Just bought a 16" M3 Pro

[M3Stang]

After so much kicking it around (and getting an Intel 16" earlier this month and really liking the size) I finally traded my "daily" 13" M1 MBP for this base model 16". Best Buy had it for $2250 and gave me $600 trade in for the M1 so I figured it was now or never. So far I really like it. Games run much better in crossover and I use moonlight to stream from my "cloud gaming pc". I also use Geforce Now/parallels for some other games. The slightly sad thing, is I am already almost maxed out on the 512GB but running that iCloud evict command helped out a bit with that. And I am already swapping to the SSD (sometimes 6 GB in games (Hogwarts legacy has been the worst)). I already am annoyed at only being able to have 2 displays too, but I think I can get over it. Overall this is much better than the M1 was esp being it was an 8/256 model. The 120hz is nice for games but I do have it connect to my desktop setup (with one monitor off lol) with a 240hz 1440p display which works well. Overall pretty happy. Would I like some more performance and the ability to use at least 3 displays? Sure. But man spending even more than I did on this just sounds gross being this is just a personal laptop that I don't do any work on. All play and no work . Anyway just wanted to share.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I bought the same one today, too. But won't be here until Friday.

What is the "iCloud evict command"?

 

[M3Stang]

Oh I actually meant to put it here but forgot . Here it is, and the source. I used it every now and again to free up space on my 13". I right click on a huge folder that I have in iCloud, but that has partial contents downloaded (super annoying to remove the downloads manually), open a new terminal window with that folder as the path, then I copy and paste that command.

This goes without saying but use at your own risk.

find . -type f -exec brctl evict {} \;

How do I remove iCloud downloads on Mac including ALL subfolders and files?

I have a small SSD so I keep most of my files on iCloud and download only those files and folders I am working on. When I want to remove downloads from my Mac I right-click on a folder and select &...

apple.stackexchange.com

 

[Flash1420]

I have the 16-inch MacBook Pro and its been amazing. However, if you have a regret with RAM, then I suggest you exchange it for another machine while you have the chance. A lot of people think that the CPU is slow when the OS is running slow, and that is true to some extent, however, not having enough memory also slows things down. If the M-series Macs are running slow, then it is usually because of limited memory.

 

[M3Stang]

I have the 16-inch MacBook Pro and its been amazing. However, if you have a regret with RAM, then I suggest you exchange it for another machine while you have the chance. A lot of people think that the CPU is slow when the OS is running slow, and that is true to some extent, however, not having enough memory also slows things down. If the M-series Macs are running slow, then it is usually because of limited memory.

Yes I have noticed that when playing games. When the frame rate tanks, it's because memory pressure is high and its swapping. I have been thinking of swapping it, but at what point will I have it all? After spending $4,000? Lol. The cost of entry on this thing is so high. Although Best Buy does have the 48GB M3 Max 40 Core GPU 1TB for $3750 right now. I just don't think I can drop another $1,500. At that point I will just buy a 4090 for my gaming pc and have much better gaming performance. I can't get my M1 back either way and every time I used it it was unusable due to limited ram so this is really the only thing that fits the literal bill right now. I was mainly using the Intel one the last 4 weeks or so as my main one.

 

[JohnRckr]

I bought the same one yesterday! Just the base model, it is all I need.

 

[gui0312]

I don’t understand? Do you use this for anything dependent on the Mac system? From what I’m reading you can definitely benefit greatly from a windows gaming laptop (if you must have portability with it) or an incredible desktop. I love Mac and I’m pretty invested in the eco system but for gaming? It’s EXTREMELY expensive and still doesn’t yield the same benefit as a windows PC or hell a Ps5 lol

 

[M3Stang]

I don’t understand? Do you use this for anything dependent on the Mac system? From what I’m reading you can definitely benefit greatly from a windows gaming laptop (if you must have portability with it) or an incredible desktop. I love Mac and I’m pretty invested in the eco system but for gaming? It’s EXTREMELY expensive and still doesn’t yield the same benefit as a windows PC or hell a Ps5 lol

Lol I just have this dream of not needing 2 computers anymore. I prefer to use a Mac for daily tasks. I have been playing some games on the Mac but have mostly been playing either through Moonlight on my gaming PC or geforce now. I moved my gaming PC out of the room I am usually in and it just has power and ethernet hooked up now, so it's a good cloud pc for me now as well. I moved it out so it doesn't heat up the room as much . My gaming PC I literally only use for gaming, it does nothing else. I don't think I even open a web browser on it anymore these days unless it's for a quick YouTube game guide or to check stats in E sports. I also have been using moonlight to play in bed too before bed (used to do that with my PS5 but most of my games are in Steam these days). I made a separate post for this, but this M3 pro wifi is terrible compared to my 16" intel. Constantly has high ping. I am on vacation right now out of the US and I have the intel one with me and between geforce now and moonlight I have been able to play some games during downtime (albeit with high ping being over 1000 miles away from my gaming PC) but even this is more consistent than my M3 Pro in the same room as my Intel streaming in the house from my gaming PC. That part is pretty annoying.

 

[HDFan]

I used it every now and again to free up space on my 13".

Er, then where are your backups? iCloud is not a backup service and thus can't be counted as one of the recommended 3-2-1 backups.

 

[M3Stang]

Er, then where are your backups? iCloud is not a backup service and thus can't be counted as one of the recommended 3-2-1 backups.

From my understanding the evict command is what the mac auto runs when it needs to free up iCloud Drive space locally. This is just a manual way to do it on large folders with a lot of items. It just makes it so you have to download them again should you need them. I’ve been using it to backup files since 2015. I have about 1.5 terabytes in iCloud Drive right now. I do have a local Time Machine backup but the few times I have restored from it (like when I setup this new 16”) it just makes it like my previous install was. Eg. it has all my folders that I must download from iCloud. So while it isn’t a backup service, it’s been working of a central repo for all of my stuff for around 9 years now. I did recently try to download everything to an external SSD for long term local backup, but it couldn’t download my entire iCloud for some reason even though it’s a 2TB drive.

 

[HDFan]

I did recently try to download everything to an external SSD for long term local backup, but it couldn’t download my entire iCloud for some reason

Great that you can use iCloud for extended storage, but you need to consider how that storage is backed up. Maybe you don't care if that data gets lost, such as in the extremely rare case that you get locked out of your AppleID.

If the only copies you have are on iCloud and you are having problems dowloading them then that it a major red flag. I would get them backed up as soon as you can. Also TM should be only 1 of the 3 recommended backups as it tends to fail.

Sorry to be so persistent but there have been quite a few reports of people losing all of their precious photos and other data due to inadequate backup strategies. Don't want you to lose your 1.5 TB of data.

 

[M3Stang]

Great that you can use iCloud for extended storage, but you need to consider how that storage is backed up. Maybe you don't care if that data gets lost, such as in the extremely rare case that you get locked out of your AppleID.

If the only copies you have are on iCloud and you are having problems dowloading them then that it a major red flag. I would get them backed up as soon as you can. Also TM should be only 1 of the 3 recommended backups as it tends to fail.

Sorry to be so persistent but there have been quite a few reports of people losing all of their precious photos and other data due to inadequate backup strategies. Don't want you to lose your 1.5 TB of data.

No problem at all. I appreciate you letting me know about this. After I read your post, I looked into it a little more and saw that I am more or less playing with fire. Once I get back from this vacation I am on, I will plan to back things up for sure. It seems I have to download in small chunks, transfer to the external drive, then evict from the main drive to make room for more downloads. I also found out I can do a GDPR request and get the data in 25gb downloads. idk which way sounds easier really. I never even thought of the photos. I have photos on my phone form 2015 in my "Recents" that have just always been there and never really thought of them just disappearing. I can't even imaging dealing with backing those up though. I think most of that 1.5 TB is photos. The rest are items that I guess I stupidly "backed up" from other machines (Windows ones) and then formatted those drives thinking iCloud was a rock solid encrypted place to keep everything (I have advanced data protection on since it launched). I guess its time to make local copies again.

 

[3SQ Machine]

On the M3 Pro 16", notice any epic battery life? I think the Space Black color looks amazing on the 16" (almost walked out of BB with a mint OB 16" last month for $2039) but I can't justify replacing my otherwise excellent M1 Pro 16" for a mere color change. Although I'm sure there are worse reasons.

What's funny is that if I put my Space Gray 16" on enough of an angle it almost looks as dark as the Space Black. The cheaper way would be for me to just work on it angled from now on and skip the upgrade... or wear sunglasses.

 

[M3Stang]

On the M3 Pro 16", notice any epic battery life? I think the Space Black color looks amazing on the 16" (almost walked out of BB with a mint OB 16" last month for $2039) but I can't justify replacing my otherwise excellent M1 Pro 16" for a mere color change. Although I'm sure there are worse reasons.

What's funny is that if I put my Space Gray 16" on enough of an angle it almost looks as dark as the Space Black. The cheaper way would be for me to just work on it angled from now on and skip the upgrade... or wear sunglasses.

Ha I do really like the space black. Much darker than my 13" Space Gray it replaced. You know, on the battery life, I really have not used it much off the charger. It's mostly a desktop in a dock and I take it off every now and then to bring it to bed/around the house. I have only left the house with it once since getting it. I have yet to get the battery down at all really since it's plugged in 95% of the time. The few times I had it off the charger it did go down surprisingly fast, but I was usually playing a game on it locally through crossover so I am sure that is why. It replaced my gaming PC as a desktop. I still have the gaming PC but it's relocated as just a cloud gaming server now that I do frequently access from the MBP.

 

[Knightimer]

Congratulations on your purchase!

 

[Melbourne Park]

A way to protect a notebook / Mac is to put a case around it. And then, the colour is obscured a lot. Makes me wonder why Apple even sells multi-coloured iPads phones etc. - because they all need protection, and when you put a case on them, the colour is obscured.

I returned my M3 MacBook Pro Max, as I couldn't live with a 1 TB drive. Now I will wait until Thunderbolt 5, and then I will not have to suffer Apple's over priced drive policies. Unless Apple doesn't switch to T5 of course ... doing so will cost them a lot due to their high disk space pricing.

 

[M3Stang]

A way to protect a notebook / Mac is to put a case around it. And then, the colour is obscured a lot. Makes me wonder why Apple even sells multi-coloured iPads phones etc. - because they all need protection, and when you put a case on them, the colour is obscured.

I returned my M3 MacBook Pro Max, as I couldn't live with a 1 TB drive. Now I will wait until Thunderbolt 5, and then I will not have to suffer Apple's over priced drive policies. Unless Apple doesn't switch to T5 of course ... doing so will cost them a lot due to their high disk space pricing.

Yeah I can imagine. My 512GB is constantly full. I have 2 2TB SSDs hooked up to it when docked with games on it.

 

[Melbourne Park]

Yep my intel MacBook pro 2017 has 512GB, and I keep moving stuff off it. But I want to do some family video work, and I reckon I'll need 4TB.

 

[rorydaredking]

A way to protect a notebook / Mac is to put a case around it. And then, the colour is obscured a lot. Makes me wonder why Apple even sells multi-coloured iPads phones etc. - because they all need protection, and when you put a case on them, the colour is obscured.

I returned my M3 MacBook Pro Max, as I couldn't live with a 1 TB drive. Now I will wait until Thunderbolt 5, and then I will not have to suffer Apple's over priced drive policies. Unless Apple doesn't switch to T5 of course ... doing so will cost them a lot due to their high disk space pricing.

Why would thunderbolt 5 mean you're not reliant on Apple's drive prices? Surely you could get a TB3 or TB4 SSD?

 

[Melbourne Park]

Yeah I can imagine. My 512GB is constantly full. I have 2 2TB SSDs hooked up to it when docked with games on it.

I have videos to do, and I think Thunder 3 is too slow for that. 4 is much the same speed. 5 is double those.

Concerning value, I looked at all that and found (via a spreadsheet) :

The average price for Apple computer drives is $290.53 per Terabyte (TB).

The average price for NVME drives of Apple speed is $121.66 per TB. On average for internal storage, Apple is charging for computer storage, almost two and half times as the best NVME drives cost.

Currently (via B&H) a 4 TB is the best value at $85 per TB.

Apple's price in a computer for a 4TB drive is $317.38 per TB. 3.7 times price - rounded its four times the price!!

The average price for iPad Pros per TB is $1,103.52, although above the base 128 GB, the average is $1,281.74 per TB. The base 128 GB is "only" $390.63 per TB. Hence if value orientated, iPad users should stick to the base drives. And the iPad seems crippled for large on board information work, due to such high storage prices. Best to buy a computer for such things, not an iPad. Hence too, an M2 processor makes no sense in an iPad. Or even an M1 for that matter.


Hence with Apple's high storage prices, I do not expect Apple to introduce Thunderbolt 5 for a considerable time!!