New Studio owner, my impressions - Wow

[JSRinUK]

The thing that I don't like about the vast majority is that they just provide more filtration along the holes of the Macs; so it's better filtration but not necessarily better airflow as the filter decreases airflow. There is a filter by IFCASE for $20 that is interesting because the filter area is a lot larger than the ring so it can pull in more air. I would prefer that it was a little taller but it is definitely taller than stock. The IFCASE solutions has replaceable filters so you can either vacuum them to clean them or replace them.

I like the idea of replaceable filters. I should look into that case.

I have a 170 CFM variable speed AC-powered fan which I used to use with my 2015 MacBook Pro 15 to keep cool and I think that I'm going to put the Studio on top of it and run it. It should provide better airflow from positive pressure and I'm curious if it lowers thermals.

Certainly when running LLMs on my MacBook on my lap, when the temps go over 100C, aiming my desk fan at it helped cool it down. Without the desk fan, it became too hot for my legs. With the desk fan, it became tolerable. So, perhaps using a filter system like this plus aiming a powerful desk fan at the Studio for times of LLM work might be a good process to look into.

I’m liking that option because we get both the filter from the stand, plus reduce the need for the Studio to do all of the cooling on its own when we stress it out. I’ll look into that.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I don't think that will be all that beneficial. The Spiegan stand does that, but also with a the mesh filter prevent dust from infiltrating the Mac. I like that idea, but at least in my situation the Spiegan does offers more protection

Well I’ll probably stick with the solution I have for now. Just need to order the Studio to go with!

 

[maflynn]

Apple would have included something like this in the Studio itself.

There's no dust filters in the Studio (or Mini for that matter). The tear down videos show that. In order to have a dust filter you need a mechinism to clean it out, and as we all know the Macs are generally sealed.

I've used PCs w/o dust filters and ones with. One thign is clear that dust will get inside the computer no matter how clean your room may be. The computers that had a dust filter, I needed to clean that mesh every so often, otherwise temps would start creaping up since air flow was impacted. Those that didn't had a nice coating of dust on the fan fins (and other places).

My thought was for 50 bucks, if I can save myself from opening up my 2,000+ computer, then that's money well spent

 

[JSRinUK]

There's no dust filters in the Studio (or Mini for that matter). The tear down videos show that. In order to have a dust filter you need a mechinism to clean it out, and as we all know the Macs are generally sealed.

I've used PCs w/o dust filters and ones with. One thign is clear that dust will get inside the computer no matter how clean your room may be. The computers that had a dust filter, I needed to clean that mesh every so often, otherwise temps would start creaping up since air flow was impacted. Those that didn't had a nice coating of dust on the fan fins (and other places).

My thought was for 50 bucks, if I can save myself from opening up my 2,000+ computer, then that's money well spent

Yeah, makes sense.

With the LLM training I’m starting to do, I can foresee a time when my Studio is running 24/7 for extended periods. My priority, therefore, is to ensure that any filter system doesn’t lead to increased temperature.

Considering the fan (previous post) in addition to a dust filter, might be something I’ll look into.

 

[pshufd]

Yeah, makes sense.

With the LLM training I’m starting to do, I can foresee a time when my Studio is running 24/7 for extended periods. My priority, therefore, is to ensure that any filter system doesn’t lead to increased temperature.

Considering the fan (previous post) in addition to a dust filter, might be something I’ll look into.

I'm curious to see what you come up with. I have the mesh bottom filter/stand in my cart and will order it when I accumulate a few more things. I could see putting the stand on another homemade stand with a fan in it.

 

[JSRinUK]

I'm curious to see what you come up with. I have the mesh bottom filter/stand in my cart and will order it when I accumulate a few more things. I could see putting the stand on another homemade stand with a fan in it.

I’ve bought a number of things recently, so I need to reserve my spending for a little bit. I’m leaning towards the Spigen expensive stand right now, but I have time to look at the options.

For the fan, I recently bought a fairly large desk fan that has a 20,000mAh battery. I don’t know what the CFM is but it has a couple of different speeds. That might be useful for this.

 

[pshufd]

I did some power testing between my M1 Max Studio and iMac Pro and came up with:

Off/Sleep/Power

iMac Pro 0.42/7.6/118
M1 Max Studio 1.2/3.32/10.8

The Dell U2718Q normally uses 30 watts so 40.8 vs 118 watts is a decent difference in power consumption. The iMac Pro will go up to 200-250 watts when starting up programs too. That's about $50/year which is nothing-burger but it will be a consideration late this year when I rethink my setup.

 

[Surrat]

For everybody with a Mac Studio, who wants to keep the dust out of it, get one of these:
It exactly fits the Studio, and solves the problem. Once a year take it out and tap it on the ground to shake the dust out of it.

 

[maflynn]

The iMac Pro will go up to 200-250 watts when starting up programs too

I'd need to measure it, but I think my desktop PC does about double that and I had kept that on 24x7. I think I'll be seeing a measurable difference in my electric bill with the studio, though in the summer with air conditioners running that savings is being lost due to the power usage of those air conditioners.

 

[Ifti]

Have had my studio around 6 months or so I guess, and lifted it off the Spigen stand for the first time yesterday.
Studio was completely clean - no dust buildup at all.
Saying that, the Spigen mesh filter was also very clean - it seems being up off of the desk has had a positive impact after all. I can see some dust on the desk itself, so it's not like Im in a dust free lab, but pretty happy with the condition of the spigen filter and studio itself.

 

[kagharaht]

I'd need to measure it, but I think my desktop PC does about double that and I had kept that on 24x7. I think I'll be seeing a measurable difference in my electric bill with the studio, though in the summer with air conditioners running that savings is being lost due to the power usage of those air conditioners.

I don't know if you have used something like Topaz Video to upscale Video to HD or 4K... wondering how it would perform with that software compared to PC with Nvidia cards.

 

[pshufd]

I'd need to measure it, but I think my desktop PC does about double that and I had kept that on 24x7. I think I'll be seeing a measurable difference in my electric bill with the studio, though in the summer with air conditioners running that savings is being lost due to the power usage of those air conditioners.

Our electric utilities are raising rates in a few days and I heard that MA has already done so. It's pretty hard to keep up with rising electricity and NG rates.

 

[JSRinUK]

I'd need to measure it, but I think my desktop PC does about double that and I had kept that on 24x7. I think I'll be seeing a measurable difference in my electric bill with the studio, though in the summer with air conditioners running that savings is being lost due to the power usage of those air conditioners.

I just plugged my home office desk (with Studio and monitors) to a smart plug so I can monitor the energy usage as I expect it’ll go high when I run my LLM fine-tuning training. I suspect it might go high for sustained runs, but I’ll monitor it.

For regular use, the biggest draw is my 50” TV I got to use as a screen. To counter that, I got a 16” USB monitor for the studio so that, when it’s doing the training, I don’t need either of the larger screens on.