Mac Studio Performance - Disappointing News

[CodeSpyder]

I just saw the latest Max Tech video comparing the 3 versions of the Mac Studio. It's making me rethink my purchase. Perhaps I should cancel and get a lesser version. Or maybe they will come out with an update to optimize performance. Am I willing to bank on that happening? Is there really a fundamental, unfixable issue with the Ultra versions?

 

[Pressure]

It's entirely up to developers to update and optimise their applications for the various M1 variants.

If the applications you use are already universal the chances are high that they will update. Otherwise they really have no future on macOS.

 

[3Rock]

And this is why I rethought my first decision and canceled my ultra. From now on I should just wait until a few weeks after the announcement and let others make reviews about them before I make my final decision. The max would be just about right for me now.

 

[enricoclaudio]

That's why I went with the Max 10/32/32/2TB. Anything else for me was either overkill or non necessary. Now I see I made the right decision going with the Max

 

[macca24]

Unless you work for Pixar studios the base max model (with extra storage) is enough for most people.

 

[ct2k7]

Unless you work for Pixar studios the base max model is enough for most people.

Or you need 128GB of RAM

 

[macca24]

Or you need 128GB of RAM

I would imagine 99% of people don't.

 

[ct2k7]

I would imagine 99% of people don't.

With how bloated web apps are …

 

[natallica]

With how bloated web apps are …

Or if you run Chrome. ;-)

 

[ct2k7]

Or if you run Chrome. ;-)

I feel Safari isn’t much better, but I haven’t done much testing around this.

 

[basher]

That's why I went with the Max 10/32/32/2TB. Anything else for me was either overkill or non necessary. Now I see I made the right decision going with the Max

I went with the same exact configuration. For my needs I had pause when it came to 32GB of RAM, but it's proven to be the perfect choice for me. I do some software development in Xcode and Python along with some light gaming and so far I'm uber impressed with the "seat of the pants" experience.

Love my Mac Studio! 😘

 

[Sirmausalot]

I think the Ultra will sing with FCP 10.6.2 -- because they will also update compressor. But we will see.

 

[gazwas]

If this performance/power throttling is a necessary evil of the MAX/Ultra chips then won’t this get embarrassing very quickly if the rumours of the Mac Mini M2Pro come true? 4nm so more efficient power profiles plus more and higher clock speed for both CPU and GPU.

There is a couple of months until my Ultra BTO arrives so fingers crossed for a bunch of OS and software performance updates before then.

 

[dugbug]

I just saw the latest Max Tech video comparing the 3 versions of the Mac Studio. It's making me rethink my purchase. Perhaps I should cancel and get a lesser version. Or maybe they will come out with an update to optimize performance. Am I willing to bank on that happening? Is there really a fundamental, unfixable issue with the Ultra versions?

if your expected ship date is before april 14, then you should def cancel

 

[CWallace]

I just saw the latest Max Tech video comparing the 3 versions of the Mac Studio. It's making me rethink my purchase. Perhaps I should cancel and get a lesser version. Or maybe they will come out with an update to optimize performance. Am I willing to bank on that happening? Is there really a fundamental, unfixable issue with the Ultra versions?

It seems to be that the SoCs are limited in how much total power they can draw which means they have to allocate it between the CPU and GPU cores and therefore cannot run both at maximum. This might be a hard limit of the design or Apple being too conservative in their power settings in order to keep temperatures within a certain range (sub-70 degrees Celsius).

Hopefully it is the latter case, as Apple could then release new firmware that allows more aggressive power draw since the cooling system (especially for the Ultra) has plenty of headroom.

It's entirely up to developers to update and optimise their applications for the various M1 variants.

This seems to be a hardware limitation and not a software one. That being said, they have noted that Apple has yet to release updated versions of Logic and Final Cut that do better exploit the Ultra's extra cores (review units were shipped with these updated Apps, but they are not yet available via App Store to end-users).

If this performance/power throttling is a necessary evil of the MAX/Ultra chips then won’t this get embarrassing very quickly if the rumours of the Mac Mini M2Pro come true? 4nm so more efficient power profiles plus more and higher clock speed for both CPU and GPU.

If the issue is the design, then yes it could become an issue presuming Apple improves the design in future M series SoCs to be able to use more of the total power available to them.

If the issue is Apple being too conservative in the power configuration firmware, that should be able to be adjusted on the M1 family via future firmware releases to allow more power in exchange for more heat generation (which means more fan noise).

 

[CodeSpyder]

It seems to be that the SoCs are limited in how much total power they can draw which means they have to allocate it between the CPU and GPU cores and therefore cannot run both at maximum. This might be a hard limit of the design or Apple being too conservative in their power settings in order to keep temperatures within a certain range (sub-70 degrees Celsius).

Hopefully it is the latter case, as Apple could then release new firmware that allows more aggressive power draw since the cooling system (especially for the Ultra) has plenty of headroom.




This seems to be a hardware limitation and not a software one. That being said, they have noted that Apple has yet to release updated versions of Logic and Final Cut that do better exploit the Ultra's extra cores (review units were shipped with these updated Apps, but they are not yet available via App Store to end-users).




If the issue is the design, then yes it could become an issue presuming Apple improves the design in future M series SoCs to be able to use more of the total power available to them.

If the issue is Apple being too conservative in the power configuration firmware, that should be able to be adjusted on the M1 family via future firmware releases to allow more power in exchange for more heat generation (which means more fan noise).

I’m hoping it’s the latter.

 

[Mr. Dee]

One of things I was hoping Apple would get away from with their Silicon is the Intel SKU style of packaging (i3, i5, i7 and i9). But they are basically doing their own version and on top of it the revisions of these chips are gonna be stretched out to a 18 month cycle. Which is good, since you won’t have to worry about your config seeming old 10 months later. But I think all these SKUs so soon is unnecessary and could be simplified. Yes, the chip is different in the sense that its scaled, but not so different since its a proprietary method of just fusing together two Max chips. Look at it this way though, at least you will have a system that will last you good 10 years.

 

[Jcc37]

Hello.
there had been a somewhat similar problem with the latest Macbook I9.
a patch had restored its full power.

Tested: Apple's patch fixes the thermal slowdowns in the 2018 i9 MacBook Pro | AppleInsider

Apple's patch on Tuesday seems to fix most — if not all — of the clock speed excursions that the 15-inch MacBook Pro was experiencing when under load. AppleInsider delves into the situation, runs the numbers in some real-world applications, and talks about what led us to this point.

appleinsider.com

best

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

One of things I was hoping Apple would get away from with their Silicon is the Intel SKU style of packaging (i3, i5, i7 and i9). But they are basically doing their own version

What else could they do other than have just one single chip? Also, they are so far not doing what Intel is doing, because they don't have 2000 SKU's for each generation, so at least that is good..

 

[EPO75]

It's entirely up to developers to update and optimise their applications for the various M1 variants.

If the applications you use are already universal the chances are high that they will update. Otherwise they really have no future on macOS.

Did you watch the video?

The video is mainly about Apple is somehow limiting the high models by giving them less power. Now this seems logical on a MacBook where the temps rise to 100 but not on the Studio. So I hope someone in the review world is going to ask those questions to Apple. Is it a design issue so max wattage for the chip or something else or just they want similar performance for M1 Max on desktop and laptop so not to bite the coming M2 chips?

 

[jinnyman]

I'm really disappointed that the torture test has resulted in heavy throttling for Ultra even though the hardward design itself is plenty to handle more heat.
I really do hope Apple has !@#$ed up on software/firmware not M1 design itself.

 

[randy85]

Surely all these tests on Youtube will become out-of-date once optimised software if release for the Ultra chips. It seems very early days to call it trash. I know they need their clickbait content (no hard feelings, that's just how Youtube works) but if you're keeping one of these for say 5 years, a lot can change in that time.

 

[ct2k7]

Did you watch the video?

The video is mainly about Apple is somehow limiting the high models by giving them less power. Now this seems logical on a MacBook where the temps rise to 100 but not on the Studio. So I hope someone in the review world is going to ask those questions to Apple. Is it a design issue so max wattage for the chip or something else or just they want similar performance for M1 Max on desktop and laptop so not to bite the coming M2 chips?

There’s very few people who would ask Apple, and we’ll I doubt they will.

 

[AdamSeen]

There’s very few people who would ask Apple, and we’ll I doubt they will.

This is the problem nowadays.

Apple send their products out to youtubers rather than in-depth reviewers. Gone are the days when we'd get an in-depth look from a decent reviewer being critical of the product. Talking about things like cache latency with very in-depth diagrams and knowledge.

Now you have to rely on less sophisticated YouTubers who need Apple to get views, so it's not really in their interest to say bad things. It also means we must rely on Apple marketing "more powerful than a 3090" to make decisions. Ultimately pissing off the buyers, because they are getting something based on false promises.

Max Tech are doing a good job uncovering this - I commend them. However, a few years ago we'd have all this information from day 1.

 

[EPO75]

Surely all these tests on Youtube will become out-of-date once optimised software if release for the Ultra chips. It seems very early days to call it trash. I know they need their clickbait content (no hard feelings, that's just how Youtube works) but if you're keeping one of these for say 5 years, a lot can change in that time.

Again, it's not all about software, check the video please it is about Apple and how they handle the extra cores/wattage/voltage etc.
And it is not trash for sure.