Why Apple’s M1 SoC is so Fast

<blockquote><em><a href="#597447">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>The Mac Mini is only the low-end Mac Mini, they are continuing to sell the higher end upgradeable Intel Mac Minis (space grey) which are upgradeable. </p><p><br></p><p>New mac Minis – aluminum color = Entry Level (no upgradeable memory, no 10GB ethernet, 2TB ports) – this was likely released at this point as a replacement for the DTK</p><p>Intel Mac Minis – space gray = 'Pro' end (used in small render farms etc.) have 10GB ethernet option, 4TB ports, and expandable memory.</p><p><br></p><p>There are offsetting interests at play (energy required for old hardware, failure rate as a whole vs failure rate of components, etc.) making boards with more solder points etc. will mean a higher failure rate (more raw materials etc. – larger boards etc.). Memory by itself typically has a lifetime warranty – because it does not generally fail. Lower failure rate, means lower warranty costs for Apple and less machines ending in the landfill early. There is a separate issue with batteries, and that may be an area where legislation is required… i.e. batteries have to be able to be replaced by the manufacturer long after it is designated obsolete.</p><p><br></p><p>A machine with 8GB, 16GB can be repurposed, handed off, sold – so memory upgrades by selling and purchasing a new machine for these low end machines should not result in landfill unless the owners are stupid. </p><p><br></p><p>Having the memory on package which it is now on the SoC means the memory access can be more performant (lower latency), more efficient, etc. (this is the same tradeoff that is made in the new game consoles for improving performance). The memory access (both graphics and CPU) which means less passing stuff around through the PCIe bus etc. as both graphics and CPU can access it directly, I think also the built in SSD access is done this way as well. The Tile based rendering also has efficiency advantages as well that limits redundant passing information around. Basically, the trade-offs are what are resulting in some of that fantastic performance you are getting in a very low power efficient computer. The end result is much better user experience. </p><p><br></p><p>"The same thing that annoyed me with my old iMac. The logic board eventually crapped out (about 5 years after Apple abandoned it, from an OS point of view, it was running Linux), but the monitor was still working fine, but, because of the integrated design, I had to throw out a perfectly functioning monitor."</p><p><br></p><p>They use to have target mode (I think that is what it was called) but at higher resolutions and because of issues doing custom implementations to get around Intel chip limitations – this was removed. There is a hope by some of this that because these workarounds will no longer be necessary that target mode will make it's return.</p><p><br></p><p>I am curious as to how Apple will handle larger memory models – if there will be a mix of on-package and upgradeable and how they blend the memory access together. (trying to get the best of both worlds). </p>

<blockquote><em><a href="#597482">In reply to DBSync:</a></em></blockquote><p>Limited bandwidth, I have a high speed thunderbolt SSD, 3 x 4K monitors, thunderbolt hard drive enclosure, an eGPU enclosure (the enclosure could be repurposed for PCIe storage as well) and then there are the USB C devices such as an external audio interface for dynamic mics and headphones, camera, etc, etc. </p>