M4 Max MacBook Pro: Real-World Usage Tests

[henryhbk]

I'm a video editor (still using an M1 iMac Happily), and more than export times, I'm always interested in hearing about how fluidly you can scrub through clips and watch timelines without rendering. The render speeds are always a nice comparison benchmark, but 10 seconds doesn't mean as much. My computer can render most things in a reasonable time. Where I see my m1 struggle is watching 4K Multicam clips with the Multicam viewer open. Or coloring footage and adding titles and playing it back without rendering first.

I'm not sure the scientific way to test that, but that data would be really helpful with a comparison. Something to think about for the future?

(And I'd love to see those comparisons for an M4 Pro Mac mini vs the M4 Max MBP. That's the dilemma I'm in.

Thanks for doing these for us!

Thank you for saying this. Export is a go get coffee function, sure faster is better, but scrubbing, transcoding, etc are where I sit there tapping my fingers…

 

[knappeduivel]

brain failure: please ignore

nothing as easy to ignore as brain failure

 

[vatter69]

This was a frustrating video to watch. There are many ways to show a comparison that would be so much better than how it was done. Put the benchmarks for both machines on the screen at once. If you had the data from the M1 Max and M2 Max, instead of just saying you have that data, show it also. Would have been great to see the progression reflected. Swing and a miss.

In addition - i really miss percentages comparisons in some of those videos lately - not only this one.

While i understand the real world value for an editor of a specific task being 5 or 1 min faster - the real comparison comes with percentages. So it maybe just 1 mins but that could mean this chip generation does it 50% faster etc.

 

[nostradumbass]

Spent too much this year on hardware bits and bobs so have to wait until next season.

 

[richinaus]

Thank you for saying this. Export is a go get coffee function, sure faster is better, but scrubbing, transcoding, etc are where I sit there tapping my fingers…

Yes it's the day to day experience of doing your job not the large outputs. When the hardware is noticeably lagging [to the point of interrupting flow], then it's time to upgrade.

 

[roar08]

Yeah, I know right, it probably makes for almost a whole 1% of M3 Max owners. Crazy.

I didn't realize those stats were published. Where'd you calculate the 1%?

 

[roar08]

99% of users aren’t going to upgrade a maxed out machine each year, not even content creators. A few minutes shaved off export time is inconsequential compared to the days spent writing/planning/recording/editing.

Interested in the stats you used to arrive at 99%. And if you're just being anecdotal, maybe try "most" or "majority". I'm not even necessarily disagreeing with you but making a claim using a number ... if you don't have anything behind it, it's just conjecture.

Also, I was responding to the article's implied, sweeping claim M3 Max owners — categorically — won't be upgrading.

 

[roar08]

I have extensive experience as a full-time video producer spanning several decades, and I currently use the M3 MAX. Based on my analysis, upgrading to this model does not offer a meaningful return on investment (ROI) for users who already own an M2 or M3 series, and even the M1 Max would be difficult to justify beyond mere "bragging rights." The performance gains, while present, are incremental and do not provide a substantial leap in practical video production workflows. Unless you are specifically seeking the latest hardware for prestige or minimal performance improvements, the financial outlay is not warranted. For those intent on purchasing, however, it's your prerogative.

Totally agree. I was responding to the article's implied, sweeping claim M3 Max owners — categorically — won't be upgrading.

 

[MikeSweden]

I got my M4 Pro ”upgraded version”, with nano display, 48GB and 2TB hard drive. Upgraded from an Intel 15 inch 2018 machine. Holy smokes what a difference. Apple Store had that configuration in stock on release day.

I got so blown away so I immediately ordered the Mac Mini with the same specs as an exchange for my iMac. Coming november 27 . I live in Sweden and here everything is between 30-40% more expensive than in the US.

I’m trying to figure out what display I’m buying. Somehow I don’t feel like buying the Studio display without HDR. So I was thinking of something cheaper until apple releases a new Studio display. I was thinking about the Benq PD2725. Any thoughts on that from any of you who has experience using that monitor? All tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[aevan]

I didn't realize those stats were published. Where'd you calculate the 1%?

I multiplied value with price and divided with common sense and rounded the result up.

Seriously though, while we can’t possibly know, the number of M3 Maxes on eBay is hardly a reliable indicator and we can assume only a very small minority of users is upgrading from the previous generation of Max. It’s most likely thousands of users compared to hundreds of thousands of those that don’t do that.

 

[aevan]

I’m trying to figure out what display I’m buying. Somehow I don’t feel like buying the Studio display without HDR. So I was thinking of something cheaper until apple releases a new Studio display. I was thinking about the Benq PD2725. Any thoughts on that from any of you who has experience using that monitor? All tips are greatly appreciated.

Not sure about the Benq, but true HDR10 monitors are actually rare (a lot of them say they have HDR, but they usually have peak brightness that is actually lower than a Studio display). So definitely check the peak brightness (ideally something close to 1000+ nits for an LCD and 600+ for an OLED), but these panels are still rare outside of TVs), as well as if they have some sort of local dimming. If you really want a HDR monitor, I suggest looking for something with an OLED panel.

 

[CCnNYC]

I got my M4 Pro ”upgraded version”, with nano display, 48GB and 2TB hard drive. Upgraded from an Intel 15 inch 2018 machine. Holy smokes what a difference. Apple Store had that configuration in stock on release day.

I got so blown away so I immediately ordered the Mac Mini with the same specs as an exchange for my iMac. Coming november 27 . I live in Sweden and here everything is between 30-40% more expensive than in the US.

I’m trying to figure out what display I’m buying. Somehow I don’t feel like buying the Studio display without HDR. So I was thinking of something cheaper until apple releases a new Studio display. I was thinking about the Benq PD2725. Any thoughts on that from any of you who has experience using that monitor? All tips are greatly appreciated.

It really depends on what you use your machines for. For crisp text avoid OLED. For high FPS you might not want 4K. For movies or less quick action-oriented games, OLED is great. Also though not mentioned in the video, I believe these new MBPs have display port 2.1 finally, which should improve your options.

 

[MikeSweden]

Thank you. I mainly use Photoshop, lightroom and illustrator. Besides the usual email and everyday browsing.

 

[StoneJack]

I'm a video editor (still using an M1 iMac Happily), and more than export times, I'm always interested in hearing about how fluidly you can scrub through clips and watch timelines without rendering. The render speeds are always a nice comparison benchmark, but 10 seconds doesn't mean as much. My computer can render most things in a reasonable time. Where I see my m1 struggle is watching 4K Multicam clips with the Multicam viewer open. Or coloring footage and adding titles and playing it back without rendering first.

I'm not sure the scientific way to test that, but that data would be really helpful with a comparison. Something to think about for the future?

(And I'd love to see those comparisons for an M4 Pro Mac mini vs the M4 Max MBP. That's the dilemma I'm in.

Thanks for doing these for us!

scrubbing would be quite fast

 

[jecowa]

Nano-texture seems cool if it doesn't collect dust or make the display harder to clean. I think in the past this kind of thing would have been a free option between "glossy" and "matte".

 

[Basic75]

Yeah, I know right, it probably makes for almost a whole 1% of M3 Max owners. Crazy.

It also doesn't say whether these people are just burning money or really need the upgrade.

 

[djmlfc]

I upgraded from an 16" M3 Max 128 GB - 4 TB. Why? TB-5 much faster read/writes on SSD's and improved bandwidth performance possible with new TB5 docks to Pro XDR and some SSD raid arrays, slightly brighter 1000 nit screen in bright lights, minor changes to display enhancing colour and a 25% +/- improvement in CPU/GPU performance. If it gives me this 25% improvement running engineering simulation software (60GB ram used with significant SSD thrashing over a 40 minute simulation run) then I would suggest that for me it would save approximately 4 hours per work week. I pick up the upgrade this week and see whether it was worth it.

Finally by upgrading I get to drop the Space Black and replace with Silver which won't develop noticeable wear on ports and the edge of the laptop from Apple watch strap abrasion, and will not look like a used grease blotched frying pan (exaggeration but people know what I mean....) within 5 minutes of cleaning.

No doubt will upgrade again next year if the M5 Max comes with WiFi 7 and tandem OLED displays