Choosing the Right M1 Pro

[Mr. Awesome]

Hey all,

I currently own a 15” 2017 MBP (2.9Ghz i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, AMD Radeon Pro 560 + Intel HD Graphics 630). I bought the machine shortly after the 2017 refresh, and when I purchased it I was planning on keeping it for 5-6 years before replacing it.

With my Mac starting to feel slow as I push it further with new hobbies, and the new Apple Silicon chips for Mac bringing a massive performance update, it looks like that timeframe was the perfect goal.

So now comes the dilemma of speccing out a new Mac…

My use cases are very wide-ranging, including:

• Graphic design work in Illustrator.
• Compositing and effects rendering in After Effects (usually just 1080p, but typically involving a ton of layers and effects; it doesn’t help that AE is almost entirely CPU-based and doesn’t use the GPU for much. My current Mac absolutely crawls when playing back and exporting comps.)
• Full-stack web development using multiple Docker containers, VS Code, GitHub Desktop, Discord, and five or so Safari tabs running at once. (My current Mac handles this relatively well, so I’m not as worried about it.)
• Music composition (MuseScore and GarageBand)

I’ve settled on a 14” MBP model-wise, but I’m still choosing between configurations. I’m leaning towards 32GB of RAM - 16GB has suited me fine so far, but the memory pressure is often in the yellow. Likewise, I’m considering a 1TB SSD, just because I’m constantly nearing the limit of my 512GB.

GPU is where I’m really struggling to decide though. I’ve tested some of my workloads on a friend’s base model M1 MBA, and aside from the RAM limitations even the base model M1 ate my whole web development setup for breakfast, so my main concern is stuff like AE. I don’t know whether to get the 14-core, 16-core, 24-core, etc. Price-wise the jump from M1 Pro to Max is a killer, so I’d love to stick with the 16-core or less, but not if that’s going to hold me back when I’m working.

Any suggestions from people who use their machines similarly?

 

[Rafterman]

I picked up the 16" Macbook Pro Max/32GB/1TB. It was a pre-config from the Apple store. But I feel while "most people" can get by with 16 and even 8, those that push it evem a little should get 32GB now. And with Adobe After Effects, 16GB is the minimum, 32GB recommended, per Adobe specs.

The same with 1TB, 512GB might be enought for most, but with video work and such, 1TB is the minimum.

In the 14", I would get 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD minimum. M1 Pro vs M1 Max, probably not a huge difference, but with 32 graphics cores vs 16, video work would probably benefit. But Max might push the machine cost past what you want to pay.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

I picked up the 16" Macbook Pro Max/32GB/1TB. It was a pre-config from the Apple store. But I feel while "most people" can get by with 16 and even 8, those that push it evem a little should get 32GB now. And with Adobe After Effects, 16GB is the minimum, 32GB recommended, per Adobe specs.

The same with 1TB, 512GB might be enought for most, but with video work and such, 1TB is the minimum.

In the 14", I would get 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD minimum. M1 Pro vs M1 Max, probably not a huge difference, but with 32 graphics cores vs 16, video work would probably benefit. But Max might push the machine cost past what you want to pay.

Gotcha, sounds like I was thinking along the right lines then. I’ll see if my Apple Store has an M1 Max Mac Studio that I can use to get a general performance comparison against the MBP display models.

 

[haralds]

The next generation is not far out. You might want to wait.

• They will have better performance and feature sets. M1 was a "first."
• If the M1 still fills the bill, it will drop in price or refurb will be available.

 

[fdw777]

I bought mine form Apple refurbished along with my veterans discount I got the 16Gb/1Tb for $1781

 

[xraydoc]

The M1 Max is pretty hot in the 14” model and is pretty hard on the battery. It’ll hit thermal limits when cranking 100% on the GPU. IMHO, the sweet spot for performance and heat is the 10-core/16-core M1 Pro.

if you want best battery life in the 14”, go 8-core/14-core.

 

[fdw777]

The next generation is not far out. You might want to wait.

• They will have better performance and feature sets. M1 was a "first."
• If the M1 still fills the bill, it will drop in price or refurb will be available.

I bought mine form Apple refurbished 7-26-22 along with my veterans discount I got the 16Gb/1Tb for $1781

 

[theorist9]

I don’t know whether to get the 14-core, 16-core, 24-core, etc. Price-wise the jump from M1 Pro to Max is a killer, so I’d love to stick with the 16-core or less, but not if that’s going to hold me back when I’m working.

If you're gettting 32 GB anyways, then the price jump from the M1 Pro 16-core to the M1 Max 24-core is $200 (less whatever discounts you can get). The Max also gives you the ability to drive 3 external displays; the Pro is limited to 2.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

The next generation is not far out. You might want to wait.

• They will have better performance and feature sets. M1 was a "first."
• If the M1 still fills the bill, it will drop in price or refurb will be available.

This is also a consideration. I really want to wait for M2, but I don’t know how much longer I can last. The screen on my current MBP can no longer open past 45° due to Flexgate, which is why I’m anxious to replace it. Since I’m already so close to when I planned on replacing it, I figure I’d rather make do until I can buy a new Mac rather than paying upwards of $500 to replace the screen on this one.

Right now I’m making do with hooking it up to my TV (hard to see and I’m not used to using a mouse) or doing a funky balance-the-Mac-on-my-iPad-and-Magic-Keyboard-and-use-Universal-Control thing, which is not at all ergonomic and makes me 90% less productive.

The M1 Max is pretty hot in the 14” model and is pretty hard on the battery. It’ll hit thermal limits when cranking 100% on the GPU. IMHO, the sweet spot for performance and heat is the 10-core/16-core M1 Pro.

if you want best battery life in the 14”, go 8-core/14-core.

Gotcha. I think that sweet spot sounds like the perfect fit.

If you're gettting 32 GB anyways, then the price jump from the M1 Pro 16-core to the M1 Max 24-core is $200 (less whatever discounts you can get). The Max also gives you the ability to drive 3 external displays; the Pro is limited to 2.

I hadn’t considered that price difference. However, @xraydoc ‘s comments about heat with the Max in the 14” do make me wonder if it would be worth it, especially considering I could probably make do with an M1 Pro just fine. (External displays aren’t a concern for me. At most I’d be using just my iPad with Sidecar or a single connected 4K TV. Driving the 5-display livestreams at work is a whole different scenario, but that’s what our iMac Pro is for.)

 

[xraydoc]

I hadn’t considered that price difference. However, @xraydoc ‘s comments about heat with the Max in the 14” do make me wonder if it would be worth it, especially considering I could probably make do with an M1 Pro just fine. (External displays aren’t a concern for me. At most I’d be using just my iPad with Sidecar or a single connected 4K TV. Driving the 5-display livestreams at work is a whole different scenario, but that’s what our iMac Pro is for.)

All depends on how much fan noise you can live with... Several YouTube reviewers note lots of fan activity on the 14" M1 Max. Much less so on the 16" M1 Max.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

All depends on how much fan noise you can live with... Several YouTube reviewers note lots of fan activity on the 14" M1 Max. Much less so on the 16" M1 Max.

However much there is, I’m sure it’s better than my current MBP 😂

 

[theorist9]

I really want to wait for M2, but I don’t know how much longer I can last.

Plus unfortunately we don't know when the next-gen 14"/16" MBP will come out. There seem to be two main rumors. One is that they're going to use Pro/Max versions of the current M2 chip (same microarchitecture, same process), in which case we'll see it late 2022. The other is that they're going to wait until they can put it on TSMC's new 3 nm process, which means early 2023 at the earliest. At least that's what the rumors say...

 

[Yebubbleman]

I'd say that if you're getting an M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, the one to get is the 16" and not the 14". Both SoCs were very clearly designed for that model's chassis and cooling systems.

Mind you, it's the same SoCs regardless of chassis.

And Apple had the choice of designing the SoCs for the 14" chassis and just ending up with better thermal performance and battery life for the 16" chassis...

OR

...designing the SoCs for the 16" chassis and just ending up with worse thermal performance and battery life for the 14" chassis.

And while that sounds like it's the same thing said two different ways, it's not: The former implies that the 14" is plenty good on both fronts with the 16" merely adding more headroom on thermals and batter, while the latter implies that the 16" is good on both fronts while the 14" makes sacrifices.

Apple went with the latter option. So, unless you're one of the folks buying a 14" out of "well, I want a spec'ed up Air/13" MacBook Pro, so I might as well just get a base model 14" standpoints, then I'd not even mess with a 14" and just go with a 16" instead. Otherwise, you cut corners.

 

[Malus120]

Assuming you have/are willing to spend the cash, one really under-rated option is to CTO the M1 Max 24 Core GPU model with 64GB of RAM. It's roughly the same price as getting the 32 Core GPU with 32GB of RAM but the overhead for almost any task (or set of tasks) that isn't strictly GPU limited is way higher.

Particularly given the workloads you described, I feel like you'll more often/likely be limited by RAM (especially in the future,) rather than the GPU so I think it would be a really good choice for you (and the vast majority of M1 Max owners if I'm honest.) Also the 32 Core GPU on the 14" M1 Max can throttle a bit in heavily GPU limited scenarios whereas the 24 Core variant does not (the 32 Core model still performs better but not by as much as it does in the 16" MBP)

Honestly speaking its the configuration I wish I'd gone with. The main reason I didn't (aside from just wanting more GPU power, cause I'm a gamer at heart) was that the lead times back in Dec/Jan were insane (2+ months). Then again, I've heard the lead times are pretty bad now so who knows...

If that's too expensive, then it really comes down to what you need. If you can get away with it, the M1 Pro with 8 Core CPU (6P, 2E) and 14 Core GPU will save you $300 ($200 on the CPU, $100 on the GPU,) which you could put toward more Ram/Storage. External storage is also a good option.

All of that said, I'd really consider waiting for the M2 Pro/Max if you can. We're likely only about 4 months out from a refresh (although no one knows for sure,) and while I don't expect the M2 series to be a revolutionary upgrade over the M1 Pro/Max, it should still bring some nice improvements, particularly on the GPU side, and if you're not interested the M1 Pro/Max will be discounted.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

I'd say that if you're getting an M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, the one to get is the 16" and not the 14". Both SoCs were very clearly designed for that model's chassis and cooling systems.

Mind you, it's the same SoCs regardless of chassis.

And Apple had the choice of designing the SoCs for the 14" chassis and just ending up with better thermal performance and battery life for the 16" chassis...

OR

...designing the SoCs for the 16" chassis and just ending up with worse thermal performance and battery life for the 14" chassis.

And while that sounds like it's the same thing said two different ways, it's not: The former implies that the 14" is plenty good on both fronts with the 16" merely adding more headroom on thermals and batter, while the latter implies that the 16" is good on both fronts while the 14" makes sacrifices.

Apple went with the latter option. So, unless you're one of the folks buying a 14" out of "well, I want a spec'ed up Air/13" MacBook Pro, so I might as well just get a base model 14" standpoints, then I'd not even mess with a 14" and just go with a 16" instead. Otherwise, you cut corners.

My main concern with the 16” is just the portability. I primarily use my laptop as a laptop, not on a desk or table, so the lighter the better. Based on trying it out in the Apple Store, I think the 14” is a great compromise between portability and display size, with a display that’s almost as big as my 15”.

Assuming you have/are willing to spend the cash, one really under-rated option is to CTO the M1 Max 24 Core GPU model with 64GB of RAM. It's roughly the same price as getting the 32 Core GPU with 32GB of RAM but the overhead for almost any task (or set of tasks) that isn't strictly GPU limited is way higher.

Particularly given the workloads you described, I feel like you'll more often/likely be limited by RAM (especially in the future,) rather than the GPU so I think it would be a really good choice for you (and the vast majority of M1 Max owners if I'm honest.) Also the 32 Core GPU on the 14" M1 Max can throttle a bit in heavily GPU limited scenarios whereas the 24 Core variant does not (the 32 Core model still performs better but not by as much as it does in the 16" MBP)

Honestly speaking its the configuration I wish I'd gone with. The main reason I didn't (aside from just wanting more GPU power, cause I'm a gamer at heart) was that the lead times back in Dec/Jan were insane (2+ months). Then again, I've heard the lead times are pretty bad now so who knows...

If that's too expensive, then it really comes down to what you need. If you can get away with it, the M1 Pro with 8 Core CPU (6P, 2E) and 14 Core GPU will save you $300 ($200 on the CPU, $100 on the GPU,) which you could put toward more Ram/Storage. External storage is also a good option.

All of that said, I'd really consider waiting for the M2 Pro/Max if you can. We're likely only about 4 months out from a refresh (although no one knows for sure,) and while I don't expect the M2 series to be a revolutionary upgrade over the M1 Pro/Max, it should still bring some nice improvements, particularly on the GPU side, and if you're not interested the M1 Pro/Max will be discounted.

Some good thoughts. If the M2 Pro/Max is really only a few months out I would love to wait for it, but based on the rumors saying the Pro/Max is going to wait for TSMC’s 3nm process, I’m worried they won’t be out until late next year at the earliest.