Then that's the problem. Mac Pro can use up to 4 GPU. 1 GPU for Mac Pro isn't enough.
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Do you think Apple will release a M1 Mac with a dedicated GPU
- Thread starter RobGwy
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It’s not just about games though…. I heavily use the GPU in pro work.
however, yes pc or console for gaming!
What do you mean why? There are several tasks require multiple GPU and even if 1 Apple GPU is powerful as 4 Nvidia GPU, then 4 Apple GPU will be more powerful and faster. It won't take too long to over power 1 Apple GPU with one GPU.
Also, Nvidia is still dominating the GPU market by 80%. What makes you think Apple can beat Nvidia easily?
I’ll be honest, I couldn’t see Apple matching 4 3090’s with 1 GPU. That would be a game changer for sure.
You can’t say tasks require multiple GPUs without specifying what throughput they Need. ”GPU” is not a fungible term. Some GPUs are much faster than others.
What you’ve done is create a moving target: “no matter how fast a GPU is, I need four of them. Because.”
Are you mocking users using multiple GPU? You cant deny the fact that some software take advantage from multiple GPU. Mac Pro 2019 itself is already prove you wrong. If Mac does not require multiple GPU, then you are justifying Mac's limitation. Do you really think 1 GPU can outperform 4 GPU for machine learning, 3D graphics, and more? Gosh.
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Run 4 3090s and you won't need any matches
Ignoring the fact that there is no and never will be any way to run 4 3090 in a MacPro (even before considering the lack of of drivers) people who would need that kind of power are like 1 in 1,000,000 so I'm not sure Apple really needs to cater that super tiny segment of the market.
If there is a proper AS MacPro it will have performance that in it's base config is at least on par with a base Intel MacPro. How far out it will go noone knows. Maybe it beats the Xeon in brute CPU force, maybe it will have better memory throughput, maybe it will be much faster at neural networks or even GPU based compute. Maybe all of them maybe just a combination of 2 or 3.
No point in fussing bout tech that won't be released for at least another year.
You don’t need multiple GPUs, what you need is certain level of performance. It is always possible to design a more powerful system. You say that the Pro supports 4 GPUs. Wouldn’t it be better if it supported 8? 16? 32? At some point it becomes absurd.
In the end, Apple must debilere a tool that meets the expectations of the intended audience. If they can do it with a single GPU, great! If not, they will have to figure out how to ship multiple GPUs.
The point is, there are several tasks and users require multiple GPU. Let users to decide, not Apple. Having a limitation is not a good condition and it will be bad for Mac platform. M1 is already having that problem.
What are you talking about. You literally said that, no matter how fast a GPU is, you need four of them. I am not mocking anyone, but that’s a facially illogical statement to make.
You keep saying that, but it is a facially false statement. Show me *any* task that you allege requires multiple GPUs.
And then I will explain to you that a *single* CPU with equivalent performance to those 4 GPUs will do the job just as well. And you won’t be able to prove me wrong.
True.
However, consider this:
Apple changed to ASi to be able to build their devices - appliances - as they require.
Apple introduced a number of chips dedicated to particular tasks. The Neural Engine may serve as example.
So, what if the “GPUs“ are not GPUs as we know it right now, but a new kind of dedicated, massively parallel computing devices accelerating specialist applications?
It does seem Apple is moving in that direction
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I think the key word here is ‘intended audience’. The big box requirements are dying, and anecdotally I know multiple companies that were once big box users, moving to mobiles.
I certainly see Apple pushing a smaller desktop box that is unexpandable, rather than continuing with the Mac Pro [except for some vanity reasons and because they can].
Hey he said 4 nvidia gpus, if there was a specific card in mind…Run 4 3090s and you won't need any matches
Ignoring the fact that there is no and never will be any way to run 4 3090 in a MacPro (even before considering the lack of of drivers) people who would need that kind of power are like 1 in 1,000,000 so I'm not sure Apple really needs to cater that super tiny segment of the market.
If there is a proper AS MacPro it will have performance that in it's base config is at least on par with a base Intel MacPro. How far out it will go noone knows. Maybe it beats the Xeon in brute CPU force, maybe it will have better memory throughput, maybe it will be much faster at neural networks or even GPU based compute. Maybe all of them maybe just a combination of 2 or 3.
No point in fussing bout tech that won't be released for at least another year.
I would like to be pleasantly surprised, but they probably won’t live up to all our musings and sometimes that is disappointing.
I can’t see how this can be true. You use multiple GPUs because sometimes a single one is not enough, but using multiple GPUs is not easy and has major implications in regards to data synchronization etc. If Apple can ship a single GPU that is faster than usual multi-GPU setups (for full disclosure, I don’t think they can), then they won’t need to deal with multi-GPU setups.
Apple is not known for giving the users too much choice. They offer certain options that you can mix and match to suit your needs. Anyway, I have the feeling that you are operating on a false dichotomy here. Nobody cares about multi-GPUs. People care about price and performance. That’s all.
I agree. They are trying to abstract away differences between neural engine stuff, GPU stuff, etc., and it seems like they are heading to a massively parallel approach. I think the only question is how much power consumption benefit they get from keeping things specialized.
Thank you! I couldn’t figure out what this reminded me of, and it’s that! “It has to be better, because there are four!”
Machine learning, Photogrammetry, 3D graphics, Video(Davinci), CG, and more. You are not convincing especially since you are not mentioning the work scale. Most people dont need multi GPU.
The way things are going [M1 in ipads, laptops and desktops], I think the offer of choice is going to get reduced even further in the next pro machines. Apple have shown us their direction, and I doubt it will change that much moving forward. Thats where the big questions on the Mac Pro come along, as it will need something totally different and would it be worth the effort?
Ok, let’s take 3D graphics. Tell me which card you need four of.
Now, imagine a single card with the same performance as four of that card.
Now you are able to do the same job with 1 card instead of four.
Now do the same thought experiment with each of those other tasks.