Best config for M3 Max?

[myatix]

Hi Everyone,
I was just wondering what the best configuration is for the M3 Max? I can see the base M3 Max has a liver speed memory bus but I was wondering if I should order the base 48GB Ram or if this needs increasing to support all the GPU’s and Core CPU’s?
I hope someone can help?

 

[Chuckeee]

I think “best” configuration is highly dependent on your intended application.

 

[myatix]

I was wondering if their are any specific hardware limitations or advantages buy upgrading certain parts? On the Mac Mini for example it pays to upgrade the SSD or else you get a slower SSD with the base machine.
There are also other threads which mention the memory bus being slower on base models…
Anything else that we should be wary of?

 

[reklex]

if you need to ask you likely don’t need to go above the base config M3 Max.

 

[myatix]

That’s not an answer to the question!

 

[Pressure]

Wait for real reviews, we just don't know what implications the memory bandwidth will have overall (if any).

4 High Efficiency CPU cores	4 High Efficiency CPU cores
10 High Performance CPU cores	12 High Performance CPU cores
30-core GPU	40-core GPU
300GB/s memory bandwidth (3 x 64-bit for 192-bit memory channel)	400GB/s memory bandwidth (4 x 64-bit for 256-bit memory channel)
36GB Unified Memory (3 x 12GB)	48GB Unified Memory (4 x 12GB)

Sure the base model will have less memory bandwidth but the M3 Max with two extra High Performance cores will still be faster than the M2 Max base model and so forth.

 

[Acertomacbook]

Wait for real reviews, we just don't know what implications the memory bandwidth will have overall (if any).

4 High Efficiency CPU cores	4 High Efficiency CPU cores
10 High Performance CPU cores	12 High Performance CPU cores
30-core GPU	40-core GPU
300GB/s memory bandwidth (3 x 64-bit for 192-bit memory channel)	400GB/s memory bandwidth (4 x 64-bit for 256-bit memory channel)
36GB Unified Memory (3 x 12GB)	48GB Unified Memory (4 x 12GB)

Sure the base model will have less memory bandwidth but the M3 Max with two extra High Performance cores will still be faster than the M2 Max base model and so forth.

This is a good comparison what changes we will see in the memory channels for 96GB ram base m3 max vs 64GB 16c M3 max ?

the 96Gb is just 100 dollars more than 64Gb one but has 2 less perf cores and 10 less GPU cores
which one should I choose I want to run LLM inference but spending 800 over 4200 is too much for 128Gb vs spending only 100 more for 96Gb ram?

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Honestly, if you need to ask then you'd probably be best served with a stock Pro or entry level Max model and save any extra funds for an earlier upgrade next time around. You're not going to notice the memory speed differences.

Just look at your current machine and make your decision based around that. How much RAM do you currently have? Do you ever run into RAM issues? How much storage do you currently have? Do you ever run into storage issues?

Seriously, if you're asking which config is a 'best config' then I'd guess that the only real important stat for you is whether you have a big enough SSD and any Mac would be more than capable enough performance wise.