Apple ’s transition to its own Mac atomic number 14 has brought up a slew of questions , and now it seems like the future of the company ’s third - party graphics card support in Macs is up for argument .
fit in toApple Insider , the company made it light during a WWDC 2020 developer session — and in adeveloper support document — that itshome - brew CPUswill support its own GPUs , too . The company already uses its own GPUs in its other gadget with ARM - found processors , like iPads and iPhones . If Apple is parting ways with Intel , who ’s to say they wo n’t also with AMD , who makes the GPUs that power the Mac ? There ’s no indication one path or another , and Apple is staying soundless on the matter , so all that ’s left to do is speculate .
“ Apple Silicon Mac contains an Apple - designed GPU , whereas Intel - base Macs contain GPUs from Intel , AMD and Nvidia , ” Gokhan Avkarogullari , Apple ’s director of GPU software system , said during the WWDC school term .
Apple CEO Tim Cook on-stage at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.Photo: Brittany Hosea-Small/AFP (Getty Images)
It ’s not surprising that that ’s the case . Apple confirm during its WWDC keynote that the company is work its long - rumored move away from Intel processors to its own system of rules - on - chip ( SoC ) with Apple Silicon , which includes a move to its own integrate GPUs . What ’s indecipherable is what that means for future discrete GPU support . Apple officially stopped supporting Nvidia GPUs when it unloosen macOS Mojave in 2018 , but has retain to offer a range of Macs with AMD art .
In the nigh hereafter , AMD discrete GPUs are n’t get going anywhere . Applerecently addeda new GPU configuration option to its Mac Pro desktop tug , AMD ’s Radeon Pro 5500X , and the caller allege during WWDC that it would be discharge young Intel shape as well . But one of the matter the company pointed out during itsdeveloper sessionis the divergence between Apple GPUs and third - party GPUs . Apple GPU computer architecture is a tile - based bow renderer ( TBDR ) , and Intel , Nvidia , and AMD are straightaway mode renderer GPUs ( IMR ) .
TBDR bewitch the entire scenery before it starts to render it , split it up into multiple small region , or tiles , that get processed separately , so it processes information pretty fast and does n’t require a lot of memory bandwidth . From there , the architecture wo n’t actually supply the scene until it winnow out any and all occluded pixels .
Screenshot: Apple
On the other hand , IMR does affair the diametric way , rendering the entire setting before it adjudicate what pixels need to be throw out . As you probably guessed , this method is inefficient , yet it ’s how modern distinct GPUs operate , and they ask a tidy sum of bandwidth to do so .
For Apple Silicon ARM architecture , TBDR is a much good match because its focus is on speed and depleted power consumption — not to mention the GPU is on the same chip as the CPU , hence the term SoC. This is credibly why Apple write , “ Do n’t assume a discrete GPU means better performance , ” in its developer support document . It ’s all that dang bandwidth it does n’t need .
It could also be a reason why that the Shadow of the Tomb Raider demo ( running on Rosetta 2 ) Apple bear witness off during its tonic looked so good . I ’m no plot graphic designer , but if Apple if helping developer port their games to not only its ARM architecture , but its GPU architecture , it just might mature some more dentition in the gaming sphere . And if that happens , Macs might really become militant gaming simple machine once you start up to liken benchmarks .
I ’d still be extremely skeptical of the cost of Apple ’s future machines , though , specially since you’re able to presently build or grease one’s palms a PC with serious specs for much less than a Mac . There ’s also something to be said about the DIY culture baked into the Windows - base PC market . Apple has broadly speaking made its customers trust totally on the society to repair ironware - have-to doe with issued or kick upstairs , and if it wants to draw more developers to code their games for its hardware and macOS , understanding the PC gaming culture would go a long way . For some , it might not matter if Apple ’s GPUs are technically good .
Like Intel , AMD will stay it out with Apple for as long as it can , until Apple is positive it can outlast without any third - political party hardware component . Then thewalled gardenwill be fully farm .
We strive out to Apple for comment on its next AMD GPU architectural plan , but have yet to receive a reaction . We will update if / when we hear back .
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