• Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    1 day ago

    Apple’s M chips are amazing. If only there was full Linux support for Apple hardware.

    • melfie@lemy.lol
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      6 hours ago

      According to this Blender benchmark, a M3 Ultra with 80 cores is similar to a 4070 Ti. Too bad a machine with a M3 Ultra with 80 cores will cost several grand while a 4070 Ti can be had for a grand. I appreciate that a SoC can use RAM instead of the scam that is VRAM, but Apple needs to do something about that price, or otherwise, might as well get a 5090.

      • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        6 hours ago

        I don’t think you quite grasp what an M chip is if you are comparing it to a 4070 Ti.

        • melfie@lemy.lol
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          6 hours ago

          It’s a SoC and is certainly more power efficient, can fit into smaller form factors, etc. It’s definitely progress in the right direction, but is still to expensive to be a practical alternative to higher-end GPUs. What am I missing?

          • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            5 hours ago

            I guess you do understand what the M chip is, which makes your comparison even more surprising. First, comparing a SoC to a GPU is wildly unfair. Second, you are severely underselling exactly how much more energy efficient an M chip is versus a CPU/GPU combo. My PC laptop with an i7 and a 4070 built in will run for about 20 minutes, maybe 30, under a full workload, all the while being hot enough to fry an egg and noisier than a jet engine. Even then, the performance will be trash and get worse as the temps rise. My MBP M3 Max will run a DAW sessions my PC could never dream of, with multiple plugins, on battery, silent, no heat, for a couple of hours without even the hint of a stutter.

            All of that said, when it comes to price, Apple’s gonna Apple.

            PS: I’m typing this on my phone while the idle i7/4070 laptop is fanning (again, fully idle) because it runs so hot. I might need to start traveling for work again and, if I do, I might need to switch to a MacBook Air for work on the road unless I can find an ultra-slim, powerful yet efficient, high resolution screen, Linux supported laptop. Simply because of the chip. We need an equivalent on the PC side.

            • melfie@lemy.lol
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              5 hours ago

              Yeah, looking forward to the day when SoCs fully replace discrete GPUs for all the reasons you stated, and also when there are better options than Apple devices in that space. Pretty sure there have never been many render farms built from Apple hardware, though, and Mac Pros have never been the most cost effective option for applications requiring a lot of compute. MacBooks and phones, on the other hand, are more of a sweet spot, and the M chips have done wonders there to your point.

    • Peasley@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      Long term everything they make is for the landfill. Soldered RAM and SSDs on most M-series made it clear Apple doesnt expect the devices to last very long.

      A 5-7 year lifespan is enough if your customers generally upgrade every 2-4 years.

    • Axum@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      If only Linux devs weren’t so toxic against rust that it drove out talent that was working on Asahi Linux for these devices :V

      • CarrotsHaveEars@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        7 hours ago

        The talent has nothing to do with Rust AFAIK. Only the GPU driver is written in Rust. There are however efforts put into other drivers written in Rust.

        The developers could have written those drivers in C instead, or to hell with those close-minded Linux developers, fork Linux and keep writing in Rust.

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        22 hours ago

        That’s certainly a way of looking at it.

        The talent was upset at a conflict between kernel maintainers and posted a personal attack on Mastodon. The comment is now deleted ( https://web.archive.org/web/20250204004048/https://social.treehouse.systems/@marcan/113941358237899362 ).

        The Code of Conduct explicitly lists public harassment as an example of unacceptable behavior.

        Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:

        -The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances

        -Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks

        -Public or private harassment

        -Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission.

        -Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

        Even if he is correct about about it being a code of conduct violation (it wasn’t), there is way to take action and it isn’t posting an attack on social media.

        Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the Code of Conduct Committee at conduct@kernel.org. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The Code of Conduct Committee is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.

        There has certainly been drama around Rust, but as was said in the thread: “Being toxic on the right side of an argument is still toxic, […]”

    • PearOfJudes@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      19 hours ago

      I don’t mind macOS. Micheal Bazzel recommends it and it runs in unix which is basically closed sourced linux

      • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        17 hours ago

        I believe in using the best tool for the job. For that reason, I use Macs for all my music stuff, Windows if I have to, and Linux for everything else.