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Does M4 Max have UltraFusion?
- Thread starter MrGimper
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TBH considering the industry reaction the M3 Max not having it, I’d have thought it would have been something high on the list to check.
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I'm wondering why we haven't seen a die shot yet... I really wish Apple would release all their computers at once. Even if there is a delay but I'm guessing they are going to release a 120hz Pro Display next year or 120hz studio display.
With the M1 and M2, the "Pro", "Max" and "Ultra" were all based on the same basic design - with half the GPU "chopped off" the Max die for the Pro and 2 Max dies ultra-fused together for the Ultra.
From M3, the Max and Pro seem to be quite different dies, with different CPU core configurations, so maybe the "Ultra" or whatever replaces it will have its own die(s) this time. Maybe they'll take a leaf out of NVIDIAs book and do something like Grace/Hopper and have one big multi-core CPU and one big GPU connected by ultrafusion rather than "just" gluing two laptop chips together.
Yes entirely feasible of course. It's just that I don't think any of that was considered at the time for the M3 and therefore it was promoted as a stop-gap or "flawed" chip
Nah, I just think the delays in getting the M3's 3nm process going let the M4 "catch up" with it a bit. The M3 let Apple claim the "first to 3nm" crown before Intel/AMD got there - and they still got a year of sales out of it in what is probably their biggest-earning Mac range: the MacBook Pro.
The Studio Ultra and Mac Pro don't sell in anything like the quantity of the MBP, and I somehow doubt that so many customers are inclined to replace their $4000-$10,000 systems after only 12 months - Apple tend to upgrade them less frequently anyway (Drastically so for the Mac Pro!). Plus, the M1/M2 Ultra both came about 6 months after the Max versions - so the M3 Ultra wasn't really expected until ~ last March - I don't think it would have gone down well when the M4 series had been announced a couple of months later.
It's a pity they couldn't have done a M4 Max Studio without it having to wait (presumably) for the Ultra or its replacement, though. The Max got a big boost with the M3 and another boost with M4, so a M4 Max Studio would be a (relatively affordable) beast...
Is there any information if the M4 Ultra is now a monolithic or an ultrafusion design?
As i understood correctly the M4Max lacks the ultrafusionprovisions, so a "simple" stitching shouldn't work, except they use a different design M4Max as a basis.
All the the Youtube Apple-influencers seem to roll and roll the story of an ultrafusion M4 Ultra BECAUSE it has been so in the past (where the Max chips had the ultrafusion provisions)
Are there any M4Max Die shots? Proofing that the M4 Ultra can be done by stiching 2 M4 Max like in the past wit M1 and M2.
As i understood correctly the M4Max lacks the ultrafusionprovisions, so a "simple" stitching shouldn't work, except they use a different design M4Max as a basis.
All the the Youtube Apple-influencers seem to roll and roll the story of an ultrafusion M4 Ultra BECAUSE it has been so in the past (where the Max chips had the ultrafusion provisions)
Are there any M4Max Die shots? Proofing that the M4 Ultra can be done by stiching 2 M4 Max like in the past wit M1 and M2.
Is there any information that there will even *be* a M4 Ultra?
Sounds like the M5 is already in the pipeline.
The M3 dropped the idea of the Pro and Max being based on the same die. The “Max” is now a lot more than just a Pro with more GPU and RAM.
There are rumours of Apple working on a new server-class/AI development chip, which would potentially be the core of a redesigned Mac Pro. The current Mac Pro primarily uses ultrafusion to get more RAM busses and some PCIe lanes - doubling up *everything* to do this doesn’t sound very efficient…
Looks like the idea of a 4xMax “Extreme” chip hasn’t worked out.
Seems like everyone is just assuming that “of course Apple will make a M4 Ultra”.
Looking at Apple's internal code names: https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Codenames
- M1 Max is called "Jade 1C"; M1 Pro is "Jade Chop" ; M1 Ultra is "Jade 2C"
- M2 Max is "Rhodes 1C"; M2 Pro is "Rhodes Chop"; M2 Ultra is "Rhodes 2C"
- M3 Max is "Palma"; M3 Pro is "Lobos"
- M4 Max is "Brava"; M4 Pro is "Brava Chop"
So M4 generation is more similar to M1 and M2, in the sense that the Pro is a "chop" of the Max. It is possible that M4 Ultra is simply a "Brava 2C", just like M1 Ultra or M2 Ultra.