M1 Pro/Max owners: Are you upgrading to M3 or staying put?

[xraydoc]

I only have 1 of those displays. how do two run using stuff like photoshop or Davinchi Resolve? any lag? any lag with 3 and ram hungry software?

I don't use either of those apps. I do mostly office-type work -- big PowerPoint and Word files with lots of PDFs and browser tabs for research and such. But zero lag whatsoever on my previous M1 Pro (with only 16GB of RAM) and two ASDs. I've been using the three ASD on the M3 Max (36GB) for just a couple hours now and seems as smooth as before so far, but I'll post back if I see any diminished performance.

Two of the ASDs (the two 90º portrait side monitors) are connected to one TB4 port through a Caldigit TS4 dock. The center landscape ASD is connected to a separate TB4 port.

 

[Lucas Curious]

I don't use either of those apps. I do mostly office-type work -- big PowerPoint and Word files with lots of PDFs and browser tabs for research and such. But zero lag whatsoever on my previous M1 Pro (with only 16GB of RAM) and two ASDs. I've been using the three ASD on the M3 Max (36GB) for just a couple hours now and seems as smooth as before so far, but I'll post back if I see any diminished performance.

Two of the ASDs (the two 90º portrait side monitors) are connected to one TB4 port through a Caldigit TS4 dock. The center landscape ASD is connected to a separate TB4 port.

why not use the 3 TB ports for 3 monitors? Does your neck fatigue from the side displays? how do you read documents looking to the sides? I did video editing on the M1 Pro and with studio display only it was fine but once I also opened the laptop screen, there was slight lag.

 

[aj_niner]

3 year replacement cycle has been the norm in the 80s, 90s & 10s

Since 2010

- Apple claims that Macs gets replaced every 4 years
- Intel claims that PCs gets replaced every 5-6 years

EOL of

- Windows is after 122 months
- macOS is after ~1 decade

If you're working in non-tech or non-creative then consider stretching it out.

If this is a toy purchase then enjoy your hard work.

This iMac 27" Core i7 22nm I am writing this on turned 11yo 3 days ago. When Apple releases a iMac 32" 6K M4 3nm that uses a next gen 32" 6K display that is 4 years newer than the 2019 Pro Display X then it will likely sell for under $2k.

2019 MBP 16" Core i7 14nm I have will likely be replaced in 2027. Hopefully EU law will force Apple to allow for user replaceable batteries so the 2027 MBP 16" M7 Pro will be on a 1.4nm chip

 

[xraydoc]

why not use the 3 TB ports for 3 monitors? Does your neck fatigue from the side displays? how do you read documents looking to the sides? I did video editing on the M1 Pro and with studio display only it was fine but once I also opened the laptop screen, there was slight lag.

Running on just two ports makes docking easier.

No. No lag. The portrait orientation works great for full-page PDF or other documents for reference while the center is used for main-focus work.

 

[Lucas Curious]

Running on just two ports makes docking easier.

No. No lag. The portrait orientation works great for full-page PDF or other documents for reference while the center is used for main-focus work.

wouldn't you want that Pro Display in center since its higher to match the other two more?

 

[xraydoc]

wouldn't you want that Pro Display in center since its higher to match the other two more?

I'm not sure what you mean.

Here's a picture I posted in another thread...
#3,352

 

[HasanDaddy]

16" - M2 MAX - 32 GB RAM

Staying put! This is the best Mac and laptop I've owned by far. I do a ton of multitasking - the computer keeps up with me excellently.

The big factor is battery. The battery power on this beast is endless.

I don't doubt that the M3 is awesome - but for now - the power on my baby is good, and the battery lasts forever. I would be worried that the M3's don't have as great of batteries. Why change something if it's not broken?

 

[StrollerEd]

Surely now the only valid answer to this thread is ...

M4

& will it, won't it be a game-changer wrt an O/S that deploys resident AI processing

 

[Basic75]

& will it, won't it be a game-changer wrt an O/S that deploys resident AI processing

You are assuming the AI features will be more useful than annoying?

 

[ls1dreams]

Still very happy w/ my 16" M1 Max. In no rush to upgrade, but will keep an eye out to see how many local AI use cases might call for cpus in the future with higher AI TOPS.

Also eventually watching for wi-fi 7 and cellular options.

Really though I just want 2tb storage to be more affordable. NAND pricing is stupid from Apple.

 

[StrollerEd]

You are assuming the AI features will be more useful than annoying?

No, I'll be lurking here to see what the early adopters report.

 

[strayts]

I am still on the fence but leaning towards no. I have less than 100 cycles on my 14” and 16” M1 Pros and they’re already extremely fast for everything that I do.

Staying put for another few years at least!

 

[ratspg]

I'm still on a 16" M1 Pro and its incredible. Never any issues, flawlessly working on the go. My studio computer is a M2 Ultra Mac Studio, also beastly.

 

[wgonzvega]

M2 Pro, not upgrading

 

[TAJones99]

M1 Pro 14' MBP here, not upgrading. The M1 Pro has enough overhead to do anything I ask it to do with no problems. I will note that the Ray Tracing ability of the M3 is interesting but until game developers start porting their games over to the Mac platform I will leverage my OMEN for gaming.

The 14' MBP M1 Pro is a fantastic machine and will continue to do its job until it's either not supported anymore by apple or I just get tired of it.

The ray tracing really is a big deal for me I have my consoles and I have some gaming handhelds as well, but it's good they are trying.

 

[chfilm]

Waiting for M4 max all the way!

 

[Elviss116]

waiting for M8 Pro or M8 Max

 

[joshwithachance]

I feel like the M1 series of chips, especially Pro and Max, were SO overpowered (comparatively) that until these machines die we won't actually need (or should even feel the desire) to upgrade...

 

[loby]

I feel like the M1 series of chips, especially Pro and Max, were SO overpowered that until these machines die we won't actually need (or should even feel the desire) to upgrade...

It is not “over-powered” but was a big jump from intel. The M1 was a foundational architecture that each “M” class builds from, so we only get 15-20% incremental upgrades and not huge jumps in power or performance like the M1 had from Intel. I do not see this as an issue, but the normal progression in a series.

I have a M1 MacBook Pro and coming from intel it will seem “over-powered”, but was a big jump to start new. It is the best laptop I have ever had.