16 GPU cores vs. 24 GPU cores

[mattdo93]

I'm set on 14 inch, 2TB, 32gb RAM configuration but was wondering if it's worth the extra $200 to go from 16 to 24 GPU cores on the M1 Pro? I do photo/video editing but would like to future proof as well. I feel like the M1 Pro is gonna be so efficient that I don't need it, but would like to hear everyone's thoughts as well.

 

[Take Flight]

I'm set on 14 inch, 2TB, 32gb RAM configuration but was wondering if it's worth the extra $200 to go from 16 to 24 GPU cores on the M1 Pro? I do photo/video editing but would like to future proof as well. I feel like the M1 Pro is gonna be so efficient that I don't need it, but would like to hear everyone's thoughts as well.

I will piggy back on this and add an additional question.

Do the additional GPU cores offer any benefits for use-cases other than video/graphics?

I bring my machines to their knees with heavy business/data computational uses...10+ open large complex excel files, intensive web applications, running simultaneously with Teams/Zoom etc. Just wondering. I haven't found the M1 MacBook Pro with 16gb of ram to be sufficient.

Definitely opting for tons of ram and the bump in the base core processor but wasn't sure about GPU.

 

[januarydrive7]

I will piggy back on this and add an additional question.

Do the additional GPU cores offer any benefits for use-cases other than video/graphics?

I bring my machines to their knees with heavy business/data computational uses...10+ open large complex excel files, intensive web applications, running simultaneously with Teams/Zoom etc. Just wondering. I haven't found the M1 MacBook Pro with 16gb of ram to be sufficient.

Definitely opting for tons of ram and the bump in the base core processor but wasn't sure about GPU.

It depends on what you're working on (and really, what you're working in), but more GPU cores can have significant gains for compute uses.

If the work you're doing and/or apps you're using doesn't benefit from extra GPU cores, then you won't notice a difference. I'd also say that, in general, you'd know if you needed more GPU cores for uses outside of video/graphics.

 

[sciuro]

Take Flight, are you a software engineer/data scientist/etc running scripts that utilize GPU cores? if not, I don't see how those extra cores are going to help you. MS Office/Zoom/etc are not optimized to make real use of GPU cores yet.

 

[mattdo93]

Not a SWE or data scientist. The only real intense apps are Final Cut, Lightroom, and Photoshop. I can see myself using After Effects or DaVinci Resolve specifically for color grading if I get real good enough but that's about it.

If MS Office and other productivity apps don't really utilize the GPU's then 16 cores should be more than sufficient?

 

[7even]

The 24 GPU core M1 Max possibly doubles the memory bandwidth compared to the M1 Pro in addition to adding extra GPU cores, which you might or might not notice as well (“possibly” just because the specs mention the 32 GPU core model having double the bandwidth, but I’m guessing the 24 GPU core version is a binned version where the only difference is the number of active cores). Have to wait for benchmarks to really see the impact and then judge if the difference is worth the money. If you’re not doing graphically intensive work too often then I’m guessing 16 cores is plenty.

 

[mousouchop]

Can I add a tangential question of: is 8 core worth it, when the whole keynote was spotlighting the 10 core CPU?

I am a programmer/software guy, so 8 core CPU AND 14 core GPU seems like it won’t be too compromising, if at all. But it does make me wonder— is it really a M1 Pro, then? I feel Netbeans, Eclipse and XCode would all run stellar… I did bump up to 32GB RAM.

 

[Take Flight]

Take Flight, are you a software engineer/data scientist/etc running scripts that utilize GPU cores? if not, I don't see how those extra cores are going to help you. MS Office/Zoom/etc are not optimized to make real use of GPU cores yet.

Thanks! Not doing anything too custom other than extreme heavy lifting of applications like MS excel...if those can't natively take advantage of GPU cores then it sounds like maybe not worth it.

 

[mattdo93]

I just watched Max Tech's newest YouTube video and if you skip to 9:23 he talks about how the 24 GPU core option might be the best bang for buck. Now I'm starting to regret my 16 GPU core option...

 

[arvinsim]

The only reason I would go for the 24-core GPU is if I want to upgrade to 64GB RAM.

 

[mattdo93]

If there really is more heat throttling in the 14 inch by having the M1 Max in there, then I'd rather have the M1 Pro (although double the memory bandwidth and encoder engines would be nice for video work..)

Hopefully the reviews will come out soon! But regardless, super happy and can't wait for this to come in.

 

[mousouchop]

I just watched Max Tech's newest YouTube video and if you skip to 9:23 he talks about how the 24 GPU core option might be the best bang for buck. Now I'm starting to regret my 16 GPU core option...

Interesting. I already cancelled and reordered once… not sure if I’m up for it again. I don’t do video encoding, nor do I own external monitors. I also don’t game, though I know that’s not the main draw of MBP. I am only tempted by that 24 core version for the better cooling… But if all I’m ever doing is compiling small novice XCode projects and Java projects in NetBeans, not sure I’ll ever be pushing the cooling on this model that hard, anyway…

I might throw WoW Classic on here, but that won’t make it even break a sweat.

 

[MrGunny94]

Interesting. I already cancelled and reordered once… not sure if I’m up for it again. I don’t do video encoding, nor do I own external monitors. I also don’t game, though I know that’s not the main draw of MBP. I am only tempted by that 24 core version for the better cooling… But if all I’m ever doing is compiling small novice XCode projects and Java projects in NetBeans, not sure I’ll ever be pushing the cooling on this model that hard, anyway…

I might throw WoW Classic on here, but that won’t make it even break a sweat.

If you don't deal with anything GPU heavy the 16 core setup is fine. I opted for 16 core as I wanted the full M1 Pro die. The M1 Max is for the 1% guys who want either 3 displays or full gpu performance for video editing / 3D model or data related stuff.

 

[mattdo93]

If you don't deal with anything GPU heavy the 16 core setup is fine. I opted for 16 core as I wanted the full M1 Pro die. The M1 Max is for the 1% guys who want either 3 displays or full gpu performance for video editing / 3D model or data related stuff.

Same here. I do edit videos so the additional codecs and rendering engine from M1 Max would be nice, but it wouldn't be worth the tradeoff in battery life and heat cooling IMO. The M1 Max is noticeably larger than the M1 Pro, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case.

We'll have to wait for the reviews to see..

 

[mousouchop]

Same here. If there truly is thermal throttling from the M1 Max being in the 14 inch, then I'd rather have the M1 Pro in there. I do edit videos so the additional codecs and rendering engine from M1 Max would be nice, but it wouldn't be worth the tradeoff in battery life and heat cooling IMO. The M1 Max is noticeably larger than the M1 Pro, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case.

We'll have to wait for the reviews to see..

Definitely thought the same RE: potential thermal throttling of the Max in the 14”. And at the same time, somehow overlooked that being that we assume cooling components in the 14” are the same between Pro and Max (due to same weight of builds)— then the bump to 24 core does not upgrade thermal management components (hence throttling, maybe). But the heat sink must at least be sized up to cover the full Max footprint…. Hmmm.

Nonetheless, revalidated in my 10/16/16 choice.😸

 

[MrGunny94]

Definitely thought the same RE: potential thermal throttling of the Max in the 14”. And at the same time, somehow overlooked that being that we assume cooling components in the 14” are the same between Pro and Max (due to same weight of builds)— then the bump to 24 core does not upgrade thermal management components (hence throttling, maybe). But the heat sink must at least be sized up to cover the full Max footprint…. Hmmm.

Nonetheless, revalidated in my 10/16/16 choice.😸

Yeah, I mean M1 Pro is already more than we'll need anyway. Heck my workflows work just fine on M1 just get a couple hiccups here and there and obviously the lack of 2nd display.

 

[Serban55]

If there really is more heat throttling in the 14 inch by having the M1 Max in there, then I'd rather have the M1 Pro (although double the memory bandwidth and encoder engines would be nice for video work..)

Hopefully the reviews will come out soon! But regardless, super happy and can't wait for this to come in.

yes i think this Friday or , at latest next Monday the embargo lifts up