M3Ultra Studio vs M1Max Davinci Resolve Voice Training Speed = Little Difference

[smithdr]

Hi All:

I thought that I would start a thread for those considering an M3 Ultra Studio to perform AI Voice Training in Davinci Resolve Studio. I have both an M1 Max MBP 16 10 Core CPU / 32 Core GPU / 64 GB RAM and an M3 Ultra Studio 32 Core CPU/60 Core GPU/256 GB RAM. I performed Davinci Resolve Voice Training a on 32 Bit / 48,000 Hz / 5 minute wave file using the Better Option. I used iStat Menu to determine what resources were being used.

In general, the M3 Ultra is 80 - 90% faster than the M1 Max on tasks such as encoding video for production and face tracking using the face refinement application. However, the Voice Model Training M3 Ultra shows little performance gains over the M1 Max. Here are the results:

The M3 Ultra shows CPU utilization to be about 85% with all 28 cores performing some task. The GPU also shows about 86% utilization. There is no way using iStat Menus to determine how many cores are being utilized. Voice training was completed in 1 hr 5 minutes.

The M1Max shows 65% CPU with all cores being utilized and about 55% GPU utilization. The M1Max completed voice training in 1 hr 12 minutes.

I am really surprised by this result and double checked my work to make sure I did not make an error. The M3 Ultra showing far higher core utilization with it’s more cores while the M1 Max shows lower utilization with lower cores only results in a 11% improvement in training speed for the M3 Ultra.

I post this for commentary and to help others considering purchase of an M3 Ultra for use with AI Voice Training in Davinci Resolve.

Don

 

[haralds]

I will be sticking with my at the time pricy M1 Ultra Studio for a few years to come. It's a workhorse!

 

[smithdr]

I will be sticking with my at the time pricy M1 Ultra Studio for a few years to come. It's a workhorse!

If you already have an M1 Ultra that is a good solution. I was working on an M1 Max MBP16 and wanted an upgrade. I tried an M4 Max MBP16 and while faster, I found the machine got too hot and was chewing up batteries. So I thought why not get an M3 Ultra, access it from the M1 MBP16 using high performance screen sharing as I prefer working on laptops in my recliner vs being hunched over at a desk--best of both worlds. Generally, this experiment is a success and much faster at the things I repetitively do. But, I am still disappointed and surprised by the M3 Ultra’s Voice Training performance compared to the M1 Max MBP16.