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Maximizing margins for the M3 Pro which makes up a large majority of MBP sales. The transistor count reduction adds up over thousands of 3nm wafers. They are pr

Maximizing margins for the M3 Pro which makes up a large majority of MBP sales. The transistor count reduction adds up over thousands of 3nm wafers. They are probably getting twice as many M3 Pro chips per wafer over M2 Pro. Nudging power users to the M3 Max doesn't hurt either. Personally, I don't mind trading 2 P-cores for 2 E-cores but the memory nerf annoys me, and I suspect the cache has been nerfed as well.

brandall10 3y ago
I mind it to the point where I cancelled my order (upgrading from an M1 Pro). I'd do the mid-range Max but I imagine the battery life would suffer too much on the 14". It's been pointed that that marketing for the M3 Pro is the same as it was for the M2 Pro earlier this year - up to 20% faster compute than the M1 Pro. As is the wireless web battery life. Sure this will be variable based on the workload, but on average, this is a barely there upgrade. The M4 will likely flip things back due to the yield issue, and there I suspect we'll see compute will improve by 40%+. I also suspect we'll see that upgrade sooner than later (next summer?) as Apple likely wants to get off these chips ASAP.
- deagle50 3y ago
  Don't blame you on the battery life, we'll have to see if the tiny M3 Pro has brings efficiency benefits without a reduction in real-world performance. I'm fond of the E-cores and my main gripe with my M1 Max is the 2 E-cores being constantly pegged and 2 P-cores always active to compensate, which likely means the first P-core cluster can't sleep. It would be fun to see how 6 E-cores would handle daily tasks but I'm not spending $3k to find out. Only paid 2k for a used full-size M1 Max a over a year ago so I'll likely skip this gen. I get ~6-8 hours of constant use btw.
  - brandall10 3y ago
    After seeing the benchmarks I ended up getting a 16" unbinned Max... previously had a 16" M1 Pro as a work machine and think I can be fine dealing with the bulk as my one and only even though I'm regularly on the move. I don't think the e-cores were an actual engineering decision, but a way to reduce transistor count to improve yields without reducing performance. Agreed about 2 being too few. I see the 2 on my M1 Pro regularly pegged as well, but I imagine a 1/4 ratio to be ideal.
    - deagle50 3y ago
      I have a 16" M1 Pro for work and it's heavy. Wish I had requested the 14" in hindsight.

brandall10 3y ago

I mind it to the point where I cancelled my order (upgrading from an M1 Pro). I'd do the mid-range Max but I imagine the battery life would suffer too much on the 14". It's been pointed that that marketing for the M3 Pro is the same as it was for the M2 Pro earlier this year - up to 20% faster compute than the M1 Pro. As is the wireless web battery life. Sure this will be variable based on the workload, but on average, this is a barely there upgrade. The M4 will likely flip things back due to the yield issue, and there I suspect we'll see compute will improve by 40%+. I also suspect we'll see that upgrade sooner than later (next summer?) as Apple likely wants to get off these chips ASAP.

deagle50 3y ago
Don't blame you on the battery life, we'll have to see if the tiny M3 Pro has brings efficiency benefits without a reduction in real-world performance. I'm fond of the E-cores and my main gripe with my M1 Max is the 2 E-cores being constantly pegged and 2 P-cores always active to compensate, which likely means the first P-core cluster can't sleep. It would be fun to see how 6 E-cores would handle daily tasks but I'm not spending $3k to find out. Only paid 2k for a used full-size M1 Max a over a year ago so I'll likely skip this gen. I get ~6-8 hours of constant use btw.
- brandall10 3y ago
  After seeing the benchmarks I ended up getting a 16" unbinned Max... previously had a 16" M1 Pro as a work machine and think I can be fine dealing with the bulk as my one and only even though I'm regularly on the move. I don't think the e-cores were an actual engineering decision, but a way to reduce transistor count to improve yields without reducing performance. Agreed about 2 being too few. I see the 2 on my M1 Pro regularly pegged as well, but I imagine a 1/4 ratio to be ideal.
  - deagle50 3y ago
    I have a 16" M1 Pro for work and it's heavy. Wish I had requested the 14" in hindsight.