M1 Max Owners, does it make sense to buy a discounted M1 Max or M3 Max base?

[killagbear]

Long time Windows user looking to buy my first MBP! I'm coming from a surface laptop studio 1 (i7-11370H w/ discrete Nvidia). I am a freelance photographer and shoot drone videos so my workflow includes Lightroom, PS and Premiere Pro, Topaz AI, AE.

I have the opportunity to grab a new 14" M1 Max (10/24, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) for $2500 or a new 14" M3 Max (14/30, 36GB RAM, 1TB SSD) for $2770 from Apple.

Question for you all: What do you think about paying for the extra $200 for the M3 performance in exchange for 50% less RAM and storage?

My plan was to use this laptop for he next 6-7 years, so I like the idea of having 64 GB RAM and the added storage. But I can always use my external SSD and the benchmarks I've seen (Artisright) suggest 36GB may be fine. Would be curious to hear from current users if that's been your experience?

FWIW, I like the space black, +2 years of updates and the gaming aspect of the M3 Max but the value of the M1 is hard to pass up lol. I still have my old windows desktop a gen 1 threadripper for gaming and video editing, so gaming on the MBP would be limited to League anyways (not sure if the M3 max can handle more).

Thanks in advance for reading this and for sharing your thoughts on which option is best for me!

 

[cdames00]

Do you have access to a Microcenter? They’ve got a deals on Apple refurbs with warranties in the 14” and 16” M1 Max. I got a 16” Max open box but with the AppleCare warranty for $1850.

 

[Student of Life]

Do you have access to a Microcenter? They’ve got a deals on Apple refurbs with warranties in the 14” and 16” M1 Max. I got a 16” Max open box but with the AppleCare warranty for $1850.

I love Microcenter, that’s how i got my 16 M1 Max. The screen is so beautiful and its a work horse.

 

[smirking]

My plan was to use this laptop for he next 6-7 years, so I like the idea of having 64 GB RAM and the added storage. But I can always use my external SSD and the benchmarks I've seen (Artisright) suggest 36GB may be fine. Would be curious to hear from current users if that's been your experience?

If you're an expert user and know you'll need the RAM because you understand the programs you use and how they consume resources, then prioritize the RAM. Otherwise, 36GB is more than fine. I'm a dev and photographer and I do everything I need without compromise and have no issues on my 16GB M1 Pro.

 

[Basic75]

the benchmarks I've seen (Artisright) suggest 36GB may be fine

The benchmarks are only representative if the size of the data sets is comparable to what you have in your workflows.

 

[wonderings]

You are not going to complain about an M1 Max, I use one as my main machine for Adobe CC. That being said, with how close the M3 Max is with those specs I would pay a little more for the M3 Max. With either computer thought you are not going to be disappointed.