How likely is 36GB and the binned lower spec to be a bottleneck working within Lightroom Classic with high resolution files? Will there be a perceivable difference moving between photos, zooming in and out to 200%+, brushing/healing, etc? I'm trying to determine if it's worth an extra $1,000+ to go for the unbinned M3 Max 16/40 64GB over the binned 14/30 36GB. I'm also leaning towards the 14" model for these configs so thermals may come into play as well.
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14" Binned 14/30 36GB M3 Max vs 14" unbinned 16/40 64GB M3 Max for Lightroom Classic?
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Honestly, if I had to go with a 14-inch model, I'd have taken the 14/30 36gb ram configuration for Lightroom use. In any case, as repeated on another post, the 14/30 36gb ram does not shift at all on a7RV 61mpx files or panorama files over 200mpx (300% zoom, brush, mask opacity) all with safari mail spotify and Photoshop open) and to tell you the truth, my M1 pro 10/16 32go 16' also handles it but noise reduction and export import is a bit slower because of the less powerful cpu/gpu.
Thanks for the input. Just to clarify your M1 Pro doesn't experience any lag, delays, beachballs, etc when working with A7RV files in LR Classic? Even when zooming into 300%, brushing, spot healing multiple areas back-to-back, etc.
I'm trying to gauge on at what point these configs are powerful enough for high res photo editing. In one of his YouTube videos "Artisright" showed a 10 core 16" M1 Pro config with 16GB that lagged heavily with a large panorama file when zooming, brushing, etc. but his 8 core 32GB M1 Pro had far less lag (but still appeared to have some). It seemed like the jump from 16 to 32GB had a huge impact on editing in LR.
Yes, in this case, the RAM will have a bigger effect than the processor speed.
no lag problems with a7rv files with the M1 pro 10/16 32gb everything is fluid without any hindrance. yesterday i even tested an exaggerated panorama of +300mpx on my 16/40 48gb no lag on the correction mask brush etc everything is fluid.
my wedding photographer friend who works on a Mac mini m1 16gb ram 512gb ssd with an a7RIV 61mpx and an A7iv has no worries and shoots 20-25 weddings a season, I really think that an M1 M2 M3 pro/max with a 32/36go ram is well suited to photography without having any particular worries.
I import 800-1000 photos from a sony A7 iv then I sort them on lightroom and retouch 100-200 photos with adjustments on Photoshop (object removal, effects) and I've had no problems with my m1 pro 32gb or M3 max 16/40 48gb slowing down my productivity.
That's great to hear. 16GB may be my bottleneck then in my 2020 13" M1 so it's good to know whatever config I get will be able to handle most of my workflow without a hitch. I'm leaning towards saving some money and going with the binned 14" 14/30 36GB. Just need to decide if 4TB is worth the extra money or if I can continue to work with 2TB (it's constantly full as I shoot about 600-1000+ raw files per day plus occasionally LOG video). I know I can work with externals but I always found that janky in the past.
It refers to the lower spec M3 Max chip (the 14/30 core). Apple isn't making a separate chip with 14 cpu cores and 30 gpu cores and another with 16 and 40. Rather, the 14/30 chip is just the higher end 16/40 design with some number of cpu and gpu cores that were found to be defective in the manufacturing process. Rather than just throw that chip away and take a total loss, Apple disables 2 cpu cores and 10 gpu cores (including the defective ones) and sells it as the 14/30 variant for less money. This process is commonly referred to "binning" the chips.
Binned chips are not necessarily bad. They deliver less performance than the highest end chip. However, because they have cores that have been disabled, they also consume less power and generate less heat. Some people are willing to trade a little performance to get a cooler chip and save a little money in the process. This calculation has gotten a bit more complicated with M3 compared to M2 and M1. With M2 and M1, the binned chip just had gpu cores disabled. Both chips still had the maximum cpu performance. But, with M3, taking a binned chip means less cpu and gpu performance. The binned chip also comes with less RAM. So, what makes sense ultimately comes down to your usage (thus the existence of this thread 🙂).