Real world video editing with new studios. Mac Studio m3 ultra base 96 ram vs Mac Studio M4 Max 64 gb of ram.

[Arturcary]

After days of research and asking many forums, I am still just confused as confused as ever with which Mac Studio to buy as a video editor. At this point, I feel like it makes sense to either buy the M4 max studio with 64gb of ram or the M3 ultra base with 96 gb of ram. I ruled out the max with 128gb because at that price point it’s just to close to the m3 ultra. A little about my workflow. I edit in premiere with black magic raw footage mainly 5:1 and 8:1. I do use multiple video layers in my edits, color grade pretty heavy, and add medium effects (warp stabilizer and 1 to 2 other effects sometimes). I prefer not to work in proxies. I only care about smooth playback and scrubbing without stuttering or dropping frames, i could care less about export time. I am a cheap SOB but don’t want to regret under or over paying. Yet if it actually does make a difference to my workflow then I will happily sell the shirt off my back for the 256 gb of ram. I figure the only way to truly know the difference is to have actually worked with these computers. Any users that have bought one of these computers and willing to share their personal experience video editing so far would be amazing.



I do have a couple questions for others:

-What do extra video encoders on the m3 ultra actually translate to for editing?

-how much will extra ram effect the performance for video editing really and do you actually ever find yourself going above 64 or 96?

-Does premiere prioritize single core or multi-thread for video editing?

-is there a significant difference in cpu and gpu that are actually utilized in the editing software?

-which do you feel will sell better when apple decides to give us the computer we were really hoping for.

 

[picpicmac]

 

[aUsern@me]

I ruled out the max with 128gb because at that price point it’s just to close to the m3 ultra.

I would not rule out the M4 Max with 128 GB. It's still $300 cheaper than the M3 Ultra.

The M4 Max will "feel" faster. From your description, nearly everything you do is single-core. For the most part, multi-cores only come into play for tasks like rendering, exporting, compiling, etc… If, you "could care less about export time" then the extra encoders of the M3 Ultra really aren't relevant. Nothing you do reads like it's very GPU dependent either. It seems like you should get the M4 Max. IMO, the Ultra is really only for people who are willing to give up single-core performance for GPU performance or those who need 256 or 512 GB of RAM.

But, would you be fine with 64 GB of RAM? Probably. Given that you're a "a cheap SOB" I think you'd be okay saving the money. I know a lot of Premiere editors who easily get by with 64 GB on Intel Macs. But do you ever dabble in 3D, compositing or motion graphics? If so, I'd get the 128 GB M4 Max.


Rant:
I hate watching Youtube videos to get solid info. Whatever happened to reading a detailed, long-format article on the web that you could easily reference without having some dope talking all the time? At least some less annoying youtubers minimize the damned music.

 

[MBAir2010]

Rant:
I hate watching Youtube videos to get solid info. Whatever happened to reading a detailed, long-format article on the web that you could easily reference without having some dope talking all the time? At least some less annoying youtubers minimize the damned music.

Never saw a youtube video for advice,
i think linus tech tips and luke miami are the ONLY ones worth watching for fun.
There is another youtube who i good as well without the glitz an glamore..

 

[Zubba]

I picked up an Ultra 3 28/60 96GB 2TB after canceling a 128 GB Max, and am very happy with my decision.

I don't really do a lot of video, but I can tell you that for my uses (Lightroom Classic, Final Cut/Premiere, running VMs, it's far and away the fastest Mac I've ever used, and is considerably snappier than an M4Max MBP with 64GB.

It's silent , no coil whine that I've noticed, and runs cool under load.

Can't go wrong.

 

[Lissek]

Due to the price difference between M4M 16/40/128 for some cases M3U 28/60/96 may be interesting, although where it really takes advantage is in 256 or 512 RAM Exporting video is better.

Rendering heavy processes too. But in light processes, it can even be slower if you do not use multicore.
Example in the subtitles Ultra is much slower than Max.

Personally, I think M3U will lose value sooner as it is a previous generation and ARM architecture v8 and not v9, but in cases of large AI models where a lot of RAM is required or when in video for your work it can be valuable to reduce time, in export it is very clear, it is interesting.

For these last 2 uses, losing value faster is not a problem, because it is normally a piece of equipment that generates money. For users without that focus M4M is a great device and price/value may be the best option.

 

[splifingate]

Whatever happened to reading a detailed, long-format article on the web that you could easily reference without having some dope talking all the time? At least some less annoying youtubers minimize the damned music.

Obligatory Onion