> That's like ten normal computers worth of power for the GPUs alone.

Maybe if your "computer" in question is a smartphone? Remember that the M3 Ultra is a 300w+ chip that won't beat one of those 3090s in compute or raster efficiency.

I wouldn't class the M3 Ultra as a "normal" computer either. That's a big-ass workstation. I was thinking along the lines of a typical Macbook or Mac Mini or Windows laptop, which are fine for 99% of anyone who isn't looking to play games or run gigantic AI models locally.

Those aren't "normal" computers, either. They're iPad chips running in the TDP envelope of a tablet, usually with iPad-level performance to match.

That's maybe a few dollars to tens of dollars in electricity per month depending on where in the US you live

the upfront cost

Pot, kettle