Monstrous Apple M1 Ultra packs two powerhouses into one

You would say that a few percent are enough, but Apple is going for two solid powerhouses in one with the M1 Ultra.

apple continues a trend with in-house processors during the recent event just to announce the latest version of the M1-SoC. When it comes to computers, it’s not necessarily a given that more is always better. But in the case of the M1, that is certainly the case. For the M1 Ultra, Apple almost literally sticks two M1 Max chips together. That produces an unprecedented end result.

Apple M1 Ultra: powerhouse

Apple uses its own technology for the brand new SoC that it calls UltraFusion. It is not simply possible to throw two of the same processors or GPUs on the same printed circuit board. Usually an intermediate step can be used. A motherboard ensures that the processors join forces. However, this has an impact on performance.

That’s why Apple came up with its own way of making the parts designed to perform individually work together. That results in a chipset with 114 billion transistors, a 20-core CPU and a 64-cuda-core GPU, all on one chip.

All of that, Apple claims, adds up to 90% performance over comparable 16-core CPUs of the same wattage. Don’t forget that Apple charges 4 extra cores. The GPU would also consume up to 200W less than a comparable video card.

Expensive high-tech

But Apple wouldn’t be Apple if the above compound were affordable. The chipset can be seen from March 21 in a new Mac Studio, a kind of iMac screen with a built-in PC. The cheapest version costs more than €2300, while the Mac Studio with onions, mayo and curry sells for the absurd amount of €9229.