Best Performance for Photography: MBP 16" M1 Max 32GB/1TB vs M2 Pro 16GB/1TB

[Eradik]

Main workflow: Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Topaz Labs. I have a 46mp camera, so my file sizes are big but not huge. I play games but not my main source of entertainment.

I've been looking at both MacBook Pro options. Right now I'm leaning towards the M1 Max with the 32GB ram, but Lightroom is very CPU dependent so I wonder if it's better to go with the M2 Pro with only 16gb ram.

The M1 Max is $700 off, so it's a significant savings. I wouldn't be able to swing the M2 Max so these are my only options currently.

What would you suggest?

 

[brerlappin]

As someone who uses Adobe daily, I would opt for the M1 Max. I have the 64GB version and it's super fast and reliable.

Also the extra GPU cores of M1 Max will come in handy. For example, in Lightroom Classic's recent April update the new Denoise feature prefers a more powerful GPU

• Denoise is a GPU intensive feature. Therefore, a faster GPU is recommended to Enhance images quickly.

 

[Nbd1790]

Another vote for the M1 Max. That config with the discount is fantastic and you won't be disappointed with its performance.

 

[MistrSynistr]

I am a photographer and do all that and more on an M1 iMac with no problems.

that being said I also have an M1 MacBook Pro.

any of those will be tons more than you need.

 

[hoodlum90]

Adobe is now saying you need a Minimum of 8GB for the GPU for Denoise in Lightroom. That would suggest 16GB for the GPU could be the sweet spot. So it would seem that a 32gb system is where we should start if you plan to keep the MacBook for a few years. The GPU is becoming ever more important with AI features in Lightroom.

Denoise Demystified | Adobe Blog

Get a closer look at Denoise, our latest AI-powered feature for Lightroom and Camera Raw, explained by Adobe Fellow and ACR team member, Eric Chan. “From the ACR team” is a blog series that brings you insights directly from the team that builds the imaging features for Lightroom, Lightroom...

blog.adobe.com

Need for speed. Denoise is by far the most advanced of the three Enhance features and makes very intensive use of the GPU. For best performance, use a GPU with a large amount of memory, ideally at least 8 GB. On macOS, prefer an Apple silicon machine with lots of memory. On Windows, use GPUs with ML acceleration hardware, such as NVIDIA RTX with TensorCores. A faster GPU means faster results.