M4 Max (16-Core CPU, 128GB RAM) vs. M3 Ultra (28-Core CPU, 96GB RAM)

[DigitalEd]

I am a photographer and use a variety of tools with my M2 Max base with 32GB RAM. Darktable, Pixelmator Pro, DXO PureRaw, and Luminar NEO. I have over 80,000 photos in my library and even the most intensive AI generative fills barely touch my Studio's capacity.

Yeah, I have Pixelmator Pro, Photomaor, DxO PhotoLab, Luminar Neo, Capture One, and used to use Lightroom and Photoshop years ago.
None of those programs come close to what you could do if you set up a real AI generation platform using something like Comfy UI.
It all works differently, takes time to learn and understand, and takes time to even set up your own workflow with it because it's changing so fast with new stuff coming out almost weekly.
I'm on a Mac, which is slower than the NVIDIA Windows systems. I can still do it. "what takes me 30 seconds might take a fast Windows system only five or six seconds, but I have no problem doing it.
Even the ability in the AI programs now to cut out images and replace the background, kind of like doing green screen, you're retaining 100% basically of the photo that you shot of the person and just replacing the background into anything you want is fantastic on its own.
But then when you get into basically having the AI clone the person and then creating them as a new image into anything you want that's where it starts to becoming amazing and that you just can't do with any of these other programs.
If you have a computer powerful enough to run flux, The new flux models, no one can tell them from a photograph. The detail and depth of the images is so good. But if you're using that on, for example, an image that you shot as a photographer, the new images it will produce are almost exactly looking like that person, but in a new look that you decide to tell it.
On my Mac, Flux just takes way too long to run. and I'm into like anywhere from three to eight minutes or more for one image. It's too slow. But if I do a run pod renting GPU space online, I can do it.
Right now we're just doing SDXL images. The Mac runs that just fine. it's great for fantasy looking images, also taking any type of photo of someone shot anywhere and turning it into like a headshot that looks like it was a studio headshot that was Photoshopped edited. Those came out really well. or any type of image that would be impossible to do in studio or on location. because it can be anything, anywhere.

 

[DigitalEd]

Excellent points. Plus, for that monthly subscription, you get all the enhancements/new features they add. Whereas if you wanted those new features on your own local machine, you'd likely have to add yet more RAM/storage/processor overhead.

I went with 64GB on my Mac Studio. Ample for local applications. Not enough to run a smart AI locally, but also not something I need to do.

I think AI is so different for different people and their expected use.
If you're running large AI language models, then you do need a lot of RAM, but even at 128, you can load in a lot. with 48 gigs of RAM on my Mac M4 Pro, I'm running multiple LLMs from Ollama with no problem I can switch to And I'm running Mac whisper at the same time that I'm using for speech to to text, that I'm using right now, it stays running all the time and it's using its own language model.
But for me, the AI I'm doing is AI images,
I have no problem loading multiple work models in for AI image making them with my 48 gigs of RAM but I have had the system crash where I tried to load in more like 12 or more at once plus having an Ollama model running and Mack Whisperer at the same time.
So 128 gig of ram would allow me to load in a heck of a lot more to do testing where I'm running multiple models down a list. So I'm getting an image from like 12 different models or more so I can compare them side by side to see which ones I like best testing.
But then the end result is when I'm using it for real work, I'm only using one model at a time, which doesn't take all that many gigs of RAM at all and I could use olama to help with the prompting and have Mac Whisper running as well, because I like doing the voice to text for even creating my props.
I'm running one of the larger models that also can look at and read images so it can describe images that I load in or from a web address I put in to a image online from anyplace to create a prompt from that image that I load in.
It does all this within Comfy UI as I'm working on the images. So I can load in a photo. it describes it, then if I like the description, I could use that description immediately to then add in to create new images from that description added to a photo of a person that I add in. This is great for just having it describing the background of an image that you would like to use a similar background of for one of your photos.
I've also told it to write it as a JSON file format, so then I could save it to a file list of prompts that I save as a collection.
But you can create an unlimited amount of prompts as JSON files by just using something like Grok 3 for free and then load that JSON file list into your Comfy UI interface, and maybe you have a hundred different prompts that it's created, you could run down that list and then knock out 100 pictures with all those prompts to test them to see which ones you like best, and then go back and tweak them if you want to add more things to them. You can even have them render out with a text overlay that says what the prompt is, so when you're doing this testing, you could see which prop was used for which image.
But if you're getting into the higher end, large language models, then yeah, you would probably be better off renting space online. Same with if we get really busy doing a lot of AI images, it would be much faster for us to rent GPU space and run out the images online than doing it locally. But right now, we're not that busy with the AI images since we're just getting started with it. I could knock out a thousand images a day from AI with no problem, just with my M4 Pro. I've done that quite a bit lately, just testing different things. actually even running out 2,000 images in a few hours not very hard to do.
I expect to knock that time down 40 to 50% faster with a M4 Max with the 40 GPU and 128 of RAM.

 

[DigitalEd]

The Ultra versus the Max for video editing, something I've noticed
For example, in DaVinci Resolve, after I edit a 4K video getting it ready for YouTube, I then use MacWhisper to then translate the whole video making the subtitles This works great.
Now the ultra for rendering out the video would be faster than the Max as expected.
But then rendering out the subtitles, I noticed that watching my settings, MacWhisper, for example, is using the CPU, not the GPU. So on a Max, it's going to be much faster than on the Ultra.
So basically the time that you've saved by having the ultra and rendering out your video faster, you now lose when you are rendering out your subtitles. Basically evening out the score as far as time between the things.

 

[MacPoulet]

For years it's been called Photoshop, but now you can also call it AI enhanced.

And before that it was air brushing. There’s a difference between using digital tools to enhance a photo to either remove imperfections or distortions caused by the camera lens and creating a totally new work by mixing and remixing various elements. Neither is better than the other, they’re just different.

 

[chars1ub0w]

For photography, there are plenty of tools that will max out your GPU and RAM.

 

[datagov63]

I think AI is so different for different people and their expected use.
If you're running large AI language models, then you do need a lot of RAM, but even at 128, you can load in a lot. with 48 gigs of RAM on my Mac M4 Pro, I'm running multiple LLMs from Ollama with no problem I can switch to And I'm running Mac whisper at the same time that I'm using for speech to to text, that I'm using right now, it stays running all the time and it's using its own language model.
But for me, the AI I'm doing is AI images,
I have no problem loading multiple work models in for AI image making them with my 48 gigs of RAM but I have had the system crash where I tried to load in more like 12 or more at once plus having an Ollama model running and Mack Whisperer at the same time.
So 128 gig of ram would allow me to load in a heck of a lot more to do testing where I'm running multiple models down a list. So I'm getting an image from like 12 different models or more so I can compare them side by side to see which ones I like best testing.
But then the end result is when I'm using it for real work, I'm only using one model at a time, which doesn't take all that many gigs of RAM at all and I could use olama to help with the prompting and have Mac Whisper running as well, because I like doing the voice to text for even creating my props.
I'm running one of the larger models that also can look at and read images so it can describe images that I load in or from a web address I put in to a image online from anyplace to create a prompt from that image that I load in.
It does all this within Comfy UI as I'm working on the images. So I can load in a photo. it describes it, then if I like the description, I could use that description immediately to then add in to create new images from that description added to a photo of a person that I add in. This is great for just having it describing the background of an image that you would like to use a similar background of for one of your photos.
I've also told it to write it as a JSON file format, so then I could save it to a file list of prompts that I save as a collection.
But you can create an unlimited amount of prompts as JSON files by just using something like Grok 3 for free and then load that JSON file list into your Comfy UI interface, and maybe you have a hundred different prompts that it's created, you could run down that list and then knock out 100 pictures with all those prompts to test them to see which ones you like best, and then go back and tweak them if you want to add more things to them. You can even have them render out with a text overlay that says what the prompt is, so when you're doing this testing, you could see which prop was used for which image.
But if you're getting into the higher end, large language models, then yeah, you would probably be better off renting space online. Same with if we get really busy doing a lot of AI images, it would be much faster for us to rent GPU space and run out the images online than doing it locally. But right now, we're not that busy with the AI images since we're just getting started with it. I could knock out a thousand images a day from AI with no problem, just with my M4 Pro. I've done that quite a bit lately, just testing different things. actually even running out 2,000 images in a few hours not very hard to do.
I expect to knock that time down 40 to 50% faster with a M4 Max with the 40 GPU and 128 of RAM.

Looks like a lot of work for marginal gain, IMHO

 

[asiga]

BTW, if you want to extend the life of the Mac Studio for many years, as I do, don't forget these machines cannot be easily cleaned for dust entering the internals. There's a good thread with good solutions proposed: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-clean-the-mac-studio-from-dust.2338827/

I made some temp measurements related to dust filtering, you can read them here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-clean-the-mac-studio-from-dust.2338827/post-33819616

 

[DigitalEd]

For photography, there are plenty of tools that will max out your GPU and RAM.View attachment 2494905

I can upsize a 24MP raw image in Photomater or Pixelmater Pro in 12 seconds on my Mac Mini M4 Pro. No need to use Gigapixel. also for noise reduction. I think the noise reduction actually works much better and DXO Photo Lab, which I can export out images with noise reduction in no time.

 

[DigitalEd]

Looks like a lot of work for marginal gain, IMHO

I guess I don't understand the comment. a lot of work for marginal gain.
My gain is that we're already using AI images for our photography business for our customers. That's 100% gain that we weren't able to do before.
As far as Mac versus Windows, I like having the low power and how small the Mac is. because for one main reason in the future, we're in the process of selling everything we own, and then our house and we're then moving to Portugal as part of a semi-retirement. We just sold our wedding business about a month ago. Keeping our portrait business for now, Now, it may take us a year before we get everything done before we can move.
it's going to be a lot easier to throw a Mac Studio and a Mac Mini Pro in my backpack I carry on the plane. and a bunch of small hard drives to move.
Otherwise, for the AI work, I might have just been building a new Windows system with a faster Nvidia card, so that I don't have to worry about renting GPU space online.
But that would have to be a very large system more difficult to take with us. And I'm also using all my Macs connected together so I'm able to move files from one room to another. we have a main room I work in, and then I have a studio area that we work in.
We transfer files back and forth all the time very easily, and I really like using all the Mac apps that it can run on all my systems that have actually saved me a lot of money. For example, this year I'm switching over to doing all my photo raw editing in Photomater. free updates for life didn't cost much no more paying for any Photoshop, Lightroom, or any of that.
I also have Pixelmator Pro and some other programs as well that I get free updates on that I just can't do that on a Windows system. But I also have current versions of Luminar Neo, DxO Photo Lab and still my last version of Capture One. for raw editing when you actually start using it and learn how it works well.
The Photomater program works every bit as good is Capture One, DXO Photo Lab, or Lightroom And since it was made for Mac to start with, it runs a little bit faster than the other programs So I never have to pay for an upgrade ever again for my raw photo editing, and the Pixelmator Pro, for the most part does everything a photographer needs to do that they would do in Photoshop, they can do in Pixelmator Pro Once again, free updates for life now. And then I do some music production, and I have Logic Pro, I get free updates forever. and a few other Apple bundled programs I have then I'll get free updates.
I do a lot in Apple's numbers, keeping track of a lot of things. use Apple Notes every day. and a great little Apple program I purchased called Logoist 5 I use that the most for creating my YouTube thumbnails and any graphics and so on. It's much easier to use than Photoshop or Affinity Photo.
I also have all three of the Affinity Photo programs I've used off and on for years, but I find that using these other Apple programs now, I'm able to do everything I need to do faster and more easier. I was a Windows user for a very long time. it took me a good six months to get used to Apple when I finally moved over to it.
I'd probably save $700 to $800 a year now. on not needing to pay for software upgrades that I had to pay for in the past. And for me as we move into our semi-retirement, that savings is going to be a lot when we're not relying on our photography business for our living anymore. I'm focusing more on creating an online business by the end of this year to supplement our income.
photography has been a great business between photography and video I've been doing this for over 35 years. But it's also been a slowly dying business that's not kept up with the economy. 25 years ago we were averaging $3,000 to $3,500 for a six hour wedding package. in our area here now, that's almost impossible to get because other people are doing that now for anywhere from $600 to $800 to $1,200, including an album.
portrait sessions. 20 years ago we were averaging $735 off every family portrait session.
Over the years, because of the massive amount of competition and everybody lowering their prices, we had to lower our prices. Now we're averaging $600 off of every portrait session.
But in reality, with the cost of living being at least four times as much as it was 20 years ago, we would need to be at over $3,000 per portrait session to keep up with the economy based on what we made just 20 years ago and what our buying money power was back then. Photography is a very sad business to be in nowadays.
if you actually look at what we used to make, which a lot of younger photographers don't realize we made more money 20, 25 years ago than they are making now. and everything costs four to five to six times as much now to live.
I also have Final Cut Pro and all the other programs in that bundle. But when I was on Windows, I was already using DaVinci Resolve and paid for the dongle. So when I switched to Mac, I just installed it on the Mac and I've been using it ever since. so I've never really learned Final Cut Pro, but I could go that route and then get free updates for that as well. But I've got nothing but free updates from DaVinci Resolve, and I'm more used to using.
I will be keeping my Mac Mini M4 Pro and just replacing my M1 Max Studio with the new M4 Max studio, giving it more GPU power and more RAM. Will be doing the trade in, so I'll be trading in my M1 Mac Studio. Looks like they'll be giving me around $760 for it.

 

[picpicmac]

25 years ago we were averaging $3,000 to $3,500 for a six hour wedding package. in our area here now, that's almost impossible to get because other people are doing that now for anywhere from $600 to $800 to $1,200, including an album.
portrait sessions. 20 years ago we were averaging $735 off every family portrait session.
Over the years, because of the massive amount of competition and everybody lowering their prices, we had to lower our prices. Now we're averaging $600 off of every portrait session.

Yup, the "democratization" of photography means anyone with an iPhone will sell themselves as a photographer/videographer.

This was always going to be the inevitable end since digital imaging was invented.

Only the top commercial photography business is secure, because the investment needed for lighting, space, etc. is too much for the newbie week-end photographer.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Only the top commercial photography business is secure, because the investment needed for lighting, space, etc. is too much for the newbie week-end photographer.

Yup. Prosumer cameras offer what top-level professional level cameras did just a few years ago.
I took this yesterday handheld with a consumer-level Sony Alpha with a non-pro level 100-400mm stabilized Sigma lens. AF-C mode, simply panned and tracked these Thunderbirds (1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 320 @ 344mm. Reduced by 50% to fit here.)

 

[Mireis]

For the small price difference between the M4 Max (16/40/128) and as it seems that in intensive tasks it reaches the limit for its high temperature and its dissipation system less efficient than ultra, do you consider with these data interesting to upgrade to M3 Ultra (28/60/96-256)?

In support both M3 and M4 should be similar, right?
And M3 Ultra is only surpassed in very specific cases like Photoshop by M4 Max, the usual thing is that M3 Ultra surpasses it in almost everything.

 

[datagov63]

I guess I don't understand the comment. a lot of work for marginal gain.
My gain is that we're already using AI images for our photography business for our customers. That's 100% gain that we weren't able to do before.
As far as Mac versus Windows, I like having the low power and how small the Mac is. because for one main reason in the future, we're in the process of selling everything we own, and then our house and we're then moving to Portugal as part of a semi-retirement. We just sold our wedding business about a month ago. Keeping our portrait business for now, Now, it may take us a year before we get everything done before we can move.
it's going to be a lot easier to throw a Mac Studio and a Mac Mini Pro in my backpack I carry on the plane. and a bunch of small hard drives to move.
Otherwise, for the AI work, I might have just been building a new Windows system with a faster Nvidia card, so that I don't have to worry about renting GPU space online.
But that would have to be a very large system more difficult to take with us. And I'm also using all my Macs connected together so I'm able to move files from one room to another. we have a main room I work in, and then I have a studio area that we work in.
We transfer files back and forth all the time very easily, and I really like using all the Mac apps that it can run on all my systems that have actually saved me a lot of money. For example, this year I'm switching over to doing all my photo raw editing in Photomater. free updates for life didn't cost much no more paying for any Photoshop, Lightroom, or any of that.
I also have Pixelmator Pro and some other programs as well that I get free updates on that I just can't do that on a Windows system. But I also have current versions of Luminar Neo, DxO Photo Lab and still my last version of Capture One. for raw editing when you actually start using it and learn how it works well.
The Photomater program works every bit as good is Capture One, DXO Photo Lab, or Lightroom And since it was made for Mac to start with, it runs a little bit faster than the other programs So I never have to pay for an upgrade ever again for my raw photo editing, and the Pixelmator Pro, for the most part does everything a photographer needs to do that they would do in Photoshop, they can do in Pixelmator Pro Once again, free updates for life now. And then I do some music production, and I have Logic Pro, I get free updates forever. and a few other Apple bundled programs I have then I'll get free updates.
I do a lot in Apple's numbers, keeping track of a lot of things. use Apple Notes every day. and a great little Apple program I purchased called Logoist 5 I use that the most for creating my YouTube thumbnails and any graphics and so on. It's much easier to use than Photoshop or Affinity Photo.
I also have all three of the Affinity Photo programs I've used off and on for years, but I find that using these other Apple programs now, I'm able to do everything I need to do faster and more easier. I was a Windows user for a very long time. it took me a good six months to get used to Apple when I finally moved over to it.
I'd probably save $700 to $800 a year now. on not needing to pay for software upgrades that I had to pay for in the past. And for me as we move into our semi-retirement, that savings is going to be a lot when we're not relying on our photography business for our living anymore. I'm focusing more on creating an online business by the end of this year to supplement our income.
photography has been a great business between photography and video I've been doing this for over 35 years. But it's also been a slowly dying business that's not kept up with the economy. 25 years ago we were averaging $3,000 to $3,500 for a six hour wedding package. in our area here now, that's almost impossible to get because other people are doing that now for anywhere from $600 to $800 to $1,200, including an album.
portrait sessions. 20 years ago we were averaging $735 off every family portrait session.
Over the years, because of the massive amount of competition and everybody lowering their prices, we had to lower our prices. Now we're averaging $600 off of every portrait session.
But in reality, with the cost of living being at least four times as much as it was 20 years ago, we would need to be at over $3,000 per portrait session to keep up with the economy based on what we made just 20 years ago and what our buying money power was back then. Photography is a very sad business to be in nowadays.
if you actually look at what we used to make, which a lot of younger photographers don't realize we made more money 20, 25 years ago than they are making now. and everything costs four to five to six times as much now to live.
I also have Final Cut Pro and all the other programs in that bundle. But when I was on Windows, I was already using DaVinci Resolve and paid for the dongle. So when I switched to Mac, I just installed it on the Mac and I've been using it ever since. so I've never really learned Final Cut Pro, but I could go that route and then get free updates for that as well. But I've got nothing but free updates from DaVinci Resolve, and I'm more used to using.
I will be keeping my Mac Mini M4 Pro and just replacing my M1 Max Studio with the new M4 Max studio, giving it more GPU power and more RAM. Will be doing the trade in, so I'll be trading in my M1 Mac Studio. Looks like they'll be giving me around $760 for it.

Informative. Thank you.

 

[loby]

I think for once (or it has been years) we can get an understanding on what to need instead of pulling our hair out trying to figure out which to buy. It now depends on what you will be using it for.

1. Generally, any purchase will do what you want “generally”. Apple silicone is that good. For these users, you buy what you can afford.

Other than that”general usage” or doing a little something of everything:

2. If you need RAM (A.I.) the buy Macs with RAM and the base M4 CPU has you covered.

3. If you do graphic intense work or video especially, get the M4 ultra config. And buy the amount of RAM you need after the standard configuration. Standard 96 GB is nice and should work for most things. M4 Ultra has the extra encoders so that tell you something if you work with video.

But…if you do some of everything and not looking for specific (A.I. or video work) REALLY any purchase your pocket can afford will now-a-days be satisfying. Mac’s now are that good!

 

[xiayizju]

I think for once (or it has been years) we can get an understanding on what to need instead of pulling our hair out trying to figure out which to buy. It now depends on what you will be using it for.

1. Generally, any purchase will do what you want “generally”. Apple silicone is that good. For these users, you buy what you can afford.

Other than that”general usage” or doing a little something of everything:

2. If you need RAM (A.I.) the buy Macs with RAM and the base M4 CPU has you covered.

3. If you do graphic intense work or video especially, get the M4 ultra config. And buy the amount of RAM you need after the standard configuration. Standard 96 GB is nice and should work for most things. M4 Ultra has the extra encoders so that tell you something if you work with video.

But…if you do some of everything and not looking for specific (A.I. or video work) REALLY any purchase your pocket can afford will now-a-days be satisfying. Mac’s now are that good!

Thank you, this is a very sincere answer and we need such answers in the forum.

 

[Daverich4]

3. If you do graphic intense work or video especially, get the M4 ultra config. And buy the amount of RAM you need after the standard configuration. Standard 96 GB is nice and should work for most things. M4 Ultra has the extra encoders so that tell you something if you work with video.

Apple does not sell an M4 Ultra

 

[loby]

Apple does not sell an M4 Ultra

a typo..or just subconsciously wanting. 🙂

 

[Ifti]

Some people just buy one item over the other because it 'sounds newer'. So the M4 sounds newer then the M3, for instance. They can't handle the fact that they could get a M3 machine with a chip released the same time, over an M4 machine, just because of the M3 and M4 naming.
This wasn't me when I picked up my M4 Max. Honest......... LOL

In all seriousness, I had no need for an Ultra chip for my usage. Although I would have loved the front TB5 ports, but realised I couldn't justify the extra cost just for the front ports!