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If you've been wondering how the top-end Mac Studio compares to the highest-end MacBook Pro, look no further, because we have a real-world usage comparison that doesn't rely solely on benchmarks. Over on YouTube, MacRumors videographer Dan tested both machines with his real world workflow.


Dan has been using the M1 Max MacBook Pro to edit the MacRumors videos since it came out, and it has met and exceeded his expectations and needs. Obviously, the M1 Ultra does the same, but even for a professional video editor for a tech site, it may be a little bit too much machine for the price.

As a quick example, a standard 4K 10 minute video exported in 4 minutes and 50 seconds on the M1 Max MacBook Pro, and three minutes on the M1 Ultra Mac Studio. An hour long podcast exported in 26 minutes on the MacBook Pro, and just over 14 minutes on the M1 Ultra.

The M1 Ultra is definitely a time saver, but the M1 Max is already pretty good compared to prior Intel chips used in machines like the Mac Pro. In situations where money is no object, the M1 Ultra is a no brainer, but if budget is a concern, it's worth carefully considering the benefits you get with the M1 Ultra over the M1 Max in the MacBook Pro or the Mac Studio.

As for form factor, the Mac Studio has far more ports with up to six Thunderbolt/USB-C ports and four USB-A ports, but you do get a decent number with the MacBook Pro, plus the MacBook Pro is obviously the winner when it comes to portability. Choosing between the MacBook Pro and the Mac Studio really comes down to your form factor needs unless you require the maximum power of the M1 Ultra for your workflow.

Make sure to watch Dan's full comparison to see both machines in action and to get his thoughts on how each form factor works for a videographer's workload.

Article Link: M1 Ultra Mac Studio vs. M1 Max MacBook Pro
Maybe it’s been mentioned somewhere, but is there a comparison of the new M1Max and Ultra’s with a Windows based Intel and a premium graphics card? I don’t work with video or media on a commercial basis but I assume at least some professionals use non Mac based computers as their primary workstations. This is just a case of me being curious, because I don’t have a need to shave x amount of time off of media projects that I am doing.
 
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I don’t know if it’s an American thing, but I’ve always been baffled when I come across ppl that pronounce it with a soft g, ie ‘jig.’ Partly I think because there used to be a cleaning product in the UK called ‘jif’, partly because it’s Graphics Interchange Format (hard g) and partly because it’s just obvious to pronounce it ‘gif’ with a hard g.
Well, the creator of the format says to use the soft g ("Choosy programmers choose GIF" :) ). This page collects some references: http://www.olsenhome.com/gif/. This one of those cases where the "wrong" way has infiltrated the common lexicon and causes debate. Good luck!
 
Video editing is the best real world test to show the power of the system. Any system can handle email and browsing. What would be the point in showing that off?
Well, 3D gaming is what a lot of people consider a popular task that's demanding on computers.... but honestly, we all know where that would leave anything Mac.

I mean, honestly - Apple shunned the gaming market for so long, it's kind of a lost cause now except for the niche companies dedicated to making a few titles for it. But it does leave only a few areas where a Mac can really shine, like video editing or music creation.
 
Seems there were two releases of 16" Intel MBPs. First one in late 2019 had only integrated graphics, second in early 2020 had dedicated. So if all these complaints are from users who have dGPUs, I'd not be surprised.

(The one with dedicated also has integrated, but the automatic switching tends to prefer the dedicated.)
Howdy sudo-sandwhich, that is not correct. All of the Intel based 16" MacBook Pros had a dGPU. The least expensive models had a Radeon 5300M, which was upgradeable to a 5500M and up to 8 GBs of VRAM (the model I owned). Later around June 2020, they refreshed it (still listed as a late 2019 system) with an optional 5600M which came with 8 GBs of HBM2 VRAM. It was well documented at this site, that the HBM2 memory on the later model seemed to solve vthe extra voltage that plugging the MBP into an external monitor generated on the 5300M/5500M models. The 5600M model ran much cooler and quieter (relatively speaking :) ) when plugged into external monitors, than the original models. See here for info on the various available options: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/index-macbookpro.html
 
Can someone explain to me why saving 2 mins (or 10mins) in export time is a big deal? It's not like video editors export multiple times an hour (or even a day). 99% of time is spent editing. When it comes to export, does it really matter if a MacRumors (or any other) podcast or video comes out 10mins (or for that matter several hours) later?! Just seems like a meaningless benchmark. But every single review video goes (like this one) goes on endlessly about it. Is it just because it's easy to measure?

Also for the love of god please can YouTube reviewers think outside their own world? The logic seems to be 'I make review videos, so all I need to look at is how good this hardware is for making videos'. This is going to blow some people's minds but people do other things on laptops than make videos and play games.
A few years ago there was a TV commercial that made a point of a rain sensor in a Mazda. The commercial suggested that the rain sensor would save you time, because it would turn on your wipers for you. Of course I thought this was so idiotic because how can you save time? You are in the vehicle, to turn on the wipers does not save you anything.

I get your point succinctly, saving 2 mins or 10 mins is a restroom or coffee break amount of time, if you are behind on a deadline it could make a difference, but when working with computers we all know deadlines are a fools paradise. :D
 
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Howdy sudo-sandwhich, that is not correct. All of the Intel based 16" MacBook Pros had a dGPU. The least expensive models had a Radeon 5300M, which was upgradeable to a 5500M and up to 8 GBs of VRAM (the model I owned). Later around June 2020, they refreshed it (still listed as a late 2019 system) with an optional 5600M which came with 8 GBs of HBM2 VRAM. It was well documented at this site, that the HBM2 memory on the later model seemed to solve vthe extra voltage that plugging the MBP into an external monitor generated on the 5300M/5500M models. The 5600M model ran much cooler and quieter (relatively speaking :) ) when plugged into external monitors, than the original models. See here for info on the various available options: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/index-macbookpro.html
You're right, I was checking EveryMac too but must've accidentally clicked a different model. Here's the older 16": https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...re-i7-2.6-six-core-16-2019-scissor-specs.html
 
And? Meaning 10 minutes still makes zero difference.
If you just think a little harder… then maybe you can figure out why it can make a difference for certain companies, people, studios, clients, etc.

Maybe not for you (which is fine btw). But apple wasn’t thinking about you when developing this tech (which is fine too).

Why in the world are people so butt hurt that some find it beneficial that export times are drastically improved. It’s like, complaining about something good that helps people but just because it doesn’t benefit you, you’re so salty about it. Relax lol.
 
Maybe not for you (which is fine btw). But apple wasn’t thinking about you when developing this tech (which is fine too).

Yes they were, and yes, I need the power. Constantly. Not 2:36 minutes per weekly episode.

Why in the world do people believe that Youtuber is the only job computers are used for?
 
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Yes they were, and yes, I need the power. Constantly. Not 2:36 minutes per weekly episode.

Why in the world do people believe that Youtuber is the only job computers are used for?
so, are you saying that these devices wouldn't save you any time? or just that the article reported on the workflow that they author uses as an example and it is not your workflow? It's not clear.
 
After watching all the reviews I’d probably be happy with a Mac Mini M1 base model. Everything else is overkill.
I thought so as well, but have run into some issues with some apps that chew up ram. Seems like the M1 sometimes does not page out memory well and I see it just stumble and them crash when RAM usage gets close to the max.
 
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I would like to see some benchmarks for apps while using Parallels in the background oreven using some windows apps like Bluebeam or Revit in the Windows VM. Probably not likely since it’s not officially sanctioned, but it would sure be good to see.
 
There’s still no computer system out there they can generate a bitcoin in a reasonable amount of time.
Someone wake me up when we get close to that. :p
 
But I can't work out what apps use multicore. Can anyone help?
Logic Pro X for one: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201838
Final Cut Pro X for another.

The more cores you got, the faster you go particularly with big projects. Logic, for example, will dedicate each audio channel in a project to its own core if there are enough available. So they tell me.

I need more cores, I run both Logic & FCPX here on my quad core 2012 rMBP. It works, haven't crashed it yet but I probably could grind it to a halt if I set my mind to it.
 
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Pro, Max, Ultra, why are they making it so confusing? I would think Ultra > Max > Pro and not Max > Ultra > Pro
 
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QUESTION: Apple says that the Space Grey/Black Magic Mouse is "NEW." Does anyone know what's new about it?
 
Nobody knows why are they making it so confusing. I guess we might eventually get used to it. Or not.
It’s not really that complicated. Apple have long used “Pro” for their higher performance, premium offerings. Then they added “Max” which obviously is even higher performance. The only odd one is “Ultra”. There is nothing in the name that says it is more than “Max” but just one look at the price and you’ll see where each of these fits within the performance/price continuum. ?
 
It’s not really that complicated. Apple have long used “Pro” for their higher performance, premium offerings. Then they added “Max” which obviously is even higher performance. The only odd one is “Ultra”. There is nothing in the name that says it is more than “Max” but just one look at the price and you’ll see where each of these fits within the performance/price continuum. ?

Isn't "Max" like.. the top? Ultra is less than Max. They should fire the marketting head.

The only thing greater than Max is Beyond.
 
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