CaseySJ
Moderator
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2018
- Messages
- 22,040
- Motherboard
- Asus ProArt Z690-Creator
- CPU
- i7-12700K
- Graphics
- RX 6800 XT
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Some random thoughts/comments:
- The name M1 implies it's a low-power or mobile-computing version of the macOS CPU.
- Next year we may see a D1, perhaps, that is designed for higher-power and/or desktop computing.
- The 2020 Mac mini has only 2 Thunderbolt ports because M1 contains a single Thunderbolt controller. My 2020 13" MacBook Pro (Intel Ice Lake) has two Thunderbolt controllers and hence four Thunderbolt ports.
- So current M1 is not suitable for more powerful systems with 4 Thunderbolt ports.
- The following systems currently ship with 4 Thunderbolt ports (i.e. two Thunderbolt controllers):
- 16" MacBook Pro
- 13" MacBook Pro (the high end version)
- Mac Pro
- Mac mini (Intel-based)
- Will there be another, higher-end Mac mini with 4 Thunderbolt ports and a 10 GbE option??
- M1 is therefore limited by at least the following:
- Maximum of 16 GB RAM (LPDDR4X, I believe)
- One Thunderbolt controller
- 4 high-performance cores only
- Desktop-class and HEDT will need more than 4 high-performance cores
- 4 high-efficiency cores
- Desktop-class and HEDT may not need high-efficiency cores; maybe a couple
- Rumors are circulating about a new Mac Pro that is roughly half the size as the current Mac Pro.
- Will it have PCIe slots?
- If so, it will most likely need to support third party GPUs
- Will Apple's on-board (integrated) GPU be sufficient for high end desktop (HEDT) applications?
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