What would make you upgrade to the M4 Macs?

[MallardDuck]

Further proving that Wi-Fi 7 chips offer nothing over Wi-Fi 6E. All comes down to the router and speed that your paying for.

Wi-Fi 6E caps at up to 5.4 Gbps, whereas Wi-Fi 7 can deliver peak rates of over 40 Gbps.

Why anyone outside Gov't agency's needs Wi-Fi 7 speeds is beyond me. Youtube is still going to take forever to upload your 10-20 Min video.

Only if you're doing large file transfers on your internal network.

But revisiting now that the ipads are out, I'd almost add the dual layer OLED screen to the must-haves list - though 90% of the time, I'm working on external monitors so...meh.

Now that I spent $$ on a new ipad pro though, budget rears it's head, and if I'm completely honest about need vs want, what I'd need to upgrade is a meaningful new feature/capability in software/os that required it (safari website summarization need not apply - I can read). I honestly can't think of one, so will wait for WWDC 2024/5/6 to see if one materializes.

Right now, I can do everything I want - run photoshop, lightroom, photo ai, all my productivity apps, and multiple virtual machines simultaneously. The only time I ever spike the machine is encoding video on handbrake, and that's rare/batch work that's usually done off hours. So would TB 5 be nice? USB 3.2x2? One more TB port and ditch the SD/HDMI ports? OLED screen? more battery life? lighter? better? faster? stronger? not six-million dollars? Sure. Nice. But not needed.

 

[avro707]

Ability to run Windows natively (the workstation version of windows) and ability to use Nvidia RTX4090 GPUs or Radeon Pro W7900 and others in addition to the regular things I do on MacOS.

I know that makes me public enemy number one but make the machines capable to do everything.

My use case is a bit different to others given I'm on a AUD$38,000 Mac Pro.

 

[MallardDuck]

Ability to run Windows natively (the workstation version of windows) and ability to use Nvidia RTX4090 GPUs or Radeon Pro W7900 and others in addition to the regular things I do on MacOS.

I know that makes me public enemy number one but make the machines capable to do everything.

My use case is a bit different to others given I'm on a AUD$38,000 Mac Pro.

I bought a real PC with a 4090 last year, and it runs circles around my M1 Max for GPU loads, so totally get where you're at. eGPU is something I held out for, but the unified memory architecture has put that one out to pasture.

Windows ARM works decently as a VM, but running native is up to MSFT and building drivers (though Apple would need to update the bios to allow it).

 

[Pressure]

After the M4 iPad announcement I get it won’t get my wish of 2x GPU.

I guess best case M4 1,6x faster than M3 🤔

They said M4 up to 4x M2
Back when they announced M3 they said 2,5 x M2.

So? Thoughts?

You need to read the "fine print" 😅

Those improvements are in very specific workloads (e.g. ray tracing) and the M4 iPad Pro was compared to the M2 iPad Pro.

 

[Pressure]

Ability to run Windows natively (the workstation version of windows) and ability to use Nvidia RTX4090 GPUs or Radeon Pro W7900 and others in addition to the regular things I do on MacOS.

I know that makes me public enemy number one but make the machines capable to do everything.

My use case is a bit different to others given I'm on a AUD$38,000 Mac Pro.

If you needed another tool for the job, why did you buy the Mac Pro in the first place? 🤔

 

[diggy33]

Nothing; my use cases are by my current models.

 

[avro707]

If you needed another tool for the job, why did you buy the Mac Pro in the first place? 🤔

I never purchased the 2023 Mac Pro, not sure where you got that idea. Wasn't fit for purpose. The 2019 fits my needs well so I don't need to replace it.

Anyhow, your signature has reminded me why I shouldn't get into these topics.

 

[heretiq]

I would upgrade to a 15” M4 MacBook Air in a heartbeat — if it matches the performance of my 32 GB, 10c CPU / 32c GPU M1 Max MacBook Pro. I love the MBP but find it too bulky and heavy. I would gladly trade screen size, mini-LED/OLED, extra ports, multiple external display support and great speakers for something lighter and thinner. I suspect the challenge will be matching GPU performance; however, I’m inspired to hope for this because of the thinner and lighter M4 iPad Pro — which I will be trading in my too heavy and bulky M1 iPad Pro for on May 15!

 

[Boil]

...the M4 iPad Pro was compared to the M2 iPad Pro.

Well, they couldn't very well compare it to the (non-existent) M3 iPad Pro...?

 

[streetfunk]

I need ST/SC speed. As much i can have ! Thats it.


i was ***really*** waiting for a M3 Studio to come. I had the money aside.
Now i need to move flat+studio etc..
Seeing the power of the M4, i´m ***REALLY****exited to jump on one end year.
Could even be that the M4 hitts the treshold vs. what SC CPU speed i need to have.
If thats the case, then i´m donne for a looong time.
Seeing the power of the M4-pad makes the wait easier now.

 

[l0stl0rd]

You need to read the "fine print" 😅

Those improvements are in very specific workloads (e.g. ray tracing) and the M4 iPad Pro was compared to the M2 iPad Pro.

yes we will see, if an early metal compute result of geekbench is anything to go by ipad M4 is only about 15% faster compared to the M3 in a Macbook.

 

[SBeardsl]

yes we will see, if an early metal compute result of geekbench is anything to go by ipad M4 is only about 15% faster compared to the M3 in a Macbook.

We will see, it appears that the GPUs are on the M4 are about the same as on the M3 so you improved memory bandwidth and general performance improvements get you to that 15% improvement. However remember that performance is being measured inside a 5.3mm fan-less shell against a MacBook with actual cooling tech. Add some more room and a heatsink (as in the MacBook Air) and you get better thermals, add an actual fan and a full heat management system from a true MacBook and you should be able to do even better. No way to know right now how much of a difference any of that will make but it shouldn't hurt.

 

[MallardDuck]

We will see, it appears that the GPUs are on the M4 are about the same as on the M3 so you improved memory bandwidth and general performance improvements get you to that 15% improvement. However remember that performance is being measured inside a 5.3mm fan-less shell against a MacBook with actual cooling tech. Add some more room and a heatsink (as in the MacBook Air) and you get better thermals, add an actual fan and a full heat management system from a true MacBook and you should be able to do even better. No way to know right now how much of a difference any of that will make but it shouldn't hurt.

Yep, and we don't know if this is the same version as what would be in the macs, or if it's a one-off special unit.

I would expect the M4 max though to be a beast of a chip. Now if I could just find something to justify it....

 

[l0stl0rd]

Yep, and we don't know if this is the same version as what would be in the macs, or if it's a one-off special unit.

I would expect the M4 max though to be a beast of a chip. Now if I could just find something to justify it....

Or it is the same one and they just lowered power draw as it is in a thin fan less chassis.

I think manufacturing wise that would be cheaper. Use the same chip just limit TDP.

Ot if it is 15% faster using let’s say 70% of the power that would still be a huge win for laptop users.

 

[throAU]

If only they can make sure that background apps don't get terminated (and ideally be able to run VMs, but that's pie in the sky) then I can potentially replace my MacBook Pro and iPad Air with a single device.

 

[senttoschool]

3800 GB6 ST speed is honestly insane. That's 62% faster than my M1 Pro.

If Apple releases Tandem OLED for M4 MBPs, I'm sold. I'll upgrade my M1 Pro 16" MBP.

 

[MrGunny94]

Honestly after seeing the M4, nothing unless they decide to change the design and include OLED Displays.

I love the route they are going with the M4, but honestly I don't need more power at all for work. The only thing I do need is more battery life and more memory for virtualisation and having more things open.

Think it's about time they do move the base 14" M3 Pro model to 32GB. Even if they don't by the time the redesign comes, I'll just buy it with the memory upgrade.

I'm living always on 55-63% memory pressure without virtualisation with my 16GB, so it's safe to say the next time I upgrade I need to be having more memory as I usually work with dual displays and even with Sidecar connected when I'm on the go.

macOS is kinda strange about this, because they don't flush the memory used for the displays that have been disconnected.

I need a full reboot for this

 

[Pressure]

I'm living always on 55-63% memory pressure without virtualisation with my 16GB, so it's safe to say the next time I upgrade I need to be having more memory as I usually work with dual displays and even with Sidecar connected when I'm on the go.

It seems 16GB of unified memory fits your use cases just fine if you are only at 55-65% memory pressure.

 

[Boil]

It seems 16GB of unified memory fits your use cases just fine if you are only at 55-65% memory pressure.

Better to have and not need than to not have and need...?

 

[oasantos1]

Complete redesign and OLED screen... maybe.

 

[ArkSingularity]

It seems 16GB of unified memory fits your use cases just fine if you are only at 55-65% memory pressure.

I notice some slight lagginess when I'm in this range, but it's minuscule (maybe a half a second or so when loading new applications, etc.) Hasn't really been enough for me to worry about.

 

[MallardDuck]

Or it is the same one and they just lowered power draw as it is in a thin fan less chassis.

I think manufacturing wise that would be cheaper. Use the same chip just limit TDP.

Ot if it is 15% faster using let’s say 70% of the power that would still be a huge win for laptop users.

Good point, or it could even be downbinned silicon too. One things for sure though, if folks can wait for M4 Macs, they should.

 

[MallardDuck]

I'm living always on 55-63% memory pressure without virtualisation with my 16GB, so it's safe to say the next time I upgrade I need to be having more memory as I usually work with dual displays and even with Sidecar connected when I'm on the go.

If you can afford it, I definitely would. Software only bloats, and AI models will accelerate that. If nothing else it future proofs and extends useful life.

 

[MrGunny94]

I notice some slight lagginess when I'm in this range, but it's minuscule (maybe a half a second or so when loading new applications, etc.) Hasn't really been enough for me to worry about.

It seems 16GB of unified memory fits your use cases just fine if you are only at 55-65% memory pressure.

Better to have and not need than to not have and need...?

Funny enough I do agree I should move to the next tier, every time I hook up displays and especially Sidecar I can see permanent memory used & leaking. The only way to fix this is by restarting the computer which sometimes sucks when I'm working with multiple stuff going on.

Next time around I'm definitely upgrading the memory on these

 

[Pressure]

I notice some slight lagginess when I'm in this range, but it's minuscule (maybe a half a second or so when loading new applications, etc.) Hasn't really been enough for me to worry about.

The computer needs to parse and load the relevant data into memory from the NAND flash. It doesn't happen instantaneously 😅

I still remember the days where I could turn a computer on and walk into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee before it was finished loading the OS 😂