MS 13,1 Is it time to upgrade M1 Studio to M5 ?

[4sallypat]

Well it's been almost 4 years and loving my problem free M1 Studio Mac coming from an awful Intel Mac Mini.

Setup is with dual displays: 2011 27" Thunderbolt display and 2022 27" Studio display.

No complaints - currently using up half the storage and never having any spinning beach ball issues.

Sometimes it will restart on it's own, but I think it might be the apps I use ?

Looking at the upcoming M5 iteration, would I stand to gain anything ?

 

[Ifti]

What is it that the current system isn't doing for you?
If it's doing everything you need perfectly well, I can't see what you will gain from a new M5, other then everything feeling a little more 'nippy'.
The TB5 ports are nice, allowing for 80Gbps external storage etc, but does that matter enough to you and your workflow?
You'll probably feel the dent in you wallet more.......

 

[okkibs]

Unless you are running out of memory or storage or both and need an upgraded config you will gain relatively little.

Transcode and export times of large computationally intense tasks will be significantly reduced with the latest chips but even if that’s a big 50% improvement does it even matter? Let’s say a 6 minute job could be reduced to 3 minutes, or a 6 hour job to 3 hours. Do you just grab a coffee either way and let the hours long job run over night? Or is it actually limiting how well you can get the work done?

Depending on what you use your Mac for you might not even be doing any such work and might not benefit from the new chip other than the OS feeling more snappy.

And even that is questionable when your Mac with Sequoia is just as snappy as some newer models with the still somewhat buggy Tahoe.

I would keep that Mac until you notice actual slowdowns or wish for better speeds in your applications. And then you should check what’s actually slowing you down. It might be that you are hitting a memory limit before the M1 Max has a chance to slow down. In that case you’d want to upgrade not just the chip but the memory as well.

Either way, I wouldn’t upgrade just for the sake of upgrading. The longer you wait the more of a speed boost you’ll notice when you do eventually need a new machine.

Someone who upgrades every year or two will not notice as big an improvement as someone who goes straight from M1 to M7/M8. They’ll take a noticeable hit to the wallet though.

 

[4sallypat]

What is it that the current system isn't doing for you?
If it's doing everything you need perfectly well, I can't see what you will gain from a new M5, other then everything feeling a little more 'nippy'.
The TB5 ports are nice, allowing for 80Gbps external storage etc, but does that matter enough to you and your workflow?
You'll probably feel the dent in you wallet more.......

Thanks,
Nothing really comes to mind - it's running as good as day one.

Never use the ports for anything high speed.

I just feel "outdated" with a 4 year old Mac - guess that's normal ?

Guess I'll wait till the OS can't upgrade anymore - 3 more years ??

 

[4sallypat]

Unless you are running out of memory or storage or both and need an upgraded config you will gain relatively little.

Transcode and export times of large computationally intense tasks will be significantly reduced with the latest chips but even if that’s a big 50% improvement does it even matter? Let’s say a 6 minute job could be reduced to 3 minutes, or a 6 hour job to 3 hours. Do you just grab a coffee either way and let the hours long job run over night? Or is it actually limiting how well you can get the work done?

Depending on what you use your Mac for you might not even be doing any such work and might not benefit from the new chip other than the OS feeling more snappy.

And even that is questionable when your Mac with Sequoia is just as snappy as some newer models with the still somewhat buggy Tahoe.

I would keep that Mac until you notice actual slowdowns or wish for better speeds in your applications. And then you should check what’s actually slowing you down. It might be that you are hitting a memory limit before the M1 Max has a chance to slow down. In that case you’d want to upgrade not just the chip but the memory as well.

Either way, I wouldn’t upgrade just for the sake of upgrading. The longer you wait the more of a speed boost you’ll notice when you do eventually need a new machine.

Someone who upgrades every year or two will not notice as big an improvement as someone who goes straight from M1 to M7/M8. They’ll take a noticeable hit to the wallet though.

Agree with you and @Ifti - nothing wrong with the Studio so far - still as snappy but just feeling like the first gen is getting old and outdated.

Sort of like reliving the feeling I had with my predecessor Mac Mini i7 w/ 32GB and felt that was really a slug, overheated, fans spinning like crazy and the annoying spinning beach balls all day long....

Guess I'll keep the first gen Studio Mac for another couple of years - appreciate the reassurance!

 

[maflynn]

I just feel "outdated" with a 4 year old Mac - guess that's normal ?

That's what Apple wants you think, and once its released, the FOMO will be real.

 

[Ifti]

I have an M4 Max Studio.
Previously I had a M1 Max MBP 16.
Main use is Final Cut - otherwise just casual stuff.

Honestly I was completely happy with my M1 Max. Had no issues with it. And it done everything I needed perfectly well.
The only reason why I changed is because my MBP was always used on my desk - never moved - and I wanted to change to a desktop setup instead (that, and I already had a buyer lined up for the MBP). If it wasn't for that I would be happily using my M1 Max right now. I'm sure I saved some seconds rendering and exporting projects, but nothing that I've really sat and actually noticed TBH.

Do I want a M5, or the latest and greatest. Of course I do. Who wouldn't?
Will I upgrade though - seriously doubtful. I just wont see any benefit other then a few seconds shaved off of rendering times, which again, I probably wouldn't notice. I'd rather put that money I'd be spending to use elsewhere.
It's easy to get caught up in the hype with how the new version is 80% better then the previous - but the fact of the matter is, for most people, they won't even notice that difference in day to day typical usage in the first instance.

The M1 Max is a tremendous chip - don't let the numbers get to you.

 

[4sallypat]

........
The M1 Max is a tremendous chip - don't let the numbers get to you.

Oh yes, I know for a fact that once I switched over from Intel i7 chipset to Apple Silicon M1 - it was a night and day difference!

Even my remote controlled Mac Mini M1 at my mother's home is working perfectly since day one as well.

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[SDAVE]

M1 Max is still a beast, depends on what you're doing

Personally waiting for M5 Ultra Mac Studio to upgrade the 2019 Mac Pro