Question on new terminology here (to me)

[donawalt]

Hi all, I am wondering if someone can explain what people mean when they say for example "I have a binned M3 Max" or "I have an unbinned M3 Max". I am familiar with the word 'binned' in relation to a chip - I think it means chips that are pulled and scaled down somehow (for example less cores) based on failed mfg tests done at the factory. These pulled or 'binned' chips are then used in lower config computer models.

So does "Binned M3 Max" just mean it's one of the M3 MacBook Pro configurations where the M3 cores are not maxed out? Yet since all three M3 chips (M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max) have 3 configurations of CPU/GPU/Memory each, just saying "Binned M3 Pro" one would not know which configuration they have, correct?

Thanks for clearing this up for me!

 

[Telekinetic]

Memory isn't on the die itself so only the CPU/GPU config matters when it comes to binning.

 

[PeteBurgh]

So does "Binned M3 Max" just mean it's one of the M3 MacBook Pro configurations where the M3 cores are not maxed out? Yet since all three M3 chips (M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max) have 3 configurations of CPU/GPU/Memory each, just saying "Binned M3 Pro" one would not know which configuration they have, correct?

My understanding is that basically, yes this is correct. The M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max each have their own architecture, and within these three types, the different core counts are likely to be, at least in part, a result of binning.

Whether or not this is useful terminology for a user or buyer to have at the forefront of their mind is another matter. The fact that some chips are differentiated by binning as well as design is, I suppose, intriguing (because modern silicone is quite unusual and different from how most other products are manufactured) but it's not especially relevant is describing what products do.

 

[donawalt]

Thanks. I don't remember prior new releases of Macs where users referenced the term "binning" so much - maybe it's becoming mainstream. People would say things like "the base config", or "the 8/16 config", etc. That's why it jumped out at me.

 

[Basic75]

Product binning - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There are precisely two bins of M3 Pro (5+6 CPU with 14 GPU cores, and 6+6 CPU with 18 GPU cores) and M3 Max (10+4 CPU with 30 GPU cores, and 12+4 CPU with 40 GPU cores), respectively. Everything else is memory size.

Usually when people say they have the "binned" product they mean the lower/smaller bin.

 

[Telekinetic]

Product binning - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There are precisely two bins of M3 Pro (5+6 CPU with 14 GPU cores, and 6+6 CPU with 18 GPU cores) and M3 Max (10+4 CPU with 30 GPU cores, and 12+4 CPU with 40 GPU cores), respectively. Everything else is memory size.

Usually when people say they have the "binned" product they mean the lower/smaller bin.

Likewise, there are exactly 2 bins of the M3 (4+4 CPU and 8 GPU cores, and 4+4 CPU with 10 GPU cores).