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MBP 14"/16" 32GB Buyers: M1 Pro or M1 Max

For those purchasing/considering a 32GB 14" or 16" MBP: M1 Pro or M1 Max?

  • M1 Pro

    Votes: 32 47.8%

  • M1 Max

    Votes: 35 52.2%
  • Total voters
    67
M

Malus120

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 28, 2002
700
1,459
So, the new MBP's are looking pretty amazing, but let's be honest, they're also pretty expensive, particularly if you need more RAM or a faster SOC. Given that it's $400(!) to go from 16GB -> 32GB of ram, bringing the total cost to an eye watering $2399 for the 14" model with the base M1 Pro SOC (8C/14C) or $2699 for the fully enabled M1 Pro SOC (10C/16C), I can't help but feel that if you're already spending that much, it just makes more sense to get the M1 Max.

Personally I blew past my budget and ordered an M1 Max, although I'll be test driving it/reading reviews to see if its really worth it for me and my use case before making a final decision.

So, for those of you who want a MBP with 32GB of ram, how are all of you feeling?
 
I'm holding off until the benchmarks release next week. Then I'm going to decide which 14" configuration I'm going to buy.

Especially curious about the difference between the CPU and GPU cores.
 
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I agree. at that point might as well spend $200.
Not only that but it is supposed to double the bandwidth from 200GBps to 400GBps

I am dev as well and ordered Pro/16 and Max/32. Not sure which one I'll keep.
Any thoughts ?
 
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I am an app developer and will have to get 32Gb RAM for my needs on a 16" machine...Also wondering if adding a bit more for the MAX is worth it. Does the extra bandwidth help with CPU tasks at all???

PS: I think the MAX also adds capability for 4 screens (which I dont need, I use 2 external 1440p displays :p)
 
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n3sh said:
I agree. at that point might as well spend $200.
Not only that but it is supposed to double the bandwidth from 200GBps to 400GBps

I am dev as well and ordered Pro/16 and Max/32. Not sure which one I'll keep.
Any thoughts ?
Click to expand...
I think you will keep pro 16.
I have just ordered both too, and then cancelled max 32.
As developer I was just fine with m1 8gb, so pro 16gb will be already an incredible machine.
Max is for me a lot of marketing..
 
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M1 Max is more for video/3D guys more than web developers IMO.
14" is lighter and smaller so I will take that over 16".
In my work extra core sometimes/seldom adds enough benefit for performance (except compiling binaries for Docker images but I only do that at most weekly with not much urgency).
The only thing I am not so sure is the memory bandwidth's impact.
 
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senttoschool said:
M1 Pro for me.

I'm a software developer and don't care much for extra GPUs. If macOS ever gets AAA games, I will definitely start to buying higher-end GPU SoCs.
Click to expand...
would you feel good enough with 8cores ? i mean the upgrade from 8c to 10c is "just" 250 euros...but then im not sure its gonna make a big difference for compiling etc ?
 
Gone for 14" 32GB 1TB Pro. Was tempted by the extra 200 for the max but I don't think the extra graphics core would be of any benefit to me and I doubt the doubled memory bandwidth would either. If tests show a big difference I will return and stump up the extra £200
 
I expect at most ~80% M1 Pro & ~20% M1 Max.

Why? Because of cost. ;)

Kidding aside almost everyone upgrading to these laptops will be coming from a Intel Mac sold within the last dozen or so years.
 
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0089294 said:
would you feel good enough with 8cores ? i mean the upgrade from 8c to 10c is "just" 250 euros...but then im not sure its gonna make a big difference for compiling etc ?
Click to expand...
M1 Pro on 16” has 10. That’s what I’m buying.
 
0089294 said:
would you feel good enough with 8cores ? i mean the upgrade from 8c to 10c is "just" 250 euros...but then im not sure its gonna make a big difference for compiling etc ?
Click to expand...
I "want" to see if that 2 extra performance cores would make a difference in compiling.
But I don't "need" them.
I do "need" 1TB SSD & 32 GB RAM (well not sure about RAM but to be safe :S)
 
kwokaaron said:
It's interesting that the differentiator between the M1 Pro and M1 Max is mostly GPU-focused. If the M1 Max had a more powerful CPU, I'd be a lot more tempted to upgrade.
Click to expand...
as always what apple sees as true pros are videographers. which is why the max has double the gpu ,double the bandwidth ,double the media encoders (truly intersting that one)
 
the low end 14" with upgraded power supply ($20) SMOKES any previous intel MBP at 2K. I think we all wanted the loaded GPUs at those intro prices but in reality that base unit is pretty damn good as is.

Do an apple trade in and you are rocking an incredible road warrior machine.
 
kawa636r said:
I think you will keep pro 16.
I have just ordered both too, and then cancelled max 32.
As developer I was just fine with m1 8gb, so pro 16gb will be already an incredible machine.
Max is for me a lot of marketing..
Click to expand...
im not sure the max is marketing,it just doesnt target you ,nor developers in general,but more so videographers.u see,the max is basically gpu focused..which doesnt help that much for programming ( apart from compute but idk if the platform is good for such usage) .
besides,it also has double the media encoders,good for video again
 
0089294 said:
wow so u did take 32 gb of ram...if so,i mean,even tho +2 cores might not help you right now,it may be good to have in like 4-5 years,u get me ?
Click to expand...
Ya I am quite sure GPU doesn't do me much good but CPU core might
So for me it's "let's do it"
I do intend to keep it 5 years+ (and sell away old Intel MBP)
 
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