Re:Apple reportedly working on a 32-core processor for high-...
by neogodless on Monday December 07, 2020 @09:22AM
(#25332336)
The article discusses GPUs in addition to the CPUs.
For example:
> While the current M1 chip comes with either seven or eight GPU cores, Apple is currently testing models with 16 and 32-cores, and is working on chips with as many as 128 for late 2021 or 2022.
I do believe that developer support will be crucial for "serious" gamers, though.
Re:Apple reportedly working on a 32-core processor for high-...
by sandworm101 on Monday December 07, 2020 @09:28AM
(#25332379)
Apple's issues re gaming are more cultural than hardware-based. The walls of the garden are particularly high when it comes to games, game development/mods, and subscription gaming. The fastest CPUs in the world won't change that.
"In addition to advertising Apple Arcade within iOS settings (see picture above), Apple is actively fighting against companies like Epic Games who are seeking permission to offer their own game stores on iOS. Apple is also restricting companies like Microsoft from offering game subscription/streaming services on iOS."
https://hardware.substack.com/p/falling-out-of-love-with-app...
Is apple going after gamers? A good gaming core is different than a good general purpose cpu. And apple has many more fundamental problems re gaming than a lack of horsepower.
If apple going after server market? I don't think so. Apple products may be efficient but they simply cost too much and I don't see the apple premium going away. A cpu with a mix of cores is also not as directly scalable.
I think apple is still going after that "core" apple user, the one that appears in all the commercials. They work at a graphics design office in the village. They have a phone/tablet for email and a desktop PC for serious photoshop work. That's the target market: The desktop PC that needs to on occasion push through a few minutes of photoshop rendering, not gamers or others who will run these CPUs at full throttle for hours. The cpu needs to be power-efficient (ie quiet) 95% of the time, but remain able to ramp up on occasion to complete a task. Rather than solid power it has a mix of cores to address whatever is thrown at it as elegantly/quietly as possible.