docno42

commentzilla said:
My guess is that the M1 and M1 Pro are already capable of this because it’s within the thermal and noise limits of the laptop. The M1 Max likely can cross that line and offers an optional setting to enable the battery sucking leaf blower mode.

I wouldn't be surprised if the extra GPU cores in the maxed out Max are the culprit. 

I can't wait to test that theory myself in a few weeks!

williamlondon said:
Do you think so? I just bought a new monitor for my Mac Mini and at the last minute changed from a 30" to a 27" because an article on Tom's Hardware suggested a 30" monitor might be too big. It sounded like good advice, but to be honest I'd love a bigger monitor, just wondering what other people's experience is with the 30" monitors in normal home/office desk environments.

I have the Dell version of the same IPS panel Apple used in their 30" panel years ago before they stopped selling monitors and love it.  I will never go below 30" now, and that monitor is 2560x1440.  I can't imaging 4k or 5K on something below 30" - what's the point?  

I also find with my over 40 eyes that larger screens are a LOT easier to use.  When I was younger and didn't need reading glasses I probably wouldn't have cared, might have even preferred the smaller screens.  But now?  I really appreciate the extra screen real estate. Also 30" is about 40% more area than a 27" - 27 vs 30 doesn't sound like much, but volume wise it's a pretty astonishing difference.  I think because the diagonal measurement distorts our perception of relative size.  

gardenofearthlydelights said:

It probably doesn't boost performance. It probably just cranks the fans so that it doesn't have to thermally slow down.

Well, if during normal use the CPU would throttle but in this mode the CPU no longer has to throttle then yeah, over all it's a boost in performance.  

Also about time Apple started adding options like this for those of us who want max performance!

GG1 said:

On some other AI thread, a poster mentioned how expensive these M1 Pro/Max SoCs were to make, especially with the variable RAM amounts. So I'm wondering if the forthcoming MacPro may just use two or more M1 Max's on a single motherboard, similar to very high end dual Xeon boards.

Better hope they never go dual socket. The compromises you have to make to have two sockets are numerous and what held back the cheese grater and trash can Mac Pro's.  Heck there are performance penalties for "chiplet" packaging like AMD is using with Ryzen and Threadripper.  I get why they are doing it - it's WAY more cost effective for a bunch of reasons.  But if Apple can stomach the production for massive SOC - if you care about performance that's the real ticket and what I hope they stay focused on.  

Mondain said:

I had expected cheaper prices.

Blistering fast SSD and Memory.  Performance per watt and Battery life the competition can't touch at ANY price.  A display the competition can't touch.

Not to mention an OS the competition can't provide either.

Frankly I'm shocked these didn't cost more.