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M1 Pro vs. M1 Max: Real-World Performance Test

My 14” m1 pro 10 core is very quick. But it still has a lot of random slow downs running MS Office, Ableton or Logic, and chrome. MS Teams in Rosetta reliably crashes it after a few hours. And it seems to crash if left on over night, every time.

So the experience isn’t universally smooth and fast.

I expect an update to Monterey to fix a lot of this stuff. I hope M$ does Teams as M1 native soon, that will help a lot - m1 native Excel really flies.

I upgraded from a 2013 MBP running Mojave so I never did without MagSafe, HDMI or SD card slot. Sadly my 14” sad slot doesn’t really work yet. I expect this to be resolved in an update. Compared to Mojave, Monterrey is an enormous step forward.
 
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Showing my ignorance here, but I have a question about installed binaries…

I have one of these new machines on order, and plan to migrate apps/settings from my Intel MBP to the M1 Max.

For heavy duty apps like FCP X and Logic Pro X, will the migration assistant install the binaries compiled for Intel, relying on Rosetta to run? Or will the Apple Silicon binaries be installed? Or both?
 
2017 Mac Pro?

Earlier this year I bought a refurb 2019 Mac Pro (12 core) and it was a great machine but I decided to return it after I factored in the additional costs of suitable monitor, upgrading & storage and bought a 2nd hand iMac Pro instead to tide me over. (used the saved money to build a new TB3 RAID) Now my decision is 14" and keep the iMac Pro (which is lovely computer for daily use & a good posture sitting at my desk) or sell it and get a top spec 16" - but then need to buy a new monitor. I guess deciding factor will be carrying weight. I had thought o keep iMac Pro due to easier use of Windows (which I need for one important but occasional use) - so keen to hear how folks are getting on with ARM version of Windows running MS Excel through Parallels?
 
centauratlas said:
Our 16 inch Pro Max comes tomorrow (I think) from an initial Dec ~7 delivery. It sounds like I need one for myself but this is to replace the wife's 2013 MacBook Pro 15". I can't wait to give it a try though since I'll have to set it all up, migrate etc. It will make her 2013 machine look glacial I am sure, but it is also probably going to blow my 3 year old MBP out of the water. Maybe next year or 2023 I'll replace mine.

It is nice to see all these great reviews with real world performance matching or surpassing the hype.

I was a little skeptical at the announcement when all the details weren't out, but it sounds like a great Mac Book Pro update.

I do hope that these last at least as long as her 2013 machine, preferably longer. Her 2013 MBP is running well, but the battery is starting to swell and since it is a royal pain to swap it, it made sense to replace it. Merry Christmas to her.
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Will you be able to post some comparisons when it comes? I've a late 2013 15" MBP and yeah, it's "running well" but now that it's "obsolete" I have that do I/don't I dilema going on. It's been money well spent since I got it and has given me no problems and I know a current model will just destroy it.

But, not even knowing what your 15" is used for would you be able to do some simple stuff and see how they compare?
 
LV426 said:
Showing my ignorance here, but I have a question about installed binaries…

I have one of these new machines on order, and plan to migrate apps/settings from my Intel MBP to the M1 Max.

For heavy duty apps like FCP X and Logic Pro X, will the migration assistant install the binaries compiled for Intel, relying on Rosetta to run? Or will the Apple Silicon binaries be installed? Or both?
Click to expand...
Migrating applications from an Intel machine to an M1 machine with Migration Assistant isn't a great idea. You would be better off to install everything from scratch. Migration assistant will not upgrade your applications from Intel to Universal or Apple Silicon versions.
I have just done exactly this - moving from a Mac Pro 7.1 to an MBP M1 Max. Everything is a fresh install. Yes, it's taken a week so far. I've only migrated documents and other data - using the old machine as a Target Disk over thunderbolt, and using Dropbox (which houses most of my in-use documents).
 
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RandomTox said:
Is it just me or new MacBooks really look so 80’s?
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The 14" MacBook Pros look quite good, the 16" does like you said appear more retro due to its larger size. However any thoughts on size or retro look disappears when you use the machine for a few hours. There are so many other attributes to focus on that size or shape becomes a non-issue, the ergonomics are quite good. Plus, the keyboard is 100x better than my 2018 model, that keyboard was pure garbage in comparison.
 
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INTEL keeps touting that they want to win Apple back. How are their chips on laptops compared to M1 from Apple?
 
hellosil said:
I'd love to see the 2016 MacBook Pro tested against these new M1 Pro/Max machines,
as 2016 and 2021 both are remarkable chapters in the MacBook Pro lineup.

Geekbench scores of the 3 are:

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2016)
Intel Core i7-6820HQ @ 2.7 GHz (4 cores)
  • Single-Core Score: 791
  • Multi-Core Score: 3202
  • Metal score: unknown
MacBook Pro (14-inch Late 2021)
M1 Pro 8-core CPU, a 14-core GPU
  • single-core score: 1666
  • multi-core score: 9924
  • Metal score: 38138
MacBook Pro (16-inch Late 2021)
M1 Max 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU
  • Single-core score: 1781
  • multi-core score: 12785
  • Metal score: 64134
Sources:
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/03/m1-pro-vs-m1-max-performance-test/
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Thanks for this. Exactly what I was looking for. I upgraded from a 2016 15” MacBook Pro to the base model 14”. Good to know I made a good decision.
 
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Zdigital2015 said:
You’re still rocking a primarily iPad Pro workflow right? Or has that changed?
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Nope, decided to switch it up and give macOS and these new MacBook Pro's a try. For now. I'm disappointed in the progress that iPadOS hasn't made the last 2 years and I was expecting a lot more at this point. I know Apple's game here - straddle the line and don't give the iPad too much capability and cannibalize Mac sales, but I was hopeful we would be further ahead than we are today. My workflow is very simple - Outlook, Teams, Safari, and Remote Desktop, so I can use almost anything, but there are still some things that still feel too complicated on an iPad, and I missed the Mac a bit. My ideal set up is a dual boot 11 inch iPad Pro, but I am not sure that will ever happen.
 
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LV426 said:
Showing my ignorance here, but I have a question about installed binaries…

I have one of these new machines on order, and plan to migrate apps/settings from my Intel MBP to the M1 Max.

For heavy duty apps like FCP X and Logic Pro X, will the migration assistant install the binaries compiled for Intel, relying on Rosetta to run? Or will the Apple Silicon binaries be installed? Or both?
Click to expand...
Most apps are "Universal Binaries". They contain the binaries for both CPU types within the application bundle. There are no different versions to choose and install.
 
Jonas Danielsson said:
Dose this guy says that he added 100 of Midi-tracks? Even my old Atari st 1040 could handle that amount of midi tracks it’s only small amount of data.
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The Logic Benchmark test loads a virtual instrument into every channel along with 4 or 5 plugins also on every channel. It's quite heavyweight. The original benchmark test from years ago was producing results of 1000+ tracks, so the new benchmark is much harder work. My Mac Pro 7.1 16-core runs about 160-180 tracks depending what mood it's in. My 15" 2015 MBP runs less than 30. My new 16" MBP M1 Max is on a par with the 7.1 16-core, as per this video.
 
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benwiggy said:
Most apps are "Universal Binaries". They contain the binaries for both CPU types within the application bundle. There are no different versions to choose and install.
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This is not relevant for a migration of old apps from an intel machine. In many cases they will be intel-only installs.
 
Very informative. The 14 MBP base model will more than be enough for me. The most taxing app I use is Logic, and I never have more than 20 tracks. Thanks, Dan.
 
CoMoMacUser said:
I don't need Max's performance, but I would pay the premium if the extra horsepower means Apple will support that notebook longer (e.g., OS upgrades) than one with a Pro chip of the same vintage. Is that typically the case?
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There is no reasonable precedent. PowerPC was not an in-house design, neither was Intel. I wouldnt count on this given the CPU is the same, but there is no typical case, here.
 
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In logic you don't want to "crank the samples" you want the exact opposite. the 32 or 64 would have been much better to see how the session deals with low latency. way more intensive.

This is actually what I want to see on the 14 pro vs 16 pro. can the 14 hold max power without throttling even though it's slightly smaller (specifically for music which is CPU NOT GPU intensive? That's the last puzzle piece I need to know before I buy. if it throttles at all I'll get the 16.
 
Really tells me unless you are in like the 1% of Mac users and even then a professional that NEEDS to save minutes on export/rendering time (because time is money), then the vast, vast majority of people will never really see any noticeable difference between the base 14" and any other model above that.
 
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