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Portables (Apple) Apple Hardware

New 16-Inch MacBook Pro With M1 Max to Feature 'High Power Mode' for Intensive Workloads (macrumors.com) 88

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max Apple Silicon chip will feature a new High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads, according to Apple. MacRumors reports: This new setting is the opposite of "Low Power Mode," which aims to decrease system performance to prolong battery life. The new mode will only be available on the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max chip, not the 14-inch model or models with the M1 Pro. Text within the macOS Monterey beta reads, "Your Mac will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may result in louder fan noise." The new mode is not likely to be used in typical work cases, but instead when users may be rendering larger files or graphically intensive tasks that require an added boost of performance. The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros both include improved thermal architecture, but Apple says the new and improved fans are not likely to be used by most users in day-to-day use.
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New 16-Inch MacBook Pro With M1 Max to Feature 'High Power Mode' for Intensive Workloads

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  • cooking (Score:4, Funny)

    by arbiter1 ( 1204146 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @06:10AM (#61916879)
    "feature a new High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads" or if you need to cook something
    • by fazig ( 2909523 )
      You joke, but cooking and baking are actual terms when it comes to 3D graphics.

      You bake texture maps for shaders by ray tracing a high poly mesh onto a low poly mesh.
      The low poly mesh is used as an emitter where the rays are cast from the the faces to collide with the geometry of the high poly mesh. The collisions provide you with various information, like distance, angle of incidence, material properties like color, roughness (affects angle of reflection), metalness (affects subsurface scattering), norm
      • "mostly done on the GPU using a single CPU thread" Nobody stops you from using multiple threads. OpenGL can submit commands from many threads. Metal just sucks, so not an argument.
        • by fazig ( 2909523 )
          It's not as much an issue of Apple's Metal.
          It's an issue of the implementation of those baking methods by the software that uses them. They'll have the developers of those tools to come up with something that utilizes their API properly. This is usually done via partnerships.

          So yeah, it certainly should be able to happen, which you should already be aware of from the comment that you quoted from, if you didn't rip it out of context of the last sentence.
        • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          "mostly done on the GPU using a single CPU thread" Nobody stops you from using multiple threads. OpenGL can submit commands from many threads. Metal just sucks, so not an argument.

          Metal sucks for other reasons, but OpenGL sucks as well - it's not made for the modern videocard. OpenGL takes away a lot of management responsibilities, but then gives headaches to people who use it because OpenGL thinks its smarter. You tell OpenGL to load a texture because you are going to use it. OpenGL might, or might not, it

    • by fermion ( 181285 )
      When I would run Autodesk software in Bootcamp on my large PowerBook, it would burn the table the computer was on. It got that hot
  • It's power may even go over 9000.

  • Because they can't figure out how to make a decent cooling system. The current Intel MBPs are loud as hell when they get going, much worse than comparable machines from other manufacturers. They're so bad at cooling I wouldn't be surprised if this is no different.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @06:49AM (#61916927) Homepage Journal

      The Intel ones were notorious for hitting 99C almost instantly and going into thermal throttling mode. Will be interesting to see what these are like.

      A lot of people don't realize that CPU benchmarks are not that useful any more, because they are mostly thermally limited in many systems. That's particularly true of laptops and mobile devices like tablets and phones.

      Hopefully someone good like Gamers Nexus will do a review.

      • by fazig ( 2909523 )
        I wouldn't hold my breath. GN didn't even review the regular M1.

        They did some teardowns and thermal performance testing for gaming consoles. After all their target audience is mostly gaming enthusiasts, to whom channels like Linus Tech Tips offers too little technical detail.
        But since the Macs are not gaming machines, interest might be too low to do something more extensive on those.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Yeah, it's a shame because GN are the only ones who do really carefully controlled, scientifically valid tests.

          LTT will doubtless check that it doesn't thermal throttle so it's probably worth looking at their results.

          • by fazig ( 2909523 )
            They disclose their testing methods, and are open to criticism. That makes them trustworthy in my eyes.
            But for the usual LTT crowd, talking about methodology as much as GN does, is wasted time. Still, I do find LTT useful now and then, because they do stuff that nobody else does. And even knowing that they aren't as thorough as GN, it's better than nothing or some other stuff that is a lot more biased.

            Otherwise, from experience, reliable stuff can come from Actually Hardcore Overclocking (does some mobo
      • by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @07:14AM (#61916955) Journal

        The Intel ones were notorious for hitting 99C almost instantly and going into thermal throttling mode. Will be interesting to see what these are like.

        It's worse than you might expect. Not only did the CPU temperature spike and it got throttled and noisy, but there are also problems with the thunderbolt chip overheating, so the laptop is slower if you charge on the left. Also it can't drive 2 external 4K monitors reliably in warm weather.

        Also did I mention how incredibly loud the machine is?

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad. Apple just can't seem to design a decent laptop, I can't remember the last time one was actually good but it was certainly long ago.

          • At least this time round the keyboard is merely mediocre rather than actually adversarial.

            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Yeah, maybe... Let's give it a year, see how it holds up.

              • Did they change it again? The Intel 16" got rid of the stupid butterfly keyboard and went back to scissors, from what I've seen it's been ok so far.

                Apple hasn't been able to do a decent thermal design since the 2012 MBP. The last few Intel models have been garbage as far as thermals go. And that's mostly because of the thin fetish, you just can't do adequate cooling when your primary goal is 'make it thinner'.

        • The Intel ones were notorious for hitting 99C almost instantly and going into thermal throttling mode. Will be interesting to see what these are like.

          It's worse than you might expect. Not only did the CPU temperature spike and it got throttled and noisy, but there are also problems with the thunderbolt chip overheating, so the laptop is slower if you charge on the left. Also it can't drive 2 external 4K monitors reliably in warm weather.

          Also did I mention how incredibly loud the machine is?

          Again, Offtopic.

          All this bitching about how hot Intel Macs were, and not one single posting about what performance gains might be realized in this mode!

          Not. One.

    • by forty-2 ( 145915 )

      That's because they keep trying to make the damn things needlessly thinner. I'm on my... 4th, 5th? Macbook (going back to powerbooks) and the thickness was never a complaint. Hell, I'd take the chonk of an old G3 Wallstreet or Pismo if it gave me a good keyboard, decent battery life, a real GPU, didn't howl like a leaf blower, and freed me from the Dongle Lifestyle that Apple seems to keep pitching (I'm convinced that Apple is just transitioning to a dongle company).

      • That's because they keep trying to make the damn things needlessly thinner. I'm on my... 4th, 5th? Macbook (going back to powerbooks) and the thickness was never a complaint. Hell, I'd take the chonk of an old G3 Wallstreet or Pismo if it gave me a good keyboard, decent battery life, a real GPU, didn't howl like a leaf blower, and freed me from the Dongle Lifestyle that Apple seems to keep pitching (I'm convinced that Apple is just transitioning to a dongle company).

        Bullshit.

        That trend has reversed.

      • That's because they keep trying to make the damn things needlessly thinner. I'm on my... 4th, 5th? Macbook (going back to powerbooks) and the thickness was never a complaint. Hell, I'd take the chonk of an old G3 Wallstreet or Pismo if it gave me a good keyboard, decent battery life, a real GPU, didn't howl like a leaf blower, and freed me from the Dongle Lifestyle that Apple seems to keep pitching (I'm convinced that Apple is just transitioning to a dongle company).

        Offtopic.

        • Not offtopic at all. Thinner = harder to adequately cool.

          Apple is BAD at thermal management. Apple has a history of bad thermal management going back to the beginning with no fan on the Apple ][, which created the aftermarket System Saver combo fan/surge suppressor. The Apple /// had such bad thermal management that the chips unseated themselves, creating the infamous "pick it up and drop it" official Apple maintenance procedure. The 128K Mac cooked analog boards.

          It's not like Apple can't do adequate th

          • Not offtopic at all. Thinner = harder to adequately cool.

            Apple is BAD at thermal management. Apple has a history of bad thermal management going back to the beginning with no fan on the Apple ][, which created the aftermarket System Saver combo fan/surge suppressor. The Apple /// had such bad thermal management that the chips unseated themselves, creating the infamous "pick it up and drop it" official Apple maintenance procedure. The 128K Mac cooked analog boards.

            It's not like Apple can't do adequate thermal management, the G3/G4 tower was decent at it, the G5 and Mac Pro towers and XServes were great at it. But Apple's history of inadequate cooling on many systems goes way back and continues today.

            Nice revisionist history there.

            The Apple ][ had no fan because, unless you packed it full of cards chock full of TTL ICs, like the Mountain Hardware Music System, no fan was needed.

            On the Apple /// The "3 inch drop test" had nothing to do with thermal issues. Thermal changes don't unseat ICs. The reliability problems with the first two revisions of the Apple /// have do solely with the insane chip count of the boards, necessitating PCB trace densities (pitch) and widths that there were numerous intermitten

    • by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <hog.naj.tnecniv>> on Friday October 22, 2021 @09:25AM (#61917233) Homepage

      They're fine about designing cooling systems. The original cheese-grater Mac Pro and the new Mac Pro tower are quiet and effective. The iMac Pro was also, by all accounts, very effective while producing very little noise.

      The problem has only been the last few years while they were trying to make the laptops thinner while Intel was doing its level best to see how quickly they could make a chip boil water. We'll have to see how well this new laptop performs, but certainly they've done themselves a favour by reducing the power draw. Intel laptops of all stripes struggle to keep the system from throttling, no matter how loud and obnoxious the fans get. If you design a laptop around a little blast furnace, of course it's hard to make it work.

      Anyway, yeah. The last 5 years have been a nasty confluence of bad chips and misguided design. That doesn't mean they can't do it, it means that they painted themselves into another thermal corner in the interests of Jony Ive's minimalism.

      • Not quite. There's thinner, and there's outright stupid. One good design element of the MBP is the fact that the fan is no where near the heatsink itself meaning critical air pressure is lost causing a much louder experience for a comparable cooling effect.

        Their cooling design is literally stupid. We invented heatpipes to solve this problem and they flat out misused them. This isn't about thickness either. If anything it'll be about internal layout.

      • If you design a laptop around a little blast furnace, of course it's hard to make it work.

        Lenovo have managed just fine. The X1 s are neither thicker nor heavier than macs, but can run at full speed without throttling and are not nearly as loud.

        That doesn't mean they can't do it, it means that they painted themselves into another thermal corner in the interests of Jony Ive's minimalism.

        They really don't seem to want a vent in the side where there's space, they want it at the back where there isn't. I guess

    • To be fair, if a processor requires a massive cooling solution it's probably not well-suited to mobile use even if the machine isn't razor-thin.

      Also to be fair, yes, Apple does suck at cooling systems.

      • To be fair, if a processor requires a massive cooling solution it's probably not well-suited to mobile use even if the machine isn't razor-thin.

        True, but Lenovo can manage to make very thin, light laptops with comparable processors that don't attempt to reach orbit on a jet of super heated air.

        • To be fair, if a processor requires a massive cooling solution it's probably not well-suited to mobile use even if the machine isn't razor-thin.

          True, but Lenovo can manage to make very thin, light laptops with comparable processors that don't attempt to reach orbit on a jet of super heated air.

          Prove it.

          What workloads?

          What models?

          What CPUs, GPUs?

          • Prove it.

            Only if you ask nicely or in a vaguely civilized manner, rather than being a dick about it.

            • Prove it.

              Only if you ask nicely or in a vaguely civilized manner, rather than being a dick about it.

              Ok, sorry.

              Could you please detail the specifics of the test conditions and equipment used; so that we may all understand how you can back up your claims?

            • It's way less effort for you to just say "I can't".

              • Let me just blow some karma by asking what the fuck is wrong with you? What do you think you deserve by talking to people like they're your bottom bitch? Your internet bravery is tiresome.

                • What do you think you deserve by talking to people like they're your bottom bitch?

                  Their shitty attitude when called out for lying.

                  Your internet bravery is tiresome.

    • Because they can't figure out how to make a decent cooling system. The current Intel MBPs are loud as hell when they get going, much worse than comparable machines from other manufacturers. They're so bad at cooling I wouldn't be surprised if this is no different.

      I suspect the problem is not entirely on Apple considering my thin Dell laptop sounds like a small jet taking off. When I check to see which application is using so much CPU, Windows says it is idling. The problem I see is trying to make thin laptops with Intel chips that require more and more cooling with each generation as Intel had been stuck on 14nm for so long.

    • Because they can't figure out how to make a decent cooling system. The current Intel MBPs are loud as hell when they get going, much worse than comparable machines from other manufacturers. They're so bad at cooling I wouldn't be surprised if this is no different.

      WTF, over?

      Except as a reference for comparison (which was obviously not your goal), What in the fuck does Intel Mac cooling/performance have to do with an Article about a purely Apple Silicon based feature?!?

      Offtopic as hell.

      • What in the fuck does Intel Mac cooling/performance have to do with an Article about a purely Apple Silicon based feature?!?

        Well, high power mode means more heat and we know from the previous several generations of intel Macbooks that Apple can't design cooling systems for shit.

        Over and out.

        • What in the fuck does Intel Mac cooling/performance have to do with an Article about a purely Apple Silicon based feature?!?

          Well, high power mode means more heat and we know from the previous several generations of intel Macbooks that Apple can't design cooling systems for shit.

          Over and out.

          But we also have a year's worth of empirical data stating the exact opposite for Apple Silicon Macs. So to continually harp about an obsolete architecture is neither helpful nor particularly on-topic, except for comparison purposes (which you were not doing).

          Understand the difference?

          • But we also have a year's worth of empirical data stating the exact opposite for Apple Silicon Macs.

            No, we know that on chips with much much lower thermals, apple's shit thermal design doesn't seem to matter.

            • But we also have a year's worth of empirical data stating the exact opposite for Apple Silicon Macs.

              No, we know that on chips with much much lower thermals, apple's shit thermal design doesn't seem to matter.

              And so you readily admit you have absolutely nothing to back up your argument regarding the topic at hand: Namely the new MacBook Pros.

  • by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @08:57AM (#61917171)
    I need to make sure I can compile my mission-critical enterprise code and jerk off to TikTok at the same time.
  • by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 ) on Friday October 22, 2021 @11:26AM (#61917603) Journal

    Ahhh who can forget their 286 with "Turbo Mode" switch that doubled the CPU clock.

    Some programs, especially games, would break or run 2x the normal speed.

    Back in the day, event-driven programming wasn't a thing. Except on Macs.

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