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Good performance multi-monitor setup finally possible with M1 (Pro/Max) Macs?

A

andreasfcb

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
28
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Around 2 years ago, I was searching for a solution for our office: We develop software and would like to run three 4K monitors with one Mac. End of 2019, I started a discussion on that topic here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...monitors.2217935/?post=28171759#post-28171759

Back then, buying an iMac was not smart because it hadn't been updated for a long time. The Macbook Pro 16'' would have been an option, but we thought it was too expensive and had too many issues (for example: heating up and blowing like an airplane while using multiple external screens). Other options like the iMac Pro and Mac Pro were/are way too expensive for heavy development – they are more targeted at video producers.

In the end, we went for two maxed-out i7 Mac Minis. To be honest, it was expected that we would not be very happy. Yes, they can drive three monitors at 4K resolution (2*TB3, 1*HDMI). But they are not really that fast because they don't have the desktop CPUs of an iMac, iMac Pro or Mac Pro.

After yesterday's presentation, I am reconsidering our office setup. Obviously, the Macbook Pro (with M1 Max) can handle the display setup that we need. I am kind of impressed with the specs that they presented. Also, they offer the same specs for the 14'' and 16'' versions (except display resolution and battery size/life). So we are tempted to try them.

Obviously, there is not much information out yet about the CPU performance of the new MBP compared to desktop CPUs. From personal experience, I am impressed of the 2020 M1 Macbook Pro but I have not tested heavy development on it yet.

So here is my question to you: Do you think that – as a long-time desktop user – we may be finally satisfied with a mobile solution like the new Macbook Pros (M1 Max)? Or will the performance still be underwhelming compared to a desktop machine like the iMac or a self-made desktop with another OS?

I am aware that new iMacs 27'' (32'' ?) are around the corner as well. The question is if Apple is going to develop an even stronger (desktop-class) CPU for these machines, or whether they consider the M1 Max already as desktop-class. No idea what is going on with the Mac Pro, because a modular computer setup is not really possible with the new architecture.

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TLDR; Do you think the new M1 Pro/Max Macs can drive heavy software development with multiple screens and deliver performance compared to a desktop, i.e. maxed-out 27'' iMac?
 
I dont have an answer for you but have a very similar question. From what I can tell so far based on Geekbench scores and the comparison laptops shown during the presentation, the current M1 Max 14” MacBook Pro is 50% faster for single-core/multi-core and GPU vs the 2021 intel i7 5k iMac.

I think most if not all iMac users are salivating over the chip and trying to read the tea leaves as to when Apple will update the iMac. I have to assume that the MacBook Pro sells at far higher quantities and maybe even has a higher profit margin for them. Between that and current chip constraints, I wonder if we will see an M1 Max iMac earlier than late 1st quarter 2022.

Not sure if this helps but will watch along as more comments come in…
 
Thank you eoren1. In the meantime, I found the MacRumors article you mentioned. I somehow have missed that post before posting above:

www.macrumors.com

First Geekbench Score Surfaces for MacBook Pro M1 Max With 2x Faster Multi-Core Performance Compared to M1

Just after Apple's event introducing the new MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, the first benchmark for the high-end M1 Max chip...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

This sounds indeed promising, even though we should note that the Macs are heavily optimized for the Geekbench scores and may not be as great in daily use.
 
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Do we have some users here with hands-on experience so far?

As we know, the old Macbook Pros (especially 16'' MBP) were very noisy and hot while using multiple screens. Has anyone tried the new Macbook Pros with multiple screens?
 
My M1 Pro MBP with 2 x 5K monitors is flawless. Much better than my 2016 MBP was doing. That's about 5 million more pixels than 3 x 4K monitors if that helps at all as a reference point. And it's silent with no fans like my 2016 whose fans were SCREAMING all the time.
 
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andreasfcb said:
Do we have some users here with hands-on experience so far?

As we know, the old Macbook Pros (especially 16'' MBP) were very noisy and hot while using multiple screens. Has anyone tried the new Macbook Pros with multiple screens?
Click to expand...
The new MBPs won't be nearly as noisy as any Intel MBP but you should avoid the 14" if you are worried. I am not sure which Mac mini you have but the one from two years ago had a desktop CPU, not a mobile one (not as good as the CPU in the 2019 27" iMac though). The real problem with the 2018 Mac mini is the lack of a proper GPU, I am a little surprised you can drive 3 monitors with it. All M1 MacBooks have much better GPUs (all other current Intel desktop Macs also have much better GPUs).
 
Ziskind is so annoying. If you know anything about trying to test and benchmark things in an objective way, you'll just be grinding your teeth the whole time you watch one of his videos, and this one's typical...
  • It takes almost no time before he starts firing up other stuff and waggling windows around during tests. There's no sensible way to interpret any of the small differences he reported because who knows how the random junk he was doing affected scores.
  • He doesn't test the same system load across all display options, he keeps adding more things as he adds more displays. You want to control all variables except the one you're trying to test.
  • The additional load is usually 4K youtube videos. If he chose any video where YT serves up a non hardware accelerated codec option, that could affect test results since software decode eats a lot of CPU and Xcode project builds are a mix of CPU and disk access. Now, based on the fact that usually more 4K videos didn't seem to do much, I think we can assume that probably he was always getting a codec handled by a M1 accelerator, but merely risking that sort of problem isn't something anyone good at testing would do.
  • In fact, opening any web page in a browser runs the risk of Javascript eating a substantial chunk of a CPU core.
  • He doesn't appear to be flushing disk cache between compiles to ensure that the amount of disk I/O is consistent in every run. Maybe if he's lucky that's part of the script he downloaded? If not, the first run is doing a lot more disk I/O than subsequent ones on any Mac with enough RAM.
  • He doesn't do anything to make sure the Air starts from the same thermal state each time, which is really important for the Air. It will be forced to reduce clocks sooner when starting from a hotter initial state.
I could probably find lots more to nitpick but bleh. I really wish he was actually good at this stuff since he's one of the few technical people making videos about this kind of thing, but the trouble is, he's a web dev. Perhaps I'm unfairly prejudiced when I say this, but in my experience web devs usually don't understand much about performance, hardware, or even software that's at any level of abstraction lower than Javascript in a web browser. (You're pretty far away from the metal in that environment.)
 
Sure, what you say is probably correct .. but what he does might be closer to everyday's life that all those clinical benchmark tests on YouTube. So I still think that his videos provide some value.
 
andreasfcb said:
Do we have some users here with hands-on experience so far?

As we know, the old Macbook Pros (especially 16'' MBP) were very noisy and hot while using multiple screens. Has anyone tried the new Macbook Pros with multiple screens?
Click to expand...
As with the other person, I can confirm that my new 14" MBP is totally silent & cool while having an external monitor on.
 
CrazySuzyn said:
As with the other person, I can confirm that my new 14" MBP is totally silent & cool while having an external monitor on.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have 2 external monitors (2160p & 1440p) + built in monitor on my 14" M1 Max 24c running silently. I've used Lightroom and Affinity Photo (though nothing too elaborate in AP yet). The only time I think I've noticed the fans was with Handbrake.
 
I've been meaning to test this out for a while but I'll have to take apart my desk setup to test it out. I should have bought the M1 MAX to support 3x4k but I only got the Pro - it was crazy ordering on launch day. The 3x4k is currently hooked up to a big Windows desktop and I have an M1 mini with a QHD display. My current plan is to use the mini to drive one or two monitors and the MacBook Pro M1 Pro drive one or two and move the Windows desktop to a another table. I do not expect any problems with this setup. I have hooked up the MBP to a Dell U2720Q and it's great - there's one cable and the cable powers the MacBook Pro, sends the video signal to the display and communicates with the devices attached to the monitor port hub.
 
szilske said:
This video might be interesting:
Click to expand...
Thank you. It was helpful, even though the video is not really following a scientific procedure.


CrazySuzyn said:
As with the other person, I can confirm that my new 14" MBP is totally silent & cool while having an external monitor on.
Click to expand...
That is very reassuring. We now bought the MBP Max 14'' (not received yet!) and were afraid that we will regret it. There is some mixed reviews about battery life. But honestly, we will not need it on-the-go that often. We are going to use it mostly as Desktop and sometimes for presentations.

Some might argue that we should have bought the 16'', but in my opinion it is way too large, even just for carrying once a week.

I think we can live with the 5 to 10 % performance loss (due to lower GPU max clock speed). The only thing that I might regret is buying the 32 core GPU. It looks like the 24 core GPU has nearly identical performance as the 32 core (due to the GPU max clock speed).


coolguy4747 said:
Yeah, I have 2 external monitors (2160p & 1440p) + built in monitor on my 14" M1 Max 24c running silently. I've used Lightroom and Affinity Photo (though nothing too elaborate in AP yet). The only time I think I've noticed the fans was with Handbrake.
Click to expand...
Sounds nice!
 
rtkane said:
My M1 Pro MBP with 2 x 5K monitors is flawless. Much better than my 2016 MBP was doing. That's about 5 million more pixels than 3 x 4K monitors if that helps at all as a reference point. And it's silent with no fans like my 2016 whose fans were SCREAMING all the time.
Click to expand...
Which 5k monitors, which connection method(s), and do you use a hub or multiple cables? TIA.
 
andreasfcb said:
Thank you. It was helpful, even though the video is not really following a scientific procedure.



That is very reassuring. We now bought the MBP Max 14'' (not received yet!) and were afraid that we will regret it. There is some mixed reviews about battery life. But honestly, we will not need it on-the-go that often. We are going to use it mostly as Desktop and sometimes for presentations.

Some might argue that we should have bought the 16'', but in my opinion it is way too large, even just for carrying once a week.

I think we can live with the 5 to 10 % performance loss (due to lower GPU max clock speed). The only thing that I might regret is buying the 32 core GPU. It looks like the 24 core GPU has nearly identical performance as the 32 core (due to the GPU max clock speed).



Sounds nice!
Click to expand...
My 14" is easily the best notebook I ever owned, coming from a 2017 15". It's faster, faster, faster, lighter, absolutely silent (even running MS Teams!) has more ports and the screen is only slightly smaller. You won't regret it!
 
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16" M1 Max MBP is totally silent and around 40-60 degrees while editing in FCPx on a 5kx2k(60Hz) screen with video output to a 4k(60Hz) screen while having an image browser open on the macbook's internal screen.
Both screen are connected via thunderbolt.
 
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