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Anyone deciding between M4 Max Macbook Pro and M4 Max Mac Studio?
- Thread starter Mity
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You get a few more ports on the Studio, especially the extra TB5 and the native 10GbE, which require docks or NICs on the MBP.
Thermal and power limits on the MBP is much lower than on the Studio, especially the 14". You can consider the Studio chassis being able to fully unleash the M4 Max, wheres the MBP chassis is limited in some ways. Though exactly when and how you hit those walls depends on your workflow, some people may never hit it.
Fan noise; the Studio heatsink should be more comfortable to be running at near idle speed (somewhere 1200rpm) even for moderate loads. This is usually much quieter if not silent to your ears than doing the same work on the MBP.
The MBP having internal screen, keyboard, and trackpad, even if you don't need them on a day to day basis, but them being there means in the event of trouble shooting is easier. The Studio rely on the external peripherals connecting and working properly. But yeah this is minor and a non issue most of the time.
The MBP having internal battery also means it has a natural UPS backup power source, and is DC separated from your house's mains, so it is by nature more secure and less prone to power failure.
The wireless antennas are coiling around the MBP lid / display frame, so they naturally get good reception unless the laptop is in clamshell mode and docked behind something else. Whereas the Studio hides them at the bottom circle lid and you probably tuck away the machine also, so worse reception.
Thermal and power limits on the MBP is much lower than on the Studio, especially the 14". You can consider the Studio chassis being able to fully unleash the M4 Max, wheres the MBP chassis is limited in some ways. Though exactly when and how you hit those walls depends on your workflow, some people may never hit it.
Fan noise; the Studio heatsink should be more comfortable to be running at near idle speed (somewhere 1200rpm) even for moderate loads. This is usually much quieter if not silent to your ears than doing the same work on the MBP.
The MBP having internal screen, keyboard, and trackpad, even if you don't need them on a day to day basis, but them being there means in the event of trouble shooting is easier. The Studio rely on the external peripherals connecting and working properly. But yeah this is minor and a non issue most of the time.
The MBP having internal battery also means it has a natural UPS backup power source, and is DC separated from your house's mains, so it is by nature more secure and less prone to power failure.
The wireless antennas are coiling around the MBP lid / display frame, so they naturally get good reception unless the laptop is in clamshell mode and docked behind something else. Whereas the Studio hides them at the bottom circle lid and you probably tuck away the machine also, so worse reception.
Now that I have a Mac Studio (at least one that's on its way), I'd consider swapping my 14" MBP M3 Max for a 13" M4 MBA. I really only need one high-powered machine, so I can downgrade the laptop. Before the new Studio, my MBP was running double duty as a desktop machine. Which, by the way, it did with aplomb.
I’ve been using a M1 Max MBP as my sole machine for a couple of months since selling my 2019 Mac Pro in anticipation of new M4 Mac Studios. I thought that if the experiment went well enough, I might just get a M4 Max MBP instead of a Studio.
Unfortunately, I’ve not found the MBP to be a perfect desktop replacement for my purposes. It simply does not have enough ports, and Thunderbolt docks (including the vaunted CalDigit TS4) still have so many quirks and bugs that I’m ready to go back to a true desktop.
Unfortunately, I’ve not found the MBP to be a perfect desktop replacement for my purposes. It simply does not have enough ports, and Thunderbolt docks (including the vaunted CalDigit TS4) still have so many quirks and bugs that I’m ready to go back to a true desktop.
I got the M4 Pro MBP in November, which was my first proper dive into Mac computers (previously I was all Windows, but with iPad/iPhone). It’s a great machine, doubled as a desktop, and more powerful than I needed initially.
When I started doing LLM, StableDiffusion, Parallels, etc, the MBP’s 24GB RAM quickly became insufficient, its battery life suffered, and the fans often kicked in. I also had to keep plugging in my external SSD because I had more LLM models than my MBP could hold.
Now I have the Studio with 128GB RAM, which handles everything without needing to rely on swap space. I can leave external drives plugged in. And I don’t hear the fans.
My intent now is to use my MBP as more of a client with the Studio doing the grunt work, safe in the knowledge that the MBP is capable of doing these things (albeit in a more limited way) should the need arise.
I’m definitely keeping both, but my budget has been hammered massively by both Macs so I don’t see myself buying anything else of significant cost this year.
When I started doing LLM, StableDiffusion, Parallels, etc, the MBP’s 24GB RAM quickly became insufficient, its battery life suffered, and the fans often kicked in. I also had to keep plugging in my external SSD because I had more LLM models than my MBP could hold.
Now I have the Studio with 128GB RAM, which handles everything without needing to rely on swap space. I can leave external drives plugged in. And I don’t hear the fans.
My intent now is to use my MBP as more of a client with the Studio doing the grunt work, safe in the knowledge that the MBP is capable of doing these things (albeit in a more limited way) should the need arise.
I’m definitely keeping both, but my budget has been hammered massively by both Macs so I don’t see myself buying anything else of significant cost this year.
So, I didn't include this in my OP but I'm in a similar position. I bought an M4 Pro 12c 48GB RAM 1TB 2 weeks ago but I liked the screen so much that I want to use it as my personal machine (no dev work); it would replace my M1 Air. For my dev machine, I'm trying to decide between an M4 Max Studio with 128GB of RAM or an M4 Pro Mini with 64GB of RAM. My main use case is Python (data analytics). I don't use LLMs yet but I do plan on starting after my current work project is complete.
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Although it isn’t really a hardship, one of my annoyances with using the MBP as a desktop was that I kept having to plug everything into it, then unplugging when I took it off my desk. I did get a cheap hub that I can keep the Time Machine and monitor plugged into for a “one USB connection” option, but I still found myself keeping the external SSDs attached for the larger LLM/model files and other stuff, which was cumbersome.
I’m currently setting up my desk so that the Studio has all of that permanently connected, and the MBP is being reduced to lighter duties (my “preferred LLMs/models” can stay on the internal SSD now, with all the rest being left in the hands of the Studio).
I like having specific machines for specific purposes. The MBP can do “nearly everything” regardless of where I am, and the Studio is for the “heavy lifting” when I’m at my desk.
My use case (using LLM alongside StableDiffusion alongside Parallels and my regular apps) sees the “memory used” on my Studio at anything between 60-90GB. It’s reassuring to know that RAM isn’t the bottleneck any more and that I don’t need to thrash the swap space just to run things alongside each other (or, more inconveniently, having to close down everything except the one app that wants most of the MBP’s 24GB).
Okay, this is a RAM vs RAM issue more than a MBP vs Studio issue because you can get 128GB in a MacBook but the other issue is the CPU temp. My MacBook Pro’s fans would kick in when the temps go up (which they do when running Stable Diffusion or LLMs), and that would worry me the louder they got. It also dropped the battery life down to about 2hrs, so I’d end up back at the desk soon enough anyway. With the Studio, the temp doesn’t get anywhere near that high and although the fans say they’re running at 1,000RPM I really don’t hear a thing. I think it’s much more suited to the tasks than the MBP, but I’m glad the MBP can still do them in a pinch (having a backup machine is reassuring).
On the subject of fans/temp, my MBP (currently not doing a lot) shows a 37C temp with no fan spinning while the Studio shows a 28C temp with the fans spinning at 1,000RPM. The MBP would seem to be optimised for battery life (not spinning fans until necessary) while the Studio seems more optimised for keeping things cool.
Similar position.
Currently have:
M3 MBA 13"
M1 Max MBP 16"
The M1 Max is always on my desk - doesnt move. Ive just sold it and will be ordering a M4 Max Studio with the ASD as I want an actual desktop now. The MBA I'll keep for light use when on the couch downstairs etc.
Currently have:
M3 MBA 13"
M1 Max MBP 16"
The M1 Max is always on my desk - doesnt move. Ive just sold it and will be ordering a M4 Max Studio with the ASD as I want an actual desktop now. The MBA I'll keep for light use when on the couch downstairs etc.
Hey doc!
I stumbled across this comment the other day and we're in a similar situation so I wanted to see if you are still considering swapping the M3m for an MBA, or if you've developed any thoughts on the possibility.
I just picked up an M3 Ultra to replace a 16" M3M ($3,499 from Micro Center, otherwise would've gone M4M). I'm trying to decide what my laptop companion should be since I definitely need one for the rare times I need one on-site or traveling. I'm debating keeping my M3M even though it feels redundant as you say.
The other option that is tempting me is the 15" M4A. I find the 13" far too small to do any legitimate work on, but I worry I'll encounter a scenario outside of my office where I'll wish I had kept the M3M. As a photographer the SD card slot is pretty important, but nothing I couldn't work around.
Anyway -- just a brain dump on this Monday morning!
Very similar boat here (see above). Sounds like you rarely, if ever, need a powerful machine outside of your office?
I don't even think I need a machine outside of the office period! lol
But I have it so will probably just use it around the house for a while and see how it goes. If I really find I never use it I'll sell it on, although it's always handy to have a portable machine - one of those things you miss after its gone!
I had parallel experience using the Studio M2 MAX and the MacBook M3/M4 MAX 16-inch 40-core GPU. For me, the critical point is the difference in the cooling system. If you want the machine for heavy video editing or very demanding tasks, then you might prefer the Studio. Otherwise, if you occasionally do heavy tasks, then you should go for the MacBook M4 MAX, as it's clear that it's a 2-in-1 machine, which you can use both as a laptop and as a desktop (clamshell mode). In terms of performance, you won't see a significant difference with the same specs (M4 MAX Studio vs MacBook M4 MAX). Regarding noise levels, personally, I heard the fans 1-2 times on the MacBook (during 4K video editing) and none on the Studio M2 MAX. In general, both machines are very quiet
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This is an interesting observation. Do the MacBook Pro’s fans behave the same when powered by battery versus continuous power (outlet or Studio Display) or do they behave more like the Mac Studio with continuous power?
MacBook Pro fans are typically off most of the time. Only when pushed do they even turn on. Mac Studio fans are always running at a minimum of 1,000 rpms (for M2/M4). I'm not sure about M1 Mac Studio minimums. I know originally they ran at a higher rate and that was fixed in the M2 version, but I don't know if they went back and fixed the M1 version as well.
The fans only run when necessary on the MBP. I’ve not noticed any difference between battery and “plugged in”. If the chips get hot, the fans ramp up.
If I’m doing AI image generation or a lot of LLM work, the MBP’s fans will chase the temperatures but, as soon as that workload is finished, the temperatures drop, the fans diminish, and all becomes silent again. The fans stop.
As mentioned by the poster above, the Studio fans seem to be constantly running around 1,000 rpm (you can’t hear them). When pushing my Studio with LLM/image gen work, the temps don’t get all that high (around 65C, I think), so the fans don’t need to ramp up to keep the temperature down - they might do if the workload is sustained.
If I’m doing “normal work” on the MBP, the chips stay cool and the fans don’t trouble themselves, and the battery lasts at least 11 hours. If I’m stressing it with my workload, with temps going up and fans speeding up, I’ll typically only get about 2 hours of life out of the battery.
Hope that helps.
Thinking about trading in the MBP M3M. The trade-in value makes it nearly an even swap. Not the best idea financially, but it’s clean. I will decide once the Studio arrives and is put through its paces.
i'm deciding on this too. Not sure for M4, the same memory ( e.g.128g) and the same storage would result for the same performance, for MBP and MS. Few % difference would not be a big issue, but if the performances differ quite, then it would be a concern as I need the workload power. Has anyone actually bought both?
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You can attach an Ethernet dongle to the Apple Studio Display if you have one, which is one less cable to unplug from a MacBook Pro when you want to use it away from your desk.
I was thinking of doing the same thing… A studio and an air. But, now it makes me wonder why not just get a MacBook Pro?
