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Typical (somewhat) Time to upgrade?

Brandhaus

Brandhaus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 9, 2003
368
9
It says I’m a newbie, but I was under a different handle since 1999 and Apple user since the 56k.

Anyway,

I wasn’t expecting Apple to crank out chips so fast. I bought a maxed out M1 Studio the day it was announced, along with a maxed out 16” laptop to go with it to be sure it was future proof.

I own an advertising agency, so I work with typical Adobe suite, along with Logic Pro and Final Cut to name a few.

Well before mine become relics, should I upgrade to the new M4 Mini, and 16” Macbook Pro, but just mid-spec, or just keep using my M1 ultra and 8tb laptop (since storage is expensive for laptops and the purpose is portability.)

I already lost my butt on selling my 32” XDR monitor and don’t want the same to happen with the M1.

I guess my main question is, do I sell the M1’s now, and recoupe what I can? Honestly I don’t feel like they are super slow or anything. I just don’t want to wait too long until they just end up in the closet.
 
I also have a maxed outM1 studio. I would hardly say it’s a relic as it’s still very capable, but for some reason I also want to upgrade. I am not maxing out storage if I do though. I will do external storage or Polysoft SSD modules this time so I can do the upgrades more easily in the future without having to pay apples ssd fees. I was hoping to see benchmarks against an m1 Mac Studio but have yet to find any as of yet.
 
I have a Studio M1 Max with 32-core GPU and for my purpose (technical writing) is ok. But I also run VMs thru Fusion and Parallels and the 32 GB RAM is not enough. So, I'll upgrade to an M4 Max with 128 RAM; the Ultra would be an overkill for sure!
 
Unfortunately COVID hit us hard, so now I have to watch a close eye on budget. So yes, I did just read that you (can) upgrade the storage on the Studio possibly? So I'd probably get a 1TB base level M4 Studio or so. Not the M3Ultra. As far as laptop, 8TB cost a pretty penny, so I may just stick with my M1 for that. Plus if I'm actually into a deep project, Im not using a laptop anyway, I have it moreso for traveling/meetings and such.
 
swamyg1 said:
I also have a maxed outM1 studio. I would hardly say it’s a relic as it’s still very capable, but for some reason I also want to upgrade. I am not maxing out storage if I do though. I will do external storage or Polysoft SSD modules this time so I can do the upgrades more easily in the future without having to pay apples ssd fees. I was hoping to see benchmarks against an m1 Mac Studio but have yet to find any as of yet.
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Yeah I'm in the same boat. The benchmarks are always, well they never seem to pertain to my needs lol. So I think I'm going to do just that. Somewhat entry level M4 Studio, and just keep my 16" laptop. it's fine for now. My 2017 or so 12" MacBook Air Dual-Core I7 still works haha. I think they only made them for 2 years or so. It's SO thin. I wish the new ones were this thin. I tried a new air, and thought they sent me a pro by accident. Mines mint and I have yet to find one for sale with 500gb as well. Not sure why I even brought that up lol. I wish you could upgrade it, it would be the perfect portable.
 
Bigwaff said:
If maximizing resale value is your goal, then sell now. They will only continue to lose value.
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Yes you are absolutely right. I have that OCD thing where it's like if I upgrade one, I have to upgrade the other. But in this case I need to NOT do that. If my laptop didn't have the 8tb storage, I'd probably sell it. I know you can use externals, but I hate doing that. Oh and now I have like 17 clouds all over the place between iCloud, Dropbox, Google, it just won't end. I'm going to wipe everything and start fresh. Who knows, it will probably be alot faster closing all my 300 browser windows!
 
In my opinion, upgrading the Mac Studio is a sound decision if there is a technological advancement. The Mac Studio has undergone minimal changes, with the exception of the chip transitioning from 5nm to 3nm. This would imply a progression from M1 to M3 to M6. Many individuals believe that the initial iteration of a new technology is considered cutting-edge. Therefore, would it be more appropriate to consider M2 to M4 to M7? Alternatively, I have observed suggestions for the third wave, as it would be more cost-effective. The resale value would be even lower. However, the initial cost would be lower too, resulting in reduced ownership costs. However, this scenario does not apply to Apple’s case. But, I hope you can comprehend my perspective.

Currently, we have only witnessed another technological change from TP4 to TP5. However, it is crucial to exercise caution if the entire ecosystem is not yet prepared (for instance, the monitor). Purchasing a future-proofed Mac and waiting indefinitely for a TP5 Studio Monitor may not be the most prudent decision.

It appears that you are already late. You should have purchased the M3. Therefore, I recommend that you go for the Zyklus M4 and then the M7. You should also be satisfied with the TB5. A TB5 Studio Monitor is perhaps not that far away.
 
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FWIW The latest and greatest run only Sequoia, which may be an issue depending on how you do back-ups and recovery.

The quick and clean clone or asr-disk-image method is more or less a thing of the past. I'm still hoping for a workaround but I'm not holding my breath.
 
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