Sharing my experience after 3 months of using the M1 Max 1TB/32GB as a Windows user.

[JC1987]

Hi folks!

I have been a Windows user for over 15 years and Windows has been supporting my work(flow) for more than a decade. At the end of last year, I had the opportunity to receive a new laptop and I chose the "new" M1 Max model because of the revolutionary speed increases in laptops and still maintaining great battery life, something that is hard to find in Windows laptops overall.

My intention back then was to fully migrate to the Mac system and also plan to sell all my Windows machines, they are outdated anyway.
To get an idea of what kind of user I am, I do video editing (Premiere), photo editing (Lightroom & Photoshop), audio DAW (Reaper with heavy VSTi and VST plugins), general admin work (browser, Office, social apps,...), VM now and then etc etc. So I was looking for a system that can do all of that, not necessarily at the same time but anyway nice to have if it can. Overall I am not a conservative person. If there is something better out there I am willing to try it and even migrate to it if it fits my needs, I am not stuck to a certain system and I like compatibility between systems. But as I said before, I am planning to fully migrate to the MB and leave Windows behind. If I don't get too frustrated trying...

Upon receiving the MacBook M1 Max I immediately ordered some extension hubs because having only USB-C ports is not going to cut it for me. I still have many external devices that use USB-A anyway.

This is what I ordered:
- USB-C extension hub
- USB-C to USB-A cable
- USB-C to USB-A adapter
- USB-C external HDD dock
- USB-C external m.2/nvme reader
- USB-A double SATA to USB3 adapter

I have lots of external 3.5 and 2.5-inch drives that I use to back up my digital life so, therefore, the long list.

1) Accessories: When I started to use accessories on the MB I noticed such slow speeds on the USB-C ports. For example with the double SATA to USB3 adapter I got an average of 50MB/s transferring files between external HDDs, and I did the comparison test on my Windows laptop (USB3 port) and got almost double with peaks of 120MB/s. Exact same setup but MB instead of Windows laptop.
Then using the extension hub I connected a BT dongle for my mouse and keyboard and also a LAN cable. The mouse and keyboard got unresponsive at times when I could not type anymore or characters came in with a delay. Super frustrating. Then when I connected the BT dongle to a dedicated USB-C port with the USB-C to USB-A cable/adapter it worked perfectly. So this might be an issue with the hub, but having a 10gbps connection and not even being able to send LAN and BT dongle commands over it simultaneously seems sad. so let's not blame it purely on the MB but still, it added to my frustration, and I do not like sacrificing one USB-C port just for a BT dongle

2) NTFS: MacOS is not very keen on NTFS so I felt like I needed to convert my whole HDD collection to exFAT to be able to use them in both ecosystems. Took a while and it wasn't easy either because at times the MacBook did not even read drives properly and I had to do it again. Or drives did not even appear in this prehistoric program called "Finder". Lots of frustration added to that time-consuming process. Some drives even got rekt, not blaming this purely on the MB but again it wasn't a very "it just works" experience.

3) Memory: I have a 32GB model and I get a notification when I'm editing in Lightroom "memory almost full", wait say what? There aren't any other memory-consuming programs open so I am surprised Lightroom is pushing the limit already and my used RAM is 25GB out of 32GB. Am I glad I did not choose the 16GB model? It seems so...

4) BSOD: In those 3 months of heavy usage I had 1 BSOD where everything just hung and the MB rebooted itself. Quite used to it from Windows machines but didn't expect this from the MB so soon. Unfortunately, quite a random issue as I could not figure out how to see what caused the BSOD. (Any help appreciated on how to see what caused a BSOD).

5) Windows on MB: I was so excited to know Windows runs on the MB through Parallels! So I can have the MB as my main machine and still use my Windows programs if necessary? Where do I sign?? Nothing was further from the truth because Windows 11 is also an ARM version. Which means most programs I used do not run on ARM systems. My excitement was gone quite fast. Unless I am missing something and there is a way to run x64 programs?...

6) Android phone: I have a Xiaomi POCO F2 Pro Android phone and what a pain it was to transfer data with the MB. I used "Android File Transfer" as it seemed to be the only decent (free) program out there. The connection between the phone and MB drops very often making transferring large amounts of files a pain (most stable way was to put my phone in recovery mode and then transfer files). Still today it is the case. Fortunately, there is a slightly better program now called "OpenMTP" but it still has its own issues. I wonder how all those Android users transfer files to/from their MBs, or this kind of people don't exist?

7) File explorer: On Windows, I was using "Directory Opus" as a replacement for the built-in file explorer. Great software and does not disappoint. Honestly, the file explorer (Finder) on the MB is pure crap. Limited (not even dual pane view??), not intuitive and most of all the alternatives out there are not much better either. I use Pathfinder now and it seems to be the best for me so far. But still not as good as what is offered on Windows...

If anyone has some feedback or advice on some of these issues it will be greatly appreciated. I am a stubborn person so not giving up on the MB yet I've seen its power and battery life and it is definitely better than anything I have owned before.


Thanks in advance!

 

[rm5]

Hey, great to hear your experience, but sorry to hear about all the issues you're having! I've been using Mac for as long as I've been alive basically, and it's been great (with some exceptions). But since this is about you, not me, I hope I'm able to help you out here.

I have a very similar workflow to yours—video editing, heavy DAW work, but for me personally, I don't have these issues. But as far as helping ya out, let me give it a shot:

1. I would get a dock for your MacBook Pro, not separate accessories. Personally, I just use a cheap hub from Anker (because idc). There are limitations to such a hub though—it can only drive my 4K monitor at 30 Hz, but it's an older hub (that was recently discontinued as far as I can tell), so that's fair I guess...
2. As far as NTFS—that's a tricky one... you could see if there's a file manager (or utility) that can read NTFS volumes properly. I personally have never had this issue, so hopefully other members will chime in with a solution to that one...
3. Memory - I usually see my M1 MacBook Air hover around 12 GB (of 16) used, which doesn't give me a whole lot for my production work (that's why it's not my main computer—I use a 5,1 Mac Pro as my main computer lol). You also run into issues because the RAM and VRAM are shared (hence "unified memory") so when a program uses a lot of VRAM, you'll notice that cuts into your RAM usage a LOT!
4. As far as the "BSOD" (it's called a kernel panic on Mac), when it reboots, you can often see a crash report. Also, there's a utility called Console where you can see detailed logs. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell just by reading the logs, so often you'll have to try and decode it yourself by looking up what certain parts mean (I know, it's a pain... I've had to do it, and so has every Mac user at some point probably)
5. Android phone - you're gonna have to wait for someone else who actually has an Android to help you with that, unfortunately, sorry!
6. I use an application called Commander One regularly. Check it out, it might meet your needs and make you happy that you have a good file manager (because I agree, Finder is kinda bad). I made a thread about my experience with this app if you wanna take a look!

Sorry I can't be of more help beyond that, these are issues I'm pretty inexperienced with.

Also, a warm welcome to the forum! I think you'll really enjoy this place (I sure do)! There's a thread for new users to introduce themselves—so if you feel like it, reply to that thread!

Let me know if you need anything else!

 

[JC1987]

Hey, great to hear your experience, but sorry to hear about all the issues you're having! I've been using Mac for as long as I've been alive basically, and it's been great (with some exceptions). But since this is about you, not me, I hope I'm able to help you out here.

I have a very similar workflow to yours—video editing, heavy DAW work, but for me personally, I don't have these issues. But as far as helping ya out, let me give it a shot:

1. I would get a dock for your MacBook Pro, not separate accessories. Personally, I just use a cheap hub from Anker (because idc). There are limitations to such a hub though—it can only drive my 4K monitor at 30 Hz, but it's an older hub (that was recently discontinued as far as I can tell), so that's fair I guess...
2. As far as NTFS—that's a tricky one... you could see if there's a file manager (or utility) that can read NTFS volumes properly. I personally have never had this issue, so hopefully other members will chime in with a solution to that one...
3. Memory - I usually see my M1 MacBook Air hover around 12 GB (of 16) used, which doesn't give me a whole lot for my production work (that's why it's not my main computer—I use a 5,1 Mac Pro as my main computer lol). You also run into issues because the RAM and VRAM are shared (hence "unified memory") so when a program uses a lot of VRAM, you'll notice that cuts into your RAM usage a LOT!
4. As far as the "BSOD" (it's called a kernel panic on Mac), when it reboots, you can often see a crash report. Also, there's a utility called Console where you can see detailed logs. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell just by reading the logs, so often you'll have to try and decode it yourself by looking up what certain parts mean (I know, it's a pain... I've had to do it, and so has every Mac user at some point probably)
5. Android phone - you're gonna have to wait for someone else who actually has an Android to help you with that, unfortunately, sorry!
6. I use an application called Commander One regularly. Check it out, it might meet your needs and make you happy that you have a good file manager (because I agree, Finder is kinda bad). I made a thread about my experience with this app if you wanna take a look!

Sorry I can't be of more help beyond that, these are issues I'm pretty inexperienced with.

Also, a warm welcome to the forum! I think you'll really enjoy this place (I sure do)! There's a thread for new users to introduce themselves—so if you feel like it, reply to that thread!

Let me know if you need anything else!

Hi thanks for the fast reply!

Would love to hear the "exceptions" that you struggle with too.

1) I have been looking at a TB3 dock to get the maximum out of that USB-C port but it is still quite pricey as of now.
What model of Anker dock/hub are you using?

2) First, I was using NTFS for mac software from Paragon, but now I don't need it anymore because my drives are compatible with MacOS and Windows (exFAT).

3) 12GB without any heavy programs open?

4) I'll check logs if it happens again.

5) so they do exist

6) Trust me I tried them all, also Commander One. It is good but I find pathfinder still the best, for now, Thanks anyway!

And I even forgot to mention the limited pirated software available for Mac

Thanks!

 

[rm5]

1. I use an Anker "5-in-1 USB-C Hub." Again, it's a cheap piece of crap (it was like $40), but it works fine for me. The one complaint I have about it is that it does NOT have USB-C Passthrough. This isn't as much of an issue for you since you have an extra port (MagSafe) for charging. Since I don't, it's a problem for me. The hub has 3 USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, HDMI (which can only drive 4K @30 Hz.... and a gigabit Ethernet port. However, for you, I'd recommend getting a higher-end dock.
2. Glad you found a solution to the NTFS problem, because NTFS from my understanding is read-only on Macs.
3. Yup—although it depends on how you define "heavy." Right now I have 30 Chrome tabs open (mostly for this stupid history project for school...), Mail, Notes, Calendar, Discord, and Spotify, and it's using 11 GB of RAM - so not quite 12, but you get my point. Obviously, this doesn't give me much headroom for running VSTs (AUs since I'm using Logic). I notice somewhat intense swapping (1-2 GB of swap) when running Berlin Orchestra in SINE Player. I don't know—is that similar to what you're doing? Like orchestral stuff with a lot of tracks? I mean I don't do a ton of that stuff (I'm mostly a performer, so producing comes second), but that's just been my experience running more demanding libraries.
4. HOPEFULLY those Android users exist. I've seen some around here. You could always post another thread dedicated to this issue if necessary.

As far as the things I don't like about Mac... I also made a thread about this; I'm in quite the situation right now with my computing problems. Anyway, my three major problems right now:

1. Lack of expandability/upgradability
2. Lack of software support
3. My audio interface doesn't work well with macOS, works flawlessly with Windows

And of course, this Mac Pro is 13 years old. It still runs great, but it's starting to show its age, especially in the CPU realm.

So TBH I might end up switching to a PC as my main computer as a stop gap, until I can afford a decently-specced Mac Studio AND a new 20-channel audio interface. Of course, that's the exact opposite direction you're going, so you've caught me at an interesting time, if you know what I mean.