Hi everybody, I’m sorry if this is not the right place to ask or if this question has been asked already, but most of the advice regarding the M4 Max vs. M4 Pro I see pertains to running LLMs and/or video editing.
I currently have a late 2019 Intel Macbook Pro and it’s time for an upgrade.
My use case is running VectorWorks, Sketchup, and Enscape. So 2D drawings, 3D drawings and realtime 3D rendering. I suppose Enscape is kind of similar to video games.
(I also do some Photoshop-type work, sometimes a bit of video editing, but that’s not as important. I do tend to run several programs at the same time, though.)
Since I use an external monitor at work and at home, I am trying to decide between getting the 14" M4 Pro with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU and 48GB RAM, or the M4 Max with 14‑core CPU, 32‑core GPU and 36GB RAM.
Would it be worth the higher price getting the M4 Max over the M4 Pro, or would the lower amount of RAM constrain me? (I intend to keep this laptop for five years.)
I think you can absolutely make use of the Max extra GPU cores, so I would pick it up. Also try to go for 48-64GB. That will help with device longevity.
I am using M2 with 32 GB for development work, and some times I wish I picked more memory.
So I would personally recommend prioritizing memory over anything else.
I would think the only way to answer this would be an actual benchmark comparison of your workloads on both types of systems.
Obviously, this is not feasible unless you were to order both with the intention of sending one back within the return period.
My question: Since moving from an Intel CPU to any M series is going to be a dramatic improvement (when I moved from an Intel iMac to a M1 Mac Studio, my video render time on the most challenging workflow I do went from 11 hours to about an hour), I’m guessing either choice for you will be a dramatic win.
Do you have any data from your current system on whether you are CPU/GPU bound or RAM limited?
How much are you constrained or pushing the limits of your current system?
Everyone’s situation is different, but for me, I’m trying to plan to upgrade/replace my systems every 3 years or less, instead of HODL’ing them for 5 to 7 years.
So when upgrading to M series I bought what I can use, not what I want.
I went from iMac to Mac Studio M1 mid-range config, not max, and I went from Intel MacBook Pro to MacBook Air instead of MacBook Pro M.
My point being - Apple’s progress in performance has been amazing with the M series. Planning to upgrade every 2 or 3 years, even if to the entry or only mid-level configuration, will have a lot more impact on your performance than splitting hairs right now on which highest-end config is better and holding it for 5 years or more instead.
The bottom-up answer to the question is deeply technical and depends a lot on how the tools (VectorWorks, Sketchup, etc) enable multicore capabilities and the RAM usage of the workloads (Ultras have higher RAM bandwidth). The best is to wait for benchmarks and compare the speedup vs the cost difference.
My rule of thumb would be that coming from an Intel-era machine the CPU horsepower would not matter that much and I would save the money on extra cores for more RAM, but honestly… I have no idea
The reason I plan to use the laptop for 5 years is that where I live this is the period in which I can write it off. I’m sure there will be a marked increase in performance either way. And right now I don’t know which is the biggest bottleneck for me—RAM or GPU. Especially since Enscape doesn’t work on Intel Macs (have to use Windows through Bootcamp, which is not ideal).
I suppose the question really boils down to whether RAM or the GPU/CPU matters more in the long run and right now I think it’s really hard to say.
Is it true that the 14” MacBook Pro will not make full use of the GPU cores because of throttling?
Yes - unfortunately they are both non-upgradeable, so you don’t have tradeoff most of us face with internal SSD: convenience of internal, versus lower cost but capability to plug in external SSD.
I cannot give a fact-based answer, but if you plan to run Windows virtualized on a M series Mac (and there are still limitations on that, but it does work), I would lean towards maximum RAM as VM’s, especially Windows, will suffer from lack of RAM before lack of GPU resources?
I have one Enterprise Windows app I need for my work and although I have run it virtualized on M series Macs, I’m keeping around my old Intel MacBook Pro to run it via Bootcamp.
For me, it is a data not processor intensive app, and I use the MacBook Pro to remote into my other systems, so it serves as a couch or patio convenience screen at home instead of having to hide in my home office.
Somewhat OT, but with JumpDesktop’s remote audio support (something sorely lacking in standard VNC or VNC-based paid remote terminal apps), I can even do light audio and video editing over a remote screen.
(I’ve kept the Intel MacBook Pro because the resale value back to Apple is pitiful, I don’t want to just recycle it, and it has been a faithful workhorse for more than seven years so separation is too painful - right now :lol)
Where I am the county library has a program where you can donate old hardware, they clean it up, install a free office suite, and provide it to families in need. Perhaps, once you do decide to split up, you could find something similar in you area.
I’ve never seen my M3Max throttle and I run local LLMs.
I bought 64GB and 4TB SSD. My goal is 5-6 yrs.
I don’t know anything about 3D models. However for most purposes an M4Pro would be amazing, I bought an M3Max for the additional memory bandwidth while playing with LLMs.
One thing that came to mind is, that the memory bandwidth between the Pro and Max chips seem pretty different.
I don’t know anything about your type of work, but maybe that could be a compelling differentiator? Not so much the actual amount of RAM or the Cores but the bandwidth?
@flobin research your workload with people who understand better than we do. If you can’t prove you would benefit from the extra memory bandwidth of the M3Max then you don’t need it. I bought mine for that very reason (LLM usage) and at a guess I’ve save 20-30 minutes (at most) in the past year.
Well, I’ve just bitten the bullet and bought the M4 pro with 48 GB RAM. My thinking is that since Enscape runs smoothly on my coworker’s M3 pro (with 36 GB RAM) this should be fine for me. In any case I think it will be a huge upgrade. Also, since I think that the models that I work on tend not to be super complex or huge, but I do tend to run a lot of programs at the same time, the extra RAM may serve me well. I guess in part it’s a vibes-based decision, but what also helps is that this model is about 13% cheaper.
Anyway, ask me again in 5 years whether I made a mistake.
