Just got my new Mac Studio M1 Max with 32 graphics cores and 64GB memory all set up and tested World of Warcraft. Computer connected to the internet via gigabit ethernet.
Monitor is an LG 34GP950G-B 34 Inch Ultrawide QHD at 144Hz running full 3440 x 1440 resolution. Monitor is connected using thunderbolt 4 to DisplayPort cable. There is also a second 4k monitor attached via HDMI for Discord and misc info.
In WoW graphics settings are full screen and set to max 10 with only one change - Compute Effects set to Off.
Performance in a 25-man LFR Sepulcher of the First Ones Raid averaged between 90 and 110 frames per second consistently, even during heavy action. While this doesnāt max out the refresh capabilities of the LG monitor, the play was smooth and wonderful.
When in Oribos or other major city performance is smooth with higher frames per second.
Overall Iām very pleased with the Mac Studio. Perfect for my work, and enables me to play WoW with great performance. Highly recommended for those of you wondering how WoW does on the new Mac Studio.
Iām coming from a late 2018 i7 Mac mini with an eGPU. This is quite an upgrade from that.
Curious if you chose to go FSR for more performance or native for more clarity without the slight shimmer FSR introduces (FSR is just as sharp, it just comes with caveats since itās only 1.0 of the technology)
I left Resample Quality as āPointā and didnāt try āFSRā. Performance is wonderful without it. With 11 people in raid this week, averaged around 120 fps in most fights. The Mac Studio is great for WoW. Hopefully this performance will continue into the next expansion.
nvidia did it first, called it DLSS
Then AMD did it and called it FSR
Then intel did it and is calling it XeSS
Apple is also doing it in mac OS 13 and just calling it Metal AI upscaling or something
The short of it is. Monitor and tv resolutions go up faster than gpu technology, and since itās hard to render at 4k or 5k while also having highest fideltiy graphics and framerates, 4 different companies came up with 4 different solutions to use a much lower render target (1080p/1440p) and use AI to upscale it to 4/5k instead at a fraction of gpu processing power.
WoW currently only supports FSR (and the first 1.0 version at that) but itās better than nothing for getting better performance. Set render scale to 50% turn on FSR and you get native output thatās not as good but close enough good with much better performance.
As Iām currently considering an upgrade to a Mac Studio M1 Max, your post is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing.
I do have one question, if you donāt mind: In your 25-man raid, how much fan noise do you hear? Iām currently on a 2019 27 inch iMac and the performance isnāt bad, but the fans noise is noticeable from way across the room.
Both fans are on all the time (idle or gaming) on 1200-1300rpm and they never go higher (at least I never experienced it). You can hear them in a silent room but it is not bothering me. It is about 25db and the Studio is on my desk next to the monitor.
Iād be curious about temps. My M1Max Macbook Pro would keep fans low even when cpu is over 90C, and the cpu would hit 100C and throttle before fans even kicked up. I ended up building a custom fan curve to fix that because thatās just bad design for product performance or longevity.
Just did a dungeon and temps are in the 48-55 range.
You could just set the fans to 800 rpm and it would be fine also and almost no fan noise, but I am fine with it. Was more hoping when I bought the studio for a āBoostā mode for more performance but unfortunately, the modes are the same as on the MacBook.
I think 90/100c is fine these days, pretty sure Apple wonāt risk any lawsuits regarding that but yeah time will tell
Really curious to those M2 Maxes coming out in Q1 and hoping that will be on 3NM and that will be huge boost as M2 on the slightly better 5NM+ will even get hotter.
Those temps are āwithin specā for most parts, but not good long term. The longer you sit at the heat thresholds the shorter the time needed for electronmigration to become a factor in degredation (yes, this is still a thing and why good cooling is required along with properly tuned voltages). Additionally, capacitors, while rated to withstand up to X degrees Celsius, wear out far faster at or near those thresholds. Heat is the #1 enemy of electronic components.
Fun Fact: the higher the temperature, the lower the maximum āsafeā voltage. Itās part of how thermodynamics works in computers. You canāt change the voltage ranges for Appleās CPUs like you can for unlocked Intel and AMD CPUs, so the best course of action is to set a fan curve profile that reduces heat accumulation as much as possible so your (stil overpriced for what you get) investment lasts you as long as possible. Left at the default fan curves, these truly are throwaway machines.
Sure that is true, but the packages have been improved over the years. And what is a expected lifespan? I am pretty sure with 100 degrees you will reach more then 10 years and longer. Power supplies, fans and perhaps even SSDās will not last that long.
But yes if you can prevent the high temps with a lower voltage if possible that is a good idea.
Itās nVidia, AMD and Intel in their latest highest range of cards and cpuās where they go crazy with voltages for a marginal win in performance.
But we have to see in the coming years if it actually breaks stuff.
So based on what you said, if lets say youāre building a modest PC gaming rig for primarily WoW (So no crazy $1k+ vide card) youād suggest going with a Radeon?
regardless of what tia said, my macbook pro will literaly throttle and TANK performance if I donāt use a custom fan curve. an area i can get 120fps with my fan curve, gives 37fps without it because the M1 max runs so hot it literally thermal throttles.
New M2 machines even worse. they throttle really hard and donāt have ability to crank up fans, users are taking them apart, upgrading thermal pads and getting like 33% better performance. itās crazy how apple makes SUCH good silicon, and still is obsessed with handycapping their true potential with bad fan curves and case design.
at least mine though with custom curve can stay at peak performance with no throttling but fans do get up to 6600rpm to do so (and cpu still runs about 90C in this situation). Still love my machine though. Iāve actually capped fps at 60 recently to reduce fan noise and heat a bit. Iāll probably leave 120fps ultra settings for next mac.
I REALLY hope mac pro is in a better boat. Iām still curious how studio performs when not thermally constrained cause I promise if you are using built in fan curve, it is.
I wasnāt contradicting you, just pointing out why staying at those high thresholds is inherently a terribad thing. Obviously throttling is the up front cost of Appleās ludicrous design on the M2 series and even the higher end M1 series. The point still stands: Unless you are able to do what youāve done, which is increase airflow to compensate for how ridiculously overvolted these SoCs are, you get not only poor performance, but poor lifespan to boot.
Iāve been playing on a Studio Max Pro without any custom fan setup. All settings cranked up to max except for Compute effects which are Good. If itās been throttling it hasnāt been enough for me to notice, I still get pretty high frame rates in most areas. Taking into account what Tiapriestess said about system longevity I might play around with making the fans ramp up faster but Iād be surprised if it made much difference in game performance.
I should note Iām only playing at 1440, not 4K, that probably helps.
I donāt think voltage is cranked up. these are very energy efficient. Itās just that by design apple fixates on thinner, narrower encasing and quieter or no fan design. Even a decent chip will run too hot in these conditions. Heat spreaders are almost non existent. I donāt now what tear down of my m1 max looks like but m2 had literally a peace of tinfoil basically to cool the fanless cpu. just putting a cheap thermal pad in there massively boosted cooling efficiency.
Hence my note in my first post regarding voltage vs. heat. These SoCs are insanely efficient, if cooled properly. With the current cooling, their relative voltage is too high. Of course even the most efficient chip on earth is going to throttle with Reynoldās Wrap for a heatsink.
I play on 4k and just default fan curve and it doesnāt get hot period. If it is throttling I am not seeing that, I know from reviews the Studio is unfortunately not optimised to actually benefit from the lower temps and is exactly using the same schedule as the Macbooks.
Same with the Mac Mini M1 I had previously, never heard the fan and it never got hot.
The MacBook Pro need something like vapor chamber cooling, but just a bit of copper and better cooling materials would make a lot of difference.
