109
jgalt212 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when was the turing test beaten?

It depends who takes the test. I am not yet, to my knowledge, fooled by AI. I've tried [1] and I almost 100% detect which is the AI. I really want to convince myself I have failed, does anyone know of a better site/resource for this? I know it might be moving goalposts but I would consider AI to have passed in a well and truly undisputed manner when [2] is resolved. But in a more practical sense, if AI can impersonat…

tried turingtest.live, gave each side the same question (programming-related), immediately recognized the LLMisms on side A, boom side B is the human.

Re: Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

#530

Post by dpoloncsak »

tcmart14 wrote: post #439
VCFundedGenYer wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, the Zune actually was a better media player than the ipod in almost every way. That wasn't a false statement. The issue was the abysmal marketing and "me too" attitude Microsoft had (and still has).

Never had a zune, but I did have an iPod. I am willing to accept Zune was superior. But its just an example that, yea, often times the superior solution doesn't actually win. There is a huge list of better technology that lost out to worst technology. Which is why I find it funny the claim that the market is optimal in choosing winners and loosers.

The market is optimal, you're failing to value brand perception and any social effects as a price factor

Androids are probably better than iPhones. But you may lose a first date with a girl for sending a message with green bubbles instead of blue bubbles, so people buy iPhones. The iPhone is worth more than the Android, in this example.

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