New Macs With M1 Chips

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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by dualstow » Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:43 pm

I’ve just got the one Compaq display that i bought for a Windows xp tower in the mid-late aughts.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:39 am

dualstow wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:43 pm
I’ve just got the one Compaq display that i bought for a Windows xp tower in the mid-late aughts.
The wonderful thing about the MacBook Pro is that even though it "only" supports two external monitors, those are in addition to the built-in display. So, technically I have a triple monitor setup, even though one of the monitors is comically tiny next to the others.

When I finish school I will sell my current MBP and get an Apple silicon powered one.

I'm not sure if I should be more impressed by Apple's processor engineering or disappointed by Intel's. Either way, I've been seeing a lot of the fanboys from the PC community kind of get taken aback at how good Apple's processor chops are. A lot of the old arguments about Apple selling overpriced and underpowered hardware now have to be revisited.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by vnatale » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:04 pm

Smith1776 wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:39 am
dualstow wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:43 pm
I’ve just got the one Compaq display that i bought for a Windows xp tower in the mid-late aughts.
The wonderful thing about the MacBook Pro is that even though it "only" supports two external monitors, those are in addition to the built-in display. So, technically I have a triple monitor setup, even though one of the monitors is comically tiny next to the others.

When I finish school I will sell my current MBP and get an Apple silicon powered one.

I'm not sure if I should be more impressed by Apple's processor engineering or disappointed by Intel's. Either way, I've been seeing a lot of the fanboys from the PC community kind of get taken aback at how good Apple's processor chops are. A lot of the old arguments about Apple selling overpriced and underpowered hardware now have to be revisited.
Three or four years ago I bought for $500 this used computer with an i7 and 16GB RAM with a four output monitor video card (and I do have four monitors connected to it). What would it cost me now to buy an equivalent used Apple computer?

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:27 pm

vnatale wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:04 pm

Three or four years ago I bought for $500 this used computer with an i7 and 16GB RAM with a four output monitor video card (and I do have four monitors connected to it). What would it cost me now to buy an equivalent used Apple computer?

Vinny
4 monitors is awesome! Hehe, so I have to admit though, I really like having an odd rather than even number of monitors. I like having one monitor in the center and the same number of monitors on either side. Having an even number of monitors either means a given setup will have you staring right at the bezel between two monitors or something otherwise lopsided.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by WiseOne » Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:56 pm

I just hopped on the university apple store (educational discount) to look at macbook pros, and found something interesting.

The options with the M1 chip are limited to 512 Gb SSD drive and 8 Gb memory.

If you want a 1 Tb drive and 16 Gb memory, you have to go with the intel processor.

For the mathematical computing I'm using it for, 8 Gb memory would be a nasty limitation. I'm ok with the 512 Gb because I use Dropbox with the smart sync feature.

Anyone know if that is a hard limit on memory for the M1 chip laptops, or is that upgradeable after the fact?
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Mark Leavy » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:03 pm

I just went to the Apple (educational store) web site and it let me configure a Macbook Air with 16Gigs of memory and 2TB storage.
Unfortunately, I'll be waiting until it is available to the general public.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:09 pm

Interesting discrepancy.

WiseOne, is that perhaps just a limitation with the education outlet of the online store?
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by WiseOne » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:18 pm

My mistake, you can upgrade to 16 Gb and 2 Tb disk. It's only $180 to get the extra 8Gb. A virtual requirement for anyone who doesn't intend to buy a new laptop every year, I would think.

I'm going to stick with the 512 Gb disk actually....with Dropbox smart sync there seriously is no need for more than that. And the drive should be upgradeable if the laptop outlasts moore's law for disk space.

Mark are you sure you couldn't buy the Air on the educational store? I'm on it and having no problem ordering the macbook pro (with M1).
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Mark Leavy » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:24 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:18 pm
Mark are you sure you couldn't buy the Air on the educational store? I'm on it and having no problem ordering the macbook pro (with M1).
Not sure. I just assumed that I would need to provide some educator credentials - which I don't have.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by WiseOne » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:24 pm

Last question for the apple experts: is buying apple care worth it? I've always bought it but never used it.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Hal » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:08 pm

I have never purchased Apple Care, instead put the money toward extra options.
Never had any reliability problems with any Macbook I had purchased. YMMV
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Xan » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:41 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:18 pm
My mistake, you can upgrade to 16 Gb and 2 Tb disk. It's only $180 to get the extra 8Gb. A virtual requirement for anyone who doesn't intend to buy a new laptop every year, I would think.
I should say so! I just upgraded my laptop to 64GB from 32GB. How you can sell one at 16 unupgradable is hard to imagine.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:36 pm

By never purchasing warranties/apple care I figure I save enough money to afford a replacement if ever on the off chance one of my devices kicks the bucket prematurely.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by vnatale » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:03 pm

Smith1776 wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:27 pm
vnatale wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:04 pm

Three or four years ago I bought for $500 this used computer with an i7 and 16GB RAM with a four output monitor video card (and I do have four monitors connected to it). What would it cost me now to buy an equivalent used Apple computer?

Vinny
4 monitors is awesome! Hehe, so I have to admit though, I really like having an odd rather than even number of monitors. I like having one monitor in the center and the same number of monitors on either side. Having an even number of monitors either means a given setup will have you staring right at the bezel between two monitors or something otherwise lopsided.
I am always using two computers. Four monitors are are on this one and two are on the other one (though one of them is hidden). Therefore, effectively, I am using an odd amount - five. When I am doing payroll for our organization I am using both computers and all five monitors. No scrolling around or opening and closing windows for me!

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:38 pm

One of my best friends just bought the Macbook Air today. 1TB and 16GB of RAM! Here it is next to a 2015 15" Macbook pro.

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Will be running some fun benchies soon.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Hal » Fri Nov 20, 2020 7:14 pm

Looking forward to the benchmarks.
Will be interesting to see how far things have progressed from 2017 :D

Still remember my Winstone 97 benchmark of 33 for a 200Mhz Pentium classic back in the dinosaur days.....
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:26 pm

I'm currently investigating the GPU performance delta between the low end MBA and the high end MBA. The high end machine has 8 cores active while the low end machine has 7.

People on forums have been benchmarking the different units, but I have yet to see a thorough comparison from a very reputable source. By most accounts the performance difference should be about 5 to 10%, but there's one fellow in this thread who has been clocking fairly substantial double digit performance deltas. The community seems to suspect that this is due to a difference in thermal throttling rather than the discrepancy in core count per se. It's possible that thermal throttling impacts the 7 core machine more substantially than the other.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ho ... 457/page-2

All told, the difference in price between equally specced 7 vs 8 core machines is 50 bucks or so in most markets. I would take the 8 cores.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by vnatale » Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:52 pm

Smith1776 wrote:
Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:26 pm
I'm currently investigating the GPU performance delta between the low end MBA and the high end MBA. The high end machine has 8 cores active while the low end machine has 7.

People on forums have been benchmarking the different units, but I have yet to see a thorough comparison from a very reputable source. By most accounts the performance difference should be about 5 to 10%, but there's one fellow in this thread who has been clocking fairly substantial double digit performance deltas. The community seems to suspect that this is due to a difference in thermal throttling rather than the discrepancy in core count per se. It's possible that thermal throttling impacts the 7 core machine more substantially than the other.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ho ... 457/page-2

All told, the difference in price between equally specced 7 vs 8 core machines is 50 bucks or so in most markets. I would take the 8 cores.
I regularly use what I find here to make extremely quick decisions as to whether or not I want to buy a given computer. My main interest is in the actual power rating of the CPU.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/

Vinny
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:48 pm

Geek Bench scores. Just to reiterate, this is the MacBook Air with 8 active GPU cores, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Hal » Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:47 pm

For comparison
For fun https://www.redhill.net.au/ig.html
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:49 pm

Holy crap.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Mark Leavy » Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:53 pm

Okay. I'm sold. I've setup my apple cart with a mac air 16gigs of ram and 2Tb of storage.
Now, I just have to figure out where I will be mid December so that I can place the order.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Smith1776 » Sun Nov 22, 2020 12:02 am

Mark Leavy wrote:
Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:53 pm
Okay. I'm sold. I've setup my apple cart with a mac air 16gigs of ram and 2Tb of storage.
Now, I just have to figure out where I will be mid December so that I can place the order.
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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Hal » Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:17 am

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Re: New Macs With M1 Chips

Post by Dieter » Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:13 pm

Any more updates / experiences with the new M1 MacBooks / MacBook Airs?

I need to get one soon. The low end Air probably meets my basic needs, but thinking about future proofing a bit by get 16GB RAM / 512GB HD / 8 Core GPU.

[Edit: Hmm; can get the Air with 512GB HD and 8-core graphics for $50 less than the Pro with 256GB HD. Do lose out on screen brightness, fan, battery life, ... Decisions, decisions. Considering I keep my computers for so long I should probably just pay more for the Pro, but analysis paralysis]
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