New apple M1 chips - who's buying?
Discussion
Caved. Hard week at work turned into success right at last minute = reward.
Ordered one. Don't need it, but really, really want it. Will see about turning the old MBP into a server....
Performance specs are right, should easily outperform the existing base MBP from 2013 for photo editing.
Ordered one. Don't need it, but really, really want it. Will see about turning the old MBP into a server....
Performance specs are right, should easily outperform the existing base MBP from 2013 for photo editing.
Fatball said:
I’ve ordered one. Get a discount through blue light card online so a bit of a saving as well.
Had a 2020 i5 for a while so will be interesting to see any difference in performance.
Yes, that helped for me as well - 6% off at the Apple shop online, courtesy of employee purchase scheme - I thought they may exclude these.Had a 2020 i5 for a while so will be interesting to see any difference in performance.
loudlashadjuster said:
With a bigger core count/higher frequencies (whatever mix they choose to go with when they move to desktop and server-class chips) they'll be freed of TDP worries and we'll really see what the architecture can do. As it is, for a debut low-power chip to basically be competitive with the best that Intel and AMD can offer in x86 at the high-end is simply astonishing.
All the comparisons I've seen are from apple themselves - against other macbooks. The current AMD lineup is impressive, but no macbooks have them tbh.loudlashadjuster said:
Good points. I'm sure a few other constraints/caveats will come out in time too, but for the bulk of Air, Mini users these won't be an issue.
IMO the bulk of these users would be better off on a Chromebook altogether.It's an impressive feat, but at this point for people with limited use or specific use cases. It'll gain a lot of traction in the coming months, but when I had a MBP I couldn't do without windows for my work situation.
ZesPak said:
,but when I had a MBP I couldn't do without windows for my work situation.
I'm the other way round. I get a Windows machine as part of my job then end up using my MBP for work as I find it's far easier to be properly productive using the Mac. The only thing I can't do with the Mac is edit MS Project files, which is something I'm doing less and less of these days anyway.JonChalk said:
Magnum 475 said:
Stop press: Big Sur is now available for download from Apple. I've started the download, so will be interesting to see how my MBP performs on the new OS.
Been running the beta for weeks - no noticeable difference for me one way or another - which is good IMHO.
te Windows laptop), so wasn't taking chances on the Beta. 'No noticeable difference' is usually a good thing.Magnum 475 said:
ZesPak said:
,but when I had a MBP I couldn't do without windows for my work situation.
I'm the other way round. I get a Windows machine as part of my job then end up using my MBP for work as I find it's far easier to be properly productive using the Mac. The only thing I can't do with the Mac is edit MS Project files, which is something I'm doing less and less of these days anyway.I NEED windows for several work related applications. You only NEED it for MS Project files. You don't need OSX for anything other than you prefer it.
I can make do with a Chromebook for most things, but I need to be able to run some things that don't run on a chromebook or ipad.
MS has done a great job at dismissing the need for Windows imho, but there's so many legacy stuff running on it, it's hard to remove it from most work environments at this point.
mathmos said:
Why can't you run. more than one external monitor? I run 2 on my air with no problem...is there something different on the new models?
The current M1 only had a single thunderbolt controller which is what is limiting the number of external monitors and usb/thunderbolt ports. This is very much a first generation chip and set-up but it’s a bloody impressive first attempt! If I didn’t need serious gfx capability, I’d be getting one straight away but although the gfx is way above that of the built-in intel stuff, it’s not on a par with the latest amd and Nvidia options.
I still run a (heavily upgraded) 2009 Mac Pro and it’s the gfx capability which he prevented me from moving on as yet.
JonChalk said:
interstellar said:
Anyone got one yet? Mine is arriving next Wednesday or are they all coming then?
Not formally released until the 17th - I couldn't be arsed with anything but free delivery, so 19th/20th for me.Big Rig said:
What specs has everyone ordered? Seriously mulling over a 256GB HD with 16GB RAM, can’t decide if I should buy now or wait for the next gen to come out?
Wait it out, 1st gen products are always not worth it. Wait til they change the form factor to something not from 2005troc said:
mathmos said:
Why can't you run. more than one external monitor? I run 2 on my air with no problem...is there something different on the new models?
The current M1 only had a single thunderbolt controller which is what is limiting the number of external monitors and usb/thunderbolt ports. t, that's a deal breaker for me. I had ordered one for work but I'll cancel and get last years intel one instead. I can't work with a single external monitor.ZesPak said:
I thought a single Thunderbolt could easily drive multiple displays through daisy chaining?
Apparently not according to this - https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/11/11/how-app...
"The 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 processor can connect only a single external display at a time in conjunction with the laptop's screen."
Which is all a bit annoying really!
mathmos said:
ZesPak said:
I thought a single Thunderbolt could easily drive multiple displays through daisy chaining?
Apparently not according to this - https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/11/11/how-app...
"The 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 processor can connect only a single external display at a time in conjunction with the laptop's screen."
Which is all a bit annoying really!
troc said:
This is very much a first generation chip and set-up but it’s a bloody impressive first attempt!
Not wishing to piss on anyone's chips, only to inject a bit of realism: people have been building processors and SoCs based on ARM's cores for _years_. At least a dozen firms build processors or SoCs with cores licensed from ARM, and Apple is using something like the 8th generation of the current ARM core design. This is nothing like a new processor built from scratch. It's a new arrangement of a load of tried and tested components. It's like building something out of lego. Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff