5 ms·

I think this is important. I switched to macOS and stopped using my desktop completely because the M1 chip in my MacBook Air is so powerful it beats it by a lon

I think this is important. I switched to macOS and stopped using my desktop completely because the M1 chip in my MacBook Air is so powerful it beats it by a long shot. It runs literally everything I do so smoothly and without emitting a single sound since there's no fan (and no coil whine under load for those who know what that is on the Intel MacBooks.) Unbelievably, it just doesn't get hot. I'm averaging temps under 30C without a monitor and under 35C with a 4k external monitor attached. Only brief bursts above that when compiling or doing something more intensive, but you don't even feel it. I do everything on this laptop. All my professional work, simultaneous Chrome profiles, dozens and dozens of tabs, video calls through Meet/Zoom, programming, VSCode, Photoshop, watching 4k videos, terminal, everything. It doesn't even stutter, and has NO FAN.

kazinator 5y ago
I was quite impressed when I ssh-ed into the M1 machine offered by the GCC Compile Farm, and found that it recompiles the TXR Lisp standard library in under 3 seconds.
inter_netuser 5y ago
does M1 run linux just a well?
- edgyquant 5y ago
  I don’t think the Linux port to M1 is complete yet
- smoldesu 5y ago
  No, and it probably won't unless Apple releases GPU documentation or a kernel blob (neither of which are very likely)
- arelyx 5y ago
  As far as I know there has been progress made to add native linux support for the M1 (the work done by the people at Asahi Linux comes to mind) but there's still a long way to go. However virtualization isn't too bad, I've been using UTM and their prebuilt images and that's worked for most of my needs so far.
- linguae 5y ago
  It's still under heavy development (see https://asahilinux.org https://asahilinux.org for more details). Developer Alyssa Rosenzweig has been doing great work on getting Linux graphics to work on the M1; just a few days ago she announced that she got GNOME to work on the M1, though without graphics acceleration (https://twitter.com/alyssarzg/status/1429579145827127296 https://twitter.com/alyssarzg/status/1429579145827127296). It's still going to be a while until Linux on the M1 reaches daily-driver status.
hughrr 5y ago
I just ssh into my desktop if I need more grunt. That’s a lot faster than an M1.
- herpderperator 5y ago
  Sure, a many-many-core desktop will be able to beat the M1 when the workload extensively uses parallel processing. But there likely isn't any faster single-thread CPU in the world at the moment[0], barring any overclocking. If there is (maybe through other benchmarks), then the difference will be minor and the competing CPU would be extremely power hungry in comparison. Remember the M1 is a 10W chip. [0] https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
  - hughrr 5y ago
    You’re probably right for synthetic benchmarks. But none of my workloads work on macOS. So the point is moot. I did have an M1 MBA and mini until recently for reference.
  - tick_tock_tick 5y ago
    16GB max ram is a non starter for any real work.
    - josephg 5y ago
      It really depends on what you’re working on. It seems fine for most of what I do. (Intellij / vscode and a compiler). I have 32 gigs because it’s cheap but I could get away with 8 gigs if I wanted to. I probably wouldn’t even notice.
      - Aperocky 5y ago
        M1 can accommodate 32G now? I thought 16 was max.
        josephg 5y ago
vayeate 5y ago
I've been really happy with my M1 and it's my first Macbook ever, I've been a diehard Windows guy my entire life. So, so, so tired of loud and failing fans on my Windows machines, terrible trackpads, terrible displays, constant hardware issues, Windows update forcing shutdowns in the middle of meetings, malware-level upgrade prompts, etc etc.
- fhood 5y ago
  I don't actually think macOS is any less buggy than windows, as someone who uses both constantly. And wsl2 is decent if shockingly hard to set up properly. But damn, having my macbook not relocate all my windows when disconnecting from a monitor is such a godsend.
  - vayeate 5y ago
    I'm not sure I've encountered a single bug in the half year or more I've had this. I don't ask a lot of it, to be fair. I guess Firefox as my main browser really drains the hell out of the battery, which is annoying. Not really a bug.
    - drusepth 5y ago
      Yeah, in my experience macOS work really well if you just stick to the same few applications over time. I guess my problem is that I'm always installing new stuff, tinkering with settings, and tweaking things everywhere I go. I don't think I've ever gone more than a year or two without having to completely wipe my mac and start over from scratch because of bugs.
      - Klonoar 5y ago
        I probably tweak more settings than most on macOS and I've not encountered any of the common bugs people experience. Reviews on tech boards about macOS are similar to reviews for apartment buildings: why would anybody bother writing a good one? Complaints and issues bubble to the top.
Scarbutt 5y ago
Is this the 8GB version?

kazinator 5y ago

I was quite impressed when I ssh-ed into the M1 machine offered by the GCC Compile Farm, and found that it recompiles the TXR Lisp standard library in under 3 seconds.

inter_netuser 5y ago

does M1 run linux just a well?

edgyquant 5y ago
I don’t think the Linux port to M1 is complete yet
smoldesu 5y ago
No, and it probably won't unless Apple releases GPU documentation or a kernel blob (neither of which are very likely)
arelyx 5y ago
As far as I know there has been progress made to add native linux support for the M1 (the work done by the people at Asahi Linux comes to mind) but there's still a long way to go. However virtualization isn't too bad, I've been using UTM and their prebuilt images and that's worked for most of my needs so far.
linguae 5y ago
It's still under heavy development (see https://asahilinux.org https://asahilinux.org for more details). Developer Alyssa Rosenzweig has been doing great work on getting Linux graphics to work on the M1; just a few days ago she announced that she got GNOME to work on the M1, though without graphics acceleration (https://twitter.com/alyssarzg/status/1429579145827127296 https://twitter.com/alyssarzg/status/1429579145827127296). It's still going to be a while until Linux on the M1 reaches daily-driver status.

hughrr 5y ago

I just ssh into my desktop if I need more grunt. That’s a lot faster than an M1.

herpderperator 5y ago
Sure, a many-many-core desktop will be able to beat the M1 when the workload extensively uses parallel processing. But there likely isn't any faster single-thread CPU in the world at the moment[0], barring any overclocking. If there is (maybe through other benchmarks), then the difference will be minor and the competing CPU would be extremely power hungry in comparison. Remember the M1 is a 10W chip. [0] https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
- hughrr 5y ago
  You’re probably right for synthetic benchmarks. But none of my workloads work on macOS. So the point is moot. I did have an M1 MBA and mini until recently for reference.
- tick_tock_tick 5y ago
  16GB max ram is a non starter for any real work.
  - josephg 5y ago
    It really depends on what you’re working on. It seems fine for most of what I do. (Intellij / vscode and a compiler). I have 32 gigs because it’s cheap but I could get away with 8 gigs if I wanted to. I probably wouldn’t even notice.
    - Aperocky 5y ago
      M1 can accommodate 32G now? I thought 16 was max.
      - josephg 5y ago

vayeate 5y ago

I've been really happy with my M1 and it's my first Macbook ever, I've been a diehard Windows guy my entire life. So, so, so tired of loud and failing fans on my Windows machines, terrible trackpads, terrible displays, constant hardware issues, Windows update forcing shutdowns in the middle of meetings, malware-level upgrade prompts, etc etc.

fhood 5y ago
I don't actually think macOS is any less buggy than windows, as someone who uses both constantly. And wsl2 is decent if shockingly hard to set up properly. But damn, having my macbook not relocate all my windows when disconnecting from a monitor is such a godsend.
- vayeate 5y ago
  I'm not sure I've encountered a single bug in the half year or more I've had this. I don't ask a lot of it, to be fair. I guess Firefox as my main browser really drains the hell out of the battery, which is annoying. Not really a bug.
  - drusepth 5y ago
    Yeah, in my experience macOS work really well if you just stick to the same few applications over time. I guess my problem is that I'm always installing new stuff, tinkering with settings, and tweaking things everywhere I go. I don't think I've ever gone more than a year or two without having to completely wipe my mac and start over from scratch because of bugs.
    - Klonoar 5y ago
      I probably tweak more settings than most on macOS and I've not encountered any of the common bugs people experience. Reviews on tech boards about macOS are similar to reviews for apartment buildings: why would anybody bother writing a good one? Complaints and issues bubble to the top.

Scarbutt 5y ago

Is this the 8GB version?