New MacBook Pro driven by M1 Pro & M1 Max processors

Posted:
in macOS edited October 2021
At Apple's "Unleashed" event, Apple took the wraps off a pair of new Apple Silicon chips that it is calling the M1 Pro and M1 Max processor.




Apple's M1 Pro chip supports up to 32 GB of unified memory, which it shares with it's on-chip GPU. The chip has over 33.7 billion transistors, spanning eight high-performance cores, and 2 high-efficiency cores.

All of this results in 70% faster CPU performance than the M1, Apple says. Additionally, Apple also claims twice as much GPU speed versus the M1 chip.

Apple has also integrated ProRes into the chip, more Thunderbolt channels, and support for more external monitors.

The M1 Max chip is has 400 gigabytes per second memory bandwidth. It has 57 billion transistors, with a 32-core GPU paired with it. Up to 64GB of unified memory is supported by the M1 Max chip.

Apple says that both chips have better performance at every power level than current PC chips. On the GPU side, Apple says that its chips perform up to 7 times faster than PC integrated graphics at the same power. It can power similar performance to discrete graphics cards, but with 70% less power draw.

For example, compared to the speediest PC that Apple could find, the M1X chip uses 100 watts less power while offering similar performance. That also means that the M1 Pro and M1 Max stay at similar performance while on battery power.

Apple has also tailored macOS to take full advantage of the new chips at every level. It says that the improvements offer up to 3 times faster ML performance, with certain models up to 20 times faster.

The new M1 Pro and M1 Max are available in a variety of configurations. For example, the M1 Pro with 10 cores can also be configured with a 14-core, 16-core, 24-core, or 32-core GPU. The M1 Max is available in a 10-core configuration with a 24-core or 32-core GPU.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Glad to see they kept the unified memory!  
    As soon as the store comes back up I am so ordering one!
    edited October 2021 killroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 26
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    All these graphs are dumb, wish Apple would ditch them.
    9secondkox2
  • Reply 3 of 26
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    I spy a notch!
  • Reply 4 of 26
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    crowley said:
    I spy a notch!
    Ugh - a rumor I wouldn't have minded being wrong.  Oh well - at least it should be fairly transparent in dark mode.  
    Can't wait to see the price for these - almost afraid to at this point.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 26
    The inconsistency in what Pro and Max mean across apple’s different products is starting to bug me…
    williamlondoniqatedowatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 26
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    The mobile power benchmarks cited in the event are mad.. Especially comparing M1-Pro using battery to the intel chips plugged in.
    williamlondonMplsPkillroywatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 26
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    tpurdy said:
    The inconsistency in what Pro and Max mean across apple’s different products is starting to bug me…
    I agree. I thought Pro was the best... until it isn't.

    So what's a good "middle" name? M1 Better? M1+? M1 Turbo?
    tpurdywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 26
    keithwkeithw Posts: 140member
    Until they make these chips available in a Mac Mini or larger iMac, I'm not interested.  I have no need for a laptop.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 26
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    M1 Pro and M1 Max? Called the names, though I was wrong on the memory configuration. I expected the Pro to offer off-package (but still soldered to the logic board) RAM.

    I do wish either was available in a Mac mini. I don't need a laptop now, but could use a beefier desktop.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 26
    Picked up an M1Max w/ 64G memory. Sucks that the memory config alone pushed the order back by over a month. Thought Cook was a logistics genius.
    williamlondonkillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 26
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,109member
    (Disregard—answered my own question)
    edited October 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 26
    At some point, I'm really hoping to see a purpose-built crypto-mining application for these CPUs (including full utilization of the GPUs.) I realize it won't compete with custom hardware, but it sure seems like the potential is there for low-power (efficient) mining.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 26
    Insanity. Finally seeing the real potential for the M series come to fruition. 

    Kudos to Apple for the guts to make the shift and then to execute better than anyone could have imagined. 

    Dang. 

    It says so much about the company as a whole that they become the pinnacle of almost every arena they enter. 

    Apple takes its songs along the way but they ensure snd then create something epic. Then the process repeats. Meanwhile everyone else is looking for the quick gain. And when something struggles, they kill it off early. Apple pushes through and turns the runt into the rockstar. 

    Cannot wait to abuse the m1 Max. 
    StrangeDayskillroydk49watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 26
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    docno42 said:
    crowley said:
    I spy a notch!
    Ugh - a rumor I wouldn't have minded being wrong.  Oh well - at least it should be fairly transparent in dark mode.  
    Can't wait to see the price for these - almost afraid to at this point.
    The notch is meaningless. The top menu bar adjusts to work around it and unless you find a way to hide that top bar (full screen movie viewing might be impacted), it's not going to be in your way. 
    StrangeDayskillroywilliamlondoniqatedowatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 15 of 26
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Picked up an M1Max w/ 64G memory. Sucks that the memory config alone pushed the order back by over a month. Thought Cook was a logistics genius.
    Could it be that the majority of viewers were power users (don't want to use the term pro) and they immediately configured the max memory and maybe max storage versions, which is why your order was pushed back? I'm sure all the youtubers watching had speed dial set up to buy their the millisecond the Apple Store was back online. 

    How much storage did you configure it for? It will be interesting to see if these new MBPs don't have the external storage write slowdown. With all the internal bus speed increases those TB4 ports better give us a speed as fast as the external NVMe blades with multi-channels controllers can run. 
    muthuk_vanalingamkillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 26
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 1,999member
    tpurdy said:
    The inconsistency in what Pro and Max mean across apple’s different products is starting to bug me…
    Not sure there is a problem here.  Pro is the top end and Max is the best version of the top end.   Adapted to a computer (which has a lot more variieren able than a phone or headphone). Both M1 Pro and M1 Max are the same basic offering at 10 cores.   The max just offers some extras on top of the same basic high end CPU.  Both are the same speed (CPU wise).  And both  are used in the MacBook Pro. They didn't rename the computer the MacBook Max.  


    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 26
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    Wow. No multi chip anything, just massive integrated single massive SOC.

    massive

    wow 
    williamlondonKTRwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 18 of 26
    GG1 said:
    tpurdy said:
    The inconsistency in what Pro and Max mean across apple’s different products is starting to bug me…
    I agree. I thought Pro was the best... until it isn't.

    So what's a good "middle" name? M1 Better? M1+? M1 Turbo?
    ———

    It’s more an internal Pro division. The Max is only on the 16” MacBook, so think of it in terms of “Pro” and “Pro Max”.

    Also, I guess functionally similar to the branding difference between the Intel Core chips vs Xeons (or the P vs I chips). Someone with better hardware knowledge can check me on that. Unless we think there’s still an M2 class coming that’s a more direct comparison to the Xeons? 

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 26
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    Picked up an M1Max w/ 64G memory. Sucks that the memory config alone pushed the order back by over a month. Thought Cook was a logistics genius.
    Tim apple can’t control the chip companies 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 26
    As noted in other threads, while the performance gains are massive (and larger than widely appreciated - AI got it wrong at least once already), there's a lot we really don't know yet.

    - Clock speed: how much higher is it? (My guess: minimal)
    - Why is the 32-core gpu said by apple to be only 60% faster than the 16-core gpu? (See slide where they are respectively 400% and 250% speed of the 5600M)
    - What are the cores? (Most people seem to think they're the same as the M1s, but from GPU perf alone, those cores are likely the same gen as the A15. No clue about the CPU cores, but you'd think they'd be same-gen.)
    - How big is the SLC? (My guess: 24/48MB for Pro/Max)
    - How fast is the LPDDR5? (Probably LPDDR5-6400)
    - >7GB/s reads of the SSD are great, but what about writes?

    Also some non-performance questions, like can we run 4x 4k displays on the Pro? (Probably not.)
    watto_cobra
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