Mac Studio

SketchUp Computer Advice
1

I’m looking to upgrade to a Mac studio. I understand that SketchUp can only make use of a single core, does that mean I will not get any better performance from a multi-core processor?

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these days all processors are multi core.

But yeah. SU only works with one core at a time. so for SU, raw clock speed is more important than number of cores.

M1 series are about 3,2 MHz , M2 series 3,5
There shouldn’t be much of a difference in sketchup between a M2 and a M2 maxx super pro. but there’ll be a difference between a M1x and M2x.

Now if you work with other tools, they’ll be your limiting factor. max and pro versions might make renderings quicker, or video exportation (multi core tasks).

EDIT : Ok I just realised that while the mini uses a M2 series, the studio is still using a M1.
So even though it’s a M1 max / ultra, it’s still 3,2 GHz. vs the 3,5 GHz M2 of the mini.
Main difference is the possibilities of customisation, studio can get more RAM, more SSD space. and for pretty much anything but SU, the studio will probably be faster due to max/ultra optimisation and core amount.

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3

Thanks.

I’ve got a 2019 Imac, 3.7 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5, so the clock speed on the studio would be lower at 3.2 GHz?

4

yes.

But that’s not all in play. M series chips have great results because it’s all optimised. The RAM integrated with the rest, finer engraving, apps rewritten for this architecture in mind…

Here is a comparative I found on google, first result

It compares your imac to the M1 max studio.
Bottom of the page, you have some mono cores benchmarks (and multi cores), your imac was already on the higher end at the time, on mono core and multi core Studio still wins. besides its clock speed, its optimisation means higher bandwidth, and waaaaay lower needs of energy. plus faster communication with the integrated RAM

Think of it as a car. it’s easy to compare two similar cars with a V6 and a V8. But comparing a traditional front engine V8 and a tesla (with a motor on each wheel) is trickier.
it’s harder in your case, because of the technology switch and the software optimisation that resulted.
M1 and M1 series outperforms intel processors with similar clock speeds, because despite the “similar looking” stats, they are actually different architectures.

Funny enough, if you look at studio M1 vs mini M2, it’s the mini that wins single core. It’ll loose on multicores, because… well it’s 12 vs 64 (maximum) so yeah, quantity matters.

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5

Thanks!