M1 Pro vs M1 Max: cooler system with better battery life?

[chengengaun]

Working perfectly. Charges fine with the 60W PD (of course, if even 12W can charge it...). I'm using it with USB to printer, keyboard, mouse, audio interface, iPhone (lightning, for charging) and a monitor (USB-C to mini DP). Everything works as it should, except my particular mini DP adapter requires a disconnect and reconnect before the MBP recognises the screen. Everything else works just as well as it worked directly connected to my Intel 16" USB-C ports.

Sorry for going off-topic again, but happy to report that the Element TB4 has been performing flawlessly in the few days I’ve been using it - thanks again.

 

[MayaUser]

for me, in Maya full blown project...the 6-7 hours difference was between 16" M1 max vs 14" M1 PRO...so this was the biggest difference on the same under load scenario
So , i suspect the m1 max vs m1 pro on the same size..should be shorter

 

[Serengeti1]

I got a 32gb pro. I kinda wonder if you get better battery life out of the 16gb Pro. I'd imagine the battery difference would be less significant than the pro vs max though.

 

[darngooddesign]

I got a 32gb pro. I kinda wonder if you get better battery life out of the 16gb Pro. I'd imagine the battery difference would be less significant than the pro vs max though.

I would think that using the SSD for RAM swap consumes a little more power than keeping it all in RAM, but I doubt the difference is noticeable in the same way that the difference between the M1-Pro and M1-Max is.

 

[yurkennis]

Pro vs Max?
32GB vs 64GB?
16 vs 32 GPU cores?

I'm seeking suggestions on how to test those in terms of battery life, thermals, "work done per battery Watt spent" etc:

M1Pro 32GB vs M1Max 64GB: battery life and performance test suggestions?

Still wondering how exactly M1Max 64GB compares to M1Pro 32GB in terms of battery life, real-life performance or anything else? I have both of them for side-by-side tests for limited time. Any suggestions on tests to make are welcome: reproducible, scientific, reliable, actionable, you name it...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[darngooddesign]

Pro vs Max?
32GB vs 64GB?
16 vs 32 GPU cores?

I'm seeking suggestions on how to test those in terms of battery life, thermals, "work done per battery Watt spent" etc:

M1Pro 32GB vs M1Max 64GB: battery life and performance test suggestions?

Still wondering how exactly M1Max 64GB compares to M1Pro 32GB in terms of battery life, real-life performance or anything else? I have both of them for side-by-side tests for limited time. Any suggestions on tests to make are welcome: reproducible, scientific, reliable, actionable, you name it...

forums.macrumors.com

If you don’t already know that your work benefits from 64GB RAM, you don’t need 64.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I would think that using the SSD for RAM swap consumes a little more power than keeping it all in RAM, but I doubt the difference is noticeable in the same way that the difference between the M1-Pro and M1-Max is.

I'm not so sure about that. Do you realize how much energy goes into writing to SSDs? I have an external SSD in an aluminium enclosure at it gets surprisingly warm (sometimes almost too hot to hold in a closed hand).

The difference between the M1 Pro and Max is mostly in the GPU cores (which may be largely inactive for some workloads) and the extra memory modules (4 in the Max and 2 in the Pro). Whether there is a large difference between 4 x 8GB modules on the max and 2 x 16GB modules on a 32GB Pro, I don't know, but I suspect that this is where much of the power consumption difference lies for workloads that do not use the GPU cores.

 

[Micka88]

The "battery life" is so relative and changing chaotically that examining some tiny details does not make much sense. Fully charged M1 Pro 16'' after disconnecting shows now 6:30, after short time 6:40 etc. and it keeps changing all the time. Another time yesterday 11:30 and in 10 min. 10:20 and in half an hour 8:50 etc. So in general nice fairy tales

 

[yurkennis]

Here is a(n edge) usecase where 32GB Pro becomes much more power-hungry than 64GB Max: when memory pressure on 32GB Pro is yellow to red, and the system is forced to use more data than RAM available, and to rotate the swap continuously, the 64GB Max keeps all the data in RAM--therefore 32GB Pro uses much more energy on SSD and CPU than 64GB Max:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-many-chrome-tabs-can-you-have-on-32gb-m1-pro.2331122/

 

[yurkennis]

Pro vs Max?
32GB vs 64GB?
16 vs 32 GPU cores?

I'm seeking suggestions on how to test those in terms of battery life, thermals, "work done per battery Watt spent" etc:

M1Pro 32GB vs M1Max 64GB: battery life and performance test suggestions?

Still wondering how exactly M1Max 64GB compares to M1Pro 32GB in terms of battery life, real-life performance or anything else? I have both of them for side-by-side tests for limited time. Any suggestions on tests to make are welcome: reproducible, scientific, reliable, actionable, you name it...

forums.macrumors.com

To summarise my results there: 64GB Max (32 GPU cores) has ONLY 5-6% less time on a single battery charge than 32GB Pro (16 GPU cores) on moderate workloads where GPUs are not used.

So in fact, Max is as cool and battery-efficient as Pro on workloads where unique capabilities of Max are not used.

Other takeaway: screen brightness level alone is much bigger factor for battery life at low workloads than both Low Power Mode, Pro vs Max, number of GPU cores or RAM size.

 

[darngooddesign]

Here is a(n edge) usecase where 32GB Pro becomes much more power-hungry than 64GB Max: when memory pressure on 32GB Pro is yellow to red, and the system is forced to use more data than RAM available, and to rotate the swap continuously, the 64GB Max keeps all the data in RAM--therefore 32GB Pro uses much more energy on SSD and CPU than 64GB Max:

That edge case should get the 64GB Pro instead of the 64GB Max.

 

[yurkennis]

That edge case should get the 64GB Pro instead of the 64GB Max.

True. Except that you need Max in order to have 64GB. Pro allows only up to 32GB RAM.

 

[darngooddesign]

True. Except that you need Max in order to have 64GB. Pro allows only up to 32GB RAM.

Whoops forgot about that detail. (stop being pedantic!!! )

I would argue that if you are regularly saturating 32GB to where you need 64GB, you probably would benefit from the M1-Max.

 

[yurkennis]

lithium batteries have a break-in period. If you discharge by 15-30% and recharge a few times, you’ll see an increase in capacity

Could you share source for that? I am looking for tips on improving battery longevity.

 

[Someirishguy]

I forgot to plug in my MacbookPro 16” 32GB 32GPU when delivering a days training attached to a projector. Keynote and a Bluetooth clicker running from 9 to 5. The battery was over 50% at the end of the day, wow!

 

[MrGunnyPT]

I forgot to plug in my MacbookPro 16” 32GB 32GPU when delivering a days training attached to a projector. Keynote and a Bluetooth clicker running from 9 to 5. The battery was over 50% at the end of the day, wow!

Yeah! You don't use Teams right? It's the only reason I only get 5-6 hours battery sometimes.

 

[brosenz]

Due to the larger Heatsink of the Max, I would assume, for light loads, will Max run at lower temperatures than the Pro who has a smaller Heatsink?

 

[MK500]

Due to the larger Heatsink of the Max, I would assume, for light loads, will Max run at lower temperatures than the Pro who has a smaller Heatsink?

I don't believe the pro and max have different heatsinks on the MacBook Pros. But I would be very interested to know this if true; any link for this info?

 

[yurkennis]

Due to the larger Heatsink of the Max, I would assume, for light loads, will Max run at lower temperatures than the Pro who has a smaller Heatsink?

My experience is that Pro and Max are nearly identical in terms of temperature under moderate load. However, I didn't study that serious enough.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I don't believe the pro and max have different heatsinks on the MacBook Pros. But I would be very interested to know this if true; any link for this info?

The M1 Max version weighs slightly more than the same machine with the M1 Pro, and I read that this was due to the differences in heat sink, but I haven't found any definitive proof of this yet.

 

[Chancha]

Even then, the Max has a larger area with concentrated heat generated, the slightly beefier heatsink may just be able to offset the initial extra temp against the Pro.