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You can put together a 192GB 16+ core x86 system with 16GB CUDA card and multi TB of fast storage for $2000ish. I'm not trolling, just wondering why people go t

You can put together a 192GB 16+ core x86 system with 16GB CUDA card and multi TB of fast storage for $2000ish. I'm not trolling, just wondering why people go to "Apple" all the time, when other approaches may be better for this kind of work. Yes, the CPU - RAM interface is not as fast, but the CUDA card is much faster, and the large cheap memory makes some things a lot more practical. If I'm not mistaken, in these approaches, GPU + VRAM + CPU + RAM are used in conjunction, so it all adds up to quite a bit more powerful system for the same amount of money if working with them is a main goal. If Apple had expandable RAM it would be a different story.

smoldesu 4y ago
Screw that - the other day I realized that it's cheaper to buy an Intel A770 ($350) with 16gb of memory than it is to upgrade a Mac Mini with 16gb ($400) of extra memory. Apple's optimization here is nice for the people who own their hardware, but it's totally silly to read through the comments promising the end of CUDA.
simonw 4y ago
In my case I'm interested in AI, but not quite enough to spend money on a whole separate computer for exploring ML work. I want a really great single laptop I can use for everything.
j45 4y ago
I’m as much PC/Linux as I am Mac. Lots of experience putting together more computers than I can count, or having them put together. I think there might be a different use case for me but to compare with your economics - I picked up a base mac studio (m1 max with 32 gb) for about $1370 USD with 8 months warranty remaining. It’s letting me test my daily setup to see if everything can run on Apple silicon yet without intervention.. if not, I’ll be able to get rid of it at little to no loss, and decide if I want to carry that much computing power in a laptop or not, or head on to other options. My interest currently is computational power, per watt. Not much comes close to Apple Silicon. The cost of a loaded pc can quickly outstrip other options with electricity costs included so it needs to be useful in any case. The integrated speed of the Apple silicon, ram, and ssd is a little astonishing. More than I expected to admit. I don’t know if there’s anything like it on PC. If Apple silicon supported eGPUs it would interest me. Comparable PCs have described are generally power inefficient. Still, the system you’re laying out is interesting, especially the ram, mind sharing a bill of materials?
- davidy123 4y ago
  Sure, and I also get the "Apple lifestyle" POV. I guess my PoV is with a GPU + inexpensive RAM, I can do some things more quickly, and other things are at least possible. But granted, hardware nuts and bolts is a hobby for me too, I've always enjoyed researching and building systems, there is a huge community of people and companies, and I much prefer KDE to MacOS, Android to IOS. If Apple released a reasonably priced system with lots of RAM, or that could take a GPU, I'd not have as much to stand on, but they don't seem inclined to do that. Here's BoM, $2170: $700 for 192GB https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-DDR5-Memory---Black/p/CMK192GX5M4B5200C38 https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VEN... About $200 for a LGA1700 board with four slots (currently Asus and Gigabyte support 4 X 48GB memory modules on consumer hardware) $200+ for a CPU $120 for an 850 watt PSU $700 for a used 16GB quadro, or a new 12GB A2000 $150 for 2TB NVME storage $50 for some kinda case (I use an XTIA open frame, it is the opposite of a Macbook) These are "best prices," You'd have to pay around 10% more if you're not into finding deals.
  - j45 4y ago
    How many watts would be needed to power the above? If it’s 400-800w 24 hours a day, op costs quickly pile up. It looks really reasonable for everything here. I am interested more in eGPUs for interchangeability but have enough on my plate.
  - tmwsiy2012 4y ago
    [dead]

smoldesu 4y ago

Screw that - the other day I realized that it's cheaper to buy an Intel A770 ($350) with 16gb of memory than it is to upgrade a Mac Mini with 16gb ($400) of extra memory. Apple's optimization here is nice for the people who own their hardware, but it's totally silly to read through the comments promising the end of CUDA.

simonw 4y ago

In my case I'm interested in AI, but not quite enough to spend money on a whole separate computer for exploring ML work. I want a really great single laptop I can use for everything.

j45 4y ago

I’m as much PC/Linux as I am Mac. Lots of experience putting together more computers than I can count, or having them put together. I think there might be a different use case for me but to compare with your economics - I picked up a base mac studio (m1 max with 32 gb) for about $1370 USD with 8 months warranty remaining. It’s letting me test my daily setup to see if everything can run on Apple silicon yet without intervention.. if not, I’ll be able to get rid of it at little to no loss, and decide if I want to carry that much computing power in a laptop or not, or head on to other options. My interest currently is computational power, per watt. Not much comes close to Apple Silicon. The cost of a loaded pc can quickly outstrip other options with electricity costs included so it needs to be useful in any case. The integrated speed of the Apple silicon, ram, and ssd is a little astonishing. More than I expected to admit. I don’t know if there’s anything like it on PC. If Apple silicon supported eGPUs it would interest me. Comparable PCs have described are generally power inefficient. Still, the system you’re laying out is interesting, especially the ram, mind sharing a bill of materials?

davidy123 4y ago
Sure, and I also get the "Apple lifestyle" POV. I guess my PoV is with a GPU + inexpensive RAM, I can do some things more quickly, and other things are at least possible. But granted, hardware nuts and bolts is a hobby for me too, I've always enjoyed researching and building systems, there is a huge community of people and companies, and I much prefer KDE to MacOS, Android to IOS. If Apple released a reasonably priced system with lots of RAM, or that could take a GPU, I'd not have as much to stand on, but they don't seem inclined to do that. Here's BoM, $2170: $700 for 192GB https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-DDR5-Memory---Black/p/CMK192GX5M4B5200C38 https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VEN... About $200 for a LGA1700 board with four slots (currently Asus and Gigabyte support 4 X 48GB memory modules on consumer hardware) $200+ for a CPU $120 for an 850 watt PSU $700 for a used 16GB quadro, or a new 12GB A2000 $150 for 2TB NVME storage $50 for some kinda case (I use an XTIA open frame, it is the opposite of a Macbook) These are "best prices," You'd have to pay around 10% more if you're not into finding deals.
- j45 4y ago
  How many watts would be needed to power the above? If it’s 400-800w 24 hours a day, op costs quickly pile up. It looks really reasonable for everything here. I am interested more in eGPUs for interchangeability but have enough on my plate.
- tmwsiy2012 4y ago
  [dead]