Unless you’re rendering stuff the M1 stuff is probably still more than enough for people. It aged like a fine wine.
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M4 vs. M4 Pro vs. M4 Max Chip Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Choose?
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Well how much of RAM are you currently using on Intel and what software stack is being used? If you're using more than 36GB (not including caching) as baseline I would go above 48GB. If not, I would buy the 48.
Depends on project size. If you're rendering films length videos all day then Max. Most people will be happy with the Pro. Why not order one and try it yourself?
PS: the M4 pro is probably as strong or stronger than an M1 MAX with similar amounts of memory. So if you're happy then go with the Pro.
Currently I'm with a 14" MBP M1 Pro 10c/16c/32GB/2TB (refurbished) - purchased in November 2022, a lot in clamshell with a 27" 4K Dell, rarely used as a mobile device, thus more my current desktop machine than being used as a laptop.
Especially quite a single core performance increase in M4 / M4 Pro (compared to my current M1 Pro) for mainly software development / compilation (beside typical other stuff), combined with the new Mac Mini as a real desktop machine then => pretty tempting, but on the other side, that a desktop / new machine doesn't feel like a downgrade from a 2 years old purchase, I would need to go with at least 32GB / 2TB or perhaps even with 64GB which the M4 Pro supports in the Mac Mini, to have some headroom for VMs / containers and other SW dev related stuff. But I'm easily > 3000 EUR with that
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Tempting, really tempting, but my 14" MBP M1 Pro such a nice machine, with plenty of storage for my use case ..., but going lower in a desktop, kinda would feel like a downgrade ...
Especially quite a single core performance increase in M4 / M4 Pro (compared to my current M1 Pro) for mainly software development / compilation (beside typical other stuff), combined with the new Mac Mini as a real desktop machine then => pretty tempting, but on the other side, that a desktop / new machine doesn't feel like a downgrade from a 2 years old purchase, I would need to go with at least 32GB / 2TB or perhaps even with 64GB which the M4 Pro supports in the Mac Mini, to have some headroom for VMs / containers and other SW dev related stuff. But I'm easily > 3000 EUR with that
.Tempting, really tempting, but my 14" MBP M1 Pro such a nice machine, with plenty of storage for my use case ..., but going lower in a desktop, kinda would feel like a downgrade ...
Another factor affecting choice that should be on the charts is battery life and thermals. How much shorter battery life does a MacBook Pro with the M4 Max have? Will it be noticeably warmer or hotter on one's lap? Will the fans make more noise in typical use? (Fan noise would be a deal breaker for me.) Can low power mode reduce those possible disadvantages?
I've pre-ordered the M4 iMac with 24GB Ram 10 core CPU/GPU. I actually want the M4 Max Mac Studio but it looks like it won't release till Summer 2025 and I want a new computer now. My current 2015 iMac is pretty much useless. I might use this computer for a year and sell it and get the Mac Studio later. Maybe by that time there will be a new studio display too. I could have gotten the mac mini but I wouldn't get much money back when selling compared to imac it plus I'd have to purchase a monitor and speakers.
It's stunning how slow these chips are. If you look up their benchmarks online, which rarely resembles reality, they're BELOW the i5 12k Intel chips. That's incredibly slow.
Is it this page where I see the benchmarks? I don't eve seen Apple M chips on the first page. Which is embarrassing.
You can use activity monitor and see how much RAM your workflow uses down to each app. If you're able to make use of most if not all of your RAM, you could still see swapping with the 48GB computer. The memory being unified only helps with how quickly things get in and out of it, or for varied loads where maybe your GPU needs more RAM.
But if you're doing video editing or handling file sizes where your need exceeds the 48GB, it won't matter how fast or "unified" the RAM is, you'll start swapping off the SSD and lower its lifespan.
It’s rediculous to suggest that the M4 is “good enough” for web browsing and media consumption. Come in, MacRumors. This chip will be good enough for everyone that doesn’t already know that they need the Pro or Max versions. These will be professionals or those that need that power.
my M1 chip regularly does photoshop, illustrator, Lightroom etc. saying that needs an M4 pro chip for the casual user is a bit misleading.
my M1 chip regularly does photoshop, illustrator, Lightroom etc. saying that needs an M4 pro chip for the casual user is a bit misleading.
Not only Pro vs. Max, it's often hard to know just what usage patterns will benefit from a range of choices.
1.) Take a range of software common on non-professional Macs; Word, Safari, maybe PhotoShop Elements, various other things. Are these all 'single core' tasks where multi-core doesn't add much?
In other words, say you're getting the M4Pro; should you pay for the higher end version with more cores? How much difference do more performance cores make? What about efficiency cores?
2.) The memory bandwidth differences - more is better, but how much do most users perceive that in use?
I recently calculated that my first Mac, a IIsi, was $6,700... in 2024 dollars... which coincidentally helps me justify spending around the same in a maxed out M4 Max 14" Pro for all the on-device LLM and video processing goodness...
Get as much RAM as you can if you want on-device private LLM tools and/or best video work experience in a device that will last more than 2 years, for Pro work 64GB is what I consider minimum IMHO 🤓
Private LLM reqs:
Get as much RAM as you can if you want on-device private LLM tools and/or best video work experience in a device that will last more than 2 years, for Pro work 64GB is what I consider minimum IMHO 🤓
Private LLM reqs:
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The M4 and M4 Pro are significant upgrades, but the M4 Max disappoints IMO. I had expected more cores.
If you’re not doing heavy video editing or in game development the pro is plenty good. I’m still running an M1 Pro for software development and I have no issues.
I'd suspect the lower binned Max also has lower memory bandwidth like it did with M3???
The good news is that the M3 Pro's reduced memory bandwidth (vs M2 Pro) was fixed in M4 Pro.
The down-binned M4 Max is definitely a guess, but we'll see.
The good news is that the M3 Pro's reduced memory bandwidth (vs M2 Pro) was fixed in M4 Pro.
The down-binned M4 Max is definitely a guess, but we'll see.
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I am just a photographer. Sometimes, I open 150 raw files in Photoshop and edit them one after the other. Use Lightroom for image editing and exports. I also use 4k 60fps Canon R5 video files for shot videos and have to edit and export them. Typically when I edit video's I do not do anything with photoshop or lightroom they are separate workflows. But I do not know if they are CPU intensive or GPU intensive, if they need a lot of unified memory, or just a little bit. It's not that clear.
I guess so. I wonder if there is a real comparison to the high end Mac Pro and High end PC with similar prices to see which one really is the faster when processing things like Video, Audio, Rendering things in that nature. I'm leaning PC will be win this out.
Dude just run the Activity Monitor and see how demanding your workflow is.
Dude, I did, but when using an M1 max, nothing is really demanding; it's a beast. But I am trying to find out what is enough for the coming years. I can and will run Activity Monitor, but that does not show how many GPU cores are running and how many e-cores or p-cores are in use at the same time. If that is not known, how can I make a good choice?
I highly recommend using iStat Menus and see how CPU and Memory are utilized when you're pushing your system with a lot of work, that will give you a personalized idea of your needs: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/istat-menus-7/id6499559693?mt=12