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M2 Ultra, my only regret

jpefjr

jpefjr

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 8, 2008
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I just got my Mac Studio M2 Ultra yesterday, 24/60 128GB 2TB. My only regret is that there isn't an option for more CPU cores. :)

This was from processing my astrophotos, and the CPU usage was like this for about 3 hours. Granted, it's a very intensive process involving a lot of math to integrate 1270 photos (~50 MB each). And also the app doing the processing is running under Rosetta. Still, I'm happy with the performance. My 2019 12 core Xeon Mac Pro would have taken close to twice as long. I'm hoping that when the developers finally do release an Apple Silicon version of the software I'll get another noticeable speed increase.

What have y'all seen as far as CPU performance increases going from Rosetta to Apple Silicon apps? I've seen reports from about 10% increase to 25% increase but I don't know how much of that involves CPU tasks vs. a combination of CPU and GPU? The application I'm using doesn't take advantage of GPUs at all.

MicrosoftTeams-image (10).png
 
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FYI - there are a few Apple Silicon optimized softwares that can be used for stacking, and depending on your workflow, some that can be used for for the preprocessing. What are you using today?
 
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Feek said:
It's really nice to see one being thrashed like that.

Great picture, I hope you enjoy using your Studio.
Click to expand...

And unlike a PC, it just sat there on my desk quietly doing its job. It didn't sound like there was a hurricane raging within the Studio. :)

Killerbob said:
FYI - there are a few Apple Silicon optimized softwares that can be used for stacking, and depending on your workflow, some that can be used for for the preprocessing. What are you using today?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm aware that both Siril and APP have native Apple silicon versions and both are MUCH faster in calibrating/integrating the subs. I use PixInsight. And specifically WPBB for stacking. I've compared the results to Siril and I like PI's WBPP results just a teeny bit better. I don't have APP but have thought about signing up for a free trial just to see the results of the stacking. I can always take the stacked results and process in PI.
 
just curious, have you tried the astro stacking using the native version of affinity photo 2?
 
kirkster501 said:
Would be great to get Apple Silicon support for PI. Not sure when it will happen though.
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I agree. I'm not expecting the Apple Silicon version anytime soon. But I do expect it will eventually come out. I don't expect Juan would have made the comments he has about the PI development team working on it and the progress they've made unless they had plans to eventually release it.
 
jpefjr said:
And unlike a PC, it just sat there on my desk quietly doing its job. It didn't sound like there was a hurricane raging within the Studio. :)



Yeah, I'm aware that both Siril and APP have native Apple silicon versions and both are MUCH faster in calibrating/integrating the subs. I use PixInsight. And specifically WPBB for stacking. I've compared the results to Siril and I like PI's WBPP results just a teeny bit better. I don't have APP but have thought about signing up for a free trial just to see the results of the stacking. I can always take the stacked results and process in PI.
Click to expand...
that depends on your cooler, my gaming pc is as silent as it gets, if there isn't a power button light i don't even notice its on 😂
 
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jpefjr said:
What have y'all seen as far as CPU performance increases going from Rosetta to Apple Silicon apps?
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Rosetta is a translation engine. It only runs once, when it translates your app's Intel code to ARM code. Then your app runs natively, the only difference being that the Rosetta code might not be as optimized as if the source compiler were used. Therefore, I don't think you'll see a great improvement. I like your 10% estimate.
 
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jpefjr said:
I don't have enough color data yet - I shoot with individual red, green, blue, and luminance (UV/IR cut) filters on a mono camera. But here's the result of my luminance:

Full rez L NGC 6914
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Wow that's wild. Crazy amount of detail you've been able to capture there. Does not look like something one person would be able to produce at home. Awesome work.

Would love to see it in color if and when you get to that point!
 
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What did you use before Ultra? How does it compare? Are you keeping or returning the Ultra. Can’t wait to see the end result photo.
 
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I always try to take longer subs, so I don't have many of them to stack. So I can still live with my iMac Pro. That being said, I can feel it's an old machine when I calibrate and stack 100 MP images from large sensors. So at some point in the near future, I will upgrade to an Ultra, probably when the M3 Ultra is out.

Now people seem to do calibration, registration, and stacking all at once in WBPP, and many complain that WBPP is slow (compared to other programs). I never have such feelings. I only do calibration in WBPP, and I register and stack separately in star alignment and image integration. This probably makes me feel the steps less slow.

Anyway, glad to see an astrophotographer here. Nice image!
 
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TechnoMonk said:
What did you use before Ultra? How does it compare? Are you keeping or returning the Ultra. Can’t wait to see the end result photo.
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I used a 12 core 2019 Mac Pro. The Ultra is 1 1/2 to 2 times faster. I'm keeping the Ultra! If I ever get a break from the nighttime clouds and bad seeing and transparency I'll get more subs and post the result. I figure I'm going to need at least two more nights of RGB. 3 would be better.

whwang said:
I always try to take longer subs, so I don't have many of them to stack. So I can still live with my iMac Pro. That being said, I can feel it's an old machine when I calibrate and stack 100 MP images from large sensors. So at some point in the near future, I will upgrade to an Ultra, probably when the M3 Ultra is out.

Now people seem to do calibration, registration, and stacking all at once in WBPP, and many complain that WBPP is slow (compared to other programs). I never have such feelings. I only do calibration in WBPP, and I register and stack separately in star alignment and image integration. This probably makes me feel the steps less slow.

Anyway, glad to see an astrophotographer here. Nice image!
Click to expand...
Sub length is always a compromise. It's nice to have fewer longer subs so stacking doesn't take as long, but even with my IMX571 sensor I try and avoid blowing out too many pixels. And yeah, I let WBPP do its whole calibration, registration, local normalization, and integration process. I used to do those steps manually, but now I let WBPP do 'em all.
 
jpefjr said:
And unlike a PC, it just sat there on my desk quietly doing its job. It didn't sound like there was a hurricane raging within the Studio. :)
Click to expand...

How quiet is "quietly". Can you hear a fan ? Is there other noise going on ?
 
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The Mac Studios (M1 or M2) are VERY quiet machines. Even under pressure, with the fans spinning up to 2000rpm, my Mac Studio M1 Max is much quieter than my 2019 Mac Pro performing similar tasks - and my Mac Studio sits on the desk and the Mac Pro under my desk.

I do not have an M1/M2 Mac Mini to compare to, but unless you are unlucky enough to have one of the Mac Studios with the whining noise, the Mac Studio is amongst the quietest of Macs. And I do feel I have to right to compare, I have owned many Macs since 2008; MacPro3.1, MacPro6.1, MacPro7.1, iMac17.1, iMacPro1.1, Macmini6.2, Macmini8.1, and Mac13.1... Plus a number of MacBook and MacBook Pros.
 
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