MacBook Pro M1 Max Long-Term Review

[@brandonj1468]

1st time I've heard someone say in a couple of years a M1 Max build will be irrelevant. Strong statement. People used older, less impressive models for much longer than a couple years

[@Richard_Lutz]

Depends on your configuration. If won't be irrelevant for everyone, but it will get more difficult to work with as files get more and more robust. Especially for video editors or those who have to do more with certain video files like RED or Blackmagic.

[@brandonj1468]

@@Richard_Lutz One could argue that a macbook shouldn't be the primary editing source for those who require that type of power. Laptops will always be somewhat limited there long term. Hard to judge a Macbook fairly with those demanding requirements. For the majority of people, these laptops should be relevant for at least 5 yrs IMO.

[@Richard_Lutz]

@@brandonj1468 Again it depends on what is under the hood. My M1 Max could've been spec'd a bit more to optimize for performance. I also don't think the M1 Pro will cut it in professional environments if you're going to be editing daily.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

Future proofing is a tricky thing. It seems to me that the body screen and keyboard are extremely well built and will last years. So maxing out the things that cannot be changed later makes a ton of sense.

[@harrison00xXx]

Well, i love my 16" M1 Pro base model. But its a shame that i need to buy for basic tasks a 16" M1 Pro... because all i wanted was a basic M1, but: HDMI and SD Card slot at least and also 15"+ probably the HDR 120Hz screen. But only because of the screen size (i was coming from a 2010 15" MacBook Pro and could not go even half an inch smaller) and SD card slot i needed the 16" M1 Pro already. Its easily overkill... all i do is basic photoshop stuff, using it for controlling my astro gear on the field and editing/processing and beside that the basic notebook stuff. But as much overkill it is, the battery runtime is just awesome. I can literally watch HDR movies saved on the device for the whole night while the program in the background does all the astrophotography stuff and target queues/slewing/guidind/controlling cameras for me. My old 2010 MacBook Pro is even a bit stressed with this program and struggled (next to decreasing battery runtime with using it)... and it has a 2 year old battery in good condition in it. Barely any load for the 2021 M1 Pro (as expected and hoped) but its a perfect computer for my astro setup at home which i can even control remotely from anywhere on the world over the internet with the 2010 MacBook Pro as interconnection.

[@Dekon7]

Is it any good for music production?

[@Richard_Lutz]

I'm assuming so, but I'm not a music producer. I think it really depends on the demand that you are placing on your CPU and GPU.

[@SuperFilmregisseur]

When you say you wish you specced it out, do you mean a 32 GPU or are you also bummed out you didn't take 64GB of RAM? Has 32GB often been too little for your workflow?

[@Richard_Lutz]

I think 64GB of RAM would've helped a lot. Right now 32GB works, but I've found that I drop frames in Premiere with my GH5. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a problem if and when I upgrade cameras.

[@SuperFilmregisseur]

@@Richard_Lutz true, but premiere is the worst for M1 anyway. Like there's nothing too bad as it is now, but compared to final cut and resolve, it's a worse performer. I doubt you ever get dropped frames with FCP

[@Richard_Lutz]

@@SuperFilmregisseur This may be true. But no one uses Resolve or FCP for editing in Hollywood. Both are solid programs for people working on their own. But it is critical to be on platforms like Premiere or Avid since these are where the bulk of editing is taking place. We'll see if and when that changes. I started on FCP and I'm now on Premiere. I could see myself working on Avid at some point. I'm curious if Resolve can get a foothold in Hollywood for editing and how long it will take to make inroads. Time will tell.

[@SuperFilmregisseur]

@@Richard_Lutz true, at the end of the day, the biggest bottleneck of M1 is software optimization, I don't believe Avid is optimized yet, Premiere has been I believe, but it's a slower program in general I've heard, also on windows, crashing every project. Say it was perfectly optimized, it should efficiently use RAM and not drop frames

[@Richard_Lutz]

@@SuperFilmregisseur I thought I heard that it worked with Avid, but I could be wrong. Either way, I think we will continue to have to work with proxy files. Especially since cameras are going to be create larger and larger files.