New iMac with M4 • Hacker News Board

Re: New iMac with M4

#241

Post by samatman » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:27 PM UTC

xyst wrote: post #91

An arbitrary limit of 32G of memory? Laughable. Glad I exited the Apple ecosystem long ago. Only have 2-3 year old machines now. Current phone is “free” from carrier due to trade ins. I think Apple should shift away from personal computing (iMac, MBP/A, iPhone) and focus on selling their SoC. Get these into data centers. Powering a data center with their chips would likely result in significant decrease in power cons…

> I think Apple should shift away from personal computing (iMac, MBP/A, iPhone)

This is going to be the most insane thing I read all day.

> Get [their SoC] into data centers.

This is a great idea. Apple discontinued servers a long time ago, and it's too bad, now that they've got the new silicon they could be crushing it in the sector.

Re: New iMac with M4

#242

Post by tcoff91 » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:27 PM UTC

lisper wrote: post #223

simonw wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's my biggest complaint with iMacs: I want to be 100% certain I can repurpose them as monitors later in their lives. I have a ten year old iMac at the moment that would make an amazing second monitor... but it doesn't quite have the features I need to use it like that. An HDMI input would be great.

> An HDMI input would be great. There is a reason that is difficult to do: the licensing terms for HDMI require manufacturers to put DRM in place to make it impossible (or at least not straightforward) to record from an HDMI source. It's nearly impossible to meet that requirement on a computer.

DisplayPort doesn't have that same restriction, right?

Re: New iMac with M4

#243

Post by PokestarFan » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:28 PM UTC

emadabdulrahim wrote: post #62

Curious who uses iMac over a MBP with an external monitor? Is it mainly for front desk, businesses, and perhaps people with large homes and need stationary mac?

Great "Family Computer"

Re: New iMac with M4

#244

Post by cududa » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

jprd wrote: post #235

I love the innovation Apple has brought with their investment in ARM. That said, I can't imagine buying a computer in the 21st century that can't be opened and upgraded, especially with a price premium attached. I just don't get it. I am in no way trying to be combative, but I'd love to hear a counterpoint that makes sense for these machines.

Most people don’t want to open up their computer. Ever.

And for most people who dont want to open their computer, they’ll probably use these iMacs until their ancient, and replacing the whole thing makes more sense anyway

Re: New iMac with M4

#245

Post by vundercind » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

DeathArrow wrote: post #111

Apple makes some dubious claims: > Gamers can enjoy incredibly smooth gameplay, with up to 2x higher frame rates5 than on iMac with M1. What games do run on the Mac? Certainly, most AAA titles do not. >Compared to the most popular 24-inch all-in-one PC with the latest Intel Core 7 processor, the new iMac is up to 4.5x faster. You can build PCs there are more powerful than that Mac, cheaper. And you can easily repair…

> You can build PCs there are more powerful than that Mac, cheaper. And you can easily repair them.

Nobody’s buying a Mac to game. The gaming is a bonus for a segment of their market, is why they mention it at all. Zero Mac sales are motivated primarily by gaming. “Does this do enough gaming, well enough, that I can avoid buying a Steamdeck, or that I can get rid of this bulky PC that I use only for gaming?” are things their prospective buyers might wonder, not “should I buy this if I want a gaming computer?” (No, obviously)

Re: New iMac with M4

#246

Post by insane_dreamer » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #144

As someone who mucks around with running LLMs and other large models on my computer the 32GB maximum RAM is a show-stopper for me. I'm on a M2 with 64GB at the moment and I'm already regretting not going for 96 or even 128. I want to be able to run a large model AND other apps at the same time.

I missed the "also great for mucking around with LLMs!" in the press release

Re: New iMac with M4

#247

Post by a_wild_dandan » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

gigatexal wrote: post #161

simonw wrote: post #144

As someone who mucks around with running LLMs and other large models on my computer the 32GB maximum RAM is a show-stopper for me. I'm on a M2 with 64GB at the moment and I'm already regretting not going for 96 or even 128. I want to be able to run a large model AND other apps at the same time.

M3 MAX here with 128GB ... and even that's not going to be enough one day. I bet the M4 Max goes to 256. Oh the envy I will have.

I'm so jazzed to comfortably run Llama 3 405b on my Mac with less quantization.

Re: New iMac with M4

#248

Post by wongarsu » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

rgbrgb wrote: post #146

jfoster wrote: post #76

I could never justify getting an iMac. All the downsides of a laptop & desktop in one; not upgradeable and not portable. Leaves me wondering how many of these Apple actually sell. A Mac Mini with a separate screen feels like it makes far more sense.

> Leaves me wondering how many of these Apple actually sell I think we can check since they're public. Looks like 5-8 million per quarter [0]. Approx 10% of their computer sales [1]. [0]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/263444/sales-of-apple-ma... [1]: https://www.cultofmac.com/news/macbooks-make-up-a-whopping-7...

Compared to 43% MacBook Pro, 34% MacBook Air, 9% Mac Pro, 3% Mac mini, 1% Mac Studio, as per the second link.

So these are their most popular desktop, but by a slim margin and far behind the laptop sales

Re: New iMac with M4

#249

Post by 2arrs2ells » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:29 PM UTC

jprd wrote: post #235

I love the innovation Apple has brought with their investment in ARM. That said, I can't imagine buying a computer in the 21st century that can't be opened and upgraded, especially with a price premium attached. I just don't get it. I am in no way trying to be combative, but I'd love to hear a counterpoint that makes sense for these machines.

I bought an M2 iMac for my parents. It’ll last at least five years for them - likely closer to 10. At that point, I’m happy to recycle or donate it and get them a new iMac - likely with some major updates (form factor? Display? Etc?) that wouldn’t get with a RAM / CPU upgrade.

Spending ~$150-$300/year for them to have an easy to use & fast computer feels very worth it for me.

All that said - I would love for the machine to be upgradeable as well! Just explaining why it’s not a dealbreaker.

Re: New iMac with M4

#250

Post by notjustanymike » Mon, Oct 28, 2024, 4:30 PM UTC

jfoster wrote: post #76

I could never justify getting an iMac. All the downsides of a laptop & desktop in one; not upgradeable and not portable. Leaves me wondering how many of these Apple actually sell. A Mac Mini with a separate screen feels like it makes far more sense.

It's the computer equivalent of a fleet car.