Budget 90k+ Performance limited by the Apple M1 — more cores, faster cores, or back to x86?

A few quick questions — I seem to be hitting the performance limits of the Apple M1 in my mac mini a lot more often these days and I'm considering something faster/better.

Has anyone else managed to max out their Apple silicon based computer? Do you live with it or upgrade?

Do I get more cores with the M1/M2 that are maybe 10% faster in single thread performance?

Or do I stay with the same or a little more number of cores with M3 that is about 25% faster?

Or do I set up a separate x86 linux compute box for the more cpu intensive tasks I have?

x86 would have to be Ryzen 7000/Intel 13th or better because the 5900X was slower.

I don't know if it's impressive or horrific but this is what a few hours of my days is like:



(encoding/optimizing videos/photos)

---

1. What is your budget?
   • Around 100K to 150K, the lower the better, have too many emi's already
2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
   • M1 mac mini
3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
   • Everything
4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
   • Another Apple computer (desktop or laptop) or CPU + Motherboard + Memory
5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
   • Not looking to upgrade anything after this purchase for at least 2 years
6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
   • Amazon India
7. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
   • Editing Photos/Videos
8. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
   • None
9. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
   • None
10. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Not relevant
11. Are you looking to overclock?
    • Absolutely not
12. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • macOS or Debian

nitin_g3 said:

In case you want to just upgrade your Mac mini, there are rumours of new mac mini with M4 and minimum 16 gb ram which is rumored to launch within this month itself.

Click to expand...

That sounds promising, I think I'll wait until then.

Psycho_McCrazy said:

Looks like Apple ecosystem is limited by the number of cores. (At least at the relevant price points)

Click to expand...

I really would want something with the M3 (or better) because the single-threaded performance of anything else just doesn't seem any better and a lot of my image optimizing scripts rely heavily on single-threaded performance. Also, it's not a fun club to be in (cost conscious apple user).

Psycho_McCrazy said:

If well multi threaded, a 16 core 7950X running at 150W PPT would wipe the floor, with potential used deals on HW too!!

Click to expand...

Ha, yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with how affordable (what?!) the 16 core processors were — when compared to this upgraded mac mini. A 9950X, board, and memory should fit in whatever credit limit I have left.

jayanttyagi said:

You should be using gpu for video encoding ? Utilise NVENC? Or maybe intel gfx card no?

Click to expand...

Ideally, yes, but with videos I'm generating captions and translating them (so it's more like audio work).

Where were you five years ago? Ha, thanks for the reminder. This animated infographic haunts me: