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Apple Mac Mini M1


Larry Shelby

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I picked up the 16GB M1 MacBook Pro with 1TB SSD.  For mostly non-audio use, though.  What audio software I do have on there performs admirably [shameless plug, the M1 fix for MODO DRUM due to no AVX support on M1 being one of those] but I'd never have chosen 8GB if I planned on using it more for audio, and still wanted the additional RAM for other uses (still graphics and video, general usage).  It's a great laptop with amazing battery life which I absolutely appreciate and love, but for my real audio needs I think I'm going to stick with my 24-core dual CPU Windows workstation with 96GB RAM thank you very much (and even there I know there are going to be plenty of instances where nowhere near the full power/cores/RAM will be utilized efficiently by every piece of software I choose to run).  Just like I'm not going to use this laptop or the audio workstation Windows machine for gaming, I'll stick to the PC I have which was optimized for that purpose, with carefully chosen specs and components.

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11 minutes ago, InstrEd said:

has a surface Pro and she says it is perfect for her needs

I also have an older Surface Pro 3 with 8gb ram and a i7 cpu. I have my DAW loaded on it along with SampleTank 4, EZD2, and other assorted vst. It serves it's purpose as a scratch pad for learning new software, writing songs. And to be honest, I am surprised at how much I can do with it.

But it's not my main music maker.

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38 minutes ago, InstrEd said:

Heck competition is great. Now Intel, AMD on the x86 hardware front have work to do and MS on the software end. Just think when Ryzen is on 5nm for laptop chips?

With the Vermeer 5xxx series, AMD finally got their low-latency performance together.

One thing with the 5950x; the cores heat up quickly under load... causing fan-speed ramp-ups (which can be annoying).

Otherwise, a fantastic performer...

Edited by Jim Roseberry
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1 hour ago, InstrEd said:

We haves sales reps that have laptops and would love the battery life of the M1.  But one sales rep has a surface Pro and she says it is perfect for her needs.

I still have a Surface Pro as well and it is also great.  It's capable for audio too, and the touch screen is a plus for all intended uses in my opinion.

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Here's a stress-test I like to run.  Indicative of single-core performance and if the machine can sustain heavy load (glitch-free) at super small buffer size.

  • Orion Studio Synergy Core audio interface set to 96k using a 32-sample buffer size (1ms total round-trip latency)
  • Presonus Studio One Pro v5 running Helix Native with a substantial patch

 

Here's the performance of the Mac M1 Mini

1361272291_ScreenShot2021-06-14at4_44_47PM.thumb.png.9272cfabe93e7be99f96bfcf42948029.png

 

There's been a lot of hype regarding the M1's single-core performance.

I've read posts claiming single-core performance bested any current CPU.

 

As you can see, this test is a substantial load for the M1.

Though CPU load was high, audio playback was completely glitch-free.

 

I'll post the same test running on a 5950x.

 

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Here's the same Helix Native test running on a 5950x.

 

Still a substantial load... but significantly less so

907428953_Untitledproject2021-06-14_17-28-02.thumb.jpg.315ede8846396cce237b2a891ab72bfd.jpg

 

This is comparing an $800 CPU (5950x)... with an $800 computer (M1 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM).

It's not a fair comparison by any means.

The M1 Mac Mini is a slick, small, quiet machine.

 

Note that the 5950x (using Antelope's ASIO driver) can actually go down to a 24-sample ASIO buffer size (glitch-free).

The Mac Mini wouldn't allow buffer size smaller than 32-samples.  Though CPU load would have been thru the roof, I suspect it could have sustained the load (at 24-samples) glitch-free.

 

More to come as time allows

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Jim Roseberry said:

Here's the same Helix Native test running on a 5950x.

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing the test results. I've not been following CPUs in a while - am I right in thinking that the 5950x is an AMD, and that Intels can outperform AMDs in single core performance? (either that, or I'm getting confused/mis-remembering some of your previous posts).

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17 minutes ago, antler said:

Thanks for sharing the test results. I've not been following CPUs in a while - am I right in thinking that the 5950x is an AMD, and that Intels can outperform AMDs in single core performance? (either that, or I'm getting confused/mis-remembering some of your previous posts).

5950x is the newest Vermeer version of Ryzen.

The 5xxx series is where AMD got their ultra low-latency performance together.

The 3950x and 3970x (previous gen Ryzen and Threadripper) are great at multi-threaded performance... but a bit weak at ultra low latency audio.

Until the 5xxx series, that was their Achilles Heel.

 

Running this test, the Intel i9-10900k is right about even with the 5950x.

The 5950x is a more complex machine to configure... if you want it to run close to dead-silent.

Also, if you disable four of the cores, the 5950x's performance at ultra low-latency is slightly faster.

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26 minutes ago, antler said:

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing the test results. I've not been following CPUs in a while - am I right in thinking that the 5950x is an AMD, and that Intels can outperform AMDs in single core performance? (either that, or I'm getting confused/mis-remembering some of your previous posts).

I think the new AMD's are on par if not out performing Intels with single core performance.

 

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3 minutes ago, Jim Roseberry said:

Also, if you disable four of the cores, the 5950x's performance at ultra low-latency is slightly faster.

Really!!!? That is some new news to me!!

Leads me into a lot of questions and speculation!!

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