M4 vs. M4 Pro vs. M4 Max Chip Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Choose?

[MacRumors]

Apple this week debuted its M4 Mac models, unveiling the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. So how do the three latest-generation Apple silicon chips compare and which should you choose?

The MacBook Pro is the only product line currently available with a choice of all three M4 chips, but you will also have to choose between the M4 and M4 Pro chip when buying a Mac mini. All of the differences between the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips are listed below:

M4	M4 Pro	M4 Max
Up to 10 CPU cores (4 performance + 6 efficiency cores)	Up to 14 CPU cores (10 performance + 4 efficiency cores)	Up to 16 CPU cores (12 performance + 4 efficiency cores)
Up to 10 GPU cores	Up to 20 GPU cores	Up to 40 GPU cores
120GB/s memory bandwidth	273GB/s memory bandwidth	546GB/s memory bandwidth
Up to 32GB memory	Up to 64GB memory	Up to 128GB memory
Media Engine with one video encode engine and one ProRes accelerator	Media Engine with one video encode engine and one ProRes accelerator	Media Engine with two video encode engines and two ProRes accelerators
Thunderbolt 4 support (up to 40Gb/s)	Thunderbolt 5 support (up to 120Gb/s)	Thunderbolt 5 support (up to 120Gb/s)
11- and 13-inch iPad Pro (2024) 14-inch MacBook Pro (2024) Mac mini (2024) iMac (2024)	14-inch MacBook Pro (2024) 16-inch MacBook Pro (2024) Mac mini (2024)	14-inch MacBook Pro (2024) 16-inch MacBook Pro (2024)

Benchmarks for the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips are yet to be seen, but performance is likely to scale similarly to the M3 series of chips.

The M4 chip is an ideal choice for everyday users who need dependable performance for typical productivity tasks, web browsing, and media consumption. With up to 10 CPU and GPU cores and support for up to 32GB of memory, it easily handles lightweight workflows without draining battery life excessively. Devices like the iPad Pro, 14-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac offer this chip, providing great value for those prioritizing efficiency over intensive workflows.

For users who frequently handle intensive applications and multitasking but don't have extreme performance demands, the M4 Pro strikes an excellent balance. With its added CPU and GPU cores, faster memory bandwidth, and support for Thunderbolt 5, the M4 Pro is a smart choice for video editing, graphic design, and advanced multitasking. It's available in both the Mac mini and the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

Finally, the M4 Max is engineered for power users with high-performance needs, such as 3D rendering, complex data processing, or heavy-duty video production. With up to 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, and 128GB of unified memory, the M4 Max is equipped to handle the most intensive workflows. It's a good fit for those who require top-tier performance across the CPU and GPU. It is currently exclusively available in Apple's 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

Article Link: M4 vs. M4 Pro vs. M4 Max Chip Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Choose?

 

[Will Co]

Excited to try out my MBP 16 Max with 64GB RAM on some heavy duty Linux and Windows on Arm workloads next week.

 

[jabbr]

doesn't look like you can get 64GB memory on the M4 Pro, tops out at 48

 

[jecowa]

I'm curious how much L2 and L3 cache the M4 has. It's been out for 5 months, and still no details on the cache.

 

[G3Blue]

doesn't look like you can get 64GB memory on the M4 Pro, tops out at 48

You can on the mini.

 

[BorisDG]

I'm curious how much L2 and L3 cache the M4 has. It's been out for 5 months, and still no details on the cache.

The info is out since long time. It's the same as M2/M3. M1 is almost the same, but P-Core has 12MB.

P-Core: 16MB
E-Core: 4MB
SLC: 8MB

 

[pksv]

deleted

 

[Javah]

What I miss is a use case. I really do not know how GPU and CPU-intensive Photoshop, Lightroom, Camera Raw, etc., is, or when the 20 GPU cores more between the Pro and Max make a difference for Premiere Pro or any other video editing tool. I use an M1 Max in a MacBook Pro for photo and video editing. This could be an M4 Pro with lots of memory, but when would I need a Max?
Because there are different choices now, I have no clue.

 

[LogicalApex]

Shouldn't the memory bandwidth on the M4 Max say "Up to" or at least note that the 36GB 14 core version has a lower memory bandwidth of 410GB/s?

MacBook Pro - Tech Specs

See all the technical specifications for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips.

www.apple.com

 

[JosephAW]

Too bad there’s not a M4 Max chip for the mini

 

[DesertNomad]

Since this is all unified memory (as opposed to the separate memory on Intel), if I go from a 64GB i9 (w/8GB GPU), am I going to feel constrained with 48GB on a 14" MBP? Note that I have two 6K XDR external displays, so will the Max 64GB be a lot better, considering that I don't really need the extra processing power? I uses it mostly for software development.

 

[L23]

This a post about new MBPs not about Mini.

MBPs and Mini.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Or you could wait for the M4 Ultra!

 

[mcilwraith]

im thinking M4 is good enough for 90% of folks. i have a M1 Pro MBP at home and its still silly fast!

 

[Logamaniac]

Too bad there’s not a M4 Max chip for the mini

Can’t eat your studio sku!

 

[CyclingHermit]

Since this is all unified memory (as opposed to the separate memory on Intel), if I go from a 64GB i9 (w/8GB GPU), am I going to feel constrained with 48GB on a 14" MBP? Note that I have two 6K XDR external displays, so will the Max 64GB be a lot better, considering that I don't really need the extra processing power? I uses it mostly for software development.

I haven't used i9 explicitly, but all M machines have way better memory bandwidth than Intel & AMD discrete memory, so M4 pro with 48GB will likely beat the i9 easily except in games. My 2¢, I could be wrong, no professional advice, etc. etc.

 

[TommyBoy5]

im thinking M4 is good enough for 90% of folks. i have a M1 Pro MBP at home and its still silly fast!

Me too. A 2021 machine and have no issues with snappiness on anything I do with it.

 

[Rychiar]

What I miss is a use case. I really do not know how GPU and CPU-intensive Photoshop, Lightroom, Camera Raw, etc., is, or when the 20 GPU cores more between the Pro and Max make a difference for Premiere Pro or any other video editing tool. I use an M1 Max in a MacBook Pro for photo and video editing. This could be an M4 Pro with lots of memory, but when would I need a Max?
Because there are different choices now, I have no clue.

this is true. at my office I have an M2 Max Mac Studio and at home I currently just have a base m2 Mac mini and the mini seems just as fast at most of my photoshop tasks and other uses. the biggest difference I notice is the lack of RAM on the mini crippling my raw editing ability at home but then again its just a stop gap machine til we get an m4 studio release... I'm surprised how much I've accomplished with that base m2 mini last few years though.

 

[ridgero]

If you don't know whether you need a M4 Pro or a M4 Max, then you actually need the regular M4.

 

[Siliconguy]

The problem (sort of) is that all these chips are way overpowered for light use. And yet the tablets are crippled in respect to connections unless you add keyboards and docking hubs and so forth.

Putting any of these in a home theater set up is overkill. Using any of these as a server is overkill. As graphics workstations they are great, but even for doing your taxes they are not even slightly necessary.

The best thing about them for me is they'll drive down the price of used hardware not that I need anything at the moment.

The market is in a curious place at the moment, Raspberry PI at the low end and super chips at the high end. Where is the middle? I had an i5-4570R that worked really well for me until the magic smoke departed (not from the CPU, but it was still very dead). I wonder what has that level of performance now (probably at a much lower power consumption which I would not complain about)?

 

[G5isAlive]

Errors there, you CANNOT get 64GB RAM with Pro chip on MBP.


This a post about new MBPs not about Mini.

No, it's about the chips. The article even brings up the mini..

"The MacBook Pro is the only product line currently available with a choice of all three M4 chips, but you will also have to choose between the M4 and M4 Pro chip when buying a Mac mini."

 

[Windoes]

Be safe, buy the Max

 

[G5isAlive]

Be safe, buy the Max

Be safer, wait for the Ultra? or how about we wait for actual testing to come out next week. That will be a useful discussion rather than some of this state the obvious. Not to worry, I saw your sarcasm. Well done.

 

[HarryPot]

Would the M4 Pro MacBook Pro make a noticeable difference in handling large Excel files compared to my current M2 MacBook Air? I often get beachballs with Excel files, but I suspect that the issue may lie with Excel rather than the M2 chip.

My current M2 MacBook Air has 24GB of RAM, and I would also get 24GB of RAM with the M4 Pro.

 

[rp2011]

I would like to upgrade my M1 Max Mac Studio to an M4 Max for more Blender rendering instead of having to switch to my standby PC for that. It would be nice. I am really interested in seeing rendering benchmarks for it.

I think if Apple wants to attract more consumers, from both Mac and Windows to the higher-end Max devices, they have to up their GPU game. That's for graphics work, games, and AI. That's a sizable low-hanging group that is untapped and that they have yet to capture. For AI development in particular.