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The new Mac Pro chip could double or quadruple the power of the M2 Max
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- 988747 4y agoIsn't 256GB RAM kind of limiting for this type of workstation? Or is it possible to combine it with standard DIMMs?
- ls612 4y ago256GB should only be limiting to certain audio applications afaik.
- 988747 4y agoSo I wonder: why do Threadripper motherboards support up to 2 TB of RAM, if nobody needs that?
- coldtea 4y agoBecause they're intended for another market, where people do use that. You don't buy a Mac Pro to use as a server, for example...
- novok 4y agoSome would like to use it as a iOS / macOS CI server. So server hardware features designed for a data center & rack mount options would be appreciated. Yes you don't need the 2TB of ram in that case, but other parts would be helpful!
- yieldcrv 4y agoIts addressing range, not advertisement
- tanelpoder 4y agoOnly ThreadRipper Pro mobos support that much as far as I know. ThreadRipper Pro CPUs are AMD EPYC server grade CPUs that are customized/rebranded for the workstation market segment. The regular “gaming CPUs” and motherboards support only 64-128 GB of RAM. Some have 4 DIMM slots, but the CPU still has only 2 channels, so with 4 DIMMs you won’t get any memory access throughput increases, just more space for caching stuff to avoid disk IOs. EPYC/TR Pro have 8 memory channels…
- fomine3 4y agoEvery TR has at least 4 channels
- moondev 4y agoVirtual machines?
- TheOtherHobbes 4y agoEven for the pros, there aren't many sample-based orchestral templates that don't fit into 256GB.
- Kye 4y agoAnd most are going to stream samples on demand from a fast SSD anyway. Fitting all your libraries in memory is mostly a forum bragging rights thing. It's silly to load it all up when you're only going to use a small portion of it in any given project.
- awinder 4y agoThis rumor states that Apple is testing a configuration with 256gb of RAM, not that it’s the highest build-to-order configuration of this to-be-announced machine.
- skunkworker 4y agoHopefully they go a hybrid approach. 256gb next to the package and expandable slots up to 2TB.
- prng2021 4y agoThe current Mac Pro supports up to 1.5TB of RAM and with DDR5 memory capacities about to increase, I wonder how Apple will compensate for the much lower RAM.
- 7speter 4y agoBut don't you know? The ram is much faster because its close to the die? /s
- TillE 4y agoThey know how many people are ordering that much RAM, and probably have some guesses about how many actually need it. Apple won't mind losing 5% or whatever of their Mac Pro customers if it means not fundamentally redesigning their SoC architecture.
- 4y ago
- michelb 4y agoWell it would have to, otherwise it's not a compelling Mac Pro?
- nicolashahn 4y agoMax, Ultra, Extreme... at some point they're going to run out of adjectives with high enough magnitude to signal that it outclasses the previous one.
- jshzglr 4y agoYou underestimate Apple marketing.
- Maursault 4y agoIf once you start down the marketed path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
- jshzglr 4y agoEveryone markets. It's just whether they accept its importance or not.
- gumby 4y agoProduct marketing leads to gratuitous differentiation. Gratuitous differentiation leads to indifference or hate. Indifference and hate lead to suffering. Apple almost died when it went down this Yodaean path. Windows laptops went down this path to the Dark Side. Hopefully Apple will return to the light side.
- Maursault 4y agoHope is like Sun Microsystems. If you only believe it when you see it you'll never make it through the night. It took over power at Sun. As the marketing was charged, Sun was drained until it disappeared.
- kennend3 4y agoWhen in doubt, they can turn to the simpsons who addressed this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9STeegpxSb0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9STeegpxSb0
- Maursault 4y agoMy understanding is the Mac Pro was targeted for the professional "film" industry for high end 8K video editing, processing and effects, though there were scientific applications as well. Apple claims that Final Cut Pro is "fully optimized for the M1 Max and M1 Ultra on the new Mac Studio," but I don't know if "optimized" means the code is native for Apple Silicon. I guess the point I'm getting to is Apple tends to delay hardware releases until there are a few killer applications, at least, that showcase the hardware's capabilities, and for the expected cost of the hardware, native pro applications better be available.