In the last few months I’ve struggled with a 2020 Intel MacBookPro using any of the Topaz apps. Even with 32GB of RAM and the full 8GB of VRAM it was absolute sludge. PhotoAI was unusable and Gigapixel was gasping. When the M4 chipset arrived I couldn’t justify a new MacBookPro so I got a fully loaded Mac mini – 14 Core CPU/20 Core GPU and 48GB of RAM. It’s ‘only’ $2,200 by comparison.
It arrived yesterday and I just did a test between the two platforms and I am stunned. With Gigapixel 8.0.1, I loaded a set of 8 small JPEGs set at 2x enlargement with Sharpen/Denoise/Compression set to 30/1/20. The Intel MBP took a full 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The new Mac mini crunched all 8 images in a stunning 4.5 seconds!! I was so blown away I did the test three times and tried a test with a 20MB TIFF file. After the MBP reached 30 minutes I gave up.
If you have an Intel Mac I can’t recommend the upgrade any stronger!
Daniel -Thanks for posting this. I have a 2017 iMac with 40GB memory and Radeon Pro 580 8GB graphics card. It struggles with very basic low res rendering and I sometimes have to close the app to stop the spinning beachball. Do you have an opinion about Gigapixel ai and its use of the GPU? I ask because I am considering the mac mini M4 setup you just got, but concerned about future proofing. I’ve asked this in a message to Topaz support, but I only got the basic, “yes, the M4 meets the system requirements.” The upgrade to the Mac Studio M4 max or ultra is maybe 6 months away. I can’t afford the ultra, but the GPU options on the Studio are causing me to hesitate getting the mac mini. Thoughts? - Mark
Hey Mark, I don’t know what type of images you are processing or what specific features of Gigapixel you intend to use but I can say there are two answers to your question and Topaz may not like part of it.
The 20 core GPU of the high end MacMini really screams through most graphic intensive projects but as you point out the M4 Max has double the GPU cores at 40. The downside is you’ll have to buy either a MacBook Pro at $4,000 plus or the upcoming Studio. I think the 20 core M4 Pro will stand up to most projects for at least 2 years but it’s your choice of power to money.
The numbers I shared in my original post are all accurate but there is one area where Gigapixel really slows down no matter your hardware — the generative models. I know they are technically still in Beta but being treated as a standard feature. I spent some time as a Software Product Manager so I have an intuitive feel for this app. The AI Generative code feels very bloated and inefficient still. Topaz has some work to do. There are other desktop apps that can process generative models at a similar size and resolution in under a minute or two. Even with my new set-up a small 500x750 face recovery is a guaranteed trip to the kitchen to make a sandwich. I can’t tell if the “cloud credits” is a legitimate solution, or just revenue grabbing.
So if you plan on using the original models and not the generative models you’re gonna be fine with the MacMini. If your work is more intense than that the M4 Max might be in your future.
