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Not just the iMac Pro. They can't replace the Intel 27" iMac with the M1 because it would have worse multicore performance.

alwillis 6y ago
They can't replace the Intel 27" iMac with the M1 because it would have worse multicore performance. Based on all the benchmarks we've seen with existing M1 Macs, that's clearly not the case. The issue of being limited to only 16 MB is likely more the issue with replacing the 27-inch Intel iMac.
- codezero 6y ago
  I am not getting one of these because of the ram limitation but only because I currently have 16GB and it "feels off" At this point I'm convinced that 16GB M1 isn't comparable to 16GB DDR3/4 simply because of the architecture and that the RAM is so close to the CPU. We've already seen that they are doing some crazy efficient stuff with memory, but all that said, it still feels anemic for a desktop, and I suspect the response will be the same as it was for MacBooks: normal people don't care, tech people who love Apples will wait for the inevitable upgrade.
  - alwillis 6y ago
    From what I’ve read, with the M1’s unified memory and the ability to swap extremely quickly, it’s like the SSD is more of a cache, making the limited RAM much less of an issue— https://singhkays.com/blog/apple-silicon-m1-black-magic/ https://singhkays.com/blog/apple-silicon-m1-black-magic/
- orangecat 6y ago
  Based on all the benchmarks we've seen with existing M1 Macs, that's clearly not the case. It's closer than I thought, but on Geekbench the 8-core i7 iMac is 10% faster than the M1 MacBook Pro, and the 10-core i9 is 25% faster (https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/imac-27-inch-retina-mid-2020 https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/imac-27-inch-retina-mid-2... and https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/macbook-pro-13-inch-late-2020 https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/macbook-pro-13-inch-late-...). The issue of being limited to only 16 MB is likely more the issue with replacing the 27-inch Intel iMac. That's also important, yes.

alwillis 6y ago

They can't replace the Intel 27" iMac with the M1 because it would have worse multicore performance. Based on all the benchmarks we've seen with existing M1 Macs, that's clearly not the case. The issue of being limited to only 16 MB is likely more the issue with replacing the 27-inch Intel iMac.

codezero 6y ago
I am not getting one of these because of the ram limitation but only because I currently have 16GB and it "feels off" At this point I'm convinced that 16GB M1 isn't comparable to 16GB DDR3/4 simply because of the architecture and that the RAM is so close to the CPU. We've already seen that they are doing some crazy efficient stuff with memory, but all that said, it still feels anemic for a desktop, and I suspect the response will be the same as it was for MacBooks: normal people don't care, tech people who love Apples will wait for the inevitable upgrade.
- alwillis 6y ago
  From what I’ve read, with the M1’s unified memory and the ability to swap extremely quickly, it’s like the SSD is more of a cache, making the limited RAM much less of an issue— https://singhkays.com/blog/apple-silicon-m1-black-magic/ https://singhkays.com/blog/apple-silicon-m1-black-magic/
orangecat 6y ago
Based on all the benchmarks we've seen with existing M1 Macs, that's clearly not the case. It's closer than I thought, but on Geekbench the 8-core i7 iMac is 10% faster than the M1 MacBook Pro, and the 10-core i9 is 25% faster (https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/imac-27-inch-retina-mid-2020 https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/imac-27-inch-retina-mid-2... and https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/macbook-pro-13-inch-late-2020 https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/macbook-pro-13-inch-late-...). The issue of being limited to only 16 MB is likely more the issue with replacing the 27-inch Intel iMac. That's also important, yes.