How Apple aims to set a new energy record

After the iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, the next computer on Apple’s list to upgrade to Apple Silicon is expected to be the Mac Pro. The most powerful computer already has a lot.

Credit: iFixit/Apple

After the test MacBook Pro and its M1 Max chipWe’re inevitably impatient to see how far Apple can push its new architecture by replacing Intel bit by bit in all of its configurations. The next device on the work surface should be the Mac Pro, the marketed stationary computer An apple From 6500 euros and the most powerful computer in the catalog. Will Apple really be able to compete with Intel on a machine where heat dissipation is no longer an issue and where the competition can perform at its best?

According to The Information, the next Mac Pro will actually be eligible for a different version of the M1 Max chip we know today.

Huge M1 Max processor

So Apple hasn’t designed a new architecture for its hard PC, but it will continue to use the M1 architecture already in use on almost the entire family of computers. As with the M1 Pro, and then the M1 Max, Apple will simply increase the number of cores on its chips, to increase its performance in optimized applications.

The new Mac Pro will have the right to two configurations:

• Mac Pro M1 Max 1: 20-core CPU (16 high-performance cores and 4 low-power cores)
• Mac Pro M1 Max 2: 40-core CPU (32 high-performance cores and 8 low-power cores)

Remember, the M1 Max chip in Macbook Pro is equipped with a 10-core CPU (8 high-performance cores and 2 low-consumption cores). We understand here that Apple seems to “simply” combine 2 or 3 chips Apple M1 Max, by increasing the number of nuclei in a linear manner. The workstationsThe category of computers to which the Mac Pro belongs, are the usual motherboards with multiple sockets and several associated processors. Here Apple will take this concept with its similar architecture.

It remains to be seen how the technology integration will be implemented. Using multiple processors on one device is no easy feat, especially with Apple’s high-speed unified memory system. The processors should already work in perfect harmony, without creating a delay in the transfer of tasks from one processor to another.

The other hypothesis is that Apple instead resorts to developing a single giant and monolithic chip, integrating such a large number of cores. We can then ask the question of chip size when the M1 Max chip already has 57 billion transistors and is already considered a giant chip. It is difficult to imagine a segment larger than 2-4 times.

We’ll have to wait to learn more about this new machine to better understand Apple’s achievements. We imagine this new Mac should be unveiled during 2022 to complete Apple’s catalog revamp toward Apple’s Silicon architecture, and permanently discontinue Intel hardware.