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

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

#131

Post by Salgat »

smith7018 wrote: post #42
LorenDB wrote: post #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.

It affects the millions of people that buy the machine by way of longevity.

Usually when I see advances, it's less about future proofing and more about obsoletion of old hardware. A more exaggerated case of this was in the 90s, people would upgrade to a 200 MHz p1 thinking they were future proofing but in a couple years you had 500Mhz P2s.

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

#132

Post by philistine »

whynotminot wrote: post #91
LeafItAlone wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Right but we keep repeating this cycle. A new M series chip comes, the geekbench leaks and its class leading. Immediately people “but geEk BeNcH” And then actual people get their hands on the machines for their real workloads and essentially confirm the geekbench results. If this was the first time, then fair enough. But it’s a Groundhog Day style sketch comedy at this point with M4.

I blame it on the PC crowd being unconsciously salty the most prestigious CPU is not available to them. You heard the same stuff when talking about Android performance versus iPhone.

There is a lot to criticize about Apple's silicon design, but they are leading the CPU market in terms of mindshare and attention. All the other chipmakers all feel like they're just trying to follow Apple's lead. It's wild.

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

#133

Post by goosedragons »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #106
crazygringo wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Apple has one of the, if not the biggest gaming platforms in existence (the iphone and ipad), but everyone seems to have a blind spot for that and disregards it. Sure, the Mac isn't a big gaming platform for them because their systems are mostly used professionally (assumption), but there too, the Mac represents only 1/10th of the sales they get from the iPhone, and that's only on the hardware. Mac gaming is a nice-t…

I feel like for myself at least, mobile gaming is more akin to casino gaming than video gaming. Sure, iOS has loads of gaming revenue but the games just ain't fun and are centred way too heavily on getting microtransactions out of people.

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

#134

Post by nabakin »

whynotminot wrote: post #7
eigenspace wrote: post #4

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?

In power efficiency maybe, but not top performance

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

#135

Post by NightlyDev »

HumblyTossed wrote: post #67
NightlyDev wrote: post #54

[flagged]

Both of those chips cost more than an mac mini. 170W !!!!! The mac is, what, 20W?

The CPUs aren't cheap, but they don't cost more than the Mac mini.

The Mac mini will definitely draw more than 20W. TDP numbers can also not be compared between manufacturers at all. And last but not least, for a single core test, maximum power consumption is irrelevant.

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

#136

Post by philistine »

mattlondon wrote: post #125
ssijak wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is so hard for people to understand why apple did that? They want the people who are still clinging to intel mac to convert finally. And as for m1 comparisons, people are not changing laptops every year and that is the cohort of m users that is the most likely to upgrade. It's smart to do what apple did.

I get that argument, but it comes across as hugely disingenuous to me especially when couched with so much glitz and glamour and showmanship. They're aim is to present these things as huge quantum leaps in performance and it's only if you look into the details that it's clear that they're not and they're fudging the figures to make them look better than they are. "New Car 2025 has a simply incredible top speed 30x gr…

Yet you do not propose an alternative theory that makes sense.

Our point: Apple is laser-focused on comparing with laptops that are 4-5 year old. That's usually when Mac users start thinking about upgrading. They're building their marketing for them. It causes issues when directly trying to compare with the last generation.

Your point: Apple shouldn't be glamorous and a good showman when marketing their products because they know the only true marketing is comparing directly with your very last chip. Any other type of marketing is bullshit.

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

#138

Post by philistine »

crazygringo wrote: post #21
whynotminot wrote: post #10

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…

Apple owns the second largest gaming platform by users and games, and first by profit: iPhone.

In terms of gaming that's only on PC and consoles, I didn't understand Apple's blazé attitude until I discovered this eye-opening fact: there are around 300 million people who are PC and console gamers, and that number is NOT growing. It's stagnant.

Turns out Apple is uninterested by a stagnant market, and dedicates all its gaming effort where growth is: mobile.

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

#140

Post by nottorp »

hu3 wrote: post #118
nottorp wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Gamers are better off with AMD X3D chips Yeah but then you'd have to use Windows. I'd rather just play whatever games can be emulated and take the performance penalty. It helps that most AAAs put me to sleep...

> Yeah but then you'd have to use Windows. Why? Linux gaming has been great since Wine. Even better now with Valve investment. Surely leagues better than gaming with macOS.

Sir, you are not a real gamer(tm) either. Use a puny alternative OS and lose 3 fps, Valve support or not? Unacceptable!

As for Linux, I abandoned it as the main GUI OS for Macs about 10 years ago. I have linux and windows boxes but the only ones with displays/keyboards are the macs and it will stay that way.

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