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Unified Memory is not something Apple just introduced and nobody else has.
by detaro 5y ago
Unified Memory is not something Apple just introduced and nobody else has.
- norman784 5y agoI know isn't something new (amd announced it iirc back in 2013 with their apu line) but afaik no one implemented the same way as apple, the gpu and cpu are in the same DIE (I'm not sure if this is the word or how is spelled) but they are not a unit, in apple design both can access all the memory and share between without copying or reserve specific memory from the bios for the gpu.
- detaro 5y ago> both can access all the memory and share between without copying or reserve specific memory from the bios for the gpu. That's pretty much the definition of Unified Memory, i.e. something the other implementations can also do.
- ricardobeat 5y agoOther implementations being mainly mobile Snapdragon SoCs, which don’t directly compete with M1 (yet).
- detaro 5y agoAnd as already referenced AMD APUs, including the chips for XBox and Playstation. Hence the entire "hope that AMD starts copying" from the original comment doesn't really fit for unified memory.
- awiesenhofer 5y agoI do hope these internals and designs "trickle down" into actual builds and products someday. I would love some small beefy desktop workstation similar to the XBox Series X, kinda like a PC take on the old trashcan Mac Pro.
- mccorrinall 5y agoDid you take a look at the intel NUC line? I would probably buy one if I needed a new PC today.
- dagw 5y agokinda like a PC take on the old trashcan Mac Pro Several companies are trying that. The Corsair One series is XBox/trashcan Mac sized and plenty powerful. HP has their Z Mini series of Mac Mini sized workstations. Intel sell their NUC and NUC Extereme kits for people who are more DIY inclined.
- ricardobeat 5y agoI'm not an expert on this by any means, but I believe the XBox still uses dedicated memory for the GPU, which is slightly faster than the one reserved for the CPU. The Playstation does use a single block of shared memory.
- mfer 5y agoInvention is different from innovation. The way Apple has the memory in the same silicon as the CPU and GPU all in a laptop and now desktop... has anyone else done that? It looks like an innovation.
- detaro 5y agoApple doesn't have the memory in the same silicon as CPU and GPU.
- NathanielK 5y agoThey use CoTS LPDDR memory chips running at the same JEDEC timings as everyone else. Yes, they glue these chips to an interposer board like a GPU with HBM, but unlike those GPUs they aren't doing it for any performance requirements. Keeping it on package just makes things more compact so they can shrink the motherboard even more.
- argsnd 5y ago
- Razengan 5y ago> Unified Memory is not something Apple just introduced and nobody else has. The GP did not say that.