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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

#521

Post by robotresearcher »

0x457 wrote: post #502
PoignardAzur wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't sound right. It's not like you need to run in WebAssembly to produce WebAssembly binary. Why would you need to emulate x86 to produce x86-shaped bytes?

Well, WASM runs in a VM, not on a hardware? There isn't hardware that runs WASM directly (at least nothing serious, maybe some hobby FPGA or POC). So when you compiled to WASM you're going with route #1. WASM was designed with this this in mind.

A compiler doesn’t need to run the instructions it generates. Why should cross-compilation be slower than native compilation?

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

#522

Post by radicalbyte »

bartekrutkowski wrote: post #236
radicalbyte wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They claimed that it wasn't covered because the machine was brought in Germany. I live in The Netherlands and brought it here. Also I contacted Apple Support to checked my serial number and then gave me the address to take it to. Which I did. They charged me $100 to get my machine back without repair. Also bear in mind that the EU is a single market, warranties etc are, by law, required to be honoured over the ENTIRE…

So you haven't purchased it from Apple but instead you've purchased it from Amazon. This may change things. In Europe you have two ways of dealing with it, either by manufacturer warranty (completely good will and on terms set by the manufacturer) or by consumer rights (warranted you by law, overruling any warranty restrictions). Sellers often will try to steer you to use warranty as it removes their responsibility,…

Amazon helped instantly however my mistake was talking to Apple. They didn't even ask if I'd spoken to the retailer. I was, at the time, focused on just getting it fixed as I needed to get the data off of it (the entire Apple + external monitors thing is also a shit-show, terrible UX, terrible design and terrible documentation).

I'll keep buying from Amazon as their support is great and prices competitive. I don't trust Apple buying from them directly.

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

#523

Post by alsetmusic »

cosmotic wrote: post #246
losvedir wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case, you can get the mini with 64GB of memory for $1999.

It would be $2,199 for the highest end CPU and the 64GB of memory but I think you're point remains: the Studio is not a great buy until it receives the M4 upgrades.

But it was a great buy for the customers who needed it when it was released. I presided over IT at an architecture firm that bought a bunch of Studios when they were new. Just because it's no longer a good buy two and a half years later, when compared to the thing that ships next week, doesn't mean it wasn't a great machine.

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

#524

Post by alsetmusic »

bscphil wrote: post #389
thejazzman wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's my plex server and nas (m1). I've abandoned all the complicated complications and just have an 8 bay thunderbolt enclosure full of drives (JBOD) And pg server. And a few web sites server. And something running in orb stack. It's the 8gb model and I have around 2gb free most of the time

What enclosure do you have? Do you like it?

Not who you asked, but I have the OWC Express 4M2 [0]. Four M.2 chips RAIDed in a thunderbolt chassis. Fast as can be. I absolutely love it.

[0] https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/express-4m2

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

#525

Post by m00x »

MBCook wrote: post #386
m00x wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Geekbench is run pre-release by the manufacturers.

But by definition that means it’s not a production machine yet. So it doesn’t invalidate Apple‘s chip being the fastest in single core for a production machine.

The post doesn't say anything about production machine. It talks about consumer computing.

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

#526

Post by m00x »

jocaal wrote: post #465
m00x wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did no one check the scores? They're not the top consumer CPU by quite a range. It's probably the best power per watt, but not the most powerful CPU.

The performance-per-watt isn’t necessarily the best. These scores are achieved when boosted and allowed to draw significantly more power. Apple CPUs may seem efficient because, most of the time, computers don’t require peak performance. Modern ARM microarchitectures have been optimized for standby and light usage, largely due to their extensive use in mobile devices. Some of MediaTek and Qualcomm's CPUs can offer bet…

M4 is also an ARM architecture, why would Qualcomm's be more efficient?

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

#527

Post by 0x457 »

robotresearcher wrote: post #521
0x457 wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, WASM runs in a VM, not on a hardware? There isn't hardware that runs WASM directly (at least nothing serious, maybe some hobby FPGA or POC). So when you compiled to WASM you're going with route #1. WASM was designed with this this in mind.

A compiler doesn’t need to run the instructions it generates. Why should cross-compilation be slower than native compilation?

It doesn't need (unless it does in some cases), but entire build process needs to be aware of what needs to be native and what doesn't. Mainly a lot of issue would come from linker. Yes, it's not part of the compilation technically, but aside from hellworld.c everything you build would probably require linker at one point or another.

Then there are some gcc quirks:

- for gcc compilation target is defined when gcc is compiled, so only way to cross-compile with gcc that I know of is emulation of target arch and runing gcc for target arch

However, we're talking about docker containers here, emulation would be the default way and path of least resistance.

Again, I will reiterate: every cross-compilation strategy falls into one of these two buckets. In some cases what I've describe in #1 is possible (WASM, java bytecode or really (almost) anything that targets a VM), in some cases it isn't and then you gotta go with #2 (docker, gcc)

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

#528

Post by philistine »

MBCook wrote: post #383
philistine wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I was surprised and disappointed to see that the industry didn’t start prioritizing heat output more after the M1 generation came out. That was absolutely my favorite thing about it, it made my laptop silent and cool. But anyway, what is it you see to criticize about Apple‘s Apple Silicon design? The way RAM is locked on package so it’s not upgradable, or something else? I’m kind of surprised, I don’t hear a lot of p…

The lack of multiple display support early on. The M2 generation produced much more heat than the M1, but that could be the new Macbook Air. GPU weakness with the bigger chips.

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

#529

Post by philistine »

0x457 wrote: post #334
philistine wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's okay, Factorio has awesome Apple Silicon support.

What about Paradox games? genuinely curious about that.

I played a bunch of EU4 and HOI4 without any issues. But I think those use emulation under the hood.

That's the thing with macs, all the strategy games tend to release there because the market for mac users and strategy gamers is a circle.

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

#530

Post by robotresearcher »

0x457 wrote: post #527
robotresearcher wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A compiler doesn’t need to run the instructions it generates. Why should cross-compilation be slower than native compilation?

It doesn't need (unless it does in some cases), but entire build process needs to be aware of what needs to be native and what doesn't. Mainly a lot of issue would come from linker. Yes, it's not part of the compilation technically, but aside from hellworld.c everything you build would probably require linker at one point or another. Then there are some gcc quirks: - for gcc compilation target is defined when gcc is…

How about Xcode's LLVM on an Intel Mac building for ARM iOS?
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