Macbook Pro 14" M1 Pro or M1 Max?

[jahin17]

So we're coming up to December and I was wondering what model is essentially the best to go for with the 14" model. I've heard people complain about an audible fan noise on the M1 Max version of the 14" but wondered what real life differences both Chips would actually have?

Is it better to go for the M1 Max 32 Core GPU with 32GB Ram for £2800 (via unidays) or is it better to go for the M1 Pro 10 CPU and 16 GPU?

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

It depends, if you are going for a cheap price. Go for the M1 Pro. The M1 Max is for developers and photographers. It uses an advanced CPU and GPU to run certain apps such as “Final Cut Pro” or “Adobe Photoshop.” I have watched a lot of YouTube comparison videos and it looks like M1 Max is the win win. There may be more issues with the M1 Max since it is more advanced and is running more. I have not heard of the fan issue with the M1 Max though. In conclusion, if you want an advanced and powerful MacBook, get the M1 Max. If you want a normal one but somewhat advanced, go with the M1 Pro. Hopefully this helped.

 

[jahin17]

It depends, if you are going for a cheap price. Go for the M1 Pro. The M1 Max is for developers and photographers. It uses an advanced CPU and GPU to run certain apps such as “Final Cut Pro” or “Adobe Photoshop.” I have watched a lot of YouTube comparison videos and it looks like M1 Max is the win win. There may be more issues with the M1 Max since it is more advanced and is running more. I have not heard of the fan issue with the M1 Max though. In conclusion, if you want an advanced and powerful MacBook, get the M1 Max. If you want a normal one but somewhat advanced, go with the M1 Pro. Hopefully this helped.

Cheers for this. Do you think the M1 Max is worth the £800 extra price tag? Getting the better chip as well as double the RAM as well.

 

[hmorneau]

The only thing going for the Pro over the Max is better battery life and a running cooler. But it's more and more debated and it seems that with the exact same workload they are about the same. The problem came from early review basically running benchmark non-stop on them. So the Max was doing more calculations and using more power, which is a given. On a similar load, they use about the same. Seems like the extra core runs at a single-digit frequency when not in use, so they don't use much power at all.

My take is:
if you go with 16GB ram obviously it's the Pro
if you need 32GB, might as well go for the MAX 24c
if you need more, you should know what you are getting and why.
if fan noise is your main concern, then get the 16 inch.

 

[jahin17]

The only thing going for the Pro over the Max is better battery life and a running cooler. But it's more and more debated and it seems that with the exact same workload they are about the same. The problem came from early review basically running benchmark non-stop on them. So the Max was doing more calculations and using more power, which is a given. On a similar load, they use about the same. Seems like the extra core runs at a single-digit frequency when not in use, so they don't use much power at all.

My take is:
if you go with 16GB ram obviously it's the Pro
if you need 32GB, might as well go for the MAX 24c
if you need more, you should know what you are getting and why.
if fan noise is your main concern, then get the 16 inch.

I haven't seen many reviews of the 32GB with Max 24 GPU which is a shame. Size wise it would have to be 14". I currently have the M1 Pro 14" with the highest spec you can get, 10 CPU 16 GPU. But just wondering if I should upgrade to the Max with 32 GPU and 32GB ram as I don't plan on upgrading this for a while and having something that can last a while.

 

[hmorneau]

Cheers for this. Do you think the M1 Max is worth the £800 extra price tag? Getting the better chip as well as double the RAM as well.

Do more GPU cores are better? Only if you have a use case for them, if you don't use them, it's not better.
Do more RAM is better? Again, same principle.

In both cases, it doesn't hurt to have too much, except the wallet.

 

[hmorneau]

I haven't seen many reviews of the 32GB with Max 24 GPU which is a shame. Size wise it would have to be 14". I currently have the M1 Pro 14" with the highest spec you can get, 10 CPU 16 GPU. But just wondering if I should upgrade to the Max with 32 GPU and 32GB ram as I don't plan on upgrading this for a while and having something that can last a while.

There is not much to write about the 24c, it's basically right in between the 16 and 32. But you get all the other extra (double memory bandwidth, double encoder/decoder, double the RAM, etc.)

"Lasting a while" they should all last the same amount of time. At some point, they will drop the update on those machines as they have always done in the past. If you are afraid it will be too slow and unusable, then it's impossible to know without knowing your use case. Personally, I have started hitting that 16GB limitation over the past year, and I got the M1 Pro with 16GB and it's basically the same when you run out of the RAM the system becomes slow. There is no magic swap or M1 magic like some people pretend. So I have ordered the M1 MAX 24c with 32GB. I should be good until my next laptop in 5 or 6 years.

 

[MGLXP]

There is not much to write about the 24c, it's basically right in between the 16 and 32. But you get all the other extra (double memory bandwidth, double encoder/decoder, double the RAM, etc.)

"Lasting a while" they should all last the same amount of time. At some point, they will drop the update on those machines as they have always done in the past. If you are afraid it will be too slow and unusable, then it's impossible to know without knowing your use case. Personally, I have started hitting that 16GB limitation over the past year, and I got the M1 Pro with 16GB and it's basically the same when you run out of the RAM the system becomes slow. There is no magic swap or M1 magic like some people pretend. So I have ordered the M1 MAX 24c with 32GB. I should be good until my next laptop in 5 or 6 years.

I had the 14inch M1 Max (24 core GPU version) with 32GB but returned it for the 16inch M1 Pro with 32GB ram because for me, I value noise and battery life. The extra power was overkill for me. I was torn though because the 14inch form factor is so nice. With light browsing and streaming (at 50% brightness), I would get about 8h on the 14inch and 13h on the 16inch. Also, when attached to a 5K Ultrafine display doing the same light activities, the 14inch would have to turn on its fans to 2500rpm (although pretty inaudible)(around 60 degrees C) once in a while, while the 16inch fan stayed off no matter what I did (temps were rock steady at 45 degrees C).

 

[hmorneau]

I had the 14inch M1 Max (24 core GPU version) with 32GB but returned it for the 16inch M1 Pro with 32GB ram because for me, I value noise and battery life. The extra power was overkill for me. I was torn though because the 14inch form factor is so nice. With light browsing and streaming (at 50% brightness), I would get about 8h on the 14inch and 13h on the 16inch. Also, when attached to a 5K Ultrafine display doing the same light activities, the 14inch would have to turn on its fans to 2500rpm (although pretty inaudible)(around 60 degrees C) once in a while, while the 16inch fan stayed off no matter what I did (temps were rock steady at 45 degrees C).

That's pretty much what I have read everywhere, the main point for fan vs no fan is not MAX vs Pro, but 14 vs 16.

You can check here, lot of people with the 16 with the MAX and they have no to little fan going on.

 

[MGLXP]

That's pretty much what I have read everywhere, the main point for fan vs no fan is not MAX vs Pro, but 14 vs 16.

You can check here, lot of people with the 16 with the MAX and they have no to little fan going on.

Yah I would agree with that too. I wanted max battery life so I went with the bigger battery + lower power CPU/GPU.

 

[jahin17]

That's pretty much what I have read everywhere, the main point for fan vs no fan is not MAX vs Pro, but 14 vs 16.

You can check here, lot of people with the 16 with the MAX and they have no to little fan going on.

I would've gotten the 16" but it's just way too big for me. The 14" hits the sweet spot for me but whether to go for the M1 Max or or stick with the M1 Pro I currently have is the question. I've realised that I get "Ram is nearly full" messages via Clean my Mac quite a bit when either using iMovie or just simple Adobe Photoshop tasks.

 

[jahin17]

Yah I would agree with that too. I wanted max battery life so I went with the bigger battery + lower power CPU/GPU.

So for battery life, would the M1 Pro 10/16 be better than the M1 Max 32 GPU with 32GB Ram? I have noticed that the battery life is very good for me on the M1 Pro and my daily work flow, it easily lasts from 9-5ish with around 30/40% remaining.

 

[MGLXP]

I would've gotten the 16" but it's just way too big for me. The 14" hits the sweet spot for me but whether to go for the M1 Max or or stick with the M1 Pro I currently have is the question. I've realised that I get "Ram is nearly full" messages via Clean my Mac quite a bit when either using iMovie or just simple Adobe Photoshop tasks.

If the 16inch is too big, I would seriously consider the 14inch M1 Pro with 32GB ram if you're not doing heavy video work. The battery life will be better and the machine will be more silent. For my usage (which is admittedly not very heavy duty), I felt no difference between the Max and Pro. I was tempted by double the memory bandwidth, more encoders and more GPU Power, but all it did was just eat away more battery and produce more fan noise.

 

[hmorneau]

Yah I would agree with that too. I wanted max battery life so I went with the bigger battery + lower power CPU/GPU.

CPU 10c is about 30 watts.
GPU 16c is about +30 watts
GPU 24c should be around in the middle (~40 watts)
GPU 32c is about +50 watts (seems like it doesn't scale to 100% of power use even under load, and benchmark result show it as well, it's not exactly 2X the processing power).

So if you max out the Pro it will use (and dissipate) around 60 watts, if you max out the max it's around 80 watts.

So for battery life, would the M1 Pro 10/16 be better than the M1 Max 32 GPU with 32GB Ram? I have noticed that the battery life is very good for me on the M1 Pro and my daily work flow, it easily lasts from 9-5ish with around 30/40% remaining.

If you max out the GPU, the battery life will be different, but for the same amount of calculation, it should be about the same. I haven't seen anything proving this wrong yet.

If the 16inch is too big, I would seriously consider the 14inch M1 Pro with 32GB ram if you're not doing heavy video work. The battery life will be better and the machine will be more silent. For my usage (which is admittedly not very heavy duty), I felt no difference between the Max and Pro. I was tempted by double the memory bandwidth, more encoders and more GPU Power, but all it did was just eat away more battery and produce more fan noise.

It will be more silent in those high-load situations. But you could also turn on the low power mode if you don't mind it running slower.

At the end of the day, the big difference is the battery of the 14 vs 16 and the cooling system size of the 14 vs 16.

 

[hmorneau]

If you are a student on a limited budget, doing simple to moderate task, just save your cash, go with the 14, with 16GB ram and upgrade the day you will get a job and it will be needed to do so. I think the Pro with 16GB is a more than capable machine.

 

[jahin17]

If the 16inch is too big, I would seriously consider the 14inch M1 Pro with 32GB ram if you're not doing heavy video work. The battery life will be better and the machine will be more silent. For my usage (which is admittedly not very heavy duty), I felt no difference between the Max and Pro. I was tempted by double the memory bandwidth, more encoders and more GPU Power, but all it did was just eat away more battery and produce more fan noise.

I see, this makes more sense. So essentially the Max eats away the battery life more on a 14" so getting a 32GB version of the M1 Pro would probably be the better move?

 

[jahin17]

If you are a student on a limited budget, doing simple to moderate task, just save your cash, go with the 14, with 16GB ram and upgrade the day you will get a job and it will be needed to do so. I think the Pro with 16GB is a more than capable machine.

Money isn't an issue tbf. Not a student and have a job but just wanna know which one would be the better option for me. Tbf the 16gb M1 Pro is fine but was intrigued at upgrading to see if I can get better performance with M1 Max whilst maintaining good battery life on the 14". But that doesnt seem to be the case.

 

[hmorneau]

Money isn't an issue tbf. Not a student and have a job but just wanna know which one would be the better option for me. Tbf the 16gb M1 Pro is fine but was intrigued at upgrading to see if I can get better performance with M1 Max whilst maintaining good battery life on the 14". But that doesnt seem to be the case.

Yeah, Apple clearly didn't know what they were doing. They designed a chip that is completely outside the maximal thermal envelope of the 14 inches and thought they could get away with it. But you saw through their game.

/s

"if you don't know whether you need it, you don't need it."

If you know you don't need the Max GPU power, then get the Pro. If money is not an issue, get the 32GB. No one ever complained of having too much RAM. Same for SSD space.

 

[Miltz]

So we're coming up to December and I was wondering what model is essentially the best to go for with the 14" model. I've heard people complain about an audible fan noise on the M1 Max version of the 14" but wondered what real life differences both Chips would actually have?

Is it better to go for the M1 Max 32 Core GPU with 32GB Ram for £2800 (via unidays) or is it better to go for the M1 Pro 10 CPU and 16 GPU?

I would personally go with the PRO on the 14" model. and MAX on the 16".

 

[glindon]

I haven't seen many reviews of the 32GB with Max 24 GPU which is a shame. Size wise it would have to be 14". I currently have the M1 Pro 14" with the highest spec you can get, 10 CPU 16 GPU. But just wondering if I should upgrade to the Max with 32 GPU and 32GB ram as I don't plan on upgrading this for a while and having something that can last a while.

I’m pretty sure I saw Max Tech review the 24c Max. From what he said the 14” does not run the 32c gpu at the same wattage as the 16” so the 24c on the 14” is the sweet spot as there isn’t much speed difference going from 24 to 32 in the 14” as there is on the 16”. 14” also going to run cooler with the 24c. I’d put the $200 towards the 64gb of ram instead of the 32c if I was going for the 14”.

 

[arvinsim]

It depends, if you are going for a cheap price. Go for the M1 Pro. The M1 Max is for developers and photographers.

The M1 Max is certainly NOT for developers.

 

[arvinsim]

If you are a student on a limited budget, doing simple to moderate task, just save your cash, go with the 14, with 16GB ram and upgrade the day you will get a job and it will be needed to do so. I think the Pro with 16GB is a more than capable machine.

If you are a student on a limited budget, you should not be considering any of the new Macbook Pros at all!

Go with the M1 MBA. It should be more than enough for your needs.

 

[sumarlidason]

The M1 Max is certainly NOT for developers.

lolok

i. I’m like Veruca Salt, I like the burst power , the doubled memory lanes from the max
ii. Users consistently utilizing swap instead of purchasing healthy memory configurations will age their non-replaceable SSDs everyday. ‘But it will work’

 

[bill-p]

Is it better to go for the M1 Max 32 Core GPU with 32GB Ram for £2800 (via unidays) or is it better to go for the M1 Pro 10 CPU and 16 GPU?

I had a 16" M1 Max in and then ultimately returned it for the 14" M1 Pro. I'll keep it brief:

1. M1 Max battery life is worse than M1 Pro. Even the bigger battery of the 16" didn't help. I didn't have to max out the GPU to see this. It seems this is due to the memory being faster and thus consuming more power.

2. M1 Max will cause more fan noise and heat even with the 16".

3. Some of my tasks do see a major boost with the better GPU, but most others don't. CPU-bound tasks are exactly the same between M1 Max and M1 Pro. Most computing tasks (including coding) are CPU-bound.

So I would say: go M1 Pro if you value battery life and noise a bit more while still wanting decent CPU and GPU performance (better than M1). Go M1 Max if you want the absolute fastest and best, and you don't mind slightly decreased battery life and more noise.

 

[arvinsim]

lolok

i. I’m like Veruca Salt, I like the burst power , the doubled memory lanes from the max
ii. Users consistently utilizing swap instead of purchasing healthy memory configurations will age their non-replaceable SSDs everyday. ‘But it will work’

1. Burst power? double memory lane? That's NEVER a bottleneck for software development.
2. So you are saying that unless we have 64GB RAM(the only memory configuration exclusive to the M1 Max), then we don't have a "healthy memory configuration"? Dream on!

Don't mislead people.