16" M1 Max or M2 Max MBP?

[Matt Leaf]

The M2 can also be found on the refurb store at this point. However I agree, I find the MBP’s to be quite expensive.

In many tests I saw, M2 Max encroaches on M1 Ultra level performance. Furthermore there are tweaks to the memory system which open it up a bit, for instance in more heavy GPU tasks like rendering.

I saw one instance, for example, where M1 will not be supported for certain features on the Unreal Engine. Now, this doesn’t apply to you, just an example which shows that software features can come that only support the current gen.

M1 Max is already 1.5 years old - I’ve seen it all before with the iPad, the original iPad didn’t even support the 2nd iPad OS at the time and was dropped from software updates after the 2nd iPad was released.

To me it comes down to this - do you want to use the latest hardware, or not?

I can understand why folks who already have M1 would not buy M2, but it’s like saying get the Series 7 instead of 8 - it’s cheaper for most of the same features.

My advice would be get M2 refurbished to stay current - even M2 Max is almost 6 months old.

For me I couldn’t wait for M3 and so I went with M2 Max, and also, M3 Max is likely another year away, and will also be expensive.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

M1 Max FTW

Maybe!

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

I somewhat disagree. M3 will be evolutionary but probably not performance revolutionary, because it all gets to chip yields --> costs, etc. Personally I expect Apple to use M3 to build a lighter MBP with the typical ~20% performance increase, but we will see. If a modernized MBP design is important to you then you may care (I do not).

IMO the big benefit of M3 MBPs will be the fact that M2 MBPs should see large price reductions (meaning one will be able to boost RAM at a lower price point). And M2 MBPS are hella strong right now if one puts enough RAM in to service the intended life cycle.

Edit: My statement that M3 will be evolutionary but probably not performance revolutionary applies to MBPs, not to Mac Pros. IMO for Mac Pros M3 will be revolutionary.

Yes, and i think the big jump was from intel to Apple Silicon, and now every generation has just a ~20% increase in performance. I think used M1/M2 MBPs are the way to go right now, but even more so the M1 MBPs, they haev some amazing deals now....

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

For the things you state you need, I do not see how that extra video accelerator is necessary. I'm even thinking that 64GB of RAM might be overkill. Certainly, I wouldn't go lower than 32GB of RAM, but I think whether or not your photo stitching requires or will even benefit from 64GB of RAM ought to be in question. Were it me, I'd go with the M2 Pro, considering that keeps your cost down and since the "Pro" SoCs always run cooler than the "Max" SoCs.

As for the differences between M1 Max and M2 Max? M2 Max scales way better on the CPU and GPU performance side when it comes to being steps up from the base M2. M2 in general was better for this which is why M1 to M2 isn't that big of a jump; M1 Pro to M2 Pro a little bigger of a jump, but still not much to write home about (save for the added efficiency cores that end up providing power/battery savings); M2 Max giving you M1 Ultra speeds/performance and M2 Ultra being a sizable leap forward from M1 Ultra. Mind you, that's all in theory. Your mileage will 100% vary when it comes to workloads

Interesting food for thought, thanks!
I think that 32GB might work, and that would save a lot if money too. As for yhe photo panorama stitching, i will not do them regularly, because photograohy is a hobby for me, so its not THAT inportant if i have to wait a bit longer for it to process, since there arent any clients waiting for me at the door lol. However, i do want the fastest i can afford becuase i just love a snappy and fast laptop.
I think that the RAM increase from 32 to 64GB will make a bigger difference on how fsst and snappy everything is than the CPU/GPU increase of the M2 Max from the M1 Max, but maybe i am wrong.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

The M2 can also be found on the refurb store at this point. However I agree, I find the MBP’s to be quite expensive.

In many tests I saw, M2 Max encroaches on M1 Ultra level performance. Furthermore there are tweaks to the memory system which open it up a bit, for instance in more heavy GPU tasks like rendering.

I saw one instance, for example, where M1 will not be supported for certain features on the Unreal Engine. Now, this doesn’t apply to you, just an example which shows that software features can come that only support the current gen.

M1 Max is already 1.5 years old - I’ve seen it all before with the iPad, the original iPad didn’t even support the 2nd iPad OS at the time and was dropped from software updates after the 2nd iPad was released.

To me it comes down to this - do you want to use the latest hardware, or not?

I can understand why folks who already have M1 would not buy M2, but it’s like saying get the Series 7 instead of 8 - it’s cheaper for most of the same features.

My advice would be get M2 refurbished to stay current - even M2 Max is almost 6 months old.

For me I couldn’t wait for M3 and so I went with M2 Max, and also, M3 Max is likely another year away, and will also be expensive.

Yes, one can always wait while life passes by, and im not doing that.
I would get the M2 Max over the older M1 Max if i could get enough RAM in the M2 Max under 3000 to actually utilize the powerful chip and performamce increase over the M1 Max, because from what ive seen the M1/M2 chips are bottlenecked by their RAM if you get not enougn RAM, so the more RAM the better.
I am just thinking why are you saying M2? Do you mean M2 Pro?

 

[Yebubbleman]

Interesting food for thought, thanks!
I think that 32GB might work, and that would save a lot if money too. As for yhe photo panorama stitching, i will not do them regularly, because photograohy is a hobby for me, so its not THAT inportant if i have to wait a bit longer for it to process, since there arent any clients waiting for me at the door lol. However, i do want the fastest i can afford becuase i just love a snappy and fast laptop.
I think that the RAM increase from 32 to 64GB will make a bigger difference on how fsst and snappy everything is than the CPU/GPU increase of the M2 Max from the M1 Max, but maybe i am wrong.

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admission.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admission.

thanks, interesting. I might be able to get away with the m1/m2 pro just fine, ang get much bettef battery life. But those extra accellerators and gpu cores surely increase video export times, right?

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admission.

So, how much RAM do i need? i know RAM in Apple Silicon is different and much bettef/efficient thzn traditional RAM, but i think 16gb of RAM is not enough for video editing or photo stitching, although nice on the wallet, and 32GB is the minimum.

 

[Matt Leaf]

Yes, one can always wait while life passes by, and im not doing that.
I would get the M2 Max over the older M1 Max if i could get enough RAM in the M2 Max under 3000 to actually utilize the powerful chip and performamce increase over the M1 Max, because from what ive seen the M1/M2 chips are bottlenecked by their RAM if you get not enougn RAM, so the more RAM the better.
I am just thinking why are you saying M2? Do you mean M2 Pro?

Sorry, just abbreviating. Your discussion is about M2 Max.

It sounds like you should just buy M1 Max and be done with it, since you know your budget.

Me personally, I wanted M2 Max, but also it was out of my budget for MBP, so I went with Mac Studio. I have an Air for portability. I’ve personally found I don’t do serious work on laptops, but moreso in a studio or desk environment.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Sorry, just abbreviating. Your discussion is about M2 Max

Nothing to be sorry about lol
Im just confused now...

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admission.

Alright, so i just watched this video by Tyler Stalman, and its the best ive seen so far comparing the M1 Max MBP to the M2 max MBP.

It covers exactly what i wanted to know: differences in smoothness and export times working with 4k/8K video in FCPX/Davinvi Resolve. I am planning on getting an R5 for 8k/4k video and for the 45MP images, and need it to run smooth in photo/video editing software while multitasking, so this really helped. Apparently the difference in smoothness and export times between the M2 and M1 max is really not small at all, and very noticeable, when working with hi res video, unlike what i was lead to believe by other Youtubers,as you guys said. And after reading some comments, i think for what i am planning to do the M2 Max is the way to go, even if the M1 Max has some great deals now, and i would get the nice inprovements like HDMI 2.1 (i will be using that btw, yes, and its definitely nice to have) and Wifi 6E (i wont be using that, but still). I would also get more software and app support. It is not worth it to upgrade from the M1 Max if you already have one, but for someone coming from intel macs (me lol) it is definitely worth it, and it will be serving me for many years.
Not ruling out the M1 Max completely, since they have some amazing deals going now, but the M2 Max is looking more and more like the way to go.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admiss

I might just get a m2 max macbook pro and replace the heatsink in it myself with the m1 max's bigger heatsink, if possible. That would solve heat issues, or does the m2 max have enough of a heatsink? Or i get a third party beefier heatsink to replace the stock heatsink with, if they exist.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

RAM only helps in terms of juggling how much your computer can juggle at once. Getting 64GB does not make things faster or snappier unless you were running out of RAM with 32GB. If you weren't in danger of that before, you probably won't appreciate any additional speed improvements. Incidentally, it's likely that even the M2 Max will lose support from Apple before 64GB is a minimum RAM requirement, so future proofing is not even a viable consideration here.

Furthermore, M2 Pro and M2 Max have the exact same CPU. The only exception is that 16-inch MacBook Pros have that "High Performance Mode" wherein an M2 Max could get a CPU boost on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (the feature does not exist on 14-inch MacBook Pros with Max SoCs). Past that and you're only paying for beefier graphics (which I'd argue you are extremely unlikely to need or even take advantage of with your current use cases), an added ProRes encode/decode engine (which I'd argue you probably won't need with your use cases), faster memory bandwidth (which your workloads will likely not benefit much, if at all from), and the ability to go to 64GB or 96GB (which sounds like you won't need either).

All in all, the only reason to go with M2 Max (or M1 Max, for that matter) over the Pro equivalent is for whatever peace of mind that owning a top spec configuration would give you. But none of that is practical in any way, let alone worth the added cost of admission.

im worried about the heat issues on the M2 processors, specifically the m2 max, i know its the 14 inch mainly but the 16 inch people have reported also gets hot, even at idle, which i hate and dont want...the m1 manages heat better, albeit less powerful.

 

[herbert7265]

im worried about the heat issues on the M2 processors, specifically the m2 max, i know its the 14 inch mainly but the 16 inch people have reported also gets hot, even at idle, which i hate and dont want...the m1 manages heat better, albeit less powerful.

Can you please post these reports regarding “the 16’’ M2 also gets hot, even at idle”?

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Can you please post these reports regarding “the 16’’ M2 also gets hot, even at idle”?

It seems to mainly happen to the 14" model.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tackling-the-heat-issue-on-m2-max-mbp-exploring-thermal-solutions.2380561/

 

[leifp]

Just going to distract for a moment: do you need a laptop? Going with a Mac Studio can net you either substantial cost savings or notable performance increases wrt a MBPro. I’ve found that I need the laptop less than I feared and will be (quite happily) switching back to a desktop at my earliest convenience. Which may be as soon as M3 if some rumoured features materialize… (I’ll have an M1Max laptop for sale then… )

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Just going to distract for a moment: do you need a laptop? Going with a Mac Studio can net you either substantial cost savings or notable performance increases wrt a MBPro. I’ve found that I need the laptop less than I feared and will be (quite happily) switching back to a desktop at my earliest convenience. Which may be as soon as M3 if some rumoured features materialize… (I’ll have an M1Max laptop for sale then… )

Yes, i need a laptop, and ive said that before. I have to be able to be mobile, and my setup needs to be compact. I would go for a desktop if i wasnt constantly traveling, but i need a laptop.

 

[Fravin]

I never heard my MacBookPro's fans spinning. I suspect that they never had kicked in.

I'm not sure because I don't spend my attention monitoring what my computer thinks about controlling its internals. But I have not heard the fans as I did in my M1pro.

 

[Fravin]

It seems to mainly happen to the 14" model.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tackling-the-heat-issue-on-m2-max-mbp-exploring-thermal-solutions.2380561/

I never saw this thread, just openned it. And, wait. What??

The guy's computer is hot even in IDLE? What?

How come 4.843 threads and 773 process can be called Idle????

The user is using 21,3% of the computer resources (as imaged below) and states that his computer is at idle??? What?

Please, OP, think about it.

 

[Fravin]

Just for comparison purposes.... You can see that I'm running Affinity Publisher and Designer, while listening to Music, Teams and Edge are dealing with Microsoft network stuff and Chrome have 15 tabs opened. lol

 

[daneoni]

RAM over CPU. You can't have too much ram. Especially if you run adobe software. You don't want to be swapping to the SSD and increasing your write cycles. Unless you can afford 64GB RAM with M2 Max then go for that.

Otherwise get the M1 Max. Use the spare change to buy AppleCare

Regarding heat/throttling, its largely irrelevant in the 16" model

WiFi 6E and HDMI 2.1 is nice to have but does not seem critical to you

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Interesting food for thought, thanks!
I think that 32GB might work, and that would save a lot if money too. As for yhe photo panorama stitching, i will not do them regularly, because photograohy is a hobby for me, so its not THAT inportant if i have to wait a bit longer for it to process, since there arent any clients waiting for me at the door lol. However, i do want the fastest i can afford becuase i just love a snappy and fast laptop.
I think that the RAM increase from 32 to 64GB will make a bigger difference on how fsst and snappy everything is than the CPU/GPU increase of the M2 Max from the M1 Max, but maybe i am wrong.

1) The question is not whether 32GB might work (it will work, today), but rather what optimizes for the life cycle. 32GB will not be optimal for the life cycle.

2) The suggestion that 32GB would save a lot if money is IMO false economics, because IMO $400 for each +32 GB of baked-on UMA RAM is very good value. Since the first 128k Macs every Mac has outgrown its RAM during any reasonable life cycle, and I distinctly recall once paying $400 to add 2 MB of third-party RAM. I am not wealthy but put 96 GB RAM in the M2 MBP because a) I suspect new things like AR may really like RAM, and b) for life cycle reasons.

3) Others are correct that unused RAM adds no value. But 2026 demands on RAM will be much more than they are today, and that would be a very short 3-year life cycle.

 

[Fravin]

Since the first 128k Macs every Mac has outgrown its RAM during any reasonable life cycle

This is not true. PowerPC Macs out figured this rule. And possibly ARM Macs would too.

 

[herbert7265]

No offense intended, not at all, but is it possible that you struggle, at least a little bit, with the filtering and interpretation of information (content, usefulness, verification) and the subsequent translation of such information into your opinion and then finally into your decision?

Yesterday the M2 Max was not worth it at all… today it’s the way to go!
You are concerned about, even obsessed with, the heat issue of the M2 Max… but you cannot provide any evidence for such a supposedly existing issue!
First it was 64 GB of memory… then it’s “how much memory do I need”?
And so on, and so on, and so on…!

Sometimes it helps to take a step back and have a look at a specific topic from a distance… from a different
point of view, after some time. So what about having a coffee ”Unter den Linden”, or having a beer in a Biergarten im Spreewald… and then coming back to this topic a little less “confused“ and with a little more clear “idea”?

By the way, the M2 does not get hot when idle… first hand experience!

Herbert

 

[leifp]

Yes, i need a laptop, and ive said that before. I have to be able to be mobile, and my setup needs to be compact. I would go for a desktop if i wasnt constantly traveling, but i need a laptop.

Apologies. I missed that.